Raiders' Josh McDaniels Entire Week 18 Midweek Update
HENDERSON, Nev.--As the Las Vegas Raiders' disappointing season ends this weekend, the NFL was almost merciful in announcing that the 2022 season will end for them one day sooner, on Saturday.
Coach Josh McDaniels discussed the state of the franchise, the NFL, and the Silver and Black this weekend.
You can watch the entire interview and read the transcript below:
Head Coach Josh McDaniels
Opening Statement: “I'll start by sending our thoughts and prayers to Damar Hamlin, his family, the entire Buffalo Bills organization, the Cincinnati Bengals, the entire NFL community, all the players who go out there and play the game that we love every week. Obviously, Monday night was a scary situation and I think there's a lot of feeling and sentiment you can tell in our building, and I'm sure around the league. Just concern for his well-being, as it should be. I thought that Sean [McDermott] and Zac [Taylor] did a great job of handling the situation as well as they could the other night. We'll continue to be thinking about them and hoping for good news obviously as we go through the week. It's a difficult situation. We did a good job this morning … our doctor, Dr. [Navdeep] Singh, educated them a little bit on what we know about that scenario just so they have peace of mind about what actually occurred as best we know it. All our support staff and coaching staff, everybody that the players would need are here today, will be here all week in case they need anything else. Again, our thoughts and prayers are with Damar and his family and the entire Bills organization.”
Q: As somebody with a son playing football, does this hit you on a different level as a parent?
Coach McDaniels: “Yeah, I talked with my wife about it yesterday. I mean, we know this is a game that is a physical game. I don't like to use the word violent. Obviously, we're not trying to do that, but we know that there are injuries. My son has had a handful of them, broken bones, those kinds of things. I think this just makes you pause and kind of step back a little bit and think about it. There's no question about it. I think the educational piece from the doctors that talked to us today, I think that was helpful just in terms of understanding what happened and the likelihood of it occurring in any capacity – car accident, football game, Little League Baseball, whatever. Just having an understanding of what it is and what happened, I think was helpful to everybody. But it definitely does when you're a parent. Obviously, there's risk involved."
Q: When something like that happens does it reaffirm that there are good reasons why some of these new safety rules are being put in place?
Coach McDaniels: “Yeah. At the end of the day, the most important thing for us is that we all can have a productive life during and after football. I think that anybody who wants to argue the other point, I think is missing the point. Player safety and health is obviously paramount, and it should be. That's what we all want to be able to do is try to live some kind of a successful life for as long as we can live it. And so, anything they can do to make it safer, whether it's the things on the helmets in training camp or all the stuff we've gone through. Any of those things that help, we should be for because there's nothing more important than the health of the guys playing the game we love."
Q: You and Davante Adams were two people who donated to Damar Hamlin's toy drive. Despite the terrible situation, how heartwarming is it that so many people can come together for the greater good like this?
Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, I mean, it's not shocking to me because there's so many good people in our league and in our world. I know we hear a lot about the negative stuff, but this is a good example of everybody just pitching in to do the right thing for a great cause and for a great guy. I think that just tells you that there's a bigger picture here. I think a lot of the people who you saw donate, they're doing it for the right reasons."
Q: How difficult is it to ask the guys to get back to a work week when there's so much uncertainty and nobody really knows what's going on?
Coach McDaniels: “I mean, I think the thing we just talked about this morning. ... We did talk about all this, and I think that's a good thing. And if we need to talk about it more, we will. Any resource that they need available to them is going to be made available. I think that we'll do the best thing we can in terms of blessing them with our effort and attention to detail so that we can do the right things and be as competitive and as ready to go on Saturday as we can. Certainly, if anything else is needed in the next three or four days here, then that'll trump that. Each person handles it differently, so I'm not going to tell them how to deal with it in terms of their feelings or the way they go about it. Just try to do the right thing by the players and help them as much as we can to get ready to play our final game."
Q: When you and Dave Ziegler took over, you talked a lot about how this year a lot of it's going to be about evaluation. How invaluable has this been, as you look back to kind of get to a point now where you do have a good handle of this situation and this team?
Coach McDaniels: “I've learned something every day, and I'm sure Dave could say the same thing. I think our team, probably the sentiment will be the same. You learn about the people most importantly, strengths and weaknesses, areas we can improve, things I could do better, things Dave could do better, things our organization could do differently to try to make us as productive as we can be on a daily basis. I think if you take that approach and use the information properly, and you're not too proud to acknowledge where you need to improve, I think that's the whole key here as we head into the off-season once the game is over. Our focus now is going to be on trying to do everything we can to win Saturday, and then once that's done, we'll have a chance to really take a deep breath and go back through everything. We know a lot more about everything now than we did obviously when we first got here. Hopefully, that can lend itself to making a bunch of good decisions and improving the team in every way that we can moving forward this off-season.”
