From Raiders Training Camp: Josh McDaniels

The Las Vegas Raiders are into their third week of training camp, and today Coach Josh McDaniels spoke, and we have his entire comments for you.

HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders have opened their 2023 NFL Training Camp, and rookie Coach Josh McDaniels took to the podium to address the media.

You can watch his entire comments below and read the transcript:

 Head Coach Josh McDaniels 

Q: What has most pleasantly surprised you so far at camp? 

Coach McDaniels: "That's a trap question. I don't know if there's anything that has pleasantly surprised me. I think that I'm seeing kind of what I expected to see from our team, which is I think a really competitive group on both sides. We've had days where defensively we've done a little better than the offense, and vice versa. I thought coming out of the spring we kind of improved the competition on our roster, and I think training camp has kind of showed us that that's about where we're at. And obviously, today and tomorrow, we'll find out a lot more about our team." 

Q: How much do you also want to see guys step up and compete and go out there and make plays, even though it's still a workday? 

Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, that's what we're out there for. I think both teams will compete and do it the right way. And I think our team is excited to have somebody else to compete against. They get a little tired of competing against the same guys who've seen the same plays or schemes, or whatever it is, and I think everybody will go out there with a great spirit and compete in every drill. And that's the whole goal, is to try to do that and see how much we can improve the next few days." 

Q: Jimmy Garoppolo’s been a pretty competitive guy in practice, sometimes talking and getting a little fiery out there. Are you expecting a little bit of heightened energy from him going into today? 

Coach McDaniels: "I think he always has great energy. We haven't talked at all about the different level of energy or anything like that. I think the quarterback always has to have that kind of spirit about him, and he definitely does. Like I said, I think all of our guys are excited. Again, I'm not going to make more of these next two days than what it really is. It's just a good opportunity against a really good organization, really good team that’s well-coached, to go out there and compete. And so, I think Jimmy's probably going to feel very much the same way as the rest of our team does, excited for the opportunity to go out there and put our best foot forward." 

Q: Without overreacting to one practice, are you starting to see Jimmy settle in a little bit? It looked like he got a little bit more comfortable yesterday. 

Coach McDaniels: "Again, when it's your seventh day since November of last year, I don't really kind of look at it in that short of a window. I think playing quarterback is a very difficult position to play and excel at. And a lot of times, especially when you're with a bunch of new people, in a new scheme, coming off of something that he's coming off of; I think that there's just a time element. And there's no shortcut to it. So, I expect him to go out there and do his very best every day, which is what he does. He learns from every period, good or bad. And I think he's got a great approach, a great attitude, great mindset and I expect him to just continue to improve."

 Q: When it comes to a young quarterback like Aidan O'Connell, what are the markers that you're looking for in terms of how you gauge whether there's been progress or no progress? And what have you been impressed with? 

Coach McDaniels: "I think a young quarterback, this is his first opportunity to really start to play this position at this level and it's difficult. And so, there are so many things that go into having a good play, let alone a good practice, let alone a good week. And he's learning that, so I couldn't be more impressed by his consistency and his approach. He doesn't get high, low, up, down. He doesn't really do any of that, it's just kind of like this all the time, which is great. It's a great way to be for a young player, especially at this position. He learns, whether he does something well or there's a mistake, he learns from it and he very rarely repeats an error, which is, I'd say, a very critical element to improving at this position. So, I like what Aidan is doing. And again, every play isn’t perfect, but there's a lot of progress that he makes daily because of the way he approaches it." 

Q: Last year around this time, you faced your former team, the Patriots. This year, Jimmy Garoppolo finds himself in the same situation against San Francisco. Did you share any advice with him leading up to this moment? 

Coach McDaniels: "No. And like I said, I'm not going to over dramatize the moment. He's going to get a handful of reps today and there's going to be a lot of other guys who will get reps also. It's a training camp practice, it's just with another team. I think it's just another opportunity to get better, improve at his craft and do his job. That's what we told our whole team; we expect them to go out there and practice the right way, work together with the other club, compete and improve. We're going to be challenged. I'm sure there's going to be some things we haven't spent a lot of time in terms of scouting reports and those kinds of things. So, there'll be some things we learn today. And that's what I'm hoping to see from everybody." 

Q: Dylan Parham is a young player who just continually stays consistent. What has been his key to just being consistent and reliable? 

