Raiders' Coach Pierce's Entire Comments Pittsburgh Steelers Week

Coming off an embarrassing loss to the Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce spoke about the team's state, Davante Adams, the quarterback matchup, and much more. We have it all for you.

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

HENDERSON, Nev. — The Las Vegas Raiders (2-3), despite Davante Adams’ drama, are coming off of a horrific loss to the Denver Broncos last Sunday as they prepare to host the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) on Sunday.

The Raiders are a franchise that, over the last few years, has become more of a roller coaster up-and-down franchise than the consistent winners that once made them the most feared team in professional sports.

With looming issues at several positions, including quarterback, the Raiders first-year head coach Antonio Pierce must lead the Silver and Black through difficult growing paints.

Raider Nation’s Coach Antonio Pierce spoke today before hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers.  You can watch that in its entirety below:

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

Q: What are some of things that would go into that decision if you did change quarterbacks?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, just keep evaluating what you feel. Evaluate everything from scheme, players, everything. So, we're still doing that upstairs, currently."

Q: I know you're still going through that evaluation, but what did you see from Aidan O'Connell that you liked, disliked, just from in a position from watching the game live?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, I think even from live and the film, we know we're going to get with Aidan [O'Connell], right? That back foot hits the ground, the ball comes out. I understand he's a cerebral player, knows where the ball needs to go. So, I've seen enough Aidan last year and a lot this year. I know what to expect when Aidan gets in the game."

Q: Do you think Gardner Minshew, when he threw that first pick, it threw off his confidence too?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, I would assume it would. That was very deflating. I think everybody understood and saw that. But then he went back out there, and I thought there were some opportunities for us to make plays, and at that point, we just didn't. I thought, offensively, we kind of hit the mud."

Q: Was that the biggest disappointment to you, is the team seemed to be affected by that one play?

Coach Pierce: "I think the defense responded well. I think we had two three-and-outs when they were backed up, at least one three-and-out when they were backed up, held them on another one. And then they had that two-minute drive right before half, and then we came out in the second half and had another three-and-out. So, I thought the defense did step up for the most part."

Q: The quick pass game we saw a little bit against Carolina. Defensively, what would you like to see from guys coming from the second level? I know we talk about tackling, about taking up angles to make sure that's wrapped up.

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, tackling has to improve. I mean, there was, again, late in that game, especially, probably like late third quarter, fourth quarter, you saw some guys slipping off tackles. You’ve got to grab cloth. It's all good, punch at the ball. Everybody talks about it, but the most important thing is getting the ball-carrier on the ground."

Q: Defensively, is that a challenge? They try to eliminate the pass rush with some of that quick pass game. How have you guys adjusted? And what do you think you guys will be moving forward this week in practice?

Coach Pierce: "Well, I think every team is going to get into quick rhythm. You want to get your quarterback off to a fast start and having completions, and that slows down the pass rush as well. So, I think it all ties in, the pass rush, the coverage tightened up, and again, at the end of the day, it's either batting the ball down like we've done a couple times, or when a guy catches the ball, either we're there to make a play on the ball or get him on the ground."  

Q: When it comes to the evaluation of the quarterback position, what do you want to see going forward? Those guys had a pretty tight competition in training camp.

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, yeah, the football. It's all about the football. Got to protect the football, easiest way to lose the game is turnovers."

Q: In what you've seen from Aidan O'Connell, did you see some rust there, did you see something you liked as well when he came in?

Coach Pierce: "Not really enough to look at. I think it was 12 passes or so. May give or take a little bit more, maybe. Again, I've seen enough of Aidan [O'Connell] last year, spring. I know what to expect from Aidan."

Q: When you switched to Aidan O’Connell, is it a permanent switch like last season?

Coach Pierce: "I didn't say we're going to switch, so we're still evaluating the film from yesterday."

Q: If you do though?

Coach Pierce: "I can't go off of it yet. I wish I could."

Q: I'm just wondering if that's a factor in the decision?

Coach Pierce: "I'm not going to hypothetical on that one, sorry."

