OAKLAND RAIDERS
Head Coach Jon Gruden
(opening statement) "I'd like to congratulate the Ravens. They're a good football team. Very good defensively. Credit the young quarterback, and credit their coaching staff for making some great adjustments and modifying their offense to suit this kid. Very disappointed, obviously, with the loss."
(on how QB Derek Carr was when he came off the field) "He's OK. Took some shots, obviously. We fell behind two scores. We have to pass protect better when we have to pass protect. Everybody knows we have to pass protect. The problem all year was the problem today. When you get in a predictable pass situation, we have to rise up and do better. Credit to [Ravens' OLB Matt] Judon. Judon's going to be a heck of a player. Doggone Judon."
(on if QB Derek Carr was pulled off the field from upstairs) "Yes, he was."
(on how the Ravens controlled the game in the second half) "They didn't make it really complicated. They have a great, I think, future Hall of Fame guard in [Marshal] Yanda. They probably called on their captain, and said, 'Hey, we're going after these guys.' And, that's what they did. When you can establish the inside run, the perimeter offense, all the bells and whistles with [Ravens' QB Lamar] Jackson, they're very hard to defend. You've got to stop the inside run, or you have no chance to stop everything else. They took over the game. Credit to them."
(on if QB Derek Carr's 20 completions were on him) "We had two big offensive pass interference penalties in the first half. One of them backed up on Seth Roberts, one of them going in on Jared Cook. I thought those were big impact calls in this game. The Ravens played a lot of tight coverage, and we had some opportunities to make plays, but we didn't make them. I know Marcell [Ateman] dropped one early. We challenged the play later. We just didn't make the plays against a very good defensive team that needed to be made today. It goes back to me."
(on Ravens' WR Michael Crabtree's touchdown) "I don't understand it. I'll have to look at it. Nick Nelson was obviously in the game, and we'll have to take a look at it, but credit Crabtree."
(on the Raiders' secondary) "That was good. Anytime you get turnovers in the territory where we got them, it was good. I was pleased with a lot of things – the way we started the game on offense, the way we came out in the second half and scored a touchdown against a great defense. We just haven't been able to put four quarters together, and it goes back to me, honestly."
(on what he made of the punting today) "That's disappointing. You give up a 75-yard punt return, 75-yard pass to a tight end, you can't get off the field, stop the inside running game, and you can't protect when you have to. Those are the storylines to me. Those are things that I have to figure out, and until we do, we're going to have a lot of long faces."
(on if he thought about not playing QB Derek Carr the last series) "I was thinking about putting AJ [McCarron] in, but Derek was fine. He wants to finish with his teammates. There's a certain responsibility I think you have as a coach to let your quarterback, your captain of your team, finish the deal with the rest of his teammates, no matter how it gets."
RB Doug Martin
(on the offense) "The offense, I think we did well in the first half. We needed to protect the ball and protect the quarterback in the third quarter. We've just got to finish stronger."
(on his touchdown) "I was kind of sure I was in, but I still wanted to hear it from the refs. Everybody was telling me, 'You got in,' but I didn't want to hear that. I wanted to hear the refs say it first. It was a team effort by the offense. It was a good drive. We had a few good drives throughout the game, and I'm proud of the offense in that aspect, but we have to finish stronger and stick together."
(on the opening drive) "We got the ball and started fast. We've got to start fast as an offense, and we've got to keep that tempo going, no matter what the defense does. No matter what happens, we've got to keep the tempo moving forward, pushing forward, and just keep it up throughout the whole game. That's something we've got to get better at."
(on how hard it is to keep the momentum going when the opposing team controls the ball) "We've just got to do what we know, do what we do in practice. We've got to be detail-oriented, doing your own job and not doing too much. Staying calm throughout the whole series, it's tough, but hats off to the Ravens' offense. How they were able to run the ball and eat up so much clock… We did it one time on that first series, but we've got to do that on a consistent basis."
WR Jordy Nelson
(on the offense) "I thought we made some plays. We were moving the ball well, but we just didn't make enough of them."
(on his play) "I just didn't make enough plays."
(on what he can take away from this game) "We'll look at the film on Monday and find out. You can take good and bad from every game."
(on going forward) "We're just working, trying to get better and keep improving."
LB Nicholas Morrow
(on the defense's play) "We've got to get better as a unit. We've got to play better. We've got to communicate with each other. We can do it. We've done it before, but we just have to continue and be consistent."
(on the linebackers) "I have a lot of confidence with the guys we have in this room, and we'll just keep working and get better."
(on the Ravens' running game) "Obviously, they had some creative runs with the quarterback. [Ravens' QB Lamar Jackson] is fast."
S Marcus Gilchrist
(on his interception) "Gareon [Conley] made a good play. I ended up being in the right place at the right time, but that was all Gareon who made the play, and I just capitalized on it."
(on the secondary's play) "We didn't win, so obviously, we didn't do enough. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about – winning or losing. So obviously, we have to find ways of making more plays."
(on moving forward) "We'll just go back and look at the film and try to adjust off of that."
TE Jared Cook
(on the game) "We've got to do a better job staying on the field on third downs. We've got to keep ourselves in first-and-manageable or second-and-manageable. We can't wait until third down and pick up these huge chunks. When you get behind the sticks, and you get down to a good team, it's hard to come back."
(on the offensive pass interference call) "That ref has been messing with me since the Cowboys game last year, so I think it's targeting by him."
