Las Vegas Raiders Davante Adams Week 10 Update
HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders find themselves entering their week nine tilt against the Indianapolis Colts with a disappointing 2-6 record. Let there be no doubt, no one in this organization can allow the Silver and Black to garner another loss this weekend.
The Silver and Black's Davante Adams spoke about his team and moving forward.
You can watch the entire press conference below, and read the transcript:
Wide Receiver Davante Adams
Q: You guys have had offensive flashes all year. What's the next step for sustaining it for full games and consecutive weeks?
WR Davante Adams: "Just finding a way to be consistent enough to do it over the course of the full game, all four quarters. Whatever that is, like I said after the game, it's really just execution from the players at the end of the day. Everybody's going to try to create some division between the players and coaches just based off of different things that are said, but at the end of the day it's about making adjustments and everybody doing their job. And I think that's where we have had some tough luck with this year is everybody doing their job at any given moment. I feel like if we do that, then that's what puts us in the best position to be successful, but we haven't done that consistently enough."
Q: At your pervious stop in Green Bay, obviously you guys had a lot of success, there weren't too many lapses. But when you did have issues, what kind of helped you or what are some things that you saw helped get that execution going when you were having some bad moments as an offense?
Adams: "Confidence. Just basically resorting to remembering who you are as a player and who you are as a team. And a lot of that comes with just establishing who you are as a team, and obviously we didn't really come out the blocks in the way that we dreamt of and that gets in the way of the real confidence sometimes. Where you go out there and say, 'Look, we just beat the hell out of this team,' or, 'We drove the ball down and we put up 40,' or whatever. We haven't really done that, so I think when you can do that a certain amount of times, that's when kind of it's just a part of you as a team and as individuals to where you can kind of channel whatever it was that kind of brought out the good sparks that you had on offense and defense and other parts of the game. So for us, it's just being consistent enough to where we can say, 'Look, this is who we are.' It's no different from early in my career, in 2015 when I didn't have a great year. I've had success before that enough to where I can remind myself, 'You can do this, and you belong in this league and you belong on the field making plays.' So, we've just got to find a way to do that as a team and we'll be alright."
Q: After the game in Jacksonville, you said that it'd be less frustrating if it wasn't such a great team, but you have so many talented, established guys on the team and that's what makes things so frustrating. How much of a desire do you have in yourself and within the locker room to prove that this team is better than the record you guys hold?
Adams: "It's about proving it to ourselves. I don't care about proving anything anybody else. It's about just letting us know like, 'Yeah, we are exactly who we wanted to be and who we said we were going to be in the offseason when started putting all this work in.' We've been working longer than any team in the league, so we've just got to find a way to prove it to ourselves because I think we all know who we are and we all know who we want to be and who we're working to be, but we've just got to find a way to prove that and put it on paper."
Q: You've mentioned before that people are going to take quotes and try to cause division. After this past loss, the talk of three blown leads of 17 or more, then all of a sudden it's thrust upon the defense. How important is it when you guys get back to town to make sure that everyone's on the same page and say, 'Hey, it's not on one unit, it's on all of us.' How much has that been a part of the conversation to take the pressure off the defense and feeling like it's their fault?
Adams: "Well I feel like something we've done a really good job of as players in the media is making it about what side of ball you are on. As far as I'm concerned, I haven't seen anybody blaming the defense or the defense saying, 'Well the offense has got to score more in the second half.' It's been more about taking ownership for what you can do. I don't play safety, so I can't talk about what's going on there. I don't play D-End, so I'm not talking about edges needing to set and that type of stuff. That's what they'll get to the podium and talk about that type of stuff, and I'll talk about making plays and catching that ball at the end of the day and find a way to still be productive in the midst of them trying to throw all the coverages that they throw at me. That's where you can grow as a team is when you're real with yourself and everybody takes ownership and does something about what they can control. That's what this is about, what you can control, taking ownership of that and like I said, really owning it because that's when you can be real enough to yourself and say, 'Okay, this is what I need to change to be able to come back and help the team win.'"
Q: You're talking about wanting to prove it to yourselves that you can do it. How do you measure that or judge it. Is it just in the film room? Is it in wins and losses? Is it in production? How do you measure what it means to prove it to yourself?
Adams: "Well proving it to ourselves is wins and losses as a team. Obviously individually it's going to be on the film, because like I said, you only control a certain part of it. If I'm talking about how I can perform myself, then I'm going to look at the tape and obviously you've got to be real and if you did the best you can do, then it is what it is on that. But as far as proving it as a team and to ourselves, I mean getting it done over the course of four quarters so we can get Ws."
Q: Throughout the season you've been bracketed a lot - a lot of double teams - and teams have had some success like the second half vs. Jaguars. In your career what's helped you beat those kinds of coverages in the past?
