Raiders' Coach Pierce's Final Presser Before Chargers Game

Las Vegas Raiders Interim Coach Antonio Pierce spoke ahead of the Silver and Black hosting the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football, and we have it for you.

HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders (5-8) have a short turnaround this week as they host their AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers (5-8) on Thursday Night Football.

There is frustration in Raider Nation, and not just from the fans. Everyone in "The Nation" knows that the Raiders beat themselves on Sunday, and they are chomping at the bit to get back on the field and get back to winning.

HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders (5-8) have a short turnaround this week as they host their AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers (5-8) on Thursday Night Football.

There is frustration in Raider Nation, and not just from the fans. Everyone in "The Nation" knows that the Raiders beat themselves on Sunday, and they are chomping at the bit to get back on the field and get back to winning.

Interim Coach Antonio Pierce spoke before the Chargers game on  Thursday and you can watch the entire press conference above and read the transcript below.

Las Vegas Raiders' Coach Antonio Pierce's final presser Los Angeles Chargers week / Darrell Craig Harris, Raiders Today

 Interim Coach Antonio Pierce 

Q: Any update on Josh Jacobs or Kolton Miller? 

Coach Pierce: "No, these guys are coming in at 9 a.m. I would assume that Kolton [Miller] is not going to be able to play." 

Q: Do you expect there to be any differences in play calling? 

Coach Pierce: "I would like for us to stick to a script. We've got a plan, we've got to stay with it. You can't get frustrated, you've got to be patient, and that goes for all of us. But there are times where there are rough moments, we all see them. And you've just got to fight through them and stay on track, that's the biggest thing. I've talked to the coordinators, the coaches, the players, and myself, here's the plan, stick with it, regardless of how it looks, and then will make the adjustments accordingly." 

Q: You talked about the team staying together. Since you've had a chance to talk to them a couple of times this week, how have you felt their attitudes have been? 

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, it's really an odd situation to be honest. I mean, we lost three games, right? But the locker room, the building doesn't feel that way. The purpose is still there, the energy is still there, the concentration, the 'want to' is still there. The guys are believing. They had two good walk-through practices, the best we can do with that. But that's how it's been, to be honest, since day one. The results haven't been there like we want, but we're going to keep fighting for that. This week, you've got to finish, you've got to finish in the fourth quarter. Our three losses, we talked about it the other day, we've been right there and we've got to finish in the fourth quarter." 

Q: You talked about collecting game film on quarterback Easton Stick of the Chargers to take a look at him. Now that you have looked at him, what have you seen from him that's a little bit different from Justin Herbert? 

Coach Pierce: "He's a savvy player. I think at the end of day, whenever you get a guy who hasn't played a lot in the NFL you don't know what to expect in that first game. But with the short week, I don't think he's going to have the whole playbook, and we talked about that already. But he has a strong arm, has some athleticism, so you got to be smart. You saw right away that they were able to take shots with him down the field, so they're comfortable with him throwing the ball down the field. And they've got good receivers, they've got a good core group of guys around him. I'm sure they're not going to make it extremely difficult. Get the ball out his hand and allow the running game to take course." 

Q: You have a couple guys who have been around him quite a bit in Jerry Tillery and DeAndre Carter. Do you pick their brains a little bit and find out what they know? 

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, we do, and we did that. At the end of day, when you've got a top-10 quarterback, there's not really much to talk about with the backup." 

Q: I know a lot inevitably comes down to Josh Jacobs' status, but going down the stretch here, would you like to see Zamir White get some more opportunities running the ball? 

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, I mean, at end of the day, if Josh Jacobs is ready to go, it's the Josh Jacobs show, let's not get fooled by that one. But you would definitely like to see Zamir get in there if there's the opportunity this week or going forward. Any chance we can to see some of these younger players play, I mean, that's a benefit for us in our future." 

Q: You mentioned that you still have a couple hours to think about the quarterback. What's that going to come down to, a gut feeling, or how would you say the principal decision making is going to be? 

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, I mean, I've never said Aidan [O'Connell] wasn't the starter. Let's say that first and foremost. You're asking me a question, I kind of just answered it. We're still evaluating. If there's a chance to get better, a chance to improve, a chance to put us in position to win, then we have to get all the factors that go into it. I mean, just making decisions based off media, a loss, a bad, ugly performance, that's not how you do things in the National Football League. That's not how you run a business. Maybe other people do that, but AP doesn't, and the Raiders aren't going to do that. We're going to do whatever it takes to put ourselves in position to win. And after today, we'll have a better answer this evening." 

Q: When you look at Marcus Epps, another L.A. area guy like yourself, what's been your relationship like with him and how would you evaluate him as a leader? 

Coach Pierce: "It's interesting. So, I was at Long Beach Poly as the head coach when he was in high school, so I'm familiar with Marcus. My son was at Boise State, played against Marcus when he was at Wyoming, so I followed Marcus. And then obviously I saw him when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles. It's a good relationship there. I mean, we had a lot of side conversations before this even took place. He's a guy who has really come in and brought that mature and winning leadership mentality into our room, into our defense, and really our whole locker room. I mean, you appreciate the maturity that he has, the professionalism that he has, and how he approaches each and every day." 

Q: Obviously, it's all about wins and losses, but you look at your defense, and you guys are now the ninth-ranked defense in the NFL. How much pride do you take in that and what would you say the key to that has been? 

