Las Vegas Raiders OC Mick Lombardi Week 2 Update
HENDERSON, Nev.-The Las Vegas Raiders enter the second week of the 2022 NFL schedule with a 0-1 record. But the sample size was only one game, of a brutal 17-game regular season.
OC Mick Lombardi took time after reviewing the film to talk about the state of the Las Vegas Raiders' defense.
You can watch his entire press conference below, and read the transcript.
Offensive Coordinator Mick Lombardi
Q: What was your take on the performance of the offensive line?
Lombardi: "I thought those guys days competed really hard. They pass protected well, they fought hard in the running game, definitely not an easy task going against [Joey] Bosa and [Khalil] Mack and that front; very good, very talented. But they did a good job. They anchored, they punched. Assignment-wise, they were very clean. They fought hard for 60 minutes, and they competed, which I thought they would do, and they did. So, I'm very pleased with the offensive line and all seven guys who played."
Q: Is there a preference that five guys make the case for themselves to be starters on the offensive line?
Lombardi: “No, I think at the end of the day, we're trying to figure out what's the best thing for the team to win. And I think, like [Head] Coach [Josh McDaniels] said, the seven guys deserved to play. Not because of them being out there practicing, but because they performed well. Not just in the preseason games – I think you guys all saw that – but also on the practice field. And we thought you know what, ‘getting all those guys out there to try and establish some type of consistency by playing all of them like we do in practice.' So, nothing they're not used to. They've all got some reps in practice evenly, and they got that in the game, which was obviously beneficial, and they played they played very well."
Q: Can Davante Adams even be better the more that Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller are implemented, so people can’t just key on him?
Lombardi: "Davante is a special player and he obviously had a certain number of targets, and that's just how the game started off in terms of the coverage. And then as the game kind of went on, you saw Darren got a couple more targets and then Hunter got some more targets later in the game, and even saw Mack Hollins get a target early in the game. I thought Derek [Carr] did a pretty good job of going where the covers took him. I think that at the end of the day is like you're saying, what can other guys do and what can Davante do. I think just executing their job based on the coverage and Derek doing a good job of reading out the coverage the right way, then I think just everything takes care of itself."
Q: Did you have to get away from the run game because of the early deficit?
Lombardi: “I think if you look at the first drive of the game, we moved the ball down the field, got some points on the field goal. Obviously, wish we would have got the ball in the end zone. And then the next time we got the football, we gave up a penalty, hold, gave up a sack on third and long. And then the next series we were backed up and then we just didn't convert on that third and short, which kind of stalled the drive. Next thing you know, you're in a two-minute, last-shot opportunity at the end of the second quarter. We obviously didn’t have many plays in the first, and we had the turnover there on the interception. We just had a number of plays in the first half, and based on the opportunities we had, we ran the ball on the backed up. We did a decent job of moving the ball down the field in the first drive. But in terms of sample size in the first half, we didn't really have enough plays or series to kind of get established what we wanted to. And then when we came out on the second half, obviously we're down and we try to play football and get a good drive which we did."
Q: Watching film, what did you and Derek Carr see on the interceptions?
Lombardi: “I think when any player makes a mistake, they go back and reflect on it. As a coach, you want to go try and fix the problems. There were a certain number of plays I think Derek – I'm sure he's told you; I know he's told you – would have stayed true to his progressions, stay true to his read, stay true to his feet and all that kind of stuff. I think that goes for any quarterback. He obviously knows that and so we're just going to try and work hard to do that consistently on a play-by-play basis."
Q: Will it be a point of emphasis this week to get more players involved in the passing game?
Lombardi: “ Yeah, I think it's our job as coaches to try and put players in certain spots to succeed. Where we put them in the formation of the play in the passing game, we think there's going to be a certain coverage, and we're kind of hoping for a certain cover for that play, and then all of a sudden now it shifts to something else. Whether it's post zone, split zone, whatever it might have you, and then that coverage, that play, I would say can go to a different player, just like Mack Hollins on third down in the game. He was on the backside of the progression, Derek [Carr] did a great job of reading through his progression. Next thing you know, he catches an in-cut for 16 yards for a first down. It's just kind of how the game goes and we try and put players in the right spots to kind of get them the football, whether that's Hunter [Renfrow] Darren [Waller], Mack [Hollins] and Davante [Adams]. And then if that doesn't happen like that, then the quarterback trusts his footwork and trusts his eyes and it gets to the certain spot where the covers dictates."
Q: What did you see on the sacks? Were some of them the fault of the offensive line or were some coverage sacks?
Lombardi: "The offensive line at the end of the day, when you throw the ball almost 40 times, there is going to be times when the pocket gets pushed and especially when the defense knows you're throwing it. The coverage dictated the sack and going back to everybody doing the right thing. Whether the quarterback taking the easy throw, or the receiver running the right route at the right depth. All that stuff comes into play. And next thing you know, we gave up negative yards on the one gadget play we ran on the reverse to Davante [Adams]. But other than that, really, I thought the offensive line did a good job of anchoring and staying in there. And then obviously, we'd like to get the ball out more on time, more consistently."
Q: Where do you fall on if the starters should play in the preseason?
Lombardi: "I mean, look, Davante [Adams] didn't play in the preseason. It is what it is. I think at the end of the day, all those guys have played a lot of football and they practice every single day here since training camp for a long number of reps and things like that. So, I think they're prepared and ready to go."
Q: What do you think about the seven guys earning their right to play on the offensive line? When you watched the film back, was there a unit that stood out among the groups that you had in there?
Lombardi: "I think it goes back to I think they all played how they practiced. They all played consistently how we thought they would. I think they've earned the right to do that, and they've earned the right to play again this week."
Q: How did all the communication and logistics work on the sideline in the first game of the season?
Lombardi: "In the preseason you try and work all those kinks out. But then on opening day, you still kind of get those butterflies of, 'Okay, here we go. This is real now.' But everything was clean and smooth; the coaching staff did a great job of getting everything communicated and getting going. Obviously, it was the first time for all of us working together -- not my first time with Coach McDaniels, but all of us as an offensive staff together on the field and in the press box. Everything was pretty smooth from that standpoint."
Q: Can you come away from this game and be encouraged by the effort and play?
Lombardi: "As a coach specifically, you try and preach on certain things like ball security and execution. We fell short in some of those areas, but as a coach, you go back and look at the tape and say, 'Did this team compete and play hard?' And I think they did. So, there's a lot of credit to them. The Chargers did the same thing as well. A lot of credit to that coaching staff, Coach [Brandon] Staley and them, getting them ready to go. But to your point, yes. You can create some positives, and I think the positive was that we have guys who love playing football and will play hard for us."
Q: How challenging is it for the offensive line to hold up against a five-man pressure that Arizona likes to use on defense?
Lombardi: "I mean, Arizona presents a certain number of things defensively different than what we just faced. That's every week in the NFL. I think at the end of the day, it goes back to following your rules. We established some rules for the offensive line and same thing for the skill guys. We think it's going be one front, it could be something different. We think it's going to be one coverage; it could be something different. But if you follow your rules in that specific route, or that pass concept, that protection, then hopefully those things are able to carry you through for that series or that game."
Q: Do you have any update on the status for Andre James?
Lombardi: "I do not."
The Las Vegas Raiders (0-1) kick off at home in Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, facing the Arizona Cardinals (0-1) at 1:25 PM PT.
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