Las Vegas Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce's Entire Press Conference

Las Vegas Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce took to the podium after watching the film of the win over the Cleveland Browns, and kicked off Denver Broncos week, and we have everything that he said.

Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach Antonio Pierce / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

HENDERSON, Nev. — The Las Vegas Raiders (2-2), despite a big win, don’t have time to wallow as they quickly turn around and head to Denver to take on their AFC West nemesis, the Broncos (2-2) on Sunday. 

The Raiders, and so does this reporter, believe they are better than their record would indicate. They can show that by going on the road and winning this weekend.

Yesterday, Antonio Pierce held his weekly press conference, and we have it for you to watch below:

Below is a transcript of Pierce’s entire press conference:

Q: What are your thoughts about that performance yesterday?

Coach Pierce: "Team effort. Thought guys bought into what the plan was. Obviously, there were some changes you saw. What we did in the run game, got other players involved. I thought defensively for the most part, what we wanted to do with the quarterback, we did. There was times we let him escape out the pocket. We wanted to keep him in the pocket, but he did a good job of getting out. And I thought in the back end, Patrick Graham, as the game went on, got to what we thought would be our bread and butter in coverage and gave him some different looks and made him hold the ball that allowed us either to have hits or make the quarterback throw inaccurate throws. Special teams, that was really good unit we went up against. There was some physical plays out there, but I think the game really came down to that PAT, and our guys applying pressure and then missing that PAT because they could have kicked the field goal to tie it up at the end."

Q: Throughout the offseason, you expected Tre Tucker to have a big year, and we've seen that come to fruition the first few weeks. What does it mean for someone like him to make that ascension?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah. I mean, like everything else, you wish there's enough footballs to pass around and give them more attempts and targets. But as you saw, obviously, as a returner, as a receiver, give him a reverse, however we can get the ball in his hands. I mean, that speed is legit. I mean, when he's moving, he's moving. So, I think in year two, and as Tre is building up his confidence, especially from the end of last season, it's really good that we find ways to get creative again. We love to get him vertical because that's a big play for us, but just the more creative ways you can get the ball in his hands, the better. I think, when you got young players like him, Brock [Bowers], Big Mike [Michael Mayer], and obviously you got the two guys, Jakobi [Meyers] and [Davante] Adams, there's just not enough footballs. But the opportunities when he gets the ball in his hands, most of the time something good for the Raiders is happening."

Q: You talked about the confidence that Jakorian Bennett's playing with, and he's had a lot of pass breakups on third down, the money down as you called it last night. He almost leads the league in that. How big is that for when it matters the most, he comes through?

Coach Pierce: "Huge. I mean, again, I talked about it before, the guy just keeps improving each and every down. But when you can do it on money down, when it counts, or down in the red zone, or on fourth down, third down, two-minute, especially when we know where the ball is going. I mean, half the time he's lined up on number two, right? That's where the ball's going on that last break up on third down. Great technique and credit to his position coaches for just working on that off to the side as much as we can and him just being focused and being detailed. I think it's very difficult to play corner in the National Football League because every time somebody catches a ball on you, you kind of get into your feelings a little bit. But he's been mentally tough to bounce back and just go on from play to play."

Q: As you reflect on yesterday's win, how satisfying is it? And how tough was last week for everybody to go through?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, I mean, I addressed how tough it was. It was just disappointing. When you have a disappointing week, you can't recover until the next week, until you do something different and change it. And the good thing about it, I'm going to use what Robert Spillane said, and the word I said to start the week last week, I'm proud of the business decisions our team made, because they made some really good one’s last night. That was good business decisions, and to see them go out and really take pride in their body of work and our staff keep everything close together and tight knit was really a credit to what we've been building over this offseason and into the season. How satisfying? I don't want to be too happy because we want to stack wins. So, we won't sit there like we won the Super Bowl because we won a game, but we need to be consistent and put on winning performances each and every week." Q: You guys had to go into the lab a little bit to figure out a way to win without some of your better players. Are some of the things that you guys came up with yesterday, are those things that you feel can be part of things even when Davante Adams comes back?