(on his touchdown catch) "Me and Derek [Carr] got the look we wanted. We looked at each other pre-snap and knew it was on. He did a great job, because he got drilled when he threw that ball. He was getting hit as he was throwing, and he left the ball outside, and I just tried to make a play on it. I really didn't even know it was a touchdown. I thought they might call another P.I. on me, but I didn't know it was a touchdown until me and Derek were over there talking and they said it was a touchdown, so I'll take it. I thought I was out on the one or the two."
(on the future) "It's kind of like going back to Day One. You've got to do the little things right in order to be successful. It's hard to win in this league as it is. You've got to be good at the little things and master the little things before you get a win. It's back to that; it's back to step one – mastering techniques, taking advantage of your abilities."
(on his advice as a veteran on a young team) "Confidence and instilling in them that they belong here, that they made it this far and that their legacy is still yet to be proven, so go out there and prove it. The team needs them. It's just words of wisdom. It's on them to accept it, though. You can talk all day until you're blue in the face, but if someone is hearing you and not listening, then it makes it a little bit more difficult."
(on QB Derek Carr) "He's got heart. How many people would want to be back there with 350-pound dudes coming down at them, or trying to bend them and tear their leg off? And, you've got to deal with that all game. For him to be standing back there and delivering the pass that he does and still be successful, like, you're taking a 'W' to me. You're the man to me. I don't care what you say. So, he's been put in a very tough position this year, but he's handled it with grace and honor, and he's doing what we need him to do for this team."
S Reggie Nelson
(on the Ravens halftime offensive adjustments) "They made their adjustments, and we made ours. Unfortunately they just did a good job of running the ball. We just have to watch the film to see what we did wrong in the running game and try to fix it. We have a great challenge next week, so we have our work cut out for us."
(on the defense forcing four interceptions in the last 2 games) "That's always positive. We're playing good. We're trying to get better each week. It just so happened that it didn't go our way this week. We've got to keep playing and finish strong next week. Guys made plays on the ball today. People were in the right spots to make those plays. That's how you win games, by creating turnovers."
(on the Ravens' offensive play mix) "We watched the film. They did a good job with Lamar [Jackson] who managed the game for them. He did a great job."
WR Marcell Ateman
(on the passing game) "We did good. Certain things happen out there that we can't control. It just comes down to us executing and making plays. The second half, we didn't have the ball much. I feel like we didn't have that much time."
(on feeling pressure not having much time and the Ravens scoring) "Yes, it was a big emphasis. We don't have the ball and they're scoring. We had to make something happen quick. We didn't try to put pressure on ourselves, but we tried to make the tempo go fast. They were giving us different looks, because we're trying to move the ball like that."
(on the first-half play) "We were only down three [at the half], so coming back out we made a few big plays, but we didn't have the ball that much. Then they scored and then it just got out of hand."
(on WR Michael Crabtree) "I grew up watching Michael Crabtree, especially when Texas Tech came into the league. He's a big receiver who makes plays. I thought Gareon [Conley] played good against him today."
(on his incomplete pass that was challenged) "I thought I had the catch. When I saw it on the screen, the tip of [the football] hit the ground. I thought I had control of it when I hit the ground, but they said the tip of it had hit the ground."
LB Marquel Lee
(on the Ravens run/pass mix) "We were prepared for that, but it's just about execution. We have to execute better as a whole. We gave up too many big plays, that's what ended up hurting us. We didn't stop the run that well today. We've got to go back to the drawing board and fix it."
(on how the defense started the game) "We came out firing. We came out with some energy. We were stopping the run early, the read option early. That was our plan, we just had to keep it up for four quarters."
QB Derek Carr
(on his ankle injury) "I hurt it pretty bad. I tried to stand up, but I couldn't. Once I got to the sideline, I tried to hurry up and get back in there. I wanted to finish the game with my team. It's important to me, and I want my teammates to know that I am going to finish a game if I possibly can. I will not take the easy way out."
(on facing the Ravens and their ball control offense) "In a way it reminded me of college, when we used to play Air Force all the time. They are going to run the ball as much as they can, and keep you off the field. They will not throw the ball 50 times and give you a lot of possessions. Their job is to kill the clock, and you're not going to get too many plays on offense."
(on being sacked three plays in a row) "I don't ever remember that happening before. It was very frustrating because we were behind by so much. We had to look for big plays. I had to hold the ball a little longer. We had some good looks, but I couldn't get the ball there."
(on the Raiders opening drive) "On the first drive we were able to get down there and score, but after a while it was a struggle. How many big plays did we have that were called back by penalties? That got old real fast. It is very tough and very frustrating. We need to cut down the penalties and execute better and I need to play better."
(on his special connection with TE Jared Cook) "'Cookie' [Jared Cook] is my guy. He's always in my ear and there are many times he will see what I see. His attitude is just, 'Put it near me and I will catch it.' He made a great play on that touchdown pass. He caught it one-handed, and got it in the end zone. We needed that. He's a heck of a player and a good friend."
(on his ankle injury keeping him out of next week's game) "I can tell you right now, I am playing next week. I am not sure what it will feel like, but I will be out there on the field."
CB Gareon Conley
(on if the Ravens offense surprised him) "They didn't surprise me at all. We expected them to run the ball a lot, and they did."
(on his impressions of QB Lamar Jackson) "He played very well today. He really gives them [Baltimore Ravens] a dual threat. He can beat you with the run, he can beat you with the pass. The important thing is to read your keys, and stay with him."
(on how the Raiders defense played) "I thought we played OK on defense. We did a pretty good job preventing big plays. We just have to keep getting better."
