Head Coach Hue Jackson addresses the media on Monday. Photo by Tony Gonzales
Q: What did you see on the field defensively?
Coach Jackson: I saw a team that didn't finish just as I said yesterday, no doubt about it. [They] didn't play very well in the second half, need to get better and we will. I've talked to my players and I feel very comfortable after talking to them. They understand what is going on and we'll get it corrected.
Q: What do you for an offense that is going to deliver the ball early so that you cannot get to it?
Coach Jackson: Well, I think it is a combination of everything. I think you have got to play tighter in coverage. I think you go after them a little more, but I think it is a combination of everything. I don't think there is any one particular thing that you do; I just think that you have to play that chess match a little bit to make sure that you are in the best position to give your team an opportunity to win.
Q: What was different between the first half and the second half between what they did and what you guys were able to do?
Coach Jackson: Like I said, they finished. They finished catches, they finished throws, they finished blocks and we didn't. I'm not going to make any excuses men and ladies about what happened yesterday. They second half didn't turn out the way we wanted to. Buffalo won the game; kudos to them as I said yesterday [and] we didn't get it done. We had an opportunity to and we did not finish as a football team. I know everybody wants to pin everything on the defense and that's the most glaring situation because there were five possessions with five touchdowns, all the yards, first downs and all that. I respect that and understand that and my team understands that, but you have to also understand that we win as a team and lose as a team. Yes, do we need to make a stop in the second half and maybe we wouldn't be having this conversation? True. We didn't and at the end of the day, that's the bottom line. We didn't get it done and we need to. We have 14 more opportunities to get this right and hopefully this is a lesson well learned. You know that when you travel like that and I'm not blaming the travel, but when you go to a team's venue to play and you have an opportunity to win, you need to finish the game and we didn't finish the game. There are no if, ands, or buts, there's no other other way around it, I understand that as a head coach, our football team understands that, and our coaches understand it. We need to finish the football game and we would be sitting here 2-0.
Q: When you go over the film with Chuck [Bresnahan], are there scheme things you need to look at?
Coach Jackson: There's no question. There are some things that we could do better. Our players would tell you there are things that they could do better, our coaches would say there are some things that we could do better and we will. We had our chances, I mean, we got our hands on two balls at the end of that game and didn't finish. We had chances to get the quarterback down a couple of times and the guy slips through our hands. So, that is what I'm talking about. When we become the team that I envision us becoming, we will make those plays. We are capable of making those plays and I believe we'll make those plays in the future.
Q: There was a breakdown on their winning touchdown. Can you explain what happened on that play?
Coach Jackson: Coach Jackson left the guy wide open, that's it. Guys, like I told you before, we are going to win as a team and lose as a team. I'm not putting that on any player. I'm the head coach on this football team and we lost, end of story. I'm not pinning anything on one player because it starts with me. I left the guy wide open in the end zone and we lost. Fourth down, end of discussion, they won the game and that's it. We move on from there.
Q: On a more positive note, when you came here last year Darren McFadden started to break out. He looks like now he's really on a roll…
Coach Jackson: I've said it before and I'll say it again; Darren McFadden is one of the most exciting players in this league, bar none. He is a tremendous football player and he's playing good. He'll be the first to tell you that he can play better, he doesn't want to turn the ball over and he did very unfortunate, in an unfortunate time and situation yesterday. I mean those are the things we're talking about. We cannot do those kinds of things and win football games. Our great players have to play great, he played really, really good yesterday, there's greatness in Darren and I expect him to play that way as the season goes.
Q: For that last play, you had five defensive linemen on the field. On 4th and 1, were you expecting run in that situation?
Coach Jackson: Well, you never know. We wanted to make sure we were able to cover every base. Whether they ran it, we felt like we were in a great position to stop that run or whether they threw it, we thought we were in a good enough coverage to get that stop. We didn't get it done.
Q: Were you in a zone on that last play or man-to man?
Coach Jackson: No, I think we were matched up pretty well.
Q: So that's man-to-man?
Coach Jackson: Absolutely.
Q: What was the mood on the plane back, what was the mood this morning and did you feel like you had to bump them up a little bit?
