Raiders' Josh McDaniels Entire Second OTA Presser
HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders have concluded their second OTA session of the offseason.
The Raiders' defensive coordinator Patrick Graham had a rough first season. Still, he has a track record of success in the National Football League, and we have his entire post-practice press conference for you.
You can watch the entire video below and read the transcript:
Head Coach Josh McDaniels Opening Statement:
“A couple things before we get rolling on questions. Obviously, it’s an exciting time in Las Vegas, from our organization to the Golden Knights, we want to congratulate them on making the Stanley Cup Finals. We wish Coach Cassidy and the entire organization, the entire team well and luck, obviously as they head into this championship round. There’s going to be a number of our players that will be there supporting them, and we’re all excited to continue to pull for them. Obviously they’ve had a great year and we’re looking forward to continuing to support that. At practice today you’re going to see a number of Raider greats that were able to join us today to share in our OTA experience here. I’d say, share with our players what it meant to them to be a Raider, and they’ve kind of set the standard and defined what the Commitment to Excellence is. Like I said, you’ll see a number of them out there, they’re here now, and it’s an exciting day for us to obviously have them join us for this part of our year. So, I’m sure you’ll see a lot of familiar faces.”
Q: The story that broke last week kind of shed some light on Jimmy Garoppolo’s contract and the details of it. It maybe raised the anxiety level of some fans on the eventual availability of Jimmy. We’re about eight weeks away from training camp, is there a confidence there?
Coach McDaniels: “I have no anxiety. You guys might have anxiety, I don’t have any anxiety.”
Q: Is there a confidence level that he’ll be there in training camp and ready to go? Coach McDaniels: “Yep. I’m not going to put a timeline or a day on anything, but like I said, I have no anxiety - feel pretty good about it.”
Q: Last year Neil Farrell Jr. you guys brought him along pretty slowly in that defensive tackle rotation. What sort of growth have you seen from him?
Coach McDaniels: “Rookie years, obviously they can be different for everybody. Neil [Farrell Jr.] obviously came from a pretty decorated college program and worked hard to try and get in there and create a role for himself. That’s not always easy depending on what room you’re in as a rookie. [He] came back in really good shape. I think a lot of times you see these first-year guys – they go through their first year, it’s kind of a crash course on what it requires of you physically, mentally, emotionally, what kind of time it requires of you away from the building to be prepared to compete consistently at a high level at this level. And I think Neil has done all the right things. Like I said, he’s in really good condition. I don’t want to say he’s changed his entire body, but there’s an element of that that you can already see. So, I’m excited to see what he does. Same thing with Matthew Butler, I mean two guys that have been here in our offseason program the entire time. Honestly, they both came back early to do some work on their own with our strength staff. That’s what you can ask from a guy going into a second year. You hope they learn from the things that might’ve been tougher their first year, but I know he knows he’s in a competitive room. We’ve got a lot of guys in there that are competing to ultimately play. This time of the year is really more about technique and fundamentals obviously, the physical part will come later, but I like so far what Neil is trying to do and the frame of mind that he’s in.”
Q: Does Thayer Munford kind of in that category as well?
Coach McDaniels: “I think most of those guys that are going into their second year, they understand kind of the difference now. Sometimes talent alone is okay in college. In the NFL, there’s no question that everybody’s talented. Everybody in your room is talented, everybody you play against is talented. So, Las Vegas Raiders Transcript 6.1.23 there’s an extra level of motivation to, ‘How can I get an edge? How can I gain an advantage over my opponent?’ So, Thayer is continuing to work hard. He actually played in a number of snaps last year, which is different than a couple of the other guys. So, he got his feet wet, played some tackle, played some of the jumbo tight end stuff. So, trying to build on his experience last year, and again I think he’s ready to compete.”
Q: You've been at a lot of these, but what excites you most about OTAs even though the pads aren't on? What do you want to see from some of these players?
Coach McDaniels: "I think this is the time of the year for us to evaluate our ability to communicate, our ability to retain information, our ability to limit repeat errors. We're making mistakes each day, which happens every day in every OTA across the league, but the biggest point of emphasis we're trying to make to our team is that we have to be able to come back the next day or the next time we're out there on the field and fix the mistake. So, we kind of take each week as an opportunity to simulate a regular season week. So, if we make some mistakes on a Wednesday's practice, you only have Thursday to fix them or else you're probably going to throw it out. So, communication, assignments, technique, ability to work with each other because they're not all working with the same groups. Those are all things that were adamant about as we put our system in and see what they can handle."
Q: This time of year, how much evaluation is going on with Dave [Ziegler] and his guys with the rest of the league? Especially since it's June 1st and there could be moves being made across the league.
Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, we obviously are ready to go. They have their lists of people that we may anticipate that, 'Alright, they look a little heavy here or there might be a contract situation somewhere else.' They're aware of all those things. I don't get too much involved in that at this point in time of the year, because they obviously have that taken care of. But planning for things that you almost can't see, if you will. Preparing for, I'd say, some shortlists as we head into the training camp season here in a couple of months, no question about that. And they're also evaluating our team. I mean, they're out there every day too and watching our guys work and practice, and they're able to see those things that are being developed on the practice field too. So, a lot of comparing guys from what we saw before to what we're seeing now. Again, the physical element can't happen until August. But yeah, they're hard at work also."
Q: Obviously, Jimmy's [Garoppolo] not out there and you're confident he will be back soon. But even without him being there, Brian Hoyer is a veteran presence and he does a lot on the field to lead the guys. How happy have you been with Brian Hoyer so far being in your system again? And also, what are your initial interactions and thoughts of Michael Mayer as well?
Coach McDaniels: "So, I've obviously known Brian [Hoyer] for a while, and Brian is a true pro. Really does a great job of understanding his assignment, also understanding how he may help others. So, he's been in a role as a backup quarterback for a number of years, so he understands what the responsibility is in that position and takes full advantage of every opportunity that he has when he has repetitions, and he's getting a lot of them now and able to function in our system. Look, their responsibility is to give the other 10 guys an opportunity to do their job well, and Brian does that very well. So, excited about what he's doing, continues to try and get better even though he's been in the league for a number of years, works very hard at it, takes care of his body and is a great example for our guys. So, very pleased with that. Michael [Mayer] really is what we thought he was, a really hard worker, great teammate, tries to get better every single day, very attentive in the meetings, works at his technique very hard, wants to know how he can get better as being a pro. A lot of these rookies come in and everything they're learning for the first time, and Michael is doing a great job of really trying to acclimate himself. I think he's actually taken some type of a leadership role with the rookie class, and that's great, those guys need it. So, very excited about Michael and where we're headed. A long way to go, like a lot of them at this time of the year. They don't know everything and they're making a lot of mistakes, probably more than most, but that's part of the growth process."
Q: You guys added a lot of new cornerbacks this season, a lot of new faces in that rotation. I know it’s early, but how do you feel about where they are at?
Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, it's competitive, there's no question. Again, the part that nobody really understands, and we talk about acquisitions is one part of trying to improve any unit, doesn't matter what it is. And we basically tried to improve the competition in every room that we could. Sometimes you don't get to do that because things fall a certain way. But acquisition is one way, player development is another one. And so, the guys that are here for our second year with them, whether they were a rookie last year like Sam Webb, or it's just our second opportunity to work with them in the spring like Nate Hobbs and Amik Robertson, there's an element of our responsibility is to improve the players that are already here and you can't really measure that. You can measure an acquisition and say, 'Oh that made the room better,' but now is the time of the year we're trying to focus on developing everybody that we have. And how far can that go? We're going to see. We'd like it to go as far as we could. But a lot of competition and guys that have played in this league, no question. Duke Shelley, David Long, those guys have all played. Brandon Facyson was here before, he's played a lot of football in this league too. Not to mention the young kids, so a lot of guys getting a lot of reps. We've two-spotted a lot of drills so that they're all getting a ton of reps at this time of the year. It gives us a great opportunity to evaluate them and gives them great exposure to us. Like I said, making mistakes but getting better, so excited about it.”
Q: Part of it is the work that the player puts in to improve, but from a coaching standpoint, what is sort of effective from your experience in helping the guy develop regardless of position?
Coach McDaniels: "I think you obviously have to know the player, create a relationship, and that's an old adage – until they know you care, they don't really care how much you know. So, that's part of this process now. Team building, I’d say relationship building – for them to trust the things we're telling them to do and figuring out each different player. None of them are the same. No two corners are the same, no two receivers are the same, no two quarterbacks are the same. They don't learn the same way. If they were all robots, that'd be great in terms of what we could tell them, but there's a human element to teaching and developing a player or a room. And so, the coaches have a difficult job. Sometimes they've got 10-11 guys in their room, and it might be 10-11 different ways that they learn best. So, as you're trying to teach, install, implement things, correct things, make it better, sometimes you've got to find different ways to do that and communicate it to different guys. So, there's a lot that goes into it, and I think we have a really good staff that understands teaching and the pace that we need to go at to try to improve them.”
Q: All 32 teams are kind of starting at ground zero right now. Talking with Maxx Crosby and Davante Adams last week, they said how much further ahead they feel in terms of the operation. Do you guys sense that as well from the coaching staff?