Q: A lot was made in terms of how the offense responded after the interception. Can you talk about how well they played before the interception?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, I mean, we were rolling, weren't we? I mean, think about it, the ball's on the four and a half yard line, and we're about to probably go up 17- three. Worst case scenario, 13 to three. I thought we were making plays. Hell of a job throw and catch by Brock [Bowers] on a fourth play or fifth play the game. Then you saw the running game pick up. [Ameer] Abdullah was running well, had a little mixture with some receivers, jet sweeps, and DJ Turner getting involved. And, I mean, it was flowing, very, very fluid. I thought those guys did a great job, especially up front, protecting the quarterback; QB getting rid of the ball, and then that play happened."

Q: Christian Wilkins went out of the game yesterday, what's that looking like today?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, he's supposed to get in here shortly, so we'll kind of evaluate that. The medical staff will probably have more information later today."

Q: Adam Butler played a bunch of snaps yesterday, what have you seen from him?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, Adam's [Butler] been a spark plug for us. Everybody talks about Christian [Wilkins] and that big signing. But Adam Butler has really made some impact plays for us. The effort, again, he had another play yesterday; screened 25-30 yards down the field, and the guy that made the tackle was Adam Butler. But I think with all D-linemen, the best thing, opposite of Maxx [Crosby], because, I mean, that's a freak, the ability for him to play almost every snap. When you've got D-linemen, and you can keep them fresh and keep them going, that's better for our team overall. And we try to get these younger guys going, Nesta [Jade Silvera] Jonah [Laulu], all these other players inside to keep our guys fresh. So, Adam Butler, man, he's really been a bright spot for us this year, just his effort, his energy and obviously, production as well."

Q: Obviously, you've been around the game for a long time. When you look at a rookie like Brock Bowers, has there ever been a situation that you can remember being here where you see where rookie come in and step up in an offense so quickly as he has?

Coach Pierce: "No, I mean, the last tight end I've seen like that that I played against, I'll go back a little bit, was Jeremy Shockey just going up against him. That was impressive, the impact he has. But, I mean, we saw that, and we knew it, and I've kind of mentioned that maybe a couple weeks ago, man. Brock [Bowers] is a special player. I mean that ball, for him to go up and vertical on a DB, then obviously outrun everybody to the end zone, and then just catching balls on the flat. All the things that we asked him to do is impressive. And he's just getting better and better each and every week."

Q: We've talk about football being a roller coaster, up and down, up and down. Realistically, you want to be over these hills this season especially with it being your first one and everything. What do you think is missing for this team to spark that and just figure out how to get back-to-back wins?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah. I mean, that's something we haven't done yet. Still upstairs figuring it out now, right? But when I look at last week's or yesterday's game, I think the mindset was right. We came out with energy. We came out with purpose from special teams to defense. The first quarter, we said we need to attack the first quarter. We did such. Then you got to do that each and every quarter, and again, going back to a lot of questions that's been asked today, if there's a momentum change, how do you weather the storm? And I think that's where we’ve got to continue to get better at. That's a part of growth, not just for the players, our coaches, our entire team, of just being consistent, not blinking. It's a four-quarter game. Look, our two wins came being down by 10 points, and early in that game we were down by 10. So, there was still a chance. There was still hope there for us, and you’ve got to keep playing. You never know when that play is going to happen, right? Go back couple weeks ago, Week 2, Robert Spillane makes interception. That gets us going. So, we just didn't have that play yesterday. And again, we’ve got to keep continuing to grow, and that's going to be a part of the process today and this week."

Q: Tommy Eichenberg started and got a bunch of reps alongside Robert Spillane, how excited are you for Tommy?

Coach Pierce: "I thought Tommy [Eichenberg] did a good job. I mean, there's obviously some plays there that he wants to take back and we can learn from. But for his first career start, I love the effort. I love the energy. He was physical in the run game. Again, he's got to clean up some other stuff, but it's something that we can grow on. Obviously, some positives there. When you lose, you always look at the negatives. But there were positives with Tommy."

Q: What’s the latest with Davante Adams? I know it’s the elephant in the room, but from your perspective as a coach and the organization, where did it go sideways?

Coach Pierce: "You’ve got to ask Davante [Adams] that."  

Q: What is the latest in that situation?

Coach Pierce: "Status quo.”

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