HENDERSON, Nev. — The Las Vegas Raiders (2-5) are hosting the Super Bowl champions and a perfect 6-0 Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.
The Raiders don’t have time to even think about that.
This team desperately needs something good to happen. Multiple key players are out due to injury, and the team struggles to stay afloat as the weather is the storm.
WR Jakobi Meyers will return, which is excellent news for the Silver and Black's anemic offense, but is it enough?
It is never easy to face your arch-nemesis, but facing them when weathering a storm outside their attack is brutal.
Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy held his regular press conference today, and we have it all for you.
You can watch that press conference in its entirety below:
Below is a transcript of Getsy’s entire press conference today:
Q: You guys brought in Desmond Ridder. Bringing in a quarterback mid-season like that, what is the process like to get them up to speed?
Coach Getsy: "Yeah, it's a full-throttle process, for sure. You get, not just a quarterback, but any position, whenever you're in that kind of spot where you got to bring someone in, they’ve got to get up to speed quickly. So it's full throttle. It's all day, and he [Desmond Ridder] does a great job. I mean, fortunately, he's got a little bit of a background in terminology and everything. So I think that part of it he's handling really well so far. And yeah, you want to make sure that he's ready to rock and roll for Sunday if his name gets called."
Q: Antonio Pierce talked about he wants to run the ball more and all of that, but the only consistency really in the offense has been inconsistency. I know it's not your fault for penalties, it's not your fault for execution, but as the offensive coordinator, it is technically your fault. How do you fix it when you're already seven games in?
Coach Getsy: "It's all of ours, right? It's a team effort, and I really believe that. And I think the inconsistencies are dissipating. I really do. I think every week it just gets a little bit better and better. I think the mindset, the understanding of what the objective is, is getting clearer each and every week, and running the football alleviates a lot of those issues. Whether you're trying to spread it around or like we're having the issue with turning the ball over, right? So all of that goes into play, and I think that's a part of it. And I think you just have to stick with you believe in what you're doing. You stick with the plan. You keep making sure you're driving the objective of making sure all 11 on the field are on the same page all the time. And that's really the answer."
Q: Desmond Ridder, specifically, I think you were coaching in college when he was in his first year in Cincinnati, and then kind of at the other side of it being in the league when he was coming out. What were your thoughts of his game then, and kind of his career so far?
Coach Getsy: "Yeah, I thought he had an amazing – obviously he took Cincinnati to new heights, and he had an incredible career there. And then he's had some opportunities to play in this league, and he shows that even in this week when we see him, you can see the poise and the comfort level of being around the guys and everything. It's not like he's never been there. And I think that's a comforting thing when you know a guy is not going out and touching the ball for the first time in his career. I think that's something that we'll lean on."
Q: You mentioned to be ready on Sunday if the number gets called upon. What gives you or creates the comfort that Desmond Ridder would be ready, just in case it came to that?
Coach Getsy: "Yeah, that's the whole week, right? This one's going to go all the way up to Saturday as far as how you feel, how far he can take it, and what all the things that he can do. So that's an entire week's process before you come to that point."
Q: You've done it before obviously, but how different was it to be up in the box for that game, especially when you got to go through a quarterback switch mid game?
Coach Getsy: "Yeah, again it's not that much different honestly. The communication part, that's really only thing because you're not sitting right next to somebody while you're having that conversation. You're going through Rich [Scangarello]. That's pretty much the only difference because we're constantly communicating on the headset already on the field and I'm getting stuff to EB [Edgar Bennett], he's getting it to the guys. I'm getting it to James [Cregg], he's getting it to the guys. So, not a whole lot different. Obviously, that situation happening so early in the game, going through the game plan and kind of switching to feel like exactly what Gardner [Minshew] is comfortable with, or what things that he likes more that are in the game plan."
Q: Is that something that you would be planning to do going forward or are you going to still mix it up as far as going to the booth or being on the field?
Coach Getsy: "Yeah, we'll play it by ear, week to week. I’m comfortable both ways. I think it was a lot of good that came from being up there, and I think there's a lot of good from being on the field, so I'm good either way."
Q: With Gardner Minshew having so many turnovers, how do you as a coordinator assist in his confidence or kind of trying to keep him focused, especially in the middle of a game like what happened this past weekend?