Q: Can you look back at the film from the Week 5 game against Kansas City and kind of look at that optimistically heading into this match-up?
Coach McDaniels: “Obviously, it's a significant portion of the preparation, because we actually have lined up against them before. I do think that there are a lot of things that have changed since then. Players, some things schematically. They've added some players to their roster. We've added some players to ours. They've lost a few players; we've lost a few players. So, I think there's definitely some challenges in terms of just getting to know the personnel that's out there now, as opposed to what it was. But I definitely think that any time you have previous knowledge of an opponent and you've played against them, especially for the players. They're standing there in front of the guy for 65 plays, three months ago. I mean, so they have some intimate knowledge of the way that they play and how they go about their business. I think it's helpful. It’s not always a precursor of what's going to happen the next game, as we know. The second game of these division rivalries is always a little bit different because you're going to change some things, there's no question about it. So, our focus is going to be on trying to get to know the team they have now, the way they're playing now. There are some things that have changed obviously for that and get ourselves ready to go. Look, the formula is not going to change. We're going to need to get off to a good start. I mean, when they get off to a good start and they play the game the way they want to play it, it's difficult. And obviously, taking care of the football and not giving them extra opportunities, is a huge part of attempting to beat them. This is as good a team … we talked about that last week because the same thing. I mean, two teams in a row. I'd say this is as good of a football team we're going to play. Obviously, Andy [Reid] has done it a long time. They're playing in his vision and the way they want to play. They have a lot of really, really good players there. They're really well coached and you've got to do a lot of things right to beat them. So, it'll be a big challenge.
Q: How much of a concern is Jarrett's elbow? And related to that, is there an emergency plan behind Chase?
Coach McDaniels: “No, I'm not overly concerned about it. I think it's the normal bumps and bruises. You guys saw he took a few hits. So, I mean I think I think we should be OK there. But he and Chase [Garbers] will get ready to go just like they did last week."
Q: Is there an update on Josh Jacobs? And what has he shown you this year that maybe you weren't aware about him?
Coach McDaniels: "I don't have any update physically on him. I think we're going to just have to see how this week goes. A few more days before the game, so we'll be smart with him obviously. Look, I'm not sure how many more words I can find to describe what he's done -- tough, dependable, prepared really hard every week, he's been durable. He's had the ball more than any other player on our team clearly, and he's really done a great job of keeping himself healthy and available all season long even though he's been banged up a number of different times. [He's] unselfish, does what he whatever he can to help the team win. I've said it a number of times how I feel about him, and that hasn't changed."
Q: You've kind of been asked about this in regard to Jacobs and it won't play into your decision, but he has a chance to win the rushing title. I know that's not your focus, but for the history of the NFL, a guy you're going to see that for years to come, would that be kind of cool topper to his season?
Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, look I think individual records and accolades and those kinds of things, if they're done within the framework of the team, trying to win games and do the best we can, I think they're great for the guys who accomplish them and achieve them. I think the biggest part for us is obviously understanding that they never get done alone. There are a lot of people who have obviously factored into that, the success of any one individual. So, I think it's actually a neat thing for the team, not just for one guy, because even though one player would get that recognition, I think the recognition belongs to a lot of people who have done some things to help him achieve that. So, we'll see how it goes, some good players obviously chasing him, we know that. And again, we'll see how his health goes the next few days."
Q: Talking about individual accolades, can you just talk about Davante Adams breaking the franchise record for yards in his first season here and the work that you've seen him put in to accomplish that with his team?
Coach McDaniels: "It doesn't surprise me. It's an incredible achievement, and obviously we know whose record he broke. I mean, he hasn't missed a practice, like literally very few reps the entire year. So, to put in that kind of work and that kind of effort and that kind of dedication to his craft when he's already achieved whatever he's achieved prior to being here, I think that just speaks to how incredible the person is. And he's been that way every day that we've been with him. So, it doesn't surprise me. He was ready today, ready to go in the walk-through, and he's into it. He wants to do things the right way every time he walks in the building. It's a great representative, a great example to the young players that are trying to figure it out, like this is -- if you want to emulate somebody, he would be a really good one to follow."
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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