Josh McDaniels Final Thoughts: Raiders vs. Seahawks
HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders (3-7) find themselves on the road against the Seattle (6-4) this week.
The Silver and Black are looking for their first winning streak of the season and on the road versus the Seattle Seahawks is no easy task.
Coach Josh McDaniels spoke about the state of the Silver and Black and looked ahead to this weekend's game against the Seahawks. You can watch that entire interview below and read the transcript:
Head Coach Josh McDaniels
Opening Statement:
Head Coach Josh McDaniels: "It would be hard for me to not stand up here and say good luck to the United States. I know that's the buzz right now. I know Jermaine [Eluemunor] is kind of carrying the English flag, but I know the guys are excited about this, so were pulling for them too."
Q: Do you like soccer?
Coach McDaniels: "My girls play soccer, so definitely. I enjoy it when we have the opportunity to watch. I know Edgar [Bennett]'s daughters play, Tom McMahon's daughter plays at a high level. So, we've got a lot of coaches, a lot of dads here who have kids who play it. I didn't play it myself, but obviously it's a great sport and we're pulling for the United States today."
Q: Nate Hobbs has been out there at practice. Any feeling on whether he's ready?
Coach McDaniels: "Hopefully we get over a little illness. So, we'll see how it goes. I think we're kind of in the wait and see mode just to see how he's feeling and how today goes. And then I don't want to say hopeful or not hopeful, but the reality is, is if we feel like he's ready to go and able to perform at the level we want him to and he wants to, then I think we're getting close, like I said."
Q: You guys are rotating the secondary. Against the Broncos you had like 10 guys playing in the back end. Was that a strategy thing or was it more so reacting to what was happening?
Coach McDaniels: "I think it's different guys have earned the opportunity to have a role in the game. I think that's definitely part of it. Duron [Harmon] went out with the cramps, so that kind of forced us to do something a little different there for a short period of time. We have packages with six of them in the game. I think we played seven at least on a couple of snaps in the game. So, having enough guys there No. 1, is key. And then I'd would say just being able to share the burden of having a different role here or there -- had some different guys cover the tight end, had some different guys play down near the box. Roderic [Teamer] has now started to play some of the big nickel stuff. I think it's great for them. I think it's great for our team. Everybody kind of comes in, has a part in the game plan, understands what they're being asked to do, learns it, practices it that way and then goes out there and tries to perform. And then obviously we have some injuries, so we've got to do some different things. But Isaiah [Pola-Mao] is now starting to play. I'm excited for the young group that we have to keep continuing to play and get better. That's how they do it. It's hard to get better without any kind of experience. So, they're practicing, they're earning the opportunity to play in the game, and then hopefully they go out there and they do the most that they can with the reps that they get. I thought Tyler [Hall] did that, Isaiah has done some of those things, Roderic definitely has showed up. Sam [Webb] has played on and off all year. Look, that's not an easy position to play, as you guys know. You're running around covering these guys all day long, and you've got some good receivers and another group this week. So, it's helpful if you have enough healthy bodies to go out there and kind of rotate them in there a little bit to keep some of them fresh."
Q: DK Metcalf is different not only because of the speed, but because of his size. What challenges are you seeing that he's going to bring on Sunday?
Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, there are a lot of them. He catches the ball when you're on him. I think he's like the top of the league in terms of contested catches. So even if you have tight coverage, it doesn't really mean that you stop the ball from being thrown to him for sure, and it doesn't mean that you've stopped the ball from being completed, so that's one. Two, getting him on the ground once he has the ball is an entirely different conversation. This is as good of an athlete and as tough of a football player to get to the ground as you're going to see generally. There might be a couple other guys in that category, but I mean he's big, he's fast, he's strong, he's tough, he's physical. So, getting him to the ground once he has it is going to be a task, and we're going to need as many guys to do the ball chasing the ball as we can. And then just I'd say his overall ability to really run and get by everybody. You've got to be careful you don't underestimate -- even if you're back there, I mean he can close ground in a hurry, one of the fastest guys in the league, no question. So, knowing where he's at, knowing how to play him and understand that he's going to have the ball at some point. It's not like we're going to stop the ball from being given to him or thrown to him. So, everybody's got to do a good job of playing the play all the way to its entirety and trying to try to limit the production as much as we can."
Q: When you were putting this together, I'm sure you had a kind of a vision of what it would look like with Foster Moreau and Darren Waller playing in conjunction with one another. How does Foster's role changed when Darren isn't in there, and then when Darren does come back, how does it change back?
Coach McDaniels: "I think we'll have to wait and see about the role if that happens -- when it happens. But Foster [Moreau] is really kind of a traditional tight end type, and those guys are not easy to find. You watch college football and there are a lot of guys who catch passes and all that kind of stuff, which is great. There are very few people who are part of the core of the formation anymore, and Foster certainly can do both. He plays inside the formation, helps us in the running game, we've asked him to pass block. I mean, he pass protected on the game-winner last week. He does that quite a bit, I'd say off and on throughout the course of the game. And then he's also been productive when he has opportunities in the passing game. So a little different, you don't extend him from the formation like some other guys do, and that's OK. Like I said, he's more of a traditional tight end role, but he has a lot of things he can do, and he does them pretty well, at a high level and can help us win doing them. So, when the two of them have played together -- and it hasn't been that many snaps, but if we can ever get to that, there are a lot of things you can consider doing. But I think we really need to get them both back healthy, and then start to I'd say crawl before we walk and walk before we run. But we've liked to have that opportunity in the past where we've had two guys who are a little bit interchangeable, but not the same. But we're going to need to get [Waller] out there on the field and do it before we do that."
Q: Luke Masterson and Kolton Miller, they've been limited. Are those guys to where you have to have them go full before they could play or could they be ready?
Coach McDaniels: "No. I mean, honestly we're probably about as healthy as I could imagine at this point in time during the season, knock on wood. To come off of a few physical games here, I feel fortunate that we're in the position that we're in. Both guys I think are trending in the right direction here, and hopeful that we'll be able to turn the corner here."
Q: One of the guys who has kind of struggled with injuries, probably a frustrating year for Denzel Perryman. But he was back out there last week, it seemed like he had a really good game. In what ways is this defense different when he's able to be out there?
Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, I mean you notice him right away, as you mentioned. Physical, fast, adds an element of just -- he's got experience, he understands what he sees, gets to the ball quickly, big hitter, no doubt about it, and I think he just has a presence and a confidence to him. I think he was voted as a captain for a reason. The guys respond to him, his leadership, his personality, his energy, and he brings an element of toughness that you love in the middle of your defense. Denzel [Perryman], to his credit, has fought back from a couple of things here that have nagged him a little bit during the course the season, but healthy now and excited that he's going to be out there."
The Raiders' game on Sunday is in Seattle and kicks off at 4:05 p.m. EST/1:05 p.m. PST. You can see that game on CBS.
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