Raiders' Coach Antonio Pierce's Entire Wednesday Comments Bengals Week

Las Vegas Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce spoke today before traveling to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals this weekend.

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

HENDERSON, Nev. — The Las Vegas Raiders (2-6) are trying to regroup after a terrible start to the 2024 season, preparing to head to Cincinnati this weekend to take on the Bengals (3-5).

This team desperately needs something good to happen. Multiple key players are out due to injury, and the team struggles to stay afloat as the weather is the storm.

OC Luke Getsy's scripting of the early plays has worked, and the Raiders have come out on fire. 

However, once the script ended, Silver and Black proved they were not improvisers, and the creative and effective attacks have stalled.

Coach Pierce held his regular press conference today, and we have it all for you.

You can watch that press conference in its entirety below:

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

Q: I know Andre James had to leave Sunday's game. Any update on him? And what were your thoughts on Jackson Powers-Johnson getting out there playing center on Sunday?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, [Andre] James won't practice today. We'll see how it goes the rest of the week. And I really thought for Jackson [Powers-Johnson], going from left guard to center, zero reps probably since OTAs maybe. I can't think if he got any reps in training camp. No, he didn't. So, I thought that was a really good job by him. We had no snap issues. Just to go in there and make the MIKE calls and just the communication. And we know Jackson is a smart individual, obviously. And I thought the coaches did a good job getting him prepared in that situation, which was obviously during the middle of the game."

Q: Is Dylan Parham going to be able to practice today?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, he'll be limited today. Yes sir."

Q: Tyree Wilson got his first sack of the season. Do you feel like that's something that could help get him going?

Coach Pierce: "Well, we hope so. I mean, that was big. First of all, the get off, like that's something we had talked about last year. Him just getting off the rock on the snap, using his hands, using his length and then just the explosion that we saw just to finish, which is really huge for us. Just need that production from him as well because we talked about when we lost Malcolm [Koonce], somebody else opposite of Maxx [Crosby] has to step up. Last year at the end of the season, it was Malcolm. This year were still rotating guys and moving around. But whenever Tyree [Wilson] can be productive either inside or outside, that's a plus for us."

Q: Jack Jones was saying he feels like teams aren't testing him as much as they were late last season. Are you seeing the same thing on the film that he's not getting as many opportunities?

Coach Pierce: "No, he's getting opportunities. He's getting opportunities. I mean, I don't know if corners want to be thrown at 10 times. That's not a good sign either, then they figure you're the fish, right? So, I think Jack just needs to keep doing his job, playing with good leverage. He did a much better job of tackling effort over the last couple weeks, and just continue when the plays are there to make, go ahead and make them."

Q: The Cincinnati Bengals are in the top 10 in the league in blitzes called the season and quarterback knockdown percentage. How does it change your game plan when you're playing against a team that blitzes a lot?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, you got to protect the quarterback. It's no different from what we saw at the end of the game last week versus Kansas City. Teams are going to tee off once they figure out there's a weakness, or you haven't picked up something in protection. They are just going to keep going at it. Obviously, these guys got two good defensive ends. 91 [Trey Hendrickson] is a really good football player, high effort, high motor, competitive, solid. And then when they bring their backers and their stars, they're really good at pressures."

Q: At running back, do you see Zamir White getting another shot? Or has Alexander Mattison kind of earned the lion's share of carries right now?

Coach Pierce: "I think [Alexander] Mattison's still the starter, but we got to get Zamir [White] going. I mean, Zamir, I hate to keep referring, but last year we saw a lot of positive stuff from Zamir and seen a little bit of it earlier in this season. I think he's just got to get out of the funk as well. I know those fumbles early on really got to him, then he had the injury, but it's always good when we got him going downhill. I mean, he's a big gentleman who's physical, and obviously, I don't think you ever see one running back in. You look at the whole league and everybody's using two backs."

Q: Is it a confidence thing with Zamir?

Coach Pierce: "We just got to get him going. Two, three carries, in and out the lineup. You got to get in the flow, everybody needs to get in the flow of the game. And then sometimes the flow doesn't allow that, but we got to find ways to get him in the game and keep him in."

Q: When a part of the game is struggling, people point fingers at the play caller. Where are you on that with Luke Getsy and the play calling?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, I think it has to get better. There's been a lot of opportunities for us to score points and make opportunities. And, yeah, that's on the play caller. But then also, like I told our staff, and I told our players, it's all of us. It's easy to sit here and just point the finger at Luke [Getsy] or myself, but you look at o-line play, quarterbacks, running backs, turnovers, missed blocks, missed executions on plays, alignments on details. All those things have got to get cleaned up. So, yeah, it does start with the coordinator. He's got to be the one that takes the fall for that and gets most of the blame. But it is collective."

Q: Are you comfortable moving forward with him remaining as the play caller?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah."

Q: Desmond Ridder got on the field for one snap, but you don't see it because it got wiped out by the penalty. How is he kind of taking to the playbook and where is he right now?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, much better this week than last week. I mean, we got him in here until 10, 11 o'clock at night trying to get him up to speed. Had a package for him, but if you really look at the game, I think we had a 12-play series, a 10-play series to start the game off, and then the next time we got the ball was in a two-minute situation. So, just trying to get him in the flow of the game. Don't want to interrupt what we're doing as well if we’re moving the ball. But I think as we go on throughout this week and out the season, you just got to find ways to get him in the game. He has an element obviously with his athleticism and playing experience to help us out."

Q: How did Brock Bowers come out of the out of the game? I think he had to go get an x-ray afterwards.

