Las Vegas Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce Wednesday press conference before finale vs. Denver Broncos
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 >> Morning.
00:02 >> Class is in session.
00:03 >> [LAUGH]
00:04 >> Hey, Z.
00:06 >> Just close my door.
00:07 >> Thank you.
00:08 >> [COUGH]
00:10 >> Okay.
00:11 >> [LAUGH]
00:13 >> We'll be outside, y'all will come watch us.
00:15 >> [LAUGH]
00:18 >> When you get to the end of the line on a season like this,
00:23 you know this is gonna be the last game, what's typical of how a team approaches this?
00:28 >> Well, I know how we're gonna approach it, we're gonna finish.
00:31 We're gonna play our best football, we're gonna be excited, we're gonna have passion,
00:34 we're gonna have pride, we're gonna have poise, and we're gonna let it hang out,
00:37 we're gonna let it loose, we're gonna have fun, we're gonna play good football.
00:39 >> You're early in the film study, what are the biggest differences that you've noticed
00:42 from the Broncos week one and now week 18 finishing against the same team you started against?
00:47 >> Defensively, they're playing really well.
00:49 They're playing really well defensively, and I think offensively, obviously,
00:51 there was a change in quarterback.
00:53 But you see a team that's being physical up front, we know Stidham very well.
00:57 Obviously, there's some things here that he's doing really well, they did well last week.
01:01 And I think overall as a team, they've gotten better.
01:03 As a team, that was, oh my God, what's happening to them, and now they're playing really good football.
01:07 >> AP, you've never had anything given to you.
01:09 You've earned and worked for everything you had.
01:11 And I know that you're staying focused on the team, but you're also heavy ears.
01:16 Your players have come out very supportive of you, wanting you to get the job.
01:20 I'm just curious, what does that respect from that locker room mean to a guy
01:25 who was always known as a locker room guy as a player?
01:28 >> You earn respect, right?
01:29 It's not given, you earn it.
01:30 And obviously, I'm still in that process of earning their respect.
01:34 And at the end of the day, like I said, they'll show and I'll show what we do on the grass.
01:38 That's the bottom line.
01:39 That's what we're all going to evaluate on what we do on Sundays, on game day.
01:43 And I appreciate their support, and we'll let the chips fall where they fall during the season.
01:48 >> From the spot you came before you were in,
01:50 have you learned anything more about Matt Stroud than you already did in the locker room?
01:55 >> He's really, really, really, really good.
01:58 I wish, obviously, our season went a little bit better because guys that get the awards
02:03 at the end of the season, they're a part of the playoff teams, right?
02:07 I don't think you can go on and say that he should be mentioned as one of the best
02:11 defensive players in football and should be nominated for that award.
02:14 And if he gets it, I don't know.
02:16 When you watch a defensive end, a defensive player play every snap the way he plays,
02:20 full, home, gas, all he has, leaving it out there, that's impressive.
02:26 You don't see that a lot, especially when football players tap out more than often.
02:30 >> What's your evaluation of Dayton since he became the starter?
02:33 >> Dayton's gotten better each and every week.
02:34 I think there's been some good, there's been some bad.
02:36 I think one thing he's really done a good job of the last couple weeks is taking care of football.
02:42 >> Josh, Dayton's in the last game, or the last couple games, has been trying to give it a go
02:46 before kickoff.
02:47 Has he been, is it more of a situation, has he been medically prepared yet,
02:50 or is it just a pain tolerance?
02:51 >> I think it's just him fighting through it.
02:53 It's one of those deals with the quad and that, and I'm not a medical guy.
02:56 If he's not able to go full on strength, there's no need to put him out there
02:59 in the worst further injury.
03:01 I know him, he's going to fight again all the way to the end.
03:03 So to answer that question, we're going to be day to day, and then we'll see on game day.
03:07 But just like last week, we go out there, and he gets a try.
03:10 If it's good, he goes.
03:11 If it's not, he does not.
