Raiders WR Adams Panthers Week

Las Vegas Raiders WR Davante Adams spoke on Wednesday ahead of the Silver and Black matchup with the Carolina Panthers, and we have everything that he said.

Las Vegas Raiders WR Davante Adams / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

The Las Vegas Raiders (1-1) are back home in the heat of the desert to host the Carolina Panthers this weekend at the air-conditioned and comfortable confines of Allegiant Stadium.

The Raiders look to parlay their upset win this weekend over the Baltimore Ravens to a win streak with the lowly Panthers coming to town.

Our latest Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast episode offers a complete recap of the big win.

You can watch the entire press conference below:

Below is the transcript of Davante Adam’s press conference on Wednesday.

Q: At what point did you notice the game clicked for Brock Bowers?

Adams: "Well it's hard to know a specific moment that defined when I knew he was ready to go, but I could tell when he first showed up. I did the panel with Maxx [Crosby], Spil [Robert Spillane] and DJ [Turner], we went to talk to the rookies when they first got here. And I could just tell by the way he spoke, and the way he was locked in, it didn't really seem like he cared about anything other than football. So, when you’ve got those type of dudes that's young and they come in like that, and just locked in and grow and learn from all the veteran players, you can see something special in him. And obviously, seeing his college tape and everything you could tell he was ready to go."

Q: How were you able to break the ice with a kind of stoic guy like Brock Bowers?

 Adams: "We’re still skating. I don't know if it's ever been fully broken. But yeah, you can see he's starting to express himself a little bit more, whether it's after the first downs or talking to guys a little bit more. He's opening up a lot more than I anticipated at this point. But between he and I, it's not like full blown, I don't think he's all the way comfortable yet, but he came a long way already, for sure." Las Vegas Raiders Transcript 9.18.24

Q: Do you kind of like that about Brock Bowers? Like he is all business.

Adams: "No, I mean I'm always down - it doesn’t really matter, you can tell when somebody's trying to make friends and they about business like, that's fine too, but you can't just be trying to make friends and not be about your work and not be locked in and never had to worry about that with him. So, you get both sides of it, but for the most part I'd much rather a guy come in and be quiet and locked in the way he is."

Q: What's impressive about Brock Bowers’ skill set so far?

Adams: "I mean, he really doesn't have many weaknesses out there, man. He's type of dude, and when I say many, I just don't want to say any, because I don't want to kill him like that, and then everybody say, 'Oh, you know,' but he's the type of player who got speed, great size. I mean, he's a matchup nightmare for a linebacker, most safeties, and I think he could win on a lot of corners as well. So when you got that type of size and you can run block and fit in the whole scheme, you'll be playing a lot of plays in the league."

Q: Have you practiced the sideline toe tap catch, where you're horizontal? How do you do something like that?

Adams: "Those are the ones you just got to be great in the moment and make it. It's tough to simulate that because it'll be a lot of falling on the ground. We like to stay up as much as possible. But yeah, sometimes you get them and got a better make it in the with the one you get." Q: No watching the smooth criminal video with Michael Jackson? Adams: "No, I used to be a big fan. I used to watch all the time, but it's been a while."

Q: Obviously there was a lot of room to improve on the offense against the Ravens, but isit encouraging that you were able to figure it out and pull together to win in the fourth quarter?

Adams: "Yeah, it's almost a better feeling. We're just talking about it after the game. I think it's a good feeling when you go out there and play and you feel like you had a realistic good game in all phases. But when you can beat a really good team without doing that, it almost is more promising sometimes. We left a lot out there. I could have played better than I did. So, just know me personally, I'm looking forward to another week of trying to -- you can look at the stats and say, ‘Oh, you had a good game or whatever,’ but when you know what was out there and what you could have done, you try to keep your mind on that, just to keep pushing forward. So, that's where we are right now as a team, and I think everybody's got the same common goal."

Q: Home opener this weekend. What is the mentality and the excitement for this game?

Adams: "Yeah. I mean, we're definitely excited to come and show off our home crowd, hoping to get everybody in there and have a packed house with nothing but Silver and Black. Our fans, they've been great, they were great out in Baltimore. So, they deserve another dub here at home and start off the right way and keep that, keep that rolling and keep protecting our house."

Q: How important is it to remind each other that this week's Panthers could be last week's Raiders where no one expected the Raiders to win and no one is expecting the Panthers to win?

Adams: "I don't think this team has that mindset where anybody's thinking we’re just going to go in there and roll over them, or they're going to lay down. It's not that type of team, really. I mean, they have a lot of good individual talent. The record hasn't proved that they're an amazing team, but things can change at any point. Like you said with us, nobody had us winning that game, and we went out and took care of it. It's not about how good you are, it's about good you play. So, that's really what it comes down to. If you play better than another team one day, then you're the better team that day. So, we have to lock in and try to be better than we were last week."

Q: Can you talk about your catch on the sideline? You've had hundreds of great plays throughout your career, is it still exciting? Do you still see all the memes and still watch it on your phone?

Adams: "I mean, I don't watch it too much. It's still the same when you watch it the 20th time. So, I don't get to – I don't like to live in my successes, but it's always fun to get one like that, that you get your friends and everybody else. For us, we make grabs where we are diving on the ground all day at practice, they don't get to see most of the stuff. You go out there and you get, maybe five to 10 opportunities to show people, but it's a little bit more routine than what people may think. It looks crazy and it looks good on the replay, but in live action it's not necessarily easy to get the toes down and all of that. But to catch that ball, we like to come down with that every time."

Q: How important is it that you and Gardner Minshew II have built and continue to build chemistry in order to make those kinds of passes?

Adams: "I mean, it’s the most important thing that quarterback and receiver can work on is their camaraderie together. And he's driven to keep working, and he's made a lot of progress, and we've made a lot of progress together. So, far from where we want to be, but it's kind of a never-ending cycle of just trying to get better and working on our craft."

Q: Last week momentum played a big part, the offense built on itself, one play led to the next. If that's true, can it carry through the week, or do you have to start over the next week?

Adams: "I mean, it can. It doesn't work out that way just because that's what you did, or just because you worked on it or whatever, but it's something that we hope to continue to build on. And every week is different based on how you get played and the calls and everything. So, you just have to try to take care of the small things one by one, and those add up ultimately to the big product."

Q: Was that something you guys could feel, though, inside the huddle as an offense, of "Hey, plays started kind of going your way." Is that something that you guys can feel as a unit, that it would start to go that way?

Adams: "Yeah, we know. I mean, this team, we've been talking about it for years now. I mean, obviously we've had different personnel over the past few years, but making plays is contagious. So, anytime the defense goes out there and does it, that can shed something on. That's why you see some sometimes, at least in '22 we’d throw a lot of shots after turnovers. They get a turnover, and then we come out and try to throw a bomb on them to take advantage of that. It just does something for the teams morale when you see people making plays, and you can go out there, and have opportunity to convert on it as well. So, we're trying to build on that."

Q: Is there any additional pressure that happens where the defense is doing such a good job on the field like with that interaction with Maxx Crosby and Gardner Minshew II?

Adams: "No, no, there's no pressure involved in it at all. That's our job. And they're doing their job over there, so we know just in order to take pressure off them more than anything we have to do well.”

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