Raiders OC Luke Getsy Bengals Week

Las Vegas Raiders OC Luke Getsy spoke today ahead of traveling to Cincinnati to take on the Benglas this weekend.

Las Vegas Raiders OC Luke Getsy

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.

OC Luke Getsy held his regular press conference today, and we have it all for you.

You can watch that podcast in its entirety below:

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

Q: Something that Jakobi Meyers said after the game, we asked him about how you guys have played well in the first quarter offensively, but it hasn't been able to be sustained. He said he thinks early on, the guys are really sharp about the details but it kind of fades a little bit later in the game. From a coaching perspective, how do you kind of correct that, to make sure guys are consistent when it comes to the detail?

Coach Getsy: “Yeah, I think it's mental and physical stamina. I think that's something that we talked about from way back when. I think there's opportunities too, right? I think that you go into the first and second drive and guys are doing a really nice job, and long drives, so there's a lot of execution that's good. And then we just kind of took the mindset in the end of that first half and we ended up having to punt. And you got to be able to turn that off and turn it back on whenever that second half starts. And that's that mental and physical stamina we talk about, where you have a little lull when you're playing and then it's time to go rock and roll again. So, you have the halftime, and you got to get out there and you got to ready to rock and roll. And so, I don't think that's any one particular thing. I think it's a continued purpose and focus when you're out in the practice field to make sure that everyone's sharp on every detail. And from the coaching perspective, as the game is going along, we can do a better job in the game of making sure that we're all prepared before we head back out there in every aspect.”

Q: I think we've all made a big deal of the "early script", and that's working through the last four games, scored opening drive touchdowns. Is it almost too much focus of, "These are the plays we're running," and all the players get on board and then as the game goes on…?

Coach Getsy: "I know you like that buzzword, you guys all like that buzzword, 'Scripted.' But it's not real, just want to make sure that you understand that. So, it's not like we just say, 'Hey, first-and-10, we're going to take a five-yard penalty at a false start, and then we get rolling again.' So, that wasn't scripted. But no listen, you go through a plan, you have a plan. So, the guys are dialed into when we're on the 35 yard line, and these are the things that we're going to attack them with. When we're on the 25-yard line, these are the ways we're going to attack them. And if it's third and three, this is the way we're going to attack them. And there's nothing different. So, this is how we're going to open the game, this is how we're going to continue to play the game, these are the plays off of the plays after we get it and collect information. So, there's not a script, there's not this laid-out thing. It's a focus and attention to detail. And I think as far as the preparation part of it, I think it proves that we're doing a good job as far as how we want to attack people, we've just got to continue to improve on that execution part, making sure that it can sustain for four quarters and not kind of be patchy first quarter, second quarter was good, and then you had the two-minute, and then come back strong in the fourth quarter. So, you had that little lull in the third quarter this time. So, we've just got to make sure we continue to get more consistent with all that."

Q: When it comes down to trying to maximize on scoring touchdowns when you get in the red zone or at goal line situations when you watch film, is there anything that you think can be better executed in terms of maybe a formation in the backfield with somebody blocking or routes run, what do you think can help?

Coach Getsy: "Yeah, I don't think so. I think we've been pretty good in the gold. I know we had that instance in the Rams where we didn't score, and then this past one that we didn't score, but I think that we've been pretty good. Going 2-for-4 in the gold isn't the worst in the world, but we want to - obviously, when you get a turnover you want to put that in, right? Because that can change the momentum of a football game. I think that's where the dynamic of that situation is more so than anything else. I think the plans have been pretty good, and I think the guys get it by the time we're going out there. So it's when you get in those moments, everyone's got to be on the same page, head coach, coordinator, players, we’ve all got to be on the same page and know, let's have a clear message about what exactly what we want to get done."

Q: It was like a two and a half quarter period there where Brock Bowers didn't touch the ball. Does that have something to do with it? Or when you look back on that, what do you see in that time period?

Coach Getsy: "I mean, first, what was it, 13-play drive, right? And then a 10-play, and that was it. So, we only had two real drives in that first half. So that's part of it, right? There's your first quarter or whatever you want to call it. Then the second quarter, we started off, we missed that opportunity with Tuck [Tre Tucker], and so it was three and out. So, they had long drives, they were converting third downs, so it's time sustained. And I think that's what Kansas City has always done a great job of, kind of playing keep away from the other teams as well. And so, Brock [Bowers] is a big part of what we do. And yes, teams are going to be affected by him. And I think now that we start to get some guys back from injury, I think that'll help all that stuff out, and we'll continue to play off of that. But no, are they changing what they did? No, I mean in the middle of a game - defenses are really good in this league, and when you attack them and they feel like there's a weakness, then they're going to make some adjustments too."

Q: Now that Brock Bowers is getting so much attention out from defenses. How much of a challenge is it for you to be able to continue to make sure that he's involved in the offense and get him open looks?