03:13 >> When you were a player, when did the emotions start to hit in when you realized
03:16 that it was the last week of the season and everyone in that locker room right now
03:19 is not going to be in the locker room next season?
03:22 >> Yeah, I mean, I never knew when I was going to retire, so I played every game like
03:26 it was my last anyway.
03:27 So it didn't matter if it was the first or the last.
03:29 So I expect our guys to do the same.
03:31 That's what I talked to him about.
03:33 Everything's going to come to an end, and hopefully you'd like to be in that game
03:36 in the Super Bowl, right, in Vegas.
03:38 That's not going to happen this year for us.
03:40 But what we do going forward is very important, and that's not just for the Raiders.
03:43 It's for us individually as well.
03:45 Your resume is each and every week.
03:47 You get paid to play 17 games in an 18-week season, and that's what we'll do.
03:51 >> How valuable has this experience been for you the last couple months, and what's your
03:55 appetite on wanting to do this now full-time?
03:58 >> Always want more, want more, want more.
04:00 But learning, humble, honored.
04:05 You understand the peaks and the valleys.
04:08 As a player, you learn more as a head coach.
04:11 But I think one thing you do is you appreciate the people that you work with each and
04:14 every day, and that's one thing that I've come to understand a little bit more and
04:18 appreciate a little bit more.
04:19 I'm not taking it for granted, which I haven't, and just being thankful for the
04:22 opportunity.
04:24 >> Coach, what goes through your mind when you hear this is such a sought-after
04:29 head coaching job and there's other big names being recorded and thrown around
04:33 there, what goes through your mind when you hear about that?
04:36 >> Why wouldn't it be?
04:37 It's the Raiders we're talking about.
04:39 That's the best.
04:41 >> You've said it's looked a certain way, the way you've won as head coach.
04:46 Is that just as important to you, that there's other coaches that may be able to
04:51 also win here like you can, but that you do it the Raider way?
04:56 >> I let people that write kind of judge that.
04:58 I know my style, my identity, that I'm looking for a product that we want to put
05:03 on the field, and that's something that you want to grow on and continue to grow.
05:07 But I'll leave all that for discussion for everybody else.
05:09 >> Braylon Edwards told me you taught him to always be learning and that you
05:14 helped him mature and grow into the man he is.
05:16 I'm curious, what have you learned over the last nine weeks about Antonio Pierce?
05:22 >> Patience.
05:23 Patience.
05:25 Stay true to yourself.
05:27 Don't change because somebody's opinion or what they think is right.
05:32 Go with your gut.
05:33 There's a reason I was put in this position by Mr. Davis.
05:37 Obviously, he felt good about it at the time to do it.
05:40 And I know who I am and what I believe in and how football looks.
05:44 I know what it takes to win.
05:46 I know what it looks like to win.
05:48 And to me, just staying true to that.
05:50 >> You mentioned the name, Jered Siddham, earlier with respect to this matchup.
05:53 And obviously, he's somebody that has a history with this team.
05:57 When you see the locker room and the buzz kind of surrounding that,
06:00 is it different in their approach than it would be if it were Russell Wilson
06:04 or are you looking at the same?
06:06 >> Yeah, that's kind of hard to talk about the locker room.
06:08 I really don't know.
06:10 I'm sure there was a little spark there last week,
06:12 but I can't really go into detail about the locker room, sorry.
06:15 >> Just in general, do the players kind of get up differently for somebody
06:18 more familiar, especially someone who was here last year?
06:21 >> Oh, for our guys, I'm sorry.
06:22 Yeah, oh, yeah, no, no, we're tight.
06:24 We're tight.
06:25 Yeah, yeah, we miss him.
06:27 We want to see him up close and personal.
06:29 Max Crosby.
06:30 [laughter]
06:32 >> What did Max provide?
06:33 I think you were talking about him as well.
06:35 They had the long touchdown last week,
06:37 and Max kind of gathered all the defensive players around him on the sideline.
