Josh McDaniels Final Thoughts: Raiders vs. Broncos
HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders have started the 2022 NFL regular season at an embarrassing 0-3.
But in a long 17-game NFL regular season, that isn't even close to a season-ending dilemma.
Coach Josh McDaniels made his final comments prior to the Las Vegas Raiders vs. the Denver Broncos, and we have all of those comments for you.
You can watch his entire interview below, and read the transcript:
Head Coach Josh McDaniels
Q: How important is it to win on Sunday and getting that feeling?
Coach McDaniels: Yeah, I mean, everybody wants it. I think you can't really focus on the result. It’s never been, I'd say, a good way to approach that. We all want certain things, whether it's in this profession or other areas of our lives. I think it's really just focusing on the process because that’s the stuff we can control, and so, we just keep talking about the things we need to do to win. We know we've been in three close games, so have they. The margin is slim, we know that. We got to earn it every day. We can't wait until Sunday and try to just hope we do it right on Sunday. Got to do it right during the week. I think the attitude we've had has been exactly what you'd want it to be, and we know we got a long way to go. So, looking forward to trying to finish up our preparation today and then have a good day tomorrow of review and then go there and cut it loose and play our best ball of the year so far. That's what the goal is, and then the result will take care of itself.”
Q: In Thursday Night’s game there was a scary situation with Tua Tagovailoa getting a concussion. You guys have had a few concussions this year. What goes into your thought process as a coach, even if a guy is medically cleared, to decide whether a player can play or not?
Coach McDaniels: “I did not see the game last night. I obviously heard of some semblance of what happened. I think that the medical people, that's their area of expertise, so we are 100 percent in line with whatever they tell us. If they say, ‘Not ready,’ they're not ready. If they say that we need to do a couple more things to clear, then that's the things we need to do. And if anything will be extra precautionary relative to timelines and working them back in. Until they're cleared medically, there's no decisions for us to make relative to coaches and being active and those types of things. I think our responsibility is to just take our cue from them and then at that point, when they do clear them, we have to use our judgment too about where they're at now relative to what we're used to seeing. I haven't really had any issues in terms of what I can recollect from the past where somebody was cleared from something and then kind of came back and had any issues. But we have a responsibility to keep our eyes open for that too. We've had a couple guys go into the protocol and we'll just take our cue from the medical people.”
Q: Are you impressed with the attitude of your team and how they are approaching this week despite being 0-3?
Coach McDaniels: “Yeah. Again, we haven't really focused on that as much as we're focusing on the things that we can control now. We all know we've done things that we can improve on, starting with us, starting with me, and that's really what we can focus on. We know that when you earn the right to win it's a lot of people that have put in a lot of work and have done a lot of good things in order to put yourself in that position to earn that result. So, that's what we're going to continue to focus on. Like I’ve said, I've loved the approach of our team every week and they're not discouraged. We know where we are at and we know what we have in front of us."
Q: Any word on any of the guys that were questionable or limited for Sunday?
Coach McDaniels: “Nothing yet, but I'd say encouraged by a lot of them. Obviously, getting guys back out there on the field. We'll see how today goes. I have always learned to temper my expectations after a Thursday or a Wednesday, just to make sure that they come in on a Friday and they feel okay, and then they can continue upward as opposed to feeling a little worse. We'll see how today goes and then hopefully we'll get as many of them back as we can. But I think it's trending in the right direction."
Q: Having been on the other side of this rivalry, is there a difference in a Raiders-Broncos week, or is that kind of thrown out the window because of the circumstances you guys are in?
Coach McDaniels: “I think all these division games in the AFC West -- and again, I'm learning about them from this perspective now -- there's definitely some history to them, in a good way. I mean, it's two good football teams, two good organizations that have done a lot of winning over many, many years. We haven't had an opportunity, this team, this year, to play Denver. That'll obviously occur for the first time on Sunday, but looking forward to competing in our division, there's no doubt about it. I was aware of the rivalry a long time ago. I mean, it was a long time ago for me on the other side. Eager to have the opportunity to compete against them for sure.”
Q: When Andre James is back to 100 percent, any thought to keeping Dylan Parham at center?