Adams: "Well make no mistake about it, I think the Jags did a better job in the second half for sure, but we had opportunities, they were there, especially after looking at the tape. Honestly I'm more upset - even more upset with how we executed. I know I already talked about that after the game, but after looking at the tape, it's even more so on us and even less - I don't put anything on the coaches. Like I said, I think that we've got to do our job. But when I looked at it, we had plenty opportunities, there were plays there. We had a couple, I think it was like six balls in a row that I couldn't come up with for one reason or the other. So at the end of the day, the plays were called and there were some good calls in there, and we just didn't come down with it. They're not going to change it. They're going to play what they play, and some teams stick to what they do and we'll see how this game pans out as far as the coverage goes. Teams are going to do what they're going to do. It's a copycat league, and if it works for one, that's typically how teams think it'll work for us as well too. We've got to find a way to still make plays and, like I said, we had the opportunities, just didn't come down with it."
Q: Along those same lines, I think it was a few weeks ago now, but Coach McDaniels said that there's a million different ways for a receiver like you that could be doubled, but he feels like you've seen them all this year. I know you're used to it, but do you feel like you've seen even more different ways people are covering you this season than in the past?
Adams: "Not really, honestly. I mean, it's been a lot of the same stuff. So far we've played teams that kind of do what other teams do more than what I've maybe done in the past. You play against like the old Seattle teams, like they're not going to just double anybody, they're going to play what they play, they're going to play that cold defense and they're going to stick to it. And that's what some teams do, and some teams will say, 'Well, the Jags did that so we're just going to do what they did.' So, I think it kind of goes week to week based on who you play, but I've definitely seen a lot. They've thrown the kitchen sink a few times, but I've also been viced out there before. So, there's different things, there's different levels to it."
Q: You've talked about what becomes frustrating is after you watch the film and the opportunities that you had. Is it becoming more frustrating from a mindset and knowing the chemistry - coming into the season we talked about you and Derek Carr and the offseason workouts. Does it feel like when you're watching afterwards like you're forcing it? How do you keep that out of your mindset where let's not force it?
Adams: "I'd like to force it. It is what it is. Nothing has been forced this year at all. I mean, I've had multiple games with like two catches, so I don't think that we should be talking about me getting the ball forced to me. Like, that's ridiculous. I think that when you have certain players, you do what you can do to get them opportunities, and that's why I'm here. That's why they paid me to come here and make plays. At the end of the day, if we're just going to concede and say, 'Oh, they double-teamed Tae, so it's forcing the ball to him if we threw it to him.' Then I've got no business being in this building, because that's what they're going to do. So, if you think that the only way I'm going to get the ball is when I'm singled up, then I'm going to have four catches on the year. That's just how this thing goes. So, I think we can do more honestly. You look at some of them, and the ones that we didn't hit, it just was a result of, like I said, a guy not doing his job. Me, I missed the one at the end. A guy missing block and Derek [Carr] has somebody in his face quick, and just different things where everybody has got to do their job and it'll change everything. Because if I come down with five more of those in the second half, or four more of them, then we're not having the same conversation because a lot of those were big play opportunities, too. And if I can catch those and get loose, then now we're saying, 'Well, why aren't they throwing him the ball enough? They should be throwing it more.' That's kind of how it goes, you ride the roller coaster sometimes based off of how the plays actually result. The second half, we didn't connect on them the way we did in the first half, and that's what you're going to get, a lot of overthinking. But at the end of the day, we've just got to find ways to make those plays and then we don't even have to answer certain questions."
Q: How strange is going to be going against a team that has a new head coach who has never coached football beyond the high school level, against an offensive coordinator that has never called a game and against a quarterback who has never won a game in the NFL?
Adams: "Well, they've all played football before. We've got to remember that this isn't the first time he's on the field. It'll be an adjustment. And he's jumping in at the middle of the year for a new head coach, I'm sure he's not going to be – I have no idea what they're doing, but I'm sure it'll be a lot of what they've already been doing. He'll come in and probably just lead the men and do a good job with that, because I know he was a really good, respected player in the league. So, I'm not sure how their operation is going to go, but we've just got to focus on us and worry about executing and making plays when we get the opportunities."
Q: Are you getting the opportunities that you think you need?
Adams: "I think this past game, obviously I got a lot more. I think the second half, like I said, was just about converting them, because in the first half we were hitting and doing it the way that we dreamt of doing it, and then the second half we just didn't come down with them. I mean, it doesn't necessarily have to be 15 targets in a half – that's not really what it's about, it's about the quality. It's about the quality of reps, and just getting some opportunities to get the ball. And I think last game was there, and there's obviously been times where it hasn't been even close to enough. And we know that, and you guys know that, too. In the Saints game, having one catch, once again, that's not why I'm here. I'm here to be able to help this offense move the ball. And if we can move it other ways, then that's beautiful, and I don't need to do it. I can have one catch if we are moving it. But if we're not moving it, then that's obviously going to be a problem."
The Raiders return to home Allegiant Stadium next Sunday to take on the Indianapolis Colts. That game kicks off at 4:05 EST and 1:05 PST, and it can be seen on CBS.
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