HENDERSON, Nev.—The Las Vegas Raiders are riding a wave of optimism under Antonio Pierce's leadership, and as they barrel towards training camp, OTA season is well underway.
Rich Scangarello, the esteemed quarterback coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, has shared his invaluable insights on the performance of the Silver and Black signal callers during NFL OTAs, and we have it all for you.
You can watch it below or read the transcript if you desire.
Quarterbacks Coach Rich Scangarello
Q: You spent some time with the Raiders very early in your career to now having a full-circle moment coming back. How cool was it to be back in the building? How have things changed from your time in Oakland to Vegas? Coach Scangarello: “I feel very fortunate to be back. I mean, from top to bottom, I think the organization is in a great place. The facility they built here is as good as anyone in the league. The town, the city, living here; I've been in Vegas now for a little over a year actually, but just the people, you can feel the vibe, the community is always rallying around it, and I just feel like where we're at and where we're headed and the leadership and all that together, just the overall mentality of everyone involved. I think it's in a good spot and healthy spot and has a chance to be really special.”
Q: I know it’s early on in OTAs, but what are your impressions of Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell so far? Coach Scangarello: “Been very pleased. I mean, it's competitive. They're both incredible, good personalities. They balance each other well. They're different how they approach it, they’re different how they play, but their mindsets are similar. They're bringing out the best in each other. We've thrown a lot at them and they've handled it well. But I feel like we got great opportunities for one of these guys to lead us to do some great things. And I think that both of them are capable, and the style of play is probably a little different with each, but it's exciting and they both bring a lot to the table.”
Q: With Aidan O’Connellspecifically, what have you seen from him in terms of just being in the building, being around and what he's trying to do between year one and two? Coach Scangarello: “Just watching from afar last year, I was incredibly impressed with how he handled the situation. Both of the quarterbacks in the room with him last year, I had prior friendships and relationships with, and they were extremely impressed with them. So, as I've seen him up close, I just feel like the individual is everything you'd hoped he'd be. He's just got a lot of internal drive, discipline, how he sees the game the right way. He wants to be great. He'll work at it. He's selfless and he has a great deal of respect among the teammates, the coaching staff and everyone in the building. So, I think to do that as a rookie thrown into how he was, I give him a lot of credit and says a lot about the individual, and without that it's tough to be successful in this league, definitely to be great at the position. So, that's exciting to work with.”
Q: You’ve been in situations where there was a clear starter thistime of year and the job wasto get him in the backups ready for the season. That's still the case this year, but then there's also the component of deciding who that starter is going to be among the candidates. How do you go about balancing both preparing somebody for the season but then also making a decision who's going to be the leader of this team? Coach Scangarello: “Yeah, it's tricky because there's one other element; the defense has been here and there's some continuity in that respect, and we're putting in a new offense. But I think it's a credit to Luke [Getsy], the flexibility and the offense’s ability to adapt to the type of player you have. So, we got to put those guys in a position to do what we think that they can do for us well, but on top of that, let them compete equally and see who emerges. That competition always brings out the best. There are enough reps to go around. Obviously, you'd always like to have one guy established, but I don't think it will linger. I think someone will emerge. And it's exciting. Like, I think it's a good problem to have. I think it's healthy, it's positive and I think that the cupboard is not bare here. They’re some really good football players, there's a great mentality, so they have to do their part. We have to let others around them be the best versions of themselves and we got to max ourselves out. I think there's a clear path to that, and I think that they're on track and I'm excited about it.”
Q: From your point of view, what do you think are the biggest strengths in each one of these quarterbacks game? Coach Scangarello: “Talking about Gardner, I've always had a great deal of respect for him in the league. Coming out I had some familiarity with him, and I liked him as one of my top guys as an undrafted, late pick. I have a great deal of respect for those types of individuals that make it in this league. They have incredible moxie and just like baller in him, and it takes that when you're not six-foot-four, have the biggest arm. You have to have the mindset and the grit. He's made of that stuff. And so that's an important element to your team in any capacity. So, that's exciting to see that happen with Gardner and so overall the group themselves, both of them, I'm excited how they're playing off each other and I just think they're going to make each other better.”
Q: Do you think maybe something a little overlooked with Aidan is his arm strength and his arm talent? Coach Scangarello: “From what I've seen, he's exceptionally accurate. I don't say that lightly. Everyone has traits and there are strengths and weaknesses to every quarterback in this league, but he throws the ball where he needs it to go at a very high level. So, that's exciting and it's important in this system. And as far as the mobility and who's the guy and all that, that's the beauty of this system. It has flexibility to fit the personnel, whether it's your skill players, your line, or more importantly, your quarterback type of play. And so, I'm excited about his arm talent. I think he throws the ball very well and he can push the ball down the field. The guys that have been in this offense, the Kirk Cousins type players and things like that have done exceptionally well, and I think that he has those kinds of traits, so excited to see if we can bring out that version of him.”
Q: The thing he did so well down the stretch lastseason is protect the football and take care of it, which is obviously a main job for a quarterback. There is alwaystalk around thisteam about trying to increase the explosives and get the ball downfield. How do you continue to protect the football and manage the game in that way, but also increase the explosive plays? Coach Scangarello: “In my opinion, I love having great tight ends to do that. And I say that, my experience and Luke's experience we're kind of similar paths and beliefs. That's why I'm excited to work with him and being around him. I've heard this from a lot of people in the league, he's one of the best minds I've been around. He's a very good teacher, so he knows how to bring out the best in guys. My experience in San Francisco is you have these guys that are critical chess pieces, like [Kyle] Juszczyk, 44, and [George] Kittle and these guys that you move around and they're chess pieces to create matchups, one-on-ones for both them and you're wide outs, and to be aggressive running the ball and being able to attack people aggressively with explosives off of that and be dominant on first and second down. And I think that's been San Francisco. That's the experience Luke had in Green Bay. And you look at the teams at the top that do that well, the Green Bay's, the Niners, the Rams. They're our family, and I think that we have an opportunity to try and build something like that. It won't be easy, there will be bumps in the road, but I think we can trend that way with the types of players we have and make it come alive.”
Q: You said earlier you’ve been around Vegas before you took this job. What brought to Vegas? Coach Scangarello: “I took last year off, recharged my batteries and it was a great experience. Honestly, I needed it, and yeah, I have a number of friends out here so I kind of enjoyed being out here. I'm a West Coast guy and it became my home. I experienced the Knights last year, it was phenomenal. And now it's our opportunity to do something similar.”
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