Coach Pierce: "It has to be, it worked. It has to be. I think when you get Davante [Adams], you know what you're going to get, right? You'll get double coverage over there. You going to get the safety over the top. So, we expect that it's different when he's not in the game, how do teams play you? Well, this team played a lot of single high, a lot of man coverage, a lot of different opportunities for other guys to make plays. So, I think each and every week it changes. To sit there and say, we're going to look the exact same this week as we will next week versus the Broncos, I can't sit there and tell you that today. We got to do whatever it takes to win. Yesterday wasn't about throwing the rock, it's about getting to the perimeter, getting to the edges, running the football a little bit more mid zone than wide zone yesterday, and that showed up, right? So, I thought the O-line did a really good job as the game went on. Credit to that defense. Really good defense and good players over there, but I thought our guys wore on them as the game went on. I thought we had more tempo, more energy and more physicality."

Q: You've talked about finding a way not to get too high or low after these wins or losses. Is there anything you're learning through this process that you'll implement this week or something new to maintain consistency?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, I'm not there yet, just because we're still reviewing the film. But I’ll definitely look at the week between Baltimore and Carolina. We don't want to have that, so obviously not going to mimic that week, right? So, I'm going to look at some things differently, and whatever we could do to get the team going, that's my job to do."

Q: What are the plans with Maxx Crosby and Davante [Adams] at practice this week? And is Michael Mayer back in the building?

Coach Pierce: "Maxx [Crosby] and 17 [Davante Adams] all depends on where they at health-wise. As of right now, status quo. And Mike [Michael Mayer] is still dealing with personal."

Q: When you do what you did yesterday with the receivers, what does that do for the running backs and opening it up for them?

Coach Pierce: "Well, one, I think it makes the defense tired because when you're chasing these little receivers that run 4.2-4.3, from the numbers to numbers, that gets guys fatigued. I think you saw that from their defense as the game went on. But more importantly, I loved how our offensive line, I'll start there, because they've been getting beat up pretty well. I love how they came off the rock. I thought Jackson Powers-Johnson did an outstanding job playing physical and finishing. I thought the rest of the group really kind of strained more than we had in weeks prior. And I thought our running backs were finishing. We were running behind our pads. We were leaning forward even on the one- or two-yard gains. The power was moving in the direction we wanted to move. So, at the end of the day, the run game is, and you even hear Luke Getsy talk about it, it's all 11, right? So, when we're running with the running backs, receivers got a block, and obviously, when we do things with the receivers, guys on the perimeter got a block for their players. So, the more and more we could do it and get guys involved that are playmakers and help our team win, that's what we're going to do."

Q: On that DJ Turner touchdown run, Tre Tucker had a hell of a block in the front. What does that mean when you see a wide receiver blocking for his brother like that to get him to the end zone?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, I mean, look at that play. It was really Tre Tucker and Brock Bowers, right? You got a rookie and a second-year player out there giving whatever they can. And that's why I said the biggest difference in this game, obviously for us, I thought we played harder. I thought our effort was there. I thought the strain, the finish, the want to, get a hat for a hat, and then obviously, like we always talk about, when our playmakers get the ball in their hands, they make something happen. And that happened."

Q: You mentioned that officials talked to you about Jackson Powers-Johnson's intensity. Must be good to hear as a coach, but what do you tell Jackson as far as how to proceed going forward?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, I never want to tell a guy to speed up, and I don't really want him to slow down. So, we'll walk that fine line, but it's really good. It's no different than Maxx [Crosby], right? I talk about that; I'm never going to slow Maxx down. I'm not going to slow Jackson [Powers-Johnson] down. We just got to be smart so that we don't have any penalties, but the physicality and the intent is there, and that's what we want up front."

Q: How much of a breath of relief was it when you get the running game going and how much does it just open up everything else? Then ironically, too, you got two receivers that have two huge runs.

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, huge. I mean, it's something we've been working on for three weeks. No, let's go back, even since the preseason games, like, hey man let's get this running game going. Let's get some positive yards, let's get these chunk runs, these explosive runs. And that really showed up. Again, for a defense you don't want that. That's one thing that plays in your mind. You can throw the ball for 500, 600 yards, but when a team is running the ball on you, that gets into your head mentally, emotionally and physically, and it just wears on you. So, the more you do that, it opens up our play-pass, our play action, our keepers and things of that nature. And obviously last night, maybe not statistically what we wanted from a passing game, but it was efficient."

Q: It's always about improving and you talk about closing out games a lot. What's the next step for the offense to be able to close that out like that?

