HEAD COACH LOVIE SMITH
Opening Statement
"Well, you can go a couple of different ways. I thought we had a good week of practice, whatever a good week of practice means. I thought we were ready to play. And we did some good things, especially offensively. I think that's the most production we've had offensively, passing the ball, running the ball. We were able to get Dameon [Pierce] involved in the game. We made some plays. Nico (Collins) early, all the receivers, we spread the ball around, Brandin [Cooks]. So, we did a lot of good things. We didn't finish the way we need to late in the game when we needed another drive and some more points. The penalty of course was big on fourth down. And of course, the interception for a touchdown was also. But offensively, we saw signs of what we can be. Defensively, we just didn't play well enough, it's kind of as simple as that. It hurts when you lose Maliek Collins, but I thought first half-wise, we were in pretty good shape. The second half, we didn't do what we needed to. They got the run going. Of course, [Josh] Jacobs is a heck of a back. Breakdowns and tackles just weren't physical enough at the end. Give them a lot of credit for that. It doesn't help when you miss a field goal too. We left points on the board there. They definitely deserved the win today. We've got to play a lot better than we did, but we'll keep pushing on. We get a chance to go into our division next week, but right now, of course, a lot of disappointment. Injury-wise, you saw the guys that went down. Hopefully, it's nothing serious and we'll get some of those guys back."
You mentioned Josh Jacobs there, that last touchdown drive and just watching that all day, how frustrating was that? How do you describe what the problem was?
"Well, I wouldn't say all day. I'd say in the second half, that's when they got the run going. At the half, I thought we were in decent shape. We had breakdowns at the end. I say break down – you miss a gap, then you miss a tackle, that's what happened. He's kind of done that to everybody, he's a good running back."
When you look at QB Davis Mills and some of the progression within the game, what do you feel like he was doing differently that allowed him to be more successful today? "
"He was running the game plan. I thought we had a good game plan. We were committed to the run, and I think Dameon had over 20 carries, so that helps a little bit. And we feel like we have good matchups with Nico with Brandin and the rest of the guys. Jordan Akins continues to shine and have his moments. Just doing things that we need to do to have success early on. But you still need touchdowns in some of those situations."
What were you telling the defense when you huddled them up on the sidelines in the fourth quarter?
"You could imagine what we were saying. I'm not going to spell it out to you. We didn't play good enough defense today, so you can fill in the rest of the blanks."
Can you explain the fourth down sequence where you had fourth and less than one? You all tried to get cute, maybe draw them offsides…
"I wouldn't say we were trying to get cute. We jumped offsides. We had fourth and short, we were going for it, and we jumped offsides and we decided to kick it from there. How's that explanation?"
Prior to that, it looked like you possibly could have caught them with a quarterback sneak to pick up the first down?
"The sequence that we wanted to do, we had a fourth down call, we jumped offsides, and we punted it from there. I don't know how to explain it beyond that. We had some things, quarterback sneaks and other runs, we had in mind, but we never got to that situation."
You felt like you needed to do that because of the way Las Vegas was playing right there?
"Absolutely. Yeah, we were watching the game. We weren't stopping them defensively, and we have had success on the offensive side. I thought that was a makeable fourth down situation if we don't jump offsides."
As far as defensively, did anything change with Davante Adams that caught you by surprise?
"No. I mean, he's paid to be the best receiver in football. I think most people would say that that's the case. He's going to get his plays, his catches. I don't think that's what beat us. Giving up some of those runs, the touchdown pass right before the half, that was a big one there in a coverage where we shouldn't give up that type of play. Some of those things really is what surprised us more than Davante Adams being one of the best receivers in football."
You had LB Christian Harris in there for his first game, how did you feel like he played there? And also, it looked like you brought DB Eric Murray in late in the game, what was the reasoning for that?
"Christian Harris, I mean it's his first game, I'm sure it was probably your typical first game that a rookie plays, that hadn't had any reps in a game. I thought he hung in there for the most part, but I'm anxious to see exactly how he played. But he'll play better, I know that. And as far as [Jalen] Pitre coming off, he hasn't missed many reps and it felt like we were a little worn down at the time. We had a fresh, rested Eric Murray and we decided to get him a few reps."
What was the biggest difference from the first half versus the second half where they were able to outscore you by 21?