Coach Getsy: "Yeah, I mean absolutely. I mean, that's the name of this game, right? Your best players got to play their best. And if you're going to play the two-time reigning World Champions, you’ve got to make sure that your best players are doing what they do. And so, that's important always, and that's always going to be a focus of what we do."

Q: How would you assess Jackson Powers-Johnson when he slid over to center in the game? And what's your confidence level on him should he have to play center again this week?

Coach Getsy: "Yeah, I think that's credit to all those guys. It's Cody [Whitehair] jumping in there, it's Jackson Powers-Johnson, it's Jordan [Meredith] being there to help out too. I think that's the cool part about it. Those guys have been forced into a lot of different roles already in such a short season already. And so I think for a young rookie to be able to go and handle it, handle the mental part of it, I think that part of it is cool to see. And I know that we have multiple people that can do that, that's a big benefit to us, because crazy things happen, and people are going to have to dance around up front, and they're going to have to play some positions that maybe they didn't practice that much at, and Jackson is an example. I don't know if he had one rep at center leading up to that week, but he was prepared for the moment and went and did a good job."

Q: We're about halfway through the season. What has been the biggest challenge, either for yourself or for the offense as a unit so far this season?

Coach Getsy: "Well, I think anytime you're in this league it's a challenge. You've got great players on every team, so every down, every first down, every touchdown is hard to get. I think that that's no different this year to any other year. I think we're in a new system, got new players, first-time head coach, we're all working together to get this ship righted, to get this thing going in the same direction. It's a process that continues to improve, the game-day communication to the way we practice and the expectations every single day and on game day. And all that stuff I think is just continuing to get better, and I think that's the challenge. Anytime you're a new operation, you have a lot of things to work through, and I just see us getting better each and every week as we go through these processes."

Q: If Andre James can go, and then Dylan Parham can, I know he's played some left guard before, but he is playing right guard this year. Is there any consideration of moving him back to left guard in that kind of a situation?

Coach Getsy: "Yeah, I think it's just in such a flux right now that everything's on the table honestly. So, I think that's the cool part. When you have guys that are smart like Dylan [Parham] and Cody [Whitehair] and Jordan [Meredith] and Jackson [Powers-Johnson], you're able to kind of figure out at the end of the week what's the best fit and what makes the most sense to get going. But honestly, everything's on the table right now."

Q: Blitz pickups have been a bit of an issue this year. The Chiefs started blitzing a lot in the second half last week. What can you guys do to get better in that area?

Coach Getsy: “Well, the second half, they were outnumbering us, so that's different. That's not picking up anything. You saw the response by Gardner [Minshew] throwing some flats and things like that, getting the ball out. That's your only answer when they're going to outnumber you. The one at the end that kind of shut down the end of the second quarter drive, that was just a missed assignment. So, clean up young guy missed assignments, you have to fight through that stuff. And I know that whatever I read said something about critical penalties, the reality was they really weren't critical because we overcame all of them. We were able to score points. And every time that we had the three false starts and the holding, we were still able to go get points in those drives. It's those critical errors in those moments, like a protection. We had the two minute drive where they brought the cat corner and we didn't make sure the protection went the other way, or where we didn't throw hot, or like I said the other one where the guy didn't make the right decision. Like that stuff happens in games, and you got to overcome them. And I think the cool part is that you saw penalties that we didn't get distracted by a first-and-15, or we're going in the gold and then we had two false starts. Put Des [Desmond Ridder] out there for the one, and something happened. Those guys didn't blink. They responded the right way. They went right back out there. And we continue to move the drive, and we got points. And I think that's - talking about where's the growth and stuff like, that's where I'm seeing from this football team."

Q: What gives you hope that the running game can be turned around at this point?

Coach Getsy: "Yeah, listen you have games where - and obviously it's a little bit of extreme when it's like that, but you have games that go that way, and they are a really good front. I mean, they're a downhill football team that there's a reason why they're top three or whatever it is against the run, and that's why we had to throw it some, throw it a little bit more. And I think it's finding that good balance. And when you have the balance, then the other one just starts to pick itself up. And we'll continue to grow through that and get everybody on the same page." Q: When Thayer Munford Jr. lines up as a wide receiver, I'm not asking for all the answers to that, you're probably looking for the defense to react a certain way, I would imagine. If you could shed any light on what that might be? Coach Getsy: "I mean, when you do things like that, those are just like un-scouted looks, right? So you're going to get, 'What's their particular response?' So then that way, when you move forward, okay when they have an un-scouted look we anticipate, like this is going to be their response. And so when you do something like that, you don't want to have him always in at the tight end, we're always running to him, or you’re always running away from him, or you’re always in the protection. You want to make sure that you have enough that they have to be prepared for as they're going through their game week as well."

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @HondoCarpenter and IG @HondoSr and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.