Brian Flores – September 26, 2021 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 26, 2021
Postgame – Las Vegas
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Can you share any of what your message to the team was after a game like this?) – “I thought they fought hard. I thought they gave great effort. I know they’re disappointed, but they fought and we’ve got to get back to work. Prepare the way they’ve been preparing and just make a couple more plays and we’ll feel a lot better after some games.”
(On how QB Jacoby Brissett was able to find a rhythm at the end of the second half) – “There was definitely a lull there in the middle of the game – second to third quarter – couldn’t get much going offensively and then looked like he got a lot more comfortable as the game went on, stepping up in the pocket. Made some big throws there at the end, some big plays at the end. Bring us back, send the game into overtime, but ultimately it just wasn’t enough. We’ve got to play better across the board – offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. But these guys, it’s a resilient group. They’ll get back to work and do everything they can to make the corrections so they can play a little bit better.”
(Along those lines those unnecessary roughing penalties in the second and third quarter – did that kind of take the wind out of you guys’ sails a little bit?) – “Any time you get penalties like that – extend drives, move the ball – I think some of those were defensively in some situations where we would have had them in I would say second down which leads to first downs and field position. It’s a good offense the Raiders, so you don’t want to give them extra yards. Those hurt us for sure and again, one or two plays, that’s what it really boiled down to today and we’ve got to be better in that area.”
(The safety in the first half – was WR Jaylen Waddle the first read on the play?) – “I got to go back and look at it. We didn’t execute it well. Obviously need to do a better job, but I need to go back and look at that. It was a bad play for us – kind of we had some momentum going. It kind of shifted the game a little bit and again, one or two plays in the game and we may have a different outcome and we’ve got to play better.”
(What was your view of that fourth-and-20 that QB Jacoby Brissett converted to TE Mike Gesicki? I think it went for 27 yards.) – “I thought it was a great play. I think there was some rush in there. The ends got up the field. Jacoby (Brissett) was able to step up and slide to his left right up the defense. (Mike Gesicki) made a great catch. Great throw, great catch to Mike on the sideline.”
(How did you feel about some of the physicality and aggressiveness that it seemed to me it was a point of emphasis for the club in this game?) – “I think we want to play physical. We want to be aggressive. We want to play fast. I think that’s something we talk about. I think we got that today. We just didn’t get the execution we needed or enough of the execution we needed to win the game, but credit to the Raiders. Just talking to Jon (Gruden) afterwards. They’ve got a good team. They’re doing a lot of good things, and it’s a hard place to play with the noise and the environment here, which was a great environment. But that’s what it is in the National Football League, and we’ve got to do a better job of executing.”
(We haven’t seen you since QB Tua Tagovailoa went on IR. What factors contributed to the decision?) “We just felt like it would take that long. And at the end of the day that’s kind of how we felt. Look, nothing is more important than the health of the player and we just felt like that was the best decision for him and for our team.”
(Do you feel like you found something to work with on offense in the last stretch there?) – “Every game is different. We’ll make the corrections from today. There were some things that we did well. We’ll try to continue to do them. Things that didn’t go so well, we’ll try to correct them. But I think we got some things going at the end, but it wasn’t enough. We’ve got to be better.”
(Do you think a comeback like this, the way you were competitive at the end, might build teammates’ faith in Jacoby and what he can do for this team over the next couple weeks?) – “Yeah, I think they believe in each other. These guys, they believe in each other. I mean, I think we know how we work. We’re always going to fight and give great effort. We just got to have better execution. But yeah, there are no moral victories. You know, those guys are disappointed in there. We want to win. That’s our goal every week. We didn’t get it done today. We didn’t execute well enough. We’ll go back, make some corrections and get back out there next week.”
(At first glance, what seemed better about the offensive line’s performance?) – “I mean, the protection was better. I thought we ran the ball effectively early in the game and at times throughout the game. So, that’s something hopefully we can build on. You always want to run it, but there were also some instances where we gave up some pass rush. They’ve got a good pass rush over there. The guys fought to protect Jacoby (Brissett). We were able to step up and make some plays, but again, not enough.”
(It seemed like QB Jacoby Brissett was more willing to push the ball down field late in the game. Was that part of the plan, was that decision making, or was it just something the Raiders were giving you at the end?) – “Yeah, we needed chunk yardage and he pushed it. I thought we had some opportunities in other parts of the game. We didn’t execute. Then later in the game, there were some instances where we did. But it wasn’t enough, and we got to do a better job.”
(Would you have wanted to be more aggressive with the offensive approach earlier in those first three quarters?) – “I mean, look, hindsight is 20/20. I think we got off to a good start. We just didn’t maintain that. But let’s give credit to the Raiders. They did some nice things. They made some adjustments in all three phases. They’ve got good players, good coaches. At the end of the day, they pulled out the win.”
(Were you asked about the safety?) – “I was. We just didn’t execute. At the end of the day, we just didn’t execute. You know, I think there are going to be, as we watch the film, several plays we’ll wish we had back. And look, a game like this, it is one or two plays either way. They make one or two plays, and it doesn’t go to overtime. We make one or two plays… That’s the National Football League. We’ve got to do a better job. It’s a young team. We’ve got to continue to learn from every experience out on the field. But ultimately at the end of the day, this starts with me. Our execution starts with me. So I’ve got to do a better job at getting us to play better, execute better and make those two, three, four, five plays. That’ll be the difference in the game.”
