Getty Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams.
Eight games into his Las Vegas Raiders career, Davante Adams has had some ups and downs. Coming off of his worst game of the year against the New Orleans Saints where he only made one catch for three yards, Adams came in hot against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He had six catches for 88 yards and a touchdown in just the first quarter.
He ended up finishing the game with 10 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns. However, all of the damage he did was in the first half. He had some costly drops in the second half and the Raiders lost 27-20 to the Jaguars after having a 17-0 lead. Las Vegas really tried to establish the run in the second half after Josh Jacobs was mostly shut out in the first half.
The running back had some success but the Raiders’ offense didn’t score a single point in the final two quarters. The team had much more success in the air against the Jacksonville defense but that didn’t stop head coach Josh McDaniels from trying to get the run game going. Adams was asked about the change in playcalling in the second half and he was a bit confused by the approach from the coaching staff.
“So, I understand that part of it,” Adams said of having offensive balance, via ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez. “But I also understand the part that: if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. That’s kind of the way I think. We can rush for 700 yards in a game and I’m still going to be like, ‘Hey, man, I’m ready for the ball.’ Every play. That’s just the dawg mentality and that’s why I’m here. That ain’t no secret. So at the end of the day, we don’t need to make it any spicier than it needs to be but I think y’all feel me on that.”
Adams Not Trying to Call out Coaches
Adams’ comments do come off as a bit of criticism toward the coaching staff; mainly McDaniels, who calls the plays. However, he wanted to make it clear that he has no issues with his coaches but just thinks the approach could be different going forward.
“It’s not a shot at my coaches,” Adams said. “I love my coaches. I love them to death, and I think that I’ve had an incredible time, aside from losing these games, just growing with them and finding ways to try to continue to do this, and I wouldn’t trade them at all. But at the end of the day, if I’m rolling in certain situations like that, or if the pass game is something that’s helping us move the ball and win games, then, obviously, that’s the idea. You want to stick with what’s working.”
Adams Frustrated With How Raiders Are Losing
Adams is not used to losing. He lost 10-combined games over his last three seasons with the Green Bay Packers. The Raiders were a popular pick to make the playoffs this season but that ship has sailed. The team would be lucky to win more than five games with the way they’ve been playing despite having a talented roster. Adams is frustrated with the way the Raiders are losing games.
“We did a decent enough job to still put ourselves in a decent position moving into the second half and then, we just, basically fell apart,” Adams said. “I don’t even know how else to even characterize it. But it’s frustrating. Ain’t no way we should be losing games at the rate we are, let alone the way that we are, and I’ve over the middle at the end of the game, I’ve got to make a play on that ball.”