"Well, that's what we're trying to figure out. And I'm going to go with the last drive, we didn't finish the first half. 10 points, but we gave up a touchdown and everything; gave them momentum. In the second half, I think normally you look at those situations -- we didn't tackle well, and we had a couple of fits that didn't have guys in their proper spot. That's normally when it comes down to when you give up big plays like that. Then they were able to get the run established late."
What was the decision behind using RB Dare Ogunbowale towards the end of the game and what did you see from him?
"Well, what we saw from him is production. And the decision behind it, we're just trying to find a spark, find ways to score a little bit more. I don't think it's any more than that. I thought Rex [Burkhead] did some good things when he was there, but just keeping guys involved."
When did WR Nico Collins get injured and do you have any update on his status?
"I can't tell you exactly when. He had an injury in the second half, I think it was a groin injury, and that's what kept him out."
Can you just talk about what you saw on the offensive side of the ball, not only from QB Davis Mills, but from RB Dameon Pierce as well?
"Well, you're right, the score and the loss of course will overshadow some of the things we did. I thought we did make progress, offensively. I think we had over 400 yards or so, total. Dameon was close to 100 yards running the ball, and we got quite a few of our receivers involved throwing the football. So, that's a positive. Still, it's about points. We needed to match theirs; it was an offensive day. Both offenses were really having success today. But a step in the right direction, offensively. Absolutely, I would say that."
What's the importance of getting the run defense right for the rest of the season?
"It's important. Believe me, it's important to us. And we'll keep working, eventually we'll get it right. It didn't work today. I'm not sure what else to tell you besides that, you are kind of stating the obvious. We didn't play the run well. We didn't play it well today and we're going to work to get it right."
QB DAVIS MILLS
What are your thoughts on the overall performance today?
"I thought as an offense as a whole, I thought we played really well. We only got stopped maybe three times, including that final drive. Made a big step up converting third downs and I thought that just allowed us to keep drives alive and move the ball. I thought we were efficient, just got to find a way to finish."
What did you feel like was the difference on third down today?
"We were seeing it really well. We got a little extra time this week with the bye to game plan third down, so everyone was on the same page. We had a lot of reps at it during the week and we just went out and executed and did our jobs. The offensive line protected really well with their guys up front who were putting stress on us, but I thought we stood up to the challenge and we were moving the ball on third down and getting conversions."
Was there any adjustments the Raiders made in the fourth quarter that slowed you guys down?
"I don't think so. I still think we were moving the ball pretty efficiently. Obviously, tried to force it a little bit on the interception, tried to make a play so we could keep moving the ball and try to get a chunk on that play. Just got to be smart with the football there. But other than that, I mean we were still moving the ball, just not enough."
Why do you think you were able to spread the ball around to a lot of different pass catchers today?
"Yeah, we had a lot of guys step up. I don't think we're very one dimensional on offense, which is really good. We ran the ball efficiently and allowed guys on the edge to go out and make plays. As a receiving room and a tight end room as a whole, I think all those guys are ready to step up and make plays, and they're in the right spot at the right time. I'm confident throwing to any of them."
Did you do any extra film study during the bye week because it seemed like you were moving around in the pocket more and looked more relaxed?
"Yeah, I don't know if I would just contribute that to extra film study, but it's something we talked about and something that I've been like kind of talking to myself about a lot is being able to extend plays. I still don't know if I have too many scrambles on the season, so just looking for opportunities to extend the plays and help my linemen out and help the running backs in protection to find guys open downfield when I can."
What happened on the touchdown play to WR Phillip Dorsett?
"Yeah, we got up on the ball pretty quick with a little tempo. Got them in a cover two look and short motion down to Cookie (Brandin Cooks). I'm reading that low-high, so the corner stayed down on Brandin and I was able to hold the safety in the middle of the field and buy a little time to let Phil (Phillip Dorsett) win on his route and he made a really good catch."
As well as RB Dameon Pierce has been running the ball, does that also help the passing game?
"Definitely, yeah. When you're able to run the ball and the defense doesn't know what you're going to do on any given play, it definitely helps. There were situations last year when all we were able to do is pass the football with our running attack, but this year we've been really efficient moving it. DP [Dameon Pierce] really stepped up as well as our offensive line playing extremely hard. And yeah, it does help out just overall to the offense allowing us to do a lot more."
What needs to be done for you guys to be more consistent at finishing games?
"Just got to come together as a full team. Everyone is going to strain and fight to the finish. When it comes down to it, it's on us as players to just go out there and make plays, and we got to do that."