Coach Pierce: "I mean, we'll go to it, right? Third-and-one, an opportunity to get a first down, and we don't make it. We don't make it, and then also we turn the ball over and they score, and the game now changes a little bit. So, those are things that we were talking about in the headset on the sideline. We all knew this was a great opportunity, maybe not to finish the game, but to keep the momentum going to keep the clock in our favor. That's obviously not a start that we wanted in the first quarter, but it picked up in the second and third, late middle of the fourth quarter. But that's one thing you want to do. When you got a team down by 10 points, you want to finish them. You don't want to allow them to get the ball back. Even though it's eight minutes in the game, you are kind of in that four-minute mode where you want to get the ball back and keep the defense fresh, so we can do what we did at the end of game and rush the passer."

Q: A couple of weeks ago, you talked about how Robert Spillane has really changed the narrative of what people do as a linebacker. How vital has he really been to this defense?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, man, he's our bell cow. If Maxx [Crosby] is our super superhero, I mean, he [Robert Spillane] is the next thing we got to it. And he's been there every snap, has not missed one snap I don't believe this season. Makes all the calls, makes all the checks. When you see him after the game, you see a guy that played balls to the wall. And nothing is more pleasure for me as a former linebacker to watch that from our middle linebacker. A guy who came here with a chip on his shoulder, and I think he's proven to everybody, you don't do what he's done four weeks in a row and say that's a fluke. He's one of the better linebackers in the National Football League, and I'm glad he's on our team."

Q: Needing a big game from a lot of the younger players on Sunday, what does it do for the team that they actually stepped up and had a good game?

Coach Pierce: "Confidence, confidence. Last year when I took over, a lot of the success was because of our younger players. Well, it happened a little bit earlier this year in game four, and we always talk about it, you know the mantra, next man up mentality. But normally the guy's a little bit older, he's not a rookie or it's a core special teams guy. But I think that's a credit to these gentlemen taking pride in their work, understanding that there's a great opportunity for them. And listen, when you make opportunities, you get more opportunities."

Q: Four games in, what are you seeing from Gardner Minshew so far?

Coach Pierce: "Pretty much what I thought we'd see. I think there's some plays I know we want to take back, but I also see some moxie there. I see confidence. It's more about on the sideline and in the building, just keeping guys calm. He does have a good presence about himself. We're kind of where we're at right now, 2-2, and is that good or is it bad? I don't know, right? I don't know where people had us at, but I think for us, we know there was opportunities there that we wish we could have and make them. There were some throws last night, we make them and maybe that game gets wide open early on, but we don't, and we gotto do a better job of doing it. But I think there's still improvement there for Gardner[Minshew], our offense and the team."

Q: It looked like it was Christian Wilkins that took Michael Mayer's spot on the field goal and extra point protection unit. What does it say about him that he would do that, and what message does that send to the team that a guy like that is willing to do that?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, one of your highest-paid players is the wing guy on PAT and field goal. That's impressive because you worry about that, because that's one of those deals where you're always looking to make sure he gets up after every play. But just a team player, man. And we talked about it, nobody's bigger than team, nobody's in front of the shield. And I think once we get everybody bought into that, which we're really, really close to doing, I think it speaks volumes. Again, when your best players stand up and do the little things, how can the guy that's at the bottom of the totem pole not do it?"

Q: Alexander Mattison has been pretty productive through four games. Just your thoughts on how he's performing.

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, he's deserved more reps, and he'll get him."

Q: It looked towards the end of the game Dylan Parham came out due to injury. Is there any update on his status?

Coach Pierce: "No, there isn't. They're still in there now. I think he could have finished the game, but I think also we were being cautious. But as of right now, I'll have an update today."

Q: Not only did the players feed into it, but it also sounded like the fans fed into what you were talking about coming back with a positive response. And it sounded like they heard you, and they were there?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, listen, the fans have been great. The fans haven't been a problem. The fans show up. You know how Raider Nation is, man, they love you, they hate you, they come back to love you again. And that part you appreciate because you know what you're getting each and every week, right? It's honest. You respect it, and they don't hide their emotions. But it's really big because as that game was going, first quarter, not the way the Raiders want it. Half time tied up, and then you get into that fourth quarter, and when we really need them to be loud and be disruptive and get the guys going. And you can see, hopefully, on our sideline the energy that they create, and they bring that really fuels our players. To be honest, especially when we got guys there in their first time in certain roles and it's a big moment, it's a third down we need to get a stop, we got to make the right call adjustments wise in the secondary, that's huge. Because all we do is work with music, so the energy they bring, the noise, the loud banging on the Black Hole, hearing and seeing those guys banging on a pad. I love it. I love it. I wish we could get louder and louder, so obviously we got to keep performing well at home to keep that home field advantage."

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