Coach McDaniels: " Yeah, I mean anytime you're new, it's new. So, I think the more time you're together, the more comfortable you get. Just like a marriage, you know what I mean? (laughter) You go on a first date, you might be a little nervous and all that stuff, and then more you know, the more you talk, the more you get to know the program and what we're doing and how they do it. And they have great feedback for us, too. I think part of our comfort level and their comfort level is our ability to listen to one another and really understand where they're coming from. We do a lot of that as we go through the year and try to figure out exactly what the best way to do everything is. So, I think we're all more comfortable.”
Q: What made you think Adam Plant might be able to come into camp and try to work his way onto the roster? How has his development been?
Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, good kid, certainly has the some of the tools that you look for to play on the edge, length and size, some quickness, some pass rush and ability to play in the running game. When you're looking for players after the draft, the first thing you're trying to figure out is if the guy has the traits that you can work with to develop, and part of that is maturity, intelligence, work ethic, the things that you can't necessarily measure at the combine. So, obviously the scouts do a lot of work and we have a lot of sources to try to gather as much information as we can on the players that we bring in after the draft, and looking forward to continue to work with him. And like you saw last year, we had a number of players that weren't drafted that made our football team and played a lot and contributed. So, those guys have just as good of an opportunity as everybody else."
Q: I know you're confident Jimmy Garoppolo will be back, but when he does come back with this time that's being missed, how valuable would this time have been to work with guys and what can you do to kind of build that chemistry even if he's not on the field with the guys?
Coach McDaniels: "Again, we can't control - this is football and there's definitely going to be players that miss time. Josh Jacobs wasn't able to do a whole lot last year either and he had a decent year. So again, I don't want to overstate any of that stuff. You know what I mean? The relationships, the trust, the communication, the rapport, all that stuff is being built. He's here every day obviously, and the guys are getting to know each other, which is a great thing. I don't want to over overstate or understate the importance of OTAs or anything like that. It's an important time of the year, but there's also a lot of players that can't participate in it. And again, remember it's voluntary, so there's players that aren't participating in it across the league. So it doesn't mean that, 'Oh, well this year is going to be bad for him,' and, 'Not good for him,' and all the rest of it. So like I said, I have no anxiety about it. I'm excited that he's here, really excited that he's here and looking forward to it when he's out there."
Q: You talked about traits when it comes to young guys. Aidan O'Connell, one of his traits is intelligence and being able to pick up stuff pretty quickly. Have you been able to see that so far?
Coach McDaniels: "Yeah. Like I said, it's spinning, and the quarterbacks are probably spinning as much as anybody. You're exactly right. That's definitely part of the allure with Aidan. He played a lot of football in a good conference in college football, had a winning record in the Big 10 every year that he played there at Purdue, which isn't easy to do. He's played against good competition, he's accurate with the ball, he loves the game of football. He works very hard at it, which to me if you don't have those two things at this position, it's going to be hard for you to ever continue to grow and develop at that place. So, he's getting a lot of reps. He'll make mistakes and learn from them every day and then hopefully not make them again. That's the process that we're going through with the quarterbacks right now. I really love his attitude, his demeanor, the way he approaches football and how he attacks every day. He's got a plan, and that usually bodes well for you in terms of improving."
Q: It seems like the guy that's got the most continuity in that quarterback room is Chase Garbers, that nobody really talks about a lot. What kind of development have you seen from him being in the system over a year? And then also, why don't you have any anxiety?
Coach McDaniels: "I don't worry about the things I can't control, you know what I mean? So, like I said, I have very good information that would tell me that we're going to be fine. Nothing has happened that would have changed that, so that's why I feel that way. As it pertains to Chase [Garbers], again, another young guy that got to see it up close and personal all year last year, went on the road trips with us, was on the sideline during the games. It was I would say, a very important year for any young player as they go through that. And then to come back this year much further ahead, understands the things that are required and asked of the quarterback position a lot better now than he did last year. Operating the offense, the cadence, the play calls, understanding where to go. I'm not saying it's all perfect, it's not, but every quarterback from year one to year two, usually there's a comfort level that they can get to where the things that they were really worried about last year were, 'How do I call the play right?' 'How do I remember the cadence?' All that stuff is kind of like second nature now. So, it's good to see that from him. Now we're just obviously working on all the other things, accuracy, reads, seeing the coverage. There's another bucket of things that a quarterback has got to move on to, but like the way Chase is working as well."
OTA Offseason workouts: June 12-15
Mandatory Minicamp: June 6-8
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