Las Vegas Raiders Josh McDaniels After Minnesota Vikings

Las Vegas Raiders' Josh McDaniels spoke after beating the Minnesota Vikings

LAS VEGAS, Nev.-The Las Vegas Raiders improved their pre-season record to 2-0 with a win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday afternoon.

Josh McDaniels was pleased with his team's performance, while still maintaining a vanilla game plan with multiple starters not contributing.

You can watch the entire press conference below, and read the transcript:

Head Coach Josh McDaniels

Opening Statement: “I’ll start by saying congratulations to Becky [Hammon] and the Aces. I heard we had a victory and that puts them at the number one seed, so that's pretty cool. Seems like we made it out of this game fairly healthy, relative to people coming out of the game. We'll see how it turns up tomorrow. The guys played hard. [Head Coach] Kevin [O’Connell] and his crew do a great job over there. It was a good team for us to play in the preseason. They used a different scheme than we see on both sides of the ball. There was a lot to be gained today, I thought they played hard. I thought they competed and finished the game. There are certainly some things we're going to see tomorrow that we need to fix, but good day overall.”

Q: What did you see from Thayer Munford, Jackson Barton and Alex Leatherwood amid offensive line rotations?

Coach McDaniels: “We have some depth at tackle and some competition. We've told them since the first day we got here that this was going to be a situation where guys earn their opportunities, and they'll determine their role. We feel like there's been a lot of healthy competition in practice. Last week, we started a certain group against Jacksonville, and we felt like practice this week pushed that competition even further. I wanted to go ahead and give a few other opportunities today. I thought we did that, moved some guys in and out; inside started there on the right side. Again, for a young guy he's [Thayer Munford] really done a nice job for himself and earned the opportunity that he had today. We'll see what the film shows us and tells us. I think there was some good things to see from all those tackles.”

Q: What impressed you the most about the way the secondary and the D-line played tonight?

Coach McDaniels: “We played a little soft and lateral in the second quarter in the running game. That's a different type of scheme that we're going to see plenty of teams do -- the stretch-and-cut-type running game; we were running laterally a little bit more than knocking them backwards. We're going to have to fix some of those things that we saw in the run game show up. I thought our guys competed in the secondary. We held him one for seven on third down, we played some tight coverage on third down. There were some close plays down the field, but all in all, we held him under 300 yards, whatever it was. There are some things to fix, but again, I think they competed hard.”

Q: What aspects do you need to consider in training camp when trying to get players reps while also preserving their health?

Coach McDaniels: “There's nothing more important than the health of the players. Those plays are certainly the ones with the biggest collisions. Doing those live in practice isn't something that I would say is for the betterment of the team. That being said, I thought we had some really good plays in the kicking game. We lost the containment on the one kickoff return there, which is probably the play of the night that if we had to take any of them back, in the kicking game, that would be the one. But I thought we did a good job in the first half. We were winning the field position battle as it went. Then, we gave up the one return there in the second half. I think that's what these games are for, you have to get them in these games because you really can't simulate that kind of contact, that kind of space, and that kind of speed in practice.”

Q: What did you think of DJ Turner's performance today?

Coach McDaniels: "He did a good job. He did a good job in the kicking game, had a good return; and then certainly made plays when the ball found him on offense. DJ is very consistent. He's been consistent all the way through, starting in the spring. He knows what his job is, he plays fast, and he's physical for a smaller guy. He has good size and you saw his bursts there on the touchdown catch. He makes the most of his opportunities, which is what we ask everybody to try to do. DJ certainly did that today."

Q: You've been rotating bodies around on the offensive line during preseason, is there a clearer picture starting to form of who will make up the line?

Coach McDaniels: "It's not it's not it's not like we haven't discussed why we're doing it. There are different reasons for what we did. We have more time still; we don't play a regular season game for a while. I think we allow these opportunities to be determined by what we see, and how they perform in practice. There are some guys that maybe didn't start tonight for one reason or another that will be starting on opening day at some point. But the competition is real. It's ongoing, and I think it's the healthiest thing we have going for us in the locker room because it makes everyone better. When they know they come to work -- and there's something to be said about each day's work that they put in -- that makes it more important. They come in with a great attitude, a great approach, and I think it's made our team better."

Q: Darren Waller attended the Ace's game today?

Coach McDaniels: "I think it was before our game started, which is I understand that. He wasn't gonna play today. I don't want to make more of that than it was."

Q: The Hall of Fame game was special because of its location in regard to your upbringing, how did the first preseason game at Allegiant Stadium compare?

Coach McDaniels: "This was a special day, too. I've been around a lot of preseason games over 22 years, and I don't remember one feeling like this. I would just say that the reception from our fans, getting to know Raider Nation the way that you see them now, it's just different. I've competed against them a handful of times in my time in the NFL, but now to kind of be on the same side, you understand why it is what it is. I'm lucky and blessed to be the head coach here. That is the best atmosphere in a preseason game that I've ever been a part of. And that's easy to say that, clearly. I can't wait to play another time in here, and then get to the regular season, and have the opportunity to do it for real in the regular games. Just what a great, passionate, fanbase to have. And to have the girls here, and my son on the sideline. It was a special day."

Q: What are your thoughts on the performances of Jarrett Stidham, Nick Mullens, and Chase Garbers?

Coach McDaniels: "I thought all the quarterbacks did well, I really did. Jarrett led a couple of scoring drives, and then Nick came in, did the same thing. And then Chase moved the team a little bit there at the end. I think Jarrett has really grown over time. One of the things that keeps showing up and I'm really happy about is that there have been no turnovers. Before we can win, we have to learn how to not lose. All the quarterbacks went in there and generally took care of the ball, made good decisions. Sometimes the best decisions are the ones that nobody can tell on in the stadium right away; if it was a good choice -- throwing the ball away, or sometimes taking a sack. I thought both of those guys did a good job of moving us scoring points, finishing some drives, and taking care of the ball at the same time."

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