Raiders' Davante Adams on Detroit Lions Week
DETROIT, Mich.--The Las Vegas Raiders (3-4) will duke it out on Monday Night Football in the Motor City against the Detroit Lions (5-2).
Wide receiver Davante Adams tackled many issues surrounding the Silver and Black in his regularly scheduled midweek press conference.
You can watch the entire press conference above and read the transcript below:
Wide Receiver Davante Adams
Q: Detroit was always a team you played very well against in Green Bay. Does that translate over to the game on Monday, and do you feel like you'll have a strong game?
Adams: "I mean, it doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean that I’m going to go out and have a big game against them this time. That was a different team and a different year, different players, I'm a different player than I was then. So, I mean nothing is set up but if we do the right things, we definitely can go out and have a big game."
For the Las Vegas Raiders to win at Ford Field on Monday Night, WR Davante Adams must be able to shine.
Darrell Craig Harris, Raiders Today
Q: Is it harder to play a team when they're coming off a big loss like that? They're more motivated, maybe.
Adams: "Sometimes it is. Once again, I don't think that that's really like a big signal for anything. At the end of the day, we've still got to do what we've got to do, and it can meet something for that team negatively or positively. So, for us it's just worrying more about what we've got to do to execute versus whether or not they'll have momentum or lack thereof going into this one."
Q: How much of a lift if any is having Jimmy Garoppolo back to help this offense?
Adams: "I mean for us right now it's about working with whoever is in there, but definitely having Jimmy [Garoppolo], somebody who's had the most experience with this offense so far of any of the other quarterbacks. So it definitely does something for us and he had a good practice today, and we're definitely excited to have him back in the lineup. So, we're going to go out there and try to make the most of every opportunity we get."
Q: Going into the season, we asked you so much about your relationship with him. You spoke highly of getting to know him as he was recovering and stuff. Now you've been through a few games, you've had some ups and downs. How has your relationship with Jimmy Garoppolo kind of progressed?
Adams: "It's still good. I mean, I always say Jimmy [Garoppolo], he's not perfect, nobody is, and he's done all the right things to make it easy playing with him as far as in the meeting rooms and taking accountability. There have been a couple of times where I've taken some shots and everybody has seen that and the way he talks about it with me, it makes me feel a lot better after it. It's not something that he's out there trying to do, but we've just got to make sure we're taking advantage of every opportunity to do it the right way so we can continue to build that relationship. It's not easy going out there, especially like I said without the reps that I had with Derek [Carr] going into the season. There's definitely an adjustment and something to get used to, but still looking forward to building with him."
Q: As far as the offensive struggles go, is it too simple to say you should be more aggressive? Is that something you look at in terms of what you guys can do better going forward?
Adams: "I mean, that's definitely a piece of it, but a piece of it is just executing the call. It's obviously something we can do to put ourselves in the best positions as possible, but at the end of the day we can't make excuses about the call. We're playing a similar brand of ball as last year, just executing at a much lower level. That's something that we can do as players and definitely things they can do as coaches to help us and put us in better positions, but we're all working at that together."
Q: How hard is it to accept that you guys aren't executing at the same level?
Adams: "It's frustrating, but it is what it is. You've just got to do something about it. You can sit there and cry and complain about this and that, but at the end of the day that doesn't make you better as a team and come together as a team to be able to fix it. So, you've just got to be solution oriented and not only complaining and crying about things."
Q: When there have been rough offensive weeks this season and you want to get into the film room and kind of critique it, how do you make sure the week like last week isn't just kind of the same thing that we're hearing from other bad weeks and that it rings more true?
Adams: “That’s a great question. That's what we’re trying to figure out and it's just about accountability from every single person in this building. I've got to make that play in the end zone and I've got to truly feel that way and do something about it the next time. And we've got to take care of the ball better and it's just a series of things that we have to make sure we hone in individually to improve, and if everybody takes that burden and that responsibility seriously that's when things flip around, and you have times like the Raiders a few years ago winning those five games to get into the playoffs. All you need is an opportunity to get in the show. We are a long way from that right now. We are still building, but that's the idea so that you can in essence turn it around.”
Q: Is it more frustrating considering the talent that's here?
Adams: “Yeah, that’s why I’m frustrated every week, and that's why you see the frustration after games. It wouldn't be the same if we had not a good staff and we didn't have a good roster, but we have that, so we've just got to figure out what to run that best suits what we're doing, and any time whatever is called, we've got to go out there and find a way to make it work. That's what we did last year, and we didn't win every game, but we were much more efficient on offense than what we are now. So, more people can lock in on ways to fix it and fix their part, and the whole thing will come together.”
Q: When you look at the tape, are the issues complex or do you kind of see the answers?
Adams: “Yeah, we see it. It’s just about doing it. Football is not about how good you are, it's about how good you play. When you have the opportunities, and you get that one on one, sure you can say on paper that seven teams are supposed to beat this guy. But if I don't do it consistently, well then we've got a problem. We want certain match-ups, but when you get them, you got to do something about it, and when you get zoned, you've got to be able to adjust. That’s part of what we do. The coach's job is to give us the looks that we are anticipating throughout the week, and that's just one of the hings. It's to try to give us the best opportunity to go out there and see what the game is going to look like. And a lot of times it's not going to be there because they're just giving you what the numbers say. That doesn’t say that they've got to do the same thing every time. So, our part as players is to go out there and make it work and assess what the coverage is, and find a way to make every play work. We have good plays, we've just got to make sure we have good execution.”
Q: Isn’t that true at all positions?
Adams: “100 percent. It’s from every position in the building. I mean, the General Manager, the Head Coach, the strength coach, everybody plays a role. And obviously, the players play the biggest role. So, that's why I say at the end of the day, I'll never sit here and point fingers and say, you've got to call better stuff, we've got to have this, or we've got to have that. At the end of the day, when the play comes in, it's time to do something about it, and that's how football goes. You don't get to call plays when you’re a player.”
The Silver and Black will stay on the road to take on the Detroit Lions on Monday night, Oct. 30, at 8:15 p.m. EDT/5:15 p.m. PDT.
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