Raiders' Josh McDaniels Final Thoughts Before Rams

The Las Vegas Raiders saw their NFL Playoff hopes come back into focus last week, and look to further their hopes this week in Los Angeles, Josh McDaniels discussed it.

HENDERSON, Nev.--The resurgent Las Vegas Raiders (5-7) took out their AFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers, 27-20, on Sunday, and with the victory, they saw their NFL Playoff dreams come back into focus.

Now the Raiders head to Los Angeles to take on the Rams. We spoke to Josh McDaniels about the team's state and looking ahead.

You can watch the entire press conference below and read the transcript:

Head Coach Josh McDaniels

Q: How about the injuries to Andrew Billings and Rock Ya-Sin. Any updates?

Coach McDaniels: “Nothing specific yet. We're going to kind of see how this goes today. If it doesn't look good today, then I think we'll have a hard time making them active for the game. So, give it a few more hours here and then we'll make a call on whether or not we'll be able to use them."

Q: How is the team preparing for the mindset of if Baker Mayfield goes against them?

Coach McDaniels: “Yeah, I mean, we have a quick summary of what he's done and seen some of that quickly. I know some of our guys have coached against him. I've coached against him and just kind of understanding the kind of player he is and some of the strengths and weaknesses. That's what we're really cramming on, on everybody right now. So, if that happens, then we'll have an idea of what he's done and what he does, and just compete as hard as we can against him. So, there's no magic we can do here in a short week like this when they claim a guy on a Tuesday. It is what it is."

Q: As somebody who has coached offenses their entire career, how probable is it that a quarterback can come in for one day and learn the playbook enough to be effective in a game in 24 hours?

Coach McDaniels: “There’s probably a lot of factors that would go into that. Was there any familiarity before? Has he ever played in a system with terminology that was similar? That could or could not be the case. There could be some strains of information that he's obviously aware of from who he's played for to this point. And then, I think most importantly, is what you would ask of him. I mean, what you ask him to do, is it the whole playbook? That’s probably unlikely. Is it a part of it, or pieces of it? And it depends on the player, really. There's definitely been times where we've added players and then been able to get them up to speed enough to contribute. It's just a matter of how much you're looking to do with him. I had a similar situation years ago where we added a guy in the middle of the week and tried to cram as much as we could because we had to based on injury. But it's definitely not out of the question. I think there's a lot of factors that would go into whether or not they would want to do that or not, though”

Q: How well did that situation work out?

Coach McDaniels: “He actually played pretty good. We didn't win, but he played pretty good. Again, I think each person would be different. It was Kellen Clemens actually, [he] was the quarterback. I don't remember how many days we had that week, but he definitely wasn't there for like three weeks. He was there for a very short period of time. So, each guy will be different.”

Q: What's the biggest challenge for you are short week?

Coach McDaniels: “Combining the preparation and information that you absolutely need to know with managing the rest, recovery and energy that you're going to need. I think that's the trick. You're playing a game tomorrow and we just got done playing Sunday. And so, you obviously have a lot of information to take in, in a short period of time. But you have to be able to make a good decision about when enough is enough, and let's just cut it there, and we don't need anything else. And at some point, you've got to just make a call on: ‘Alright, that's enough to go play the game.’ If we need to make some adjustments in the game, then we will go ahead and do it. As opposed to overloading how much you try to get done in the couple of days you have, and then managing the team. Rest, recovery, treatment, so that we can have as much energy and play with great resolve for 60 minutes tomorrow. So, it's always a little bit of a trick, but I think our guys have had a great attitude. Our staff has done a good job of kind of cutting it down to what we need, and we'll start the game, and then all bets are off at that point."

Q: Kyle Peko has been playing well the times you've called him up and now he gets to move up to the active roster. What has he showed you guys and what has he brought to the team? And also, what did Kendal Vickers not do that had him released?

Coach McDaniels: “We'll see how it goes with Kendal; we're waiting on how the transactions will go today. But KV [Kendal Vickers] didn't do anything incorrectly. He was managing a couple of things here the last couple of weeks relative to his overall health and body and all that. But Kyle has been a consistent guy. He goes in there and understands what his job is, knows what his role is, and tries to do it to the best of his ability. He's tough. He'll do the dirty work, and he plays hard. So, he does a lot of things the way you would ask him to do. Has some limitations, but we know what those are. He works around them, and we work around them, and he's contributed to some good days for the defense."

Q: The Rams have had 12 different offensive linemen start this year. In general terms, what does that sort of inconsistency on an offensive line do to an offense? And then follow that up, would you be surprised tomorrow night if we're not talking about a big day from your defensive line?

Coach McDaniels: “I think the continuity on the offensive line obviously is important. No five guys work together more closely in terms of being connected on every play than those guys do. So, I understand the challenges. We've lived through those before. We've had our fair share of changes and those kinds of things. But when you watch them, they're well-coached. Sean [McVay] doesn't put anybody in a position to do things that they can't do. They can run the football, they pass protect, they do some different things to move the pocket. And all of them know what they're being asked to do. I give those guys a lot of credit, they've definitely had a lot of shuffling going on, but they never make an excuse. They just keep plugging guys in there and giving them an opportunity to play, and they coach them and get them ready. And generally, they've acquitted themselves very well. But it's not easy when you have to deal with so many changes with that group of five guys because of how much communication goes on. So, they're preparing hard. We're preparing hard. And we're going to play the best we can tomorrow against all 11 guys that are on the field. So, hopeful that we can put together a good performance as a unit and as a team."