Coach Jackson: Well, the mood coming back was probably disappointment. I think you fly that far and you are up 21-3, you expect to finish the game. It came down to the last play; truth be told, that is what it was. Last play of the game and they won. But today, what I am as a head coach is very honest, upfront, and straightforward with my football team. I told them where we need to get better, where I expect them to get better, what my concerns and demands are for this team, and where we are headed. I think they took it like I expect any pro athlete to take it and I think they are ready to go. Yeah, it is only one game, it was a tough game and we lost. We are not going to make it more than what it is or less than what it is. We need to get better as a football team and I think we need to understand that. I think we accept that responsibility. I accept that responsibility as the head coach in getting this team better prepared to finish a game. We are going to more games like this, hopefully not just like that, but hopefully we're going to have more games where it comes down to winning and losing in the fourth quarter and what we have to do as a team is finish the game.
Q: Have you looked anything into the east-west business and the time difference?
Coach Jackson: No, I don't. We were up 21-3 at halftime. I can't put any stock into any of that, no way and I'm never going to. I'm not that kind of coach looking for an excuse of why this didn't go that way. But here's the deal; they beat the Raiders, very unfortunate because when the Raiders are up 21-3, we didn't finish the game. I'm not going to put any stock into any of that, but I will put stock in how we are going to practice this week; how we are going to come back and get that good feeling back about how we play and how we do go finish a football game. I'm not concerned about all that other stuff; I'm concerned with my team, our attitude is right, our psyche is good. They understand what we need to do. What we need to do is go practice and we can't wait for Wednesday to get here so we can get back on the field and go to practice.
Q: How did you come out of the game health wise?
Coach Jackson: Good, I don't think there was anything major. If I'm not mistaken, I think DeMarcus Van Dyke came out with a little laceration, but nothing major. I think we came out pretty well.
Q: [Michael] Huff wasn't on the field at the end; is he still somewhat limited because of the injury?
Coach Jackson: Somewhat, yes. I wanted to make sure that as he played, it was more about making sure that he was in there when he felt really good. Obviously, he did play and played extremely well when he was in there. But again, he didn't start the game and I think we all know and we wanted to make sure we had the healthy players out there when those things were going on.
Q: Kevin Boss said Friday he thought he was back; is there a set back for him?
Coach Jackson: It wasn't necessarily a set back. Again as a head coach, I get to make a decision about what's our best team to go play. At that time, he was almost back like he said. He felt like he was pretty good, but I get the right to reserve that judgment and think about what's best for our team and what's best for the players. So that's what I decided to do on Sunday.
Q: Penalties still seem to be a problem in the first half you did well without having many penalties, but how are you going to address that penalty issue?
Coach Jackson: Well we have to get better. I mean the penalties aren't what lost the game, come on now, that's not what lost the game. We were better in the penalty department than we were [against Denver]. It did keep drives alive no question, but we were better. You have to start somewhere and I think we got better. Now, were there some penalties at some inopportune times? Yes. As I've said before, we got to continue to work at it, but we will get better at it. I mean there weren't 15, there was eight, so we're seven better than the pace was the week before. Hopefully, we can go from eight down to two you know then we'll be doing something.
Q: Regardless of injuries or not to other receivers, do you think Denarius [Moore] has earned himself some consistent playing time?
Coach Jackson: Oh boy, you better believe he has. I mean there's no doubt. You can't deny that one. What the guy is doing, as I said before, he's done it in training camp, he's done it in practice, he's done it in preseason games and now he's done it in a regular season game. He is as advertised. He made some plays. It going to be hard to keep that young man off the field and he hasn't been. He's been one of the active guys and we'll continue to fire it at him.
Q: There were some frustrations expressed by some of the players yesterday and directing at certain unnamed teammates, in other words, guys not doing what they're suppose to…
Coach Jackson: I believe that is done, there is no more frustration. There will be nothing addressed at a teammate anymore. Okay, let me make that very clear. There will be no more addressing players, names, positions, any of that as long as I'm the head coach here. Here's the deal; we lost as a football team. All that crap about this guy that guy; you got to look in the mirror first as a football player. Last time I checked, I'm the head coach of this team and they are the players. So, there isn't anybody else to be commenting on any other position. If they want to comment on themselves, they're more than welcome to, but we're done. That is over. Okay? Over. Those days are done.
Q: Sounds like something you addressed?
Coach Jackson: You are doggone right I did.
Q: Is that internal pressure a good thing if it's not going public?
