Chandler Jones on Raiders, Patriots Practices

HENDERSON, Nev.-The Las Vegas Raiders led by Dave Ziegler and Josh McDaniels signed the top offensive free agent in Davante Adams and the top defensive free agent in future Hall of Famer Chandler Jones.

Since arriving in the desert, Jones has been everything the Raiders wanted and expected. After some grueling practices against the New England Patriots, he spoke about facing his old team, coach, and much more.

You can watch the entire press conference below, and read the transcript:

Defensive End Chandler Jones

Q: Today marks at the end of the training camp heading towards the regular season. How exciting is that? And how you feel about the growth defensively from the start of camp to now?

Chandler Jones: "For me personally it's a very exciting to step forward. This is the moment that I've been waiting for obviously becoming a Raider. But going into the season, it's always a blessing to make it healthy through training camp and we're there, so hopefully we just keep moving forward."

Q: With the different coaches you've played for, what made this training camp unique under Josh McDaniels?

Jones: "Like I always say in every interview, just me being familiar with Josh. I've known him since the day that I came into the league. I've never been a part of staff or started my first day knowing the staff, so that was very advantageous for me."

Q: Patrick Graham was your position coach when you got into the league and you've seen him progress to being the defensive coordinator. What makes him stand out as a coach, and what makes him successful?

Jones: "The one word I'll use and a characteristic that I admire about Pat Graham is consistency. He's very consistent, his coaching style. He hasn't changed much since I first started and how much he loves coaching. Being a player you feel the intensity and the energy, and you can tell that someone loves doing their job, and Pat is definitely one of those guys."

Q: What little nuances have you seen in Josh McDaniels that even though he's his own coach, you can tell he is a Bill Belichick protégé?

Jones: "Josh [McDaniels] and Bill [Belichick] are two different people totally. I know a lot of people try to compare them, but when you talk about no one talking while they're talking, that's just shows the level of respect they have. Bill has that respect and obviously Josh does too. But yeah, when you talk about that, it just shows that guys respect him, everyone in the room, he has that respect. So that's a good characteristic and trait to have as a head coach for sure."

Q: What do you think you and your teammates got out of the last few days against New England?

Jones: "I feel like we got to test our mental toughness. For me, obviously I speak for myself personally, it was a little hot out there. It was very hot. For us to just keep going and keep hydrated and try to complete the task at hand, for me it was definitely a mentally tough day and I definitely got over it. It's not about just surviving and just doing it, but it's also competing when you're going through that. I think that's what makes me a better player. It makes our team a better team if everyone's going through that."

Q: Where do you find that (mental toughness)? Because even just walking out there to start practice it's hot and you know that you have two hours to deal with that. Where do you have to go to find that to get through it?

Jones: "You just dig into the love of the game. A lot of times when you go through things like that, it's easy to weed out who loves football and who doesn't. Obviously everyone that's playing, they're loving football because we're playing at this level. But I think just knowing that there's always a light at the end of the tunnel, and just guys enjoying what they do despite whatever the temperature is or how you feel."

Q: You mentioned Josh [McDaniels] and Bill [Belichick] are different - how so?

Jones: "Well, Coach Belichick's name is Bill Belichick and Josh is Josh McDaniels. That's what I'll leave there. How's that? But obviously they have different levels of experience and they have different coaching styles. I feel like Bill is a defensive coach and Josh is an offensive coach, so we'll leave it there."

Q: How was it to work against Trent Brown out there?

Jones: "Trent [Brown] is a hell of a player. He's a very big individual. He's hard to get around, his arms are very long and just going against him every day made me a better player. I had to dig deep into my bag in order to get around him, so it helped me. It was something that I needed going into the season. I don't think I'll be going against anyone like him until we play them of course. But yeah, he helped me for sure."

Q: What was is like to see some of the familiar faces like Devin [McCourty] from when you were in New England?

Jones: "Yeah, it was very refreshing, that's the word I'll use. It was refreshing. Devin [McCourty] is a guy that kind of took me under his wing when I first got in the NFL. He would show me around the do's and don'ts, but it was good to see those guys on the field - Matt Slater, a lot of those guys. I was happy to see them out there for sure."

Q: What do you still have left to accomplish, to prove in this league?

Jones: "Well, me coming here was to make this team better. I'm not here to talk about my individual goals, but I think that I need to accomplish my presence making the team better. So despite whatever that is or whatever that could be. I want Chandler Jones being on the Las Vegas Raiders making the Raiders better. And I think I couldn't ask myself to do anything else."

Q: What has it been like to work with guys like Tashawn Bower and Malcolm Koonce and kind of help them along with their game?

Jones: "The two guys that you mentioned, they've definitely taken big steps, especially this training camp. I don't really know about their past, but as far as these few months that I've been their teammates, those guys are hard workers and they love football. They come to work every day, and that's all you can ask for from young guys like that."

Q: Having had some time to reflect on being traded from New England years ago, how did it impact you? And as you reflect on it, how do you think it changed you?

Jones: "I wouldn't say it changed me, but yeah I do remember being trading. It opened my eyes to the business. I know that this is a business and you could be anywhere at any time. So it just helped me mentally as far as being flexible and knowing that nothing is set in stone, but it really didn't change anything."