Coach Getsy: "Yeah, I think Gardner [Minshew] has had a lot of good happen this year, a lot of good. And we don't want to keep coming back to these three or four plays that happen each week, but I think he's going to make sure that he's focused and he's dialed in. And then when the plays break down and it's not the ideal look, especially when it's not in a critical or, I should say, a desperate situation, you’ve got to let it go, and you’ve got to move on to the next play. And I think that half of those situations we're talking about are that. We just got to let it go, move on. And I think the other half have been a little bit more desperate situations, trying to catch up two-minute type stuff, but we got to let these ones go. And I think that he knows that he's been there, done that, and I think he's ready to move forward. I don't think there's anything other than he's feeling confident, he loves the guys that he's working with, and I think we're in a good shape."
Q: When looking at the Chiefs, how much do you look at the Raiders success that they had on Christmas Day last year? Or because they've changed things up systematically, do you focus just on what you've seen so far from them this season?
Coach Getsy: "Well, I mean from a schematic standpoint, Spags [Steve Spagnuolo] has been doing it for a long time and doing it really well for a long time. So I think the mindset and his style and all that stuff like that, there's just a ton of respect that I've had since I've been in the league when we've gone against him. And so, I don't think that part of it changes. I think it does change in the sense of you understand the mindset that your head coach has and that your team has, and then the importance of this rivalry. I think all that stuff goes into it. Because what I've learned in this league when you play division games it's always a different level of intensity. And I think that that's something that I'm definitely going to expect when we go into this one too."
Q: Jordan Meredith, people have quietly talked about him for a little while now, and he got a real big opportunity on Sunday. What were your thoughts on how he performed?
Coach Getsy: "Yeah, I think Jordan [Meredith] is so steady. I think the fact that we can move him around, left guard, right guard, and throw him in at center, I think all that stuff's been really impressive with him. And I think he answered the bell, and we're excited to see how the rest of the season plays out for him, but it's been positive."
Q: You have a lot of very young offensive linemen who are all showing flashes. How happy are you with them?
Coach Getsy: "Yeah, no, we're excited for them, and we know they're on the right track. I think their play style is the right play style. They're great teammates, and they work their tails off. So, when you have that part of it – and they're smart too, let's put that on top of it. So, I think they're on the right track. By no means are they where they need to be or where they want to be, but when you have that kind of young foundation that you can grow, I think the future is definitely bright."
Q: How many quarterback plays did you have for Tyriek McAllister if he did have to come into the game?
Coach Getsy: "I don't know the exact number, but it wasn't very many. That was one of those moments, right? You panic as a coordinator – when I was a quarterback coach, usually the quarterback coach is in charge of that process, so you get your Friday work in that you do, and yeah. That's never something you ever want to touch, but we were pretty close right there."
Q: Probably depends on the quarterback, but do you have a general approach when a quarterback is struggling as far as what you want to do during the week and kind of get his head right?
Coach Getsy: "I think you nailed it. I think every Q is definitely different. I think some guys like to use their athleticism, some guys like to see a completion, see the free throw go in, and then they feel good after that. And I think you want to make sure that they're trying, not – if it's getting hit too much type of thing, you want to avoid those types of situations. But every guy is different. I think specifically how we're playing; we had Aidan [O'Connell] in and then you go into Gardner [Minshew], but then you have two very different people. So, I think it's definitely specific to the person."
Q: How much are you giving Desmond Ridder a real look to see if he can actually compete to become a starter with this team?
Coach Getsy: "Well, I think with him, right, it starts with making sure that we're all on the same page, and then he knows what he knows what he needs to know before you put him in that situation. So, every day there's going to be a little bit more, and then we'll just continue to grow that thing as we go. I think that's going to be an evolving process as we go through this."
Q: Can you speak a little bit about the wide receiver group and all the changes that they've been through and how you saw them this past week?
Coach Getsy: "Yeah, I think what's special about the group is EB [Edgar Bennett] does a great job of getting those guys to play at a very high level and with a play style that is, I think, respected throughout the league. I mean, they're diving in, getting dirty. And the other part of it is they all have to line up in a bunch of different positions, and then when you hit all these injuries we've had, now you're asking guys to do things that maybe they haven't had a lot of reps at, and new guys coming in and doing new things, and all those guys have done a really nice job of really accepting the role, dominating the role and making sure when it's their turn, they're giving full 100% and they've done a great job."