Coach Jackson: I think all that is good because it means that people care. But, it's got to be handled the right way. It's got to be handled the right way starting with me. I think we got that message across. It's pretty loud and clear how we're going to do it. I think our players understand it and respect it and I think it's something that sometimes some things need to happen before you can make sure things come to a head and get it over with. I think we've addressed that gorilla, that gorilla is out of the room and we're fine.
Q: A follow up to that question; some of your players said that it's sort of a historical thing that they felt that the Raiders are less likely to get a call like the one at the end.
Coach Jackson: Hear me clearly. I've heard all that and I've read it. Listen, that's over with and we're not dealing with that anymore. That's all crap in my opinion. Forget what the Raiders have done in the past, this official and that official, this that and the other. We lost; make more plays, get them stopped on defense, score more on offense, do what you need to do on special teams and win the game. That's not what we did, so this had nothing to with an official, nothing to do with a call, has nothing to do with nothing. This has to do with a group of men finishing a football game that they had an opportunity to win and they didn't do it. So, it's like anybody else, you start looking for other things. You know everybody self-checks everybody else's stuff before you check your own. So, what we're going to be doing is check our own from here on in. We aren't going to get in to the officiating game, we're not going to get into this guy, that guy, that position. But what we're going to do is this is Coach Jackson's football team and this is the way he wants it done. We're going to work, we're going to get better, and when we become the team we want to become, we won't be having these conversations.
Q: Coach, there have been reports that something was going on between you and a fan after the game; what happened?
Coach Jackson: Well, that's for me to know. It wasn't nothing much. It doesn't matter, that's over with, that is yesterday's news. Next case, what we got?
Q: How do you want these guys to show accountability?
Coach Jackson: By the way we play. I mean that we are accountable to each other by going back to the game and playing football the way we know we can play. A week ago, we were in here talking about how we were pretty good, did some good things defensively, offensively, and special teams. Then all of a sudden today, now we're talking about, 'Oh wow where is this team?' This is the same football team and this is the same team that had a chance to win the game at the end that didn't get it done. This is going to be the same team that's going to go out and play the Jets, but hopefully this is a team that's improved and learned a lesson about how you have to play this game every minute. I mean you can't take a play off, you can't take an opportunity off, you have to finish everything you do. It's tough in the NFL and I think we have a good group of men in that locker room who hopefully have learned a very valuable lesson that we can learn from this and move forward that we have to play Raider football all the time, not just for a half but you have to do it for 60 minutes.
Q: Your offensive line seems to be doing a much better job of protecting Jason [Campbell] than it did last year. What's the difference?
Coach Jackson: As I said a long time ago in training camp, I think you guys know, it took me some time to finally come to a conclusion as to who those five guys were going to be. I think they are getting very well coached. I think Bob Wylie and Steve Wisniewski do a great job. I think we put them in situations where they can be successful. I think those guys are fighters, they work at it, and they take pride in making sure their quarterback doesn't get hit. I think Jason appreciates it and I know I do too.
Q: Your team obviously didn't feel good about the result, how do you fall on tough love and soft love?
Coach Jackson: I fell on both of those today, but we're pros, and to me, as I said, I'm going to be very honest with my football team. I'm going to tell them what we need to do and how we need to do it, but I think they all know I love them to death and respect them. But, there is a performance level here that we have to demand and get. If we're not getting it, then I'm going to tell you, and if I'm getting it, then I'm going to slap you on the butt. That's just the way it goes and I think they like that. I think most players like to be told the truth, I'm not going to be one to not tell them the truth, and we didn't get it done. We didn't finish a football game that we had an opportunity to win, we need to get better, but we will get better and we'll start that process on Wednesday.
Q: How did you grade yourself as a coach yesterday?
Coach Jackson: Not very good, I lost. At the end of the day, we lost. I threw a flag when I shouldn't have thrown a flag. There are a couple other decisions I wish I had back, but that's part of it too. It's part of the process and I'm part of that process with these players. I lost yesterday and I'm looking forward to winning starting this week.
Q: Did the official ever tell you to pick it up real quick? Or did you get that kind of advice?
