Raiders' Josh McDaniels Entire Comments Post Loss to 49ers
HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders saw an improved offense after moving from Derek Carr to Jarrett Stidham. Still, they got the same results when an anemic defense again gave away a significant lead...
Now 6-10 this season, the Raiders' Josh McDaniels spoke after another loss.
You can watch the entire press conference below and read the transcript.
Raiders Head Coach Josh McDaniels
Opening Statement: "I'm proud of the effort and fight, as I've been all year. Thought our guys really play hard from start to finish. Give credit to Kyle [Shanahan] and his group, they did as they always do. It's one of the best teams in the National Football League, and it's one of the best coach teams in the National Football League. So, Kyle, DeMeco [Ryans], all of them, they do a really good job and thought they did a good job today of battling back and find some things that they could go to as the game wore on. But they just made a few more plays than we did, it's disappointing. We're not going to be big on moral victories or anything like that. I do credit the effort and the competitiveness of our team. I thought we had great leadership and energy this week, and it showed today. I wouldn't expect anything less from this group."
Q: Since you got here you've talked about the future. It's week 17 but is Raider Nation able to get a view of where it's going, where you're taking it?
Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, I mean, I think that -- look, Darren [Waller] is now healthy and kind of back. Hunter [Renfrow], same thing and obviously Tae's [Davante Adams] been that way all year and JJ [Josh Jacobs]. The goal would be to try to get all of them involved, they're all very skilled. And I thought our offensive line did a decent job for the most part against a great front. I mean, that's as good of a front as there is. So, look, we've got another game and we're going to do everything we can to put out our best effort and win the game against Kansas City next week. And obviously we have things we will look forward to as we move into the off-season."
Q: Jarrett Stidham put up big numbers today against a pretty good defense. What did you think of his performance overall?
Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, I thought Jarrett [Stidham] put in a great week of work. Obviously, he knows what to do. He's been in our system a long time and has that grasp of it, understands what to do and thought he executed a lot of things the right way today. Gave our guys a chance to make some plays down the field. I thought he did a good job of -- really, he skipped third down in the first half for the most part, we didn't hardly have any third downs. He had a solid performance, I think, for his first start. I'm sure he'd be the first one to tell you the turnovers you want back. There was definitely obviously some other things involved in those turnovers. But I thought leading our team, his energy, his communication, I thought we had good rhythm. And obviously you can tell the guys really played well for him and played hard for him, as they should. And so, it didn't surprise me that he was ready to go and played the way that he played. That is a great, great group over there, and Jarrett and the guys made some plays today."
Q: Obviously you're in a little bit of a transition at quarterback. There's a lot of dust that needs to settle from that, but would it be wrong to assume that he [Jarrett Stidham] can factor into that whole picture?
Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, I mean, I think it's probably too early to have those discussions. But certainly, look, Jarrett's a young player and I think everybody who's worked with Jarrett -- I think Jarrett himself has to assume that his best football is going to be in front of him. So, the way you improve is through experience and you have opportunities to compete against really good players and good defenses and good coaches. And you learn a lot from those experiences, and I think he'll learn a lot from today. Next week will be another opportunity as we go forward."
Q: Obviously you guys are ravaged with defensive injuries this time of the year. How hard was it figuring out with all these new pieces where to put guys. And how do you assess the performance on that side of the ball overall today?
Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, I mean, I think we all know there's a number of guys that are out at this point. But we had a week of practice, they had a week of practice, and we were preparing for what we thought we might get. And thought our guys practiced hard and they went out there and played their butt off. Wasn't always perfect, again, it's a really good unit over there with a lot of talented players and a really good offensive line. Kyle [Shanahan] does a tremendous job of calling the game. And the quarterback, obviously, we know he's a good young player. I thought our guys hung in there, fought, battled, made some plays, gave us an opportunity. That's all we can ask for. We had the ball in overtime with a chance to win. So, I think that's the effort we were hoping for and that's the one we got."
Q: When a quarterback change is made, it's not always guaranteed that the response from a team is going to be a positive one. But for the offense to go out there and put up 34 points today and collectively have such a good day; I think 500 total yards of offense. What does it say about the players that they stayed locked in and engaged no matter who was playing quarterback?
Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, I've never wavered on the character and resolve of our team. We have a great locker room that understands that there's decisions that get made in this business. We all understand that. We don't always have to like them but if you do it the right way, hopefully you can respect them, and I think they did. Nobody sees all that stuff; we had a really good week of work and we translated that into a competitive effort today and gave ourselves a chance to win. So, I would say credit them, but that's what they've been doing all year and that did not change this week at all, not at all."
Q: There are some things that Jarrett [Stidham] might do that might be different than what Derek [Carr] was able to do. Did that change a little bit on where you go with your playbook?
Coach McDaniels: "Not really. I thought he did a good job of -- he signaled some stuff today and created some opportunities for himself, which is great to see. But Derek had the same -- whoever plays quarterback for us is going to have the same opportunity. If they learn the system and understand how to use it, they had the same opportunities. We didn't really call the game radically different today than we would have otherwise. And I thought Jarrett took advantage of the opportunities that were presented to him."
Q: You said you don't count moral victories, but next week against Kansas City a win would be basically a moral victory. For them it would maybe be an opportunity to beat the No. 1 seed in the AFC. How do you get you guys up for that to let them know it's still another game they got to go out and play?
Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, like I said, I'm not worried about our guys in that regard. I think we have pros, and we have great leadership, great captains. We saw that today. Things change, things happen, injuries occur, sign guys to the roster, bring guys up from the practice squad. None of that stuff matters at the end of the day in the National Football League. We have a game that's on the schedule. We're going to play our butt off, coach our butt off and see if we can win it. And I think we've done that all year, and I do not expect that to change next week."
The Raiders' final game of the season is at Allegiant Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday, Jan. 7, and kicks off at 1:30 p.m. PST/4:30 p.m. PST. It will be available to watch on ESPN and ABC.
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