McDaniels: "Well, we will start with his durability. I mean, if you're out there, you have a chance to improve. Dylan understands that and he's really done a good job of taking care of his body. He practices hard every day. He listens and learns from the veterans around him. I think he competes with our defensive guys in every opportunity that he gets. Plays multiple positions every day. And we talked about that last year, that's not easy to do for a young player. But he's really done a good job of learning the offense, the system, the communication that's required. So, just puts in a ton of time. Had a great offseason and just ready to try to improve in his second year here." 

 Q: When you have players like Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk coming in to practice, how great of a task is it for those young guys that you have like Jakorian Bennett, Nate Hobbs and Sam Webb to really get after them? 

McDaniels: "Yeah, it's a great test. They got a lot of good players at a lot of different positions. And so that's why they're such a good football team. It’ll be great to see all our guys compete against them, but those guys you mentioned and many others, I would say on both sides of the ball, that's been the key to them having such great success recently. They got a lot of really good players, they're coached extremely well, they got a really tough system to deal with. So, like I said, this is a great opportunity for us to compete with them, see some things we haven't seen before, learn some things. The tape this afternoon will be invaluable to all of us." 

Q: Is there a competition between the coaches next couple of days, or are you guys kind of working together? 

Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, I mean we've worked together for sure to plan the whole thing. I mean, what I'm looking for from all of us -- our coaches and our players -- is to go out there and do the best we can with the opportunities that we have. And we're all competing, obviously, but in order to do this thing the right way you've got to work together with the other side, and that's what I expect to happen. Kyle [Shanahan] has done a great job with that and their staff. So, looking forward to just seeing how this goes, but there's definitely been -- we've exchanged personnel groupings and those kinds of things have already taken place." 

Q: I haven't seen Michael Mayer out there the last couple of days. Any kind of update on that? 

Coach McDaniels: "No. Again, I think we have a number, a few guys who are kind of dealing with little bumps, bruises from training camp. So, everybody's making progress, working really hard. Again, we don't have many guys who aren't out there, which is good. So most of those guys are getting closer to returning." 

Q: Any kind of determination on who's going to be the quarterback for you guys on Sunday? 

Coach McDaniels: "We'll talk about it as we go. Again, any time you have the joint practices, you have such a great opportunity to get a ton of work in in these next couple of days. So, I'd say based on how that goes, the health of the team after two days, where we're at, we'll kind of have a better idea of what we want to do. We're looking at kind of three days, today, tomorrow and Sunday. We've got three great opportunities to work against them, one of which being the game. So, we're going to try to divide the repetitions up appropriately and then see what we need to do on Sunday." 

Q: Is it your preference not to play Jimmy G on Sunday? 

Coach McDaniels: No, that is not my preference. That may not happen, but I wouldn't say I have a preference not to play anybody.” 

Q: How big of an opportunity is the next couple of days to see where your offensive line is at, especially that competition on the right side? 

Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, I think our whole group will get tested, there's no question. The one-on-one’s will be interesting to see, a little different style of play. And they have obviously great players, and they are really well coached. So, this will be really a great opportunity for us to learn a lot about those kinds of things, see where we're at in terms of our fundamentals and techniques and toughness because there's no question that that'll be challenged.” 

Q: You talked about working with Kyle Shanahan and developing kind of what you guys want to do. Does the weather change anything you want to do? 

Coach McDaniels: "No, it doesn't change anything we're going to do unless it starts lightning or something like that. But, no, I think it gives us an opportunity. We obviously play indoors a number of times, but there are some games we're going to play outside and there's a chance for some weather. We don't get many opportunities to work where there could be a wet field, talk about keeping our feet underneath us, staying off the ground, taking care of the football, a little extra care with some of those things. So, if it's wet, which it seems like it might be a little wet here, that'd be a good opportunity for both teams to see kind of how they can handle that. Again, we don't deal with it much and we don't get much practice at it. When it started raining, I was kind of excited to see that it might be a little different.” 

Q: What’s the latest with Tyree Wilson? When can we expect to see him out there? What's the latest on Josh Jacobs as well? 

Coach McDaniels: "Nothing on JJ [Josh Jacobs] different than what it's been. Tyree is doing a great job of his program here and I think we're getting close. I'm not going to put a specific date on it. But if we keep heading in the right direction, I don't think it'll be too much longer.” 

The Silver and Black open the preseason by hosting the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Aug. 13, at 4 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. PDT.

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