Las Vegas Raiders Davante Adams Week 11 Update
HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders find themselves entering their week eleven tilt against the Denver Broncos with a disappointing 2-7 record.
The season is in shambles, and the Silver and Black are simply looking forward to having anything good to celebrate.
The Silver and Black's Davante Adams spoke about his team and moving forward.
You can watch the entire press conference below, and read the transcript:
Wide Receiver Davante Adams
Q: After the game, you said you felt like guys weren't all the way bought in. Now that you've been through a few meetings and practices, what sort of response have you seen throughout the locker room?
Adams: "I mean it's kind of the same as before in a good way. I feel like we had a good week of practice last week, a good approach to it after another tough loss. I think guy's minds and heads are in the right place, I mean as it should be. You don't want this type of stuff to take too big of a toll on you, and it's definitely not going to make anything any easier if you come in with a frown on your face every day and you kind of turn your brain off to any sort of happiness and finding some of the good in what we did, because there is a lot of good in it. If you look at a lot of these games that we're losing, it's just kind of coming down to the execution of some of these critical moments, and if we just were to find a way to pull it off, it'd be a completely different feeling around the building. So, I think we've just got to focus on that as much as possible to keep ourselves in it, keep our minds in it. It's not healthy to run around here, like I said, with a frown on all day just because we're losing. The fact of the matter is we are very close to where we want to be, we're just not quite playing 60 minutes and I think that's what is contributing to it. But the more we can kind of keep our heads up and keep our minds right, that'll give us the best chance to at least try to finish the right way."
Q: Talking to some guys, it seems like there is a sentiment of: 'Hey, let's just chill and play football.' Do you kind of buy into that as well?
Adams: "Yeah, I mean that's been the message that we've been trying to communicate from the beginning, and I think it's easier said than done for some guys. Obviously it's a young team with not as much experience in certain areas, so it's easy to tell a guy just relax and play football you've been doing it your whole life, but when the bright lights are on and it's not practice, there's 70,000 people in the stands, it's a little bit tougher to just kind of simplify, and that's what we've got to get to."
Q: When the team owner comes out and basically gives the coach a vote of confidence, does that let you guys in the locker room just kind of like exhale as well and say: 'You know what, let's just play,' because there's no change coming anytime soon?
Adams: "I mean, I'm sure for some guys. My mind has always been like that, and I've always had -- I don't know if the feeling is the right word -- but at least hope that that would be the case and that they be patient with the whole process. When you look at the history of this place, I don't think a playoff game has been won in over 20 years here. There's no magic coach that's going to come in and change that, and I think that Josh [McDaniels] is doing a great job and he does deserve that in my mind. I think that we can all be better in certain instances, but some of the greatest coaches this league has seen has had some tough times, and I'm sure they didn't all come out the blocks sprinting like Usain Bolt starting their career off or starting with a new organization. So, I think it's a good move by him doing that. It's good for Josh and it's good for the rest of the guys too."
Q: Josh mentioned the fact that he wants to build something that's going to be a long-term repeatable success here. What are some things you can point to that are building blocks to that?
Adams: "Well, I mean just the discipline part of it. There's measurable things -- I don't know where the numbers lie, but this team definitely wasn't at the top of the league in ball security and taking care of the ball, and that's something that he emphasized and has kind of harped on since the moment he walked through the building, and it's something that he wanted to help Josh [Jacobs] with, his ball security, just the way he holds the ball and different things like that, talking to me about it and really everybody. It has been something that's been, like I said, harped on since day one. So, you look at it now, we're the best team in the league at taking care of the ball. So, obviously when you look at some of the things that are measurable like that, it's pretty easy to see. When you go from being one of the worst at something to the best at something and you have all the same players for the most part, that means that somebody is doing their job as far as pointing something out or making it known and at least bringing awareness to the fact that something can be done better."
Q: We heard from a couple guys on what it's like as a teammate to watch Derek Carr after the game and the passion that he had. Just as a friend who has known him for a long time, what was that kind of experience like seeing the pain in his voice?
Adams: "I mean, you feel it. You feel that because we get tired of getting up here every week and basically saying the same thing, especially when it's game after game like this. It gets exhausting, and you see the type of things that, like he said, put our bodies through and things we do to be able to come in here. We essentially get in a car accident, multiple car accidents every week, and most people get off of work for that. We don't get that luxury. Not that this isn't an incredible luxury to play this game, but I mean some of the stuff that we've got to go through on a week in and week out basis, obviously we do our best to block out the outside noise but just with everything that kind of comes with it, you hope to be rewarded, or reward yourself should I say, with a few more wins. Wins take care so much and we know that. And obviously you can look at the tape and you can win games and play not so great too. You've got to be real with yourself, but at the end of the day if your winning games, it helps a lot. It begins to get a little bit much mentally when this kind of happens a lot. Whether its guys aren't brought in, or guys are bought in and we just can't figure it out, at the end of the day it gets to be a lot, so I feel him."
Q: As a team captain how are is it to motivate some of these players who may not be buying in?
Adams: "It shouldn't be that hard. I think that it should be pretty easy. I'm a big: 'I'd rather learn from somebody that's been there and experienced that rather than going through it myself' guy. It's a lot of guys in the locker room that have experienced their own ups and downs on a personal level in their career and with this team even, Derek [Carr] being here as long as what he has, some of the things he's seen trying to let young guys know, 'I've seen this from certain players and it didn't work and they're no longer here,' or it's something as simple as just trying to perfect your craft or something like that. So, we're trying our best as leaders to do that and it's a process definitely, because with grown men it's not as easy. If you've got a high school team, it’s a little bit easier to get guys to buy in, but when people have done something a certain way for a certain time or whatever the case is, it's not always easy. The quicker we get that, the better off we'll be. Obviously, we'll be on the same page, and everybody will have the same goal and that's what we're after."
Q: I know you said you look internally as a player when things don't translate to game day, but what can a coaching staff do to support that and make sure that what you guys are doing throughout the week carries on?
Adams: "Well, there's a lot that they can do, and I think most coaching staffs do -- well I wouldn't say most -- but I would say all the coaching staffs that I've had have done enough to put the players in position to go out there and get it done. And like I said, I just don't like making excuses and the easy thing to do is blame it on a call or whatever. At the end of the day, there's nothing that a call could have done. Obviously, part of it is a guessing game too, because as a coach you're calling the play for the situation. It's third and two, what do teams run against you against third and two a lot? And you're just hoping that you get the call that goes with the corresponding play that you have called. It's not always that easy, they're doing their best job. They're not calling a play that they think that the defense is going to stop us on. So, at the end of the day, they're calling the best play that they think is going to work, and then we've got to go out there and execute it. Everybody's got a responsibility, but I'd much rather put the burden on myself because I can control that. I can't control what the coach is doing, or another player is doing. If everybody puts that burden on themselves and it means enough to them to do that, then I feel like that's when you have a really successful team."
The Raiders return to action next week when they head to Denver to take on the Broncos. That game kicks off at 4:05 p.m. EST/1:05 p.m. PST. You can see that game on FOX.
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