Coach McDaniels: “I think the biggest thing is just try to get the right five guys in there that are playing the best that have earned the opportunity to do that. Dre [Andre James] has done a good job for us, and it was unfortunate at the very end of the game in Week One that that happened and caused him to miss some time. So, we'll kind of take a look at that. Dylan [Parham] has certainly earned the right to play with what he's done and how he's progressing. So, try to make the smartest decision we can, and again we're not rushing into it because some of this stuff, the circumstances have been a little bit out of our control relative to injuries. But once we get everybody healthy and everybody back, and we have an opportunity to try to get our best five out there as much as we can, that's what we're going to try to do. And at the same time, we've stressed competition and performance, so that's why we've played a couple guys at a couple spots because we feel like they've earned it.”
Q: Both Nate Hobbs and Rock Ya-Sin are playing at an extremely high level this year, and both got a little banged up against the Titans. How confident are you with the depth behind those players, specifically Amik Robertson?
Coach McDaniels: “Yeah, Meek [Amik Robertson] has played a lot of football so far this year, period. He always has a role in the game and went in and played competitively last week again. So, I have confidence in all our guys. We tell them all the time, 'If you're here, we believe in you and we feel like we can win with you.' So, whatever their role is, I know they'll be ready to go. That room is tough-minded, the whole group is. They compete in practice, they work really hard, they help each other, and I know they'll encourage one another if for some reason somebody can't go like last week. They picked it up and Sam [Webb] went in there too, Amik went in there and competed. So, whoever plays, we have confidence that they're going to do it right."
Q: Matthias Farley got signed to the active roster. What was kind of behind that decision and what does he provide?
Coach McDaniels: “He's really done a good job since he's been here. I'd say consistent, dependable, very hard worker, very smart player. He can take it from the meeting room to the field pretty immediate and does a really good job of communicating, whether it's at safety or in the kicking game. Just tough, brings an element of dependability every time he's out there. He's been our personal protector in the punt team, which is obviously a very important role. He has earned this opportunity and I'm happy for him and happy for our team.”
Q: Darren Waller was selected the NFLPA community MVP. How important do you feel it is for Darren and the rest of your team to be involved in community and maintain that relationship?
Coach McDaniels: “It's critical. Obviously, that doesn't surprise anybody that Darren would win that award because he's so active and does so many great things. Since I've been here, this community has embraced this football team, this organization, the National Football League. I know it’s still kind of new to them, but I think the more our players, our organization, our staff get out there and give back to them. They've been nothing but incredibly hospitable to us and we have a great environment on game day to play in. I think our team sees the need for us to reciprocate that. Darren, is one of the big leaders in that regard."
Q: There has been talk and hot takes this week about Derek Carr and Davante Adams. Given that play calling is kind of your wheelhouse, what's your level of concern about the offense this far into the season?
Coach McDaniels: “Excited. Our goal is to continue to get better and improve. We've learned a lot, we really have, over the first so many weeks here. It doesn't always transfer immediately into perfection relative to execution and results, but we've learned a lot about what we need to do better. We've learned a lot about what we can improve on in practice, and they work at it. To me, if you know what you need to do and you work hard at it and you have a great attitude and approach to it, and you're consistent with the way that you're working, you have a great opportunity to improve. And that's what I see. I'm encouraged, I'm excited and looking forward to this weekend. It's another opportunity for us to try to take a step forward and make some progress. I've said it before, I don't know if anybody in the league is exactly where they want to be at this moment. Our focus is on trying to get there and we're going to continue to do that."
Q: How close do you think the team is to knowing the ins and outs of the offense? Is that something you can see a lot in practice, or is just game time?
Coach McDaniels: “No, you can see it in practice. I don't think it's really about not knowing what to do. It's repetition, it's time on task, it's execution against somebody else under pressure given a different look, or a different scenario or circumstance. In many cases it’s our ability to just be consistent and do our jobs together as we go forward in all three phases. It's not just really one phase. We know we've played some really good stretches and football. Our goal is now to try to find the consistency we need to put it together four quarters. That's a hard thing to do. The other team is trying to make your life miserable on every play. The quicker we get there, the happier we'll all be. It's a process and we're going to stick to ours. I have a lot of faith and belief in what we're doing."
The Las Vegas Raiders return to action next Sunday, as they play host at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to their AFC rivals the Denver Broncos. That game kicks off at 1:25 PM PDT and can be seen on CBS.
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