Q: Did it surprise you (when you go traded? Did you think you'd be a patriot for your career?

Jones: "I feel like when guys get traded and they get moved around, I feel like whoever makes that decision, ultimately they're making that decision to help their team. I feel that I was traded because it was best for the team at the time, and I think life just goes on and you move forward. I went over to Arizona, and I had a few of my better years of football, and hopefully I can build in those years."

Q: Does that give you extra motivation, doing this against the team that traded you?

Jones: "Maybe if it was maybe a year after I was traded, but I think it was six years prior. I was in Arizona for six years since I've been traded, so it was playing against another team. Like I said before, it was refreshing to see all those familiar faces, but there was no motivation or any of that revenge type of deal. No, not at all."

Q: Do you kind of look at your career as three distinct stages of getting your start with the Patriots and kind of learning the business in the game, and then these great years you had at the Cardinals and now this time with the Raiders?

Jones: "I see it as another year in the NFL, and God has blessed me to play 11 of them. Despite whatever team that I was on, I don't try to categorize into which team, but every year is just another year. I think that's what credits to a lot of my success and being consistent, despite what logo was on my helmet. For me to be playing 11 years, I think it's truly a blessing, and I can come to work with a smile on my face every day just knowing that I'm getting the opportunity to play my dream job."

Q: Without giving too much away, you've been on a lot of great defenses. When you look at this locker room and you look at your defense, what do you need to see more out of your guys to say this is an elite defense going into the season?

Jones: "That's a great question. That's a really good question. I feel like everyone just doing coaches ask. I think everyone's bought in, and I think just everyone executing. Everyone executing what's being asked of them, everyone managing their expectations and just doing your job, and I think we'll be fine."

Q: Did you get a chance to catch up with Bill [Belichick] at all these last few days?

Jones: "Briefly. I saw him on the field."

Q: What was that interaction like (with Bill Belichick)?

Jones: "We were in between drills so we really couldn't sit down and have a whole powwow, but it was good. It was good for sure."

Q: I apologize if you've been asked this before, but I finally saw for myself - the yoga that you do in warm ups - how does that help you get mentally prepared?

Jones: "A lot of times I do that because I'm stretching my neck, because I know at my position sometimes you take a lot of blows to the neck area and my lower back. So I do that to kind of get my neck ready for practice, but just little headstand action, nothing major."

Q: You seem like you're in a good place in your life. When you look back now, how much did Bill help your career, make you the player that you are today? You said defense was his specialty. What did he do for you to get you going?

Jones: "Obviously I started my career in New England, and being a player for the Patriots I feel like I kind of started my foundation there, that's where I started at. There were a lot of things I learned from being a Patriot, and you don't forget those sort of things and you kind of carry on throughout life and throughout the NFL. So hopefully that answered your question. You kind of start there."

Q: We're two and a half weeks away from Raider Nation watching number 55 on the field in action for the first time. What message do you send out to them because they want to see you in action?

Jones: "I try not to talk about myself too much, but hopefully Raider Nation sees a hard worker, someone that's loving their job and someone obviously that's helping the team, helping the team win. Someone that's making plays, getting turnovers - and I'm not trying to talk about the future - but that's something that I think I bring to a team. That's something that I try to do and take credit in, just being consistent, not doing anything different or doing anything new, but doing what I've always done."

Q: As a veteran, what is the biggest lessons have you learned since entering the league, and what have you taught to some of the younger guys about how to be a pro?

Jones: "A lot of guys, like the guys you mentioned, they always bring up my stats or what I've done, highlights, plays that I've made. And I always try to reiterate and I always try to emphasize to them that none of that stuff comes without work. Work always comes first. And like I said, I'm not a big 'hoorah' guy, I don't have a lot of speeches for the guys, but I lead by example. So where I am in my career in year 11, I still try to show them that, 'Hey you have to run to the ball. You have to run off the field. You have to get those extra lifts in. You have to do the extra studying.' And obviously hard work pays off."

Q: We've heard guys talk about how it's not really conducive to pass rushers racking up a lot of sacks because of some of the responsibilities involved there. Are you seeing something similar here in Vegas? What have you seen as far as that goes? Will pass rushers be able to get after the quarterback?

Jones: "I think the art of pass rush, you can't chase sacks. And obviously you'll have years that are down and you'll have years that are up. But a lot of times when you're doing your job, sacks come to you. I'm not sure about organizations and how a lot of sacks come or don't come. When I was in New England, I think I was at 12.5 sacks. I think I had a good amount. But they come to you, you have to let sacks come to you. And I think whenever you start chasing sacks or chasing stats, that's when you get out of your game. Well for me personally, I can't speak for anyone else."

Please make sure you tell us your thoughts when you like our Facebook Page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.

Want to talk about this? Want to air your opinion about all things Las Vegas Raiders? Maybe you like to talk about other sports that aren't Silver and Black related? We got your back. Join our 100% FREE message board, a brand new option, when you CLICK RIGHT HERE.

Want the latest breaking Las Vegas Raiders news delivered straight to you? CLICK THE FOLLOW button at the top of the page. Don't miss any of the latest up-to-the-second updates for your Las Vegas Raiders when you follow on Twitter @HondoCarpenter