Josh Jacobs Talks State of the Las Vegas Raiders Post Practice
HENDERSON, Nev.--He won't say it, but Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs had to have been disappointed when the Silver and Black chose not to pick up his fifth-year contract option.
To his credit, the young Pro Bowl player hasn't pouted, moped, or complained. What has he done? He's kept grinding.
After practice here at training camp, Jacobs addressed the contract situation and much more. You can watch the entire press conference below, and read the transcript as well:
Running Back Josh Jacobs
Q: You were kind of limited in OTAs and mini-camp. How are you feeling now?
Jacobs: “Yeah, I mean I feel pretty good. Feel fast, you know what I'm saying. It's the beginning of the camp, everybody feels fast at the beginning of camp. So, it's been pretty good so far.”
Q: How did you feel after your fifth-year option was not picked up?
Jacobs: ““I really don't too much think about it, honestly. I'm a firm believer in the work that you put in is going pay off for itself. And I had to be here either way. And this is where I want to be. So, I didn't have no problem with it. (It) gave me more of a reason to come in every day, gel with the guys and work, so that's how I looked at it.”
Q: How excited are you for Josh McDaniels’ playbook and to maybe show some more versatility in your ability?
Jacobs: “Yeah, man. I mean, it's obviously a great offense. It's a great group of guys. I mean, we still learning the schemes and everything right now. So, I'm still trying to figure out the ins and outs of everything. But man, I've been happy with my progression. Hopefully, I keep stacking days and it translates.”
Q: How would you describe your mindset coming into this season?
Jacobs: “My mindset coming into the season was already different from the end of last season because we didn't know who the coach was going to be. So, I knew that I was going to have to learn a new offense. I knew I was going to have to come in and adjust to new coaches and all of those things. So, I just knew that I was going to have to work this whole offseason. I kind of just been thinking about that, trying to get my body right to work. Coming in man, these group of guys, when you see the way they think and the reason why they do certain things, it's just amazing to me, so I'm just trying to follow their lead right now.”
Q: Derek Carr said you should be the happiest guy in the room. What do you think he meant by that? And then also, what were you dealing with physically earlier this year?
Jacobs: “I think what he meant by that, for me personally, in any offense, in any system, you got to be dominant up front, you got to be dominant with run, that's how you control the game, that's how you win games. So, I think that he was just talking about that from that standpoint of, he's thinking I'm going to come in and we are going to have another year with an o-line that's a little more experienced and things like that, to be able to come in and just dominate. And offseason, I was just getting my body right. I didn't have anything that was just too crazy. I was just focusing on what I felt like I needed to focus on at that time.”
Q: Did it make you feel fresher coming into camp?
Jacobs: “Yeah, definitely feel fresher. Definitely.”
Q: Now that you're on the field, and in this offense, does it feel a little bit different or a lot different than what you're used to these last couple years?
Jacobs: “At the end of the day man football is football. Yeah, the terminology might be a little different or whatever. But concepts are everywhere, whatever team you go on, the concepts are the same. So, I'm just trying to learn their terminology and play fast and execute my assignments.”
Q: Did you watch film of the Patriots at all?
Jacobs: “Oh, of course. Our coaches, when they came in, we was in OTAs and things like that. We watched a lot of the clips of them. We also had photos or whatever to study the plays and things like that. So, yeah, I've definitely seen a lot of plays.”
Q: Did anything standout when you watched the tape? They always seemed versatile and multiple in different ways that they attacked.
Jacobs: “I just liked how aggressive they were. A lot of their guys, you could tell they knew their assignments, you could tell that they were playing fast, and they weren't thinking too much. That's the thing that I noticed, especially at the running back position, you could tell there was too much hesitation. So, that's the thing I noticed the most.”
Q: With additions in the running back room, what's the competition been like?
Jacobs: “Man, the competition's been amazing. I mean, it's fun man. I'm a firm believer of having a group of guys that's ready to compete. I believe that iron sharpens iron, just to be around them guys that's willing to work every day, that's good or better in certain areas. And to be able to compete with them, it's been fun. Being able to come in, and being a vet now, and being with the rookies and being able to pass that knowledge along, that's what the game is, that's what the game is all about.”
Q: What are your early impressions of the offensive line?
Jacobs: “Man, we're taking it day by day right now. It's still fresh. It's a lot of new faces. It's a lot of new people. So, I don't know who's going to be where or anything like that. But man, I like the work that we put in each day.”
Q: What have you seen from Alex Leatherwood going into his second year?
Jacobs: “Man, I just see Wood working his butt off every day. I mean, he's one of the first guys out there at the beginning of practice working on his sets and things like that. And I remember having to talk with him, just telling him, 'Man, if you keep putting in the work every day it's going to pay off for itself.' So I mean, I'm excited to see what he's going to do this year.”
Q: The Patriots traditionally have used a lot of backs, got a lot of guys involved. Is that Is that a good thing for you?
Jacobs: “I mean, I don't know. I haven't been in a system like that for a minute. Right now, I'm just trying to study my playbook, get on top of my plays so I can at least get on the field. So, that's what I've been working on right now.”
Q: You said at the beginning of camp everybody feels faster, everybody feels fresh. Are you different right now? It seems like you're faster than you've been.
Jacobs: “I keep getting that. I keep hearing that. I don't know. I guess it's just the work, the work that I put in the offseason. I quietly did everything. I made sure I stayed off social media, all of them type of things. Just quietly put in the work. I'm just waiting to get the opportunity to come out here and show what I've been working on.”
Q: Have you been able to kind of process everything that happened from last year?
Jacobs: “I think we processed that when we had a team meeting, and we went on that little run last year. I think we all kind of collectively processed it together as a team and kind of just reset our focus on what we wanted to accomplish. And I mean now we at the beginning, we haven't played a game, we haven't went against nobody, we haven't even hit each other yet. So right now, we just trying to accomplish them goals and taking it day by day.”
Q: How important was the last month of last season, going on that run, to set foundation and show you guys what you are capable of doing?
Jacobs: “I know for me, I can't really speak for anybody else, but I know for me the camaraderie that we had as a team them last few weeks when we had all that stuff going on, which is different, I mean the energy in the locker room, the guys that you could feel they care about each other and things like that. It was just different. This year, just trying to have that same camaraderie, trying to bring the group of guys in, it's a lot of new faces, a lot of new names, just trying to put the pieces together.”
Q: Have you done the Mack Hollins mile? And is that a camaraderie builder?
Jacobs: “Mack Hollins, man, that's an amazing dude, man. He's funny. And he's a hard worker man. He comes out there every day and he puts in the work. And I'm excited to see about him. He's smart too, I don't think I've ever seen a guy pick up an offense so fast honestly.”
Q: What does Mack bring from a leadership perspective?
Jacobs: “He's one of them guys that I feel like everybody get along with. Come in every day with a smile on his face, doesn't complain or anything like that. He just be who he is. He comes out and he works hard every day. So yeah, I definitely think that he's a guy that people can look at and try to follow.”
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