Coach Jackson: Truth be told, I knew in my heart that I wasn't supposed to throw that flag. I got caught up in the moment, running down there, and using my right arm. I used to throw a football once upon a time, so I kind of let her rip and as I was letting her rip, I go, 'Hue, there is a new rule, you can't challenge a scoring play,' but it was too late. So, the guy came over and he was nice about it, but he still gave me a 15-yard penalty, so that's the way it goes.
Q: At the end of the first half, you used your timeouts. What happened with that?
Coach Jackson: I did, and I will tell you why. That was another blunder on my part, in my opinion. I wanted to not go back to our jumbo package, which we scored on earlier, for the first touchdown, and we had three wide receivers in the game at the time. We were playing under a quick clock and the clock was resetting pretty quickly. What I should have done is let it all run down, then took the timeout at the last second, but then again I didn't. I made a decision, called the timeout right then and there, got my thought process together. [I] put in who I wanted to put in, kept that group in, I kind of designed a play right there on the sideline, and it worked; touchdown. That's what it's all about; like I said, I don't grade myself an 'A', by no stretch of the imagination. If we lose, I lost and there are things I have written down that I need to do better and I will. I will continue to get better and this team will too.
Q: How close would you have needed to be to let Sebastian [Janikowski] kick at the end?
Coach Jackson: If we had completed that ball on the sideline to [Derek] Hagan, I would have let him attempt it, but we couldn't get it. They did a good job at covering and make sure we didn't get another 10 yards because if we had gotten another 10 yards, he would have kicked the ball. I promise you that.
Q: You talk about wanting to create a certain image for this football team. Talk a little bit about Rex Ryan and what he has been able to do for that football team in the past couple of years.
Coach Jackson: He has done it well. He is a close personal friend, heck of a football coach. He went there with a mentality that they were going to be a real good football team, they were going to be the bullies of the east, and they are. They have been in the AFC Championship game two years running and he is a fantastic coach. His players follow his lead and they have gotten it done. He has also had a rough patch at one time too; as we all do in this business. It's not just all peaches and cream all the time either. But, I think he has got that team believing what they are and they are playing that way. There's going to be a confident, strong, football team that is coming to the O [O.co Coliseum] this week, but I strongly believe that we are a very strong confident football team too and we need to get back to playing Raider football.
Q: Do you think the offense has reason to believe they are on to something?
Coach Jackson: I do and I think they should have a reason to believe that anyway. It's year two of that process, I mean, we finished year one strong and year two is starting just like I thought it would. We have a quarterback that I am very confident in, we have a very good runner, we have an offensive line that is growing, we have a few good runners I should say, we have a very talented young wide receiver, and we have some other guys; DHB [Darrius Heyward-Bey], Jacoby [Ford] once he's back, and Louis [Murphy]. Once these guys are back, we have very good weapons on this team. What we have got to do is get everyone back and get back to playing football the way we know they can play. I think the offense needs to continue to grow and get better, and I think they will.
Q: I assume you had a discussion with Al [Davis]. How was your first debriefing with him after a loss?
Coach Jackson: Every conversation I have had with coach has been awesome and I mean that. Win, lose or draw, we share the same vision, we want to win, we expect to win, and when you work here at the Raiders, you have the expectation of winning. What I have got to do is make sure our players understand that every time we walk out there, that's the purpose, that we can leave no stone unturned to make sure we can finish these football games.
Q: What did you see on that last play? Did you think it was your ball?
Coach Jackson: When it first happened, yes. But you know what, truth be told, that thing is over with now. I don't even want to revisit that in my mind. That's over and they won the game. Ladies and gentlemen, the Bills won the game, the Raiders lost and that's all it is.
Q: Do you expect to get any of those wide receivers back this week?
Coach Jackson: I'm not sure, we will see as we go. I hope so, I sure intend to. I mean we have Revis island coming in here. We have to solve that island. I hope we can get them all back.
Q: Can you talk about what you see in [Denarius] Moore?
Coach Jackson: I guess you guys are in awe by the things he does. I'm not; that's what they are supposed to do, I'm just being honest. That's what a real good wide receiver in the National Football League is supposed to do, make those kinds of plays. He's making them. He made them in training camp, you guys are writing the same thing, he made them in preseason, and he is making them now. I'm not surprised by anything this young man does and that's what receivers do. He is doing a fantastic job and he continues to do so.
Q: Is he going to start?
Coach Jackson: There you go again! [Laughs] I will let you know that as the week unfolds.