Coach Pierce: "A lot of pride in that. I mean, I'm a defensive guy. You love that, you love to see how these guys perform, fight, the energy, the way they play, the passion. I mean, I remember one of my first speeches was can we match Maxx Crosby, his energy, his effort, and I think you're starting to see that. Robert Spillane is right there with him, you had Jack Jones coming in. You see Nate Hobbs, all these guys really picking it up. Tyree Wilson, the last couple weeks really picking it up. Malcolm Koonce, I could go on and on. Team defense though. Patrick Graham has done a great job of that. I mean you've seen different looks by us, four D-ends out there, a little bit more man coverage, more press. It's there to see and these guys have bought in, and they understand. Listen, it's been a rough stretch for our offense, we get it and it's a team effort. You need your special teams to play well, you need defense to play well, and we're going to be grinding with our offense and at some point, boom, it'll click. It did for us in the Giants game. At some point there will be an explosion. We've got really good football players. We need to execute at a higher level, but when you see the defense go out there perform the way they're doing, giving us opportunities to win games and keep us in games, that makes you very proud. This organization I know loves to score points, but damn it you win championships with defense." 

Q: You've talked about winning, learning how to win and I'm curious a lot of coaches who have won big, you have as a Super Bowl champion -- talk about players learning how to win. How hard is that as a person who's proven to be able to win at the highest level to teach that?

Coach Pierce: "The strain each and every day. The good, the bad, the ugly, you just come in with that mentality just to work. I told our guys this: 'It doesn't matter what you do each and every day. It's not what we're capable of doing what we're willing to do.' That strain of, and I said it before, that winning stamina just to walk into the building and forget yesterday. And listen, Sunday was a hard day, I ain't going to lie, it took me 36 hours to forget about that day. It was tough, but then you say: 'What am I looking forward to?' And we talked about that as a team and what you try to do is just keep giving them something to look forward to. And the greatest opportunity that we have in front of us is playing at home in front of our home crowd against a divisional opponent that neither one likes each other and to get back on the winning track." 

Q: Last time you guys faced the Chargers, Khalil Mack had six sacks and he said afterwards that there weren't a lot of chips or double teams. What's your recollection of that day, and was there a different plan this week as far as going against Khalil Mack? Coach Pierce: "We're going to have to do more than we did last time. He likes playing against the Raiders, we know that. He has really good games against the Raiders. But I'll tell you what, Jermaine [Eluemunor] has done a really good job for us at right tackle. Last week against Danielle Hunter he did a good job. And maybe that first matchup didn't go our way. I wasn't part of that game plan, but I think the focus and the energy and what our O-line and our staff has put together, hopefully it's a plan that works. Obviously we can't hold on to the ball. There's got to be an internal clock in our quarterback's head to get rid of the football as well when you've got an elite pass rusher to our right. It's going to be a team effort, but Jermaine is really up for the task, he's excited about it. I mean the way he's worked just in a walkthrough mode is a guy that's ready to go. I'm excited to watch." 

Q: When it comes to Tyree Wilson, it seemed like he was lining up all over the place. How much does that unlock his potential when he's able to go in different spots and not just stick on one end? Coach Pierce: “Yeah, I mean, I wasn't part of that process when we drafted him. But when he got here, the first thing I saw was Justin Tuck, a guy that I played with. And Tuck, his most success was when we moved him inside and moved him around the line of scrimmage up and down. And I think you see that if you've watched the last couple of weeks, we've moved him all over the field like you just talked about, and that's to his benefit. He's going to be a really good defensive end in this league. But right now, when we got Maxx Crosby and Malcolm Koonce coming along, to put your three best pass rushers out there in a league that’s throwing the ball all over the park, it’s a better fit for the Raiders.” 

 Q: You mentioned Jermaine Eluemunor, and in the past when Kolton Miller was out, Jermaine went to the left. Last week, he stayed on the right and Thayer Munford went to the left. I guess what went into that decision making process? Coach Pierce: “Yeah, Jermaine early on, I had a good discussion with him about moving to the left, and he did it. I don't think it was something he was really at the time happy about. But he did it for the team. And I appreciate that. But as we look forward, and with Kolton being out the last few weeks, Jermaine is really comfortable on the right side. He had Danielle Hunter last week, got Khalil Mack this week on that right. And he's been playing the most consistent football since I've taken over, in my opinion, and he's physical. He plays nasty. He's a big body. He's looking forward to the challenge. And then you got Thayer on the other side. Thayer played left tackle at Ohio State, and I thought he did a really good job. Obviously, he's a guy that is a road blocker as far as his style of play. The biggest thing though is about continuity. You don't want to just keep shuffling guys right and left. It's not easy to go from right to left tackle in the National Football League, and we're fortunate Jermaine can do that. 

Q: Andre James got banged up last week. Where's he at and then how comfortable are you with Dylan Parham at center? Coach Pierce: “Yeah, well, I mean, these guys come in at nine o'clock. We'll figure out a little bit more about Andre. I mean, he's a tough guy. He wanted to come back in the game even late in the fourth quarter. But I thought Dylan did a really good job of stepping in, probably one miscue with the snap late in the game, but other than that I thought he did a really good job of last second kind of going in and ready to play 

The Silver and Black will turn around quickly and host their AFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers, on Thursday, December 14, at 8:15 p.m. EST/5:15 p.m. PST.

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