Q: The Raiders always have a big road presence in terms of the crowd, but especially in Southern California. Does that impact the game at all? Or once the game starts, you guys don't even see that?

Coach McDaniels: “It does impact it. First of all, my first opportunity to see that was opening day. I was pretty amazed. Obviously, they give us great support wherever we're at. I mean, they've been everywhere. East Coast, Florida, Seattle, and certainly in Southern California. So, our fans are tremendous. It's a little bit of you're trying to gauge certain things – silent cadence on the road, not using the silent cadence on the road – those things are always a question. So, we would default on always preparing for the worst and then we'll adapt during the course of the game. But I would say there's no question that you feel that, and that does and can have an impact in the game. Certainly, I hope it doesn't have any impact in terms of the way we play. We just have great support there. We felt it on opening day and I'm sure we're going to feel it tomorrow night."

Q: With all the shuffling you guys did on your O-line, what gave you the confidence that it was going to work out?

Coach McDaniels: “Just I think trying to evaluate it day to day and really be honest with ourselves. Look, ‘work out’ is a relative term, as you know. They've gotten to string together some games here over the course of the season. There is definitely things we can do better, but I think as a unit they're trying to do the right things as we go through the season. As long as we're honest about the things we're doing right and the things we're not, then I think you're always kind of being led to the right decision. So, we did talk about opportunity starting back in the spring, giving everybody opportunities to earn their role. We've been consistent with that and that approach. I think we've rewarded the people that have played the most consistent and done the things that we're asking them to do the best, and we continue to do that. They continue to work in practice. You've seen guys start to create new roles – Isaiah Pola-Mao. I mean, he just created a role for himself last week and started to really kind of start making some plays defensively. And we've tried to do that with every guy on our football team. I think they respect that, and I think the offensive line in general has benefited from the fact that: ‘OK, we worked through all those kinks, we had some shuffling.’ I think it's always good for guys to play on the left and right. I mean, that's great experience for them because you're never going to go through an entire season and have five guys just stand there and never come out based on injury or some other factors. So, Dylan [Parham] knowing the calls on the right, knowing the calls on the left, having to play center early in the season. Alex [Bars] was on the left, now he's on the right. Jermaine [Eluemunor] has been at guard and at tackle, played right tackle and left tackle. So, I think all of those reps and all the communication is valuable. I think they've used it and they've had the right mindset about it. And I think now we've kind of settled into a five that hopefully we can stay with. I think that they would look back on those experiences and say it was all beneficial to them.”

Q: When you guys cut Alex Bars, did you think he might reemerge at that point? What were your thoughts when that happened?

Coach McDaniels: “Yeah, Alex had always done the right stuff and given a great effort and prepared hard. And again, whenever that happens, it's not forever. The experiences that we've gained with the players and how much we've poured into them, how much they've poured into us and tried to give us their best, I mean it all counts for something. There's no relationship that's not worth it. And so, I think we've tried to take that attitude and approach every day since we've gotten here."

Q: Your running game has been killing it between the tackles. So, what does the prospect of no Aaron Donald tomorrow do for the running game?

Coach McDaniels: “I'm not going to say anything about that until I know that. I know what the prospect is when he plays. This guy is as good of a football player as there is at his position in the National Football League. There’s no question. So, our biggest focus is if he is in there, understanding the way he plays and how disruptive he can be and what we need to do to try to minimize as best we can his impact on the game, which is almost impossible. So, we're going to try to do the things we know how to do the best. On a short week, we're not reinventing the wheel. We don't practice 75 new plays here, so it's rarely a mystery about how things are going to go and what you're going to try to do. What it comes down to more than anything is fundamentals, technique, effort, communication, and trying to do things right. So, that's really what we're going to focus on regardless of who's out there.”

Q: Josh Jacobs will be happy if he doesn't have to see him in the hole though, right?

Coach McDaniels: “We'll all be happy. I mean, that's easy to say. It's not easy to accomplish because of how good he is.”

Q: Nate Hobbs does so many good things and you were so eager to have him back on the field, but he's been really critical of himself, kind of jokingly, for his bad return on the fumble recovery. He thought he should have done more. When a player has that much kind of self-critique and ambition of like: ‘Hey, I did a lot of things well, but this is something I need to work on get better.’ Does that just speak a lot to their desire to grow?

Coach McDaniels: “Yeah, how competitive he is. Nate’s a guy who wants to do everything he's doing well, and he always tries to improve and get better. And I think for a young player, to have that kind of mindset and that kind of purpose every day that he comes into the building, you got something significant to work with. And Nate's been that way since I first met him. And so, whether it's that, or coverage or tackling, whatever it is, he wants to be coached. He takes coaching very well. He works really hard to try to improve and apply his skills to it. So, good example for a lot of our young guys.”

Q: Do you have any updates on Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller’s progress?

Coach McDaniels: “No, no update yet. Again, kind of still working through the whole thing. Like I said, we'll see how the end of the day goes. The short week and the long layoff are things obviously we've taken into consideration, and we'll take that into consideration here before we make an ultimate decision.”

The Las Vegas Raiders have a quick turnaround as they play again on Thursday Night Football this week against the Los Angeles Rams at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. That game kicks off at 8:15 p.m. EST/5:15 p.m. PST and can be seen on Amazon Prime.

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