06:40 How does that help you as a coach having a player that kind of gets that spark?
06:43 >> I love it.
06:45 I've always loved to see the players take control, especially on game day,
06:48 when they're between the white lines and in control.
06:50 Obviously, as coaches, we're getting information that they need to either fix a player
06:55 or continue to do better.
06:57 And when there's a problem or you feel a certain way, and as a captain,
07:00 as a leader in the face of this organization, it really--
07:04 there was a problem for me.
07:06 I was talking to Spiel, and I was wondering why I was getting pulled away.
07:08 He told me, "Get the F away."
07:10 I didn't know what was going on.
07:11 I thought there was something wrong, but he gathered the troops,
07:13 and they had their conversation, which is really good to see.
07:16 And you like to see that amongst your whole team--offense, defense, special teams.
07:21 But obviously, from a guy like Max who's young,
07:23 and obviously he's growing to be a really, really good football player
07:26 but also a really good leader in the man.
07:28 >> Patrick yesterday--Patrick Graham got emotional.
07:31 He said this was his funnest team he's ever been around and coached,
07:36 and I'm just curious for you, is that emotion there with you
07:39 as you come to the end of this season?
07:41 Where have you thought of these guys?
07:43 You've been on so many teams.
07:44 >> Yeah, I mean, I love football, right?
07:47 This is my first love is football.
07:49 And you love being around the guys.
07:51 You love being in the locker room.
07:52 That's why you come back.
07:53 As a former player, you want to be back in the locker room.
07:55 You want to be back around the coaches.
07:56 You want to be in meetings like this.
07:57 You want to be on the grass.
07:58 You want to be on these wet, rainy days and outside playing football.
08:01 Because once it's gone, it's gone, and I never take it for granted.
08:04 And what does it mean for me?
08:05 Is it emotional?
08:06 No, because I never take it for granted.
08:08 Each and every day, each and every moment, I sit there and I embrace it.
08:11 I look up in the skies and thank the people that have been there for me,
08:15 my mother and my grandmother, people like that, that are not here.
08:18 So, I love it.
08:21 It's almost like the last days of school.
08:24 And that last week, you're like, "Man, come on in."
08:26 You realize you're going to see your buddies no more for the summer.
08:29 You're going to see them again later in the spring.
08:30 That's the kind of feeling.
08:31 I told the guys, "Look, let's have fun doing this.
08:33 Let's embrace and love one another.
08:34 Dap each other up these last couple days and go out there and put a show on Sunday."
08:38 On November 1st, you and Champ set up here
08:41 and sent a message to Raider Nation about being there for that Giants game
08:44 and you wanted to see a Legion Stadium packed.
08:46 What would you send a message to Raider Nation right now for Week 18
08:49 where they might be a little down because the season didn't go the way that they wanted?
08:52 Well, I don't think they'll be down.
08:53 I think they're excited.
08:54 I'm excited.
08:55 They should be excited by watching our team play because they haven't quit.
08:58 Each and every quarter, each and every game, they've given it their best and their all.
09:02 So, no, it's not a disappointment.
09:04 We'll see you again.
09:06 We'll see them on Sunday and they'll be loud and we'll hopefully put on a show
09:09 and they'll be cheering and that bad boy will be rocking and rolling again
09:12 because that's what we want the Legion Stadium to be like.
09:14 Antonio, a couple years ago, Hunter Redfield was a 100-catch guy.
09:19 The last couple years, it hasn't worked out to that extent for him.
09:22 Do you feel like there's still a place for him in the NFL to be a highly productive player?
09:26 He's still a Raider, so he's still got a place here.
09:29 I think it's been obvious since I've taken over what I've thought of him,
09:33 the opportunities that he's having and given.
09:35 And he's making the most of them.
09:37 There's some really good moments there, but he's an NFL caliber wide receiver.
09:40 He's a starting receiver.
09:41 He's a really good football player.
09:43 And we'll see where the future holds.
09:46 That was good.
09:48 Thank you, AP.