From Raiders Training Camp: MLB Robert Spillane

The Las Vegas Raiders are into their third week of training camp, and today middle linebacker Robert Spillane spoke, and we have his entire comments for you.

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

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

 Linebacker Robert Spillane 

Q: About a week and a half ago, you stood up there at that podium talking about mindset and turnovers and ball hawking and the importance of not just doing your job but making plays. Well we've have kind of seen that a lot from the defense so far today and these last couple of days. Do you feel like that message is starting to really be absorbed? 

Spillane: "Yeah, I do. I feel like we're really coming together as a unit. And that's on all three levels, our secondary, our linebackers and our D-line. And we're making a concerted effort to go out there, do our jobs and then go make plays. So, we're focusing on being good teammates to each other and just having fun with it." 

Q: You created some turnovers today yourself and got some turnovers, and your defense just continues to hawk to the ball. How excited were you to see it go from not just practice against your teammates, but then carry it over into joint practices? 

Spillane: "Yeah, that's what it's all about. We're going out there playing football, running around, flying around. These joint practices are not only awesome because you get to compete with another team, but you also get to learn from other guys. So, I got a chance to talk to Fred Warner. And I'm like: 'Fred, I love your game. I've been following your game, researching your game for years. What is it to you that stands you apart from the rest?' And he said: 'You know what, it's effort.' And he's right, every time you turn on that film of Fred Warner, what is he doing? Flying to the ball. It doesn't matter if he's 50 yards away. He's playing hard every single opportunity. So, just to hear that from him was a nice way to end these joint practices and be able to give that mutual respect to another linebacker in the league." 

Q: I think it was you after an interception where Maxx [Crosby] kind of ran off the sideline and celebrated a little bit. Is that a real thing? Where as a defense, you’re kind of feeding off each other's energy a little bit and helps with the play on the field? 

Spillane: "For sure. I mean we're in this training camp setting together. We're with each other all day. So, you form these relationships and bonds with teammates, and those bonds are stronger than you think. Having that love and support from your brother next to lets you play free. You trust the guys around you, you're able to go make plays. And without that trust you can't play outside the box. You need to just play standard football. Good defenses all trust each other. I know my guy is going to set the edge here. I know my safeties are behind me, gives me an opportunity to play fast. I always tell my D lineman: 'Go eat. It's our job to clean you up.' I get safeties behind me: 'Rob, go fly around, we'll make you right.' So, it's that three levels of trust throughout a defense that really has been coming together this camp for us." 

Q: How did that bond with Maxx [Crosby] come together? We've asked you a lot about him as a player, but it seems like he's been excited every time you make a play. Do you guys’ kind of have that special chemistry? 

Spillane: "Yeah, it's just mutual respect for each other's games. He's been somebody who helped bring me here to Las Vegas. And we just have a bond, a special bond, and we're like brothers on the field. So, any chance I get to see him go make a play, I'm fired up, just like we all are for each other. We're in this together as a team, so any chance that our teammates make a play, we're excited for them. It's not like I'm scared if a linebacker behind me on the depth chart makes a play. No, I'm excited for Luke [Masterson] to go do his job and then come across the field to make a huge interception today. Those are plays that bring a team together. It's not just 11 men, we're going to need everybody in this building who's here to help us win." 

Q: Speaking of that interception you had, that was just a few days after you were in here preaching about the mindset of turnovers. What do you think it does for you? You preach that and then you go out there and then you practice it. What do you think it does it do for the team dynamic to see that? 

Spillane: "Yeah, the ball changes the game. These turnovers change the outcome of games. So, we've been preaching and preaching it, and now you just put it to practice. And this is just a practice, so what's the next step? Bring it to the game. We have to go out there on Sunday and show that ball awareness on every play, whether it's a running play, we're raking, stripping at the ball, whether it's a pass play, we're getting in the quarterback's face. D-line, get their hands up. Linebackers, put some extra air on that ball, and break on the ball. So, it's a culture and it's a mindset, and it's just something that we just got to keep working over and over and over, tedious repetition, over and over. Consistency is going to help us on Sunday." 

Q: So how quickly did you see that mindset and that buy in from the rest of the defense? 

Spillane: "I think everyone on this defense kind of has a chip on their shoulder. We're looked at as a weak point, one of the weakest defenses in the league, and we don't see ourselves as that. So, it's our opportunity to go out there and compete every day, make each other better and just be a cohesive unit. And I really think we're coming together and doing that." 

 Q: You come from a place known for defense. What similarities do you see to that defense? 

Spillane: "A passion for the game. We've got guys who want to win. We've got guys who don't want to be known as the 30th defense in the league. We want to be up there with the best and we just go day by day, getting better each day. It's a continual process throughout the season, so we're just going to keep working every day to get better." 

Q: How much do you guys talked about that, about where people view you guys as as a defense? 

Spillane: "At the end of the day, we don't care about outside noise. We kind of focus on what we believe as a team and what we see on film, and we go off of that. But you know, at the end of the day, you look at stats, you look at what happened last year and we're ready to make that right." 

Q: In today's NFL there's a lot of conflict that's trying to be put on linebackers, especially in the passing game. What's the key from linebackers perspective to be effective in pass coverage ? 

Spillane: 'Yeah, you've got to know your responsibility, know where you're weak, where you have maybe a softness in the zone and then also look for where can I maybe cheat my zone to go make a play. Where can I cheat my coverage to go help a brother out. So, it's all about that understanding of the defenses and then going out there and trusting yourself and making plays. Don't: 'Oh, maybe I should --,' no, go make the play. We're going to clean it up, that's what we're here in camp for. So, I just encourage all my back-end players trust yourself, trust your eyes, trust your feet and go play." 

Q: Did you have any favorite defensive plays or highlights for the defense today? 

Spillane: "No, I think defensive football is all about consistency. You let down for one play, you get a hit with a 60-yard touchdown. It's a huge letdown. So, it's just keeping that consistency throughout. There's never going to be one play that loses you a game, but if you lose a game, there's an accumulation of those plays that you wish you had back. It's all about minimizing those risks and finding ways that we can make plays at the end of the day." 

Q: You talked about being excited for your teammates, no matter where they are on the depth chart. A guy that's come in Amari Burney, what have you liked from him so far? 

Spillane: "Amari has come in with an urgency, a willing to work. He comes in every day looking to get better. He takes the coaching and he brings it on the field, and that's all you could ask from young players. Old players take the coaching and get better. I mean, nobody's perfect, nobody's ever going to be perfect on the football field, but if you're showing intentional actions to make improvements, that's a huge step for a young player, and I love to see where he's going." 

Q: There's no scoreboard in joint practices, but did you feel that Raiders defense got the best out of the 49ers offense these last two days? 

Spillane: "For me it's practice. For me, you go out there, the next play is your play. The next play is your play. So, I don't judge the scoreboard, especially in a practice. Those are opportunities to hone our craft, to get better. We're not out there trying to win the practice, we're out there just trying to get better and work on our skills. So, I try not to focus on winning or losing a practice. We're 0-0 at the end of the day." 

Q: Did you have one interception or two today? 

Spillane: "Two." 

Q: Do you want to play on Sunday? 

Spillane: "I always want to play." 

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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