Coach Pierce: “Yeah, he's good. I mean, Brock is tough. We tried to pull him out for like six plays in a row and he wouldn't come off the field. So, not worrying about Brock this week at all.”

Q: Robert Spillane has played almost 99 percent of the defensive snaps this season. Any thoughts in terms of his workload at all?

Coach Pierce: “Yeah, no. He's a linebacker. He's got a lot of stuff going on, right? It’s a contract year for him. He's a warrior. He loves ball. He loves being a leader. He's a captain. I went to him right after he got out of the tent. I thought, like we all thought, he was done. And he said, ‘No, I'm fine. I'll go out there.’ I mean, it's just I think one of those things that scared him. But between him and Maxx [Crosby], you can't pull those two guys off the field, and you want more players like that.”

Q: When you look at the Bengals receiving core, they have Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and some really good receivers. Can you just talk about the challenge they'll bring to a guy like Jakorian Bennett? and what have you seen from him so far just throughout the season that really makes you comfortable with that challenge?

Coach Pierce: “Yeah, probably the best combo of receivers, skill players that we’ve went against all year, along with the quarterback. But Ja’Marr Chase, man, is elite. I mean, he's one-of-one right now. You watch him after the catch; physicality, speed, acceleration, catch radius. I mean, I could go on and on. Obviously, one of the top receivers in the league. And Tee Higgins is just a match up nightmare, I’ll be honest. 6-4, 220, plays with a little mean streak in him, has speed and agility. So, we got to do a good job first and foremost, when they catch the ball, because they're going to catch balls, we got to tackle and get them on the ground. And then when we have opportunities, because there is opportunities to make plays on the ball, we have to make those plays. But I think we don't need to chase plays. I think both Jack [Jones] and JB [Jakorian Bennett] and Nate [Hobbs] have done a good job of when the opportunity is there, punch it out or get the guy on the ground, and if we continue to do that, we'll be fine.”

Q: Are they an example of a team that the record doesn't necessarily line up with who they really are?

Coach Pierce: “No, not when you look at the skill players and the quarterback. And then defensively, yeah it might be a bad year from that standpoint, but when you watch them, they’re sound, they're in the right places. A question was asked earlier about the pressures; they give you a lot of things to think about. So, no, we're not worried about it. I mean, yeah, we got to look at it like they look at us at 2-6. But our records both could be flipped. The game could have went a lot of ways in both of our games, but our record is what it is, and somebody has to win this game, right? And we need to win more importantly, and that's all we're worried about.”

Q: How important has Tre’Von Moehrig been, especially down in the box, for the success of this defense? Coach Pierce: “Yeah, I think it's good that you noticed that, because a lot last year, even this year early on, he was up in the post. So, not a lot of action. Man, you get that dude near the box, so you're dealing with like a linebacker. And the way he's come down, physicality, he’s instinctive, playing behind the line of scrimmage. You’ve seen some TFLs there, and more importantly, he’s just finding his way around the ball. I think last week was a prime example of that. Obviously, I know he wishes he got into the end zone, so do we, but he's just been making plays ever since [Marcus] Epps went down. More vocal and understands that he needs to control the back end for us, like Epps had done. He didn't have to worry about that, but now he does with Isaiah Pola-Mao next to him.”

Q: Following up on Tyree Wilson, I know the sack was kind of the splash play, but he's had a lot of good snaps the last couple weeks. What do you attribute that progress to and how do you keep it going?

Coach Pierce: "Just year two, more and more reps. I've always said it from day one, 'He just needs to play a lot more football.' And the more we can get him out there on the field, the more he can stay out on the field, the better he'll be, and the better we’ll be."

Q: What makes Joe Burrow so dangerous?

Coach Pierce: "He doesn't flinch. He doesn't flinch. I mean, he sees it. If he sees single high, that ball is going to the outside, right? He sees the two high safety; he makes the correct throw and throws a checkdown and gets the ball in the middle of the field. But more importantly, I think what shocked me is his athleticism. I saw that the other day from the Giants game, a 50-yard touchdown outrunning a linebacker, Isaiah Simmons, who runs a 4.3. Competitive, tough, smart, you can see even battling all the injuries, man. Everything's rallied around this player, and he's a special player. So, we've got to disrupt him, get him uncomfortable, and obviously not allow him to have easy targets."

Q: Do you manage anything differently in terms of injuries or rest with the bye week on the horizon, just in terms of maybe sitting a guy out and give him two weeks off if they're close to being injured?

Coach Pierce: "No, we need everybody. We need everybody we can right now to win games, so there is no resting. Keep losing and you'll rest for a lot longer."

Q: With Michael Mayer's designation, I think after Sunday, he's ready to come back. Do you anticipate that he's going to be back?

Coach Pierce: "I think we're getting close. I do think we're getting close."

Q: How important are the NFL International games? How does that affect the league, or how does that help with the fan bases?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, I played in two games as a player, one in Osaka [Japan] in 2002 with the Washington Redskins at the time, now Commanders, and in 2007 with the [New York] Giants in London versus the Dolphins. I thought it was really cool because the fanbase is totally different. They're cheering at all times. I don't think there's ever a home team. But just as the NFL has continued to grow, and obviously we see the love for it on television. You see it in every aspect of streaming. But international, I mean, if you can start winning that, I think that's a benefit for all of us – owners, coaches and players. Because there's more money being made, and even more importantly, the visibility of our players, right? Because you can get a lot more international players playing in the game of football in the National Football League. So, credit to that. And I think each and every year, just from being at the league meetings, you can just probably see that growing. I hope one day we get to be in one of those games."

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