New Offensive Weapon Bolden Talks Raiders

HENDERSON, Nev.--From the moment Las Vegas Raiders Owner Mark Davis shook the hand of new GM Dave Ziegler, the new man in charge of the roster has been working.

Ziegler has been on a mission to overhaul a good roster by bolstering weak areas with fresh talent, and strong areas with depth for competition and hedging against injury.  To be frank, Ziegler has done an outstanding job.

One signing that is flying under many people's radar is the addition of a third-down threat and a virtually Swiss Army Knife of talent:  Brandon  Bolden.

Bolden recently spoke about being part of the Silver and Black and gave an inside look at new coach Josh McDaniels.  You can watch the entire press conference below, or read the transcript as well.

Running Back Brandon Bolden

Q: You know Josh McDaniels’ offense like the back of your hand, but for the new teammates that you're about ready to partner up with, is it an offense that is easy to pick up? Or do you expect there to be a learning curve with the Raiders?

Bolden: “With Josh and everything, I know firsthand that this is not the easiest offense to learn, but once you get it, you can't forget it. It’s like riding a bike. So, I just talked to Josh and I'm here to help as much as I can, try to simplify it and explain it, put it on player's terms because with Josh been coaching for as long as he has, he kind of he doesn't have that connection to the players, like these guys haven’t heard this. So, I'm interested to see how it’s going to go. I'm very excited to come in and help and do whatever I can to make sure we all on the same page and go out there and see what we can do as a team.”

Q: I noticed that you were representing a custom-made Frank Pitts jersey. Can you just talk about what it's like to be able to now sign with a team that has such family ties with you?

Bolden: “This is big for me. For those who don't know, last year in New England I changed my number from 38 to 25 to honor my grandfather (Frank Pitts). And this season, when I had an idea that I could possibly end up here and I talked to my family about it, my grandmother ran to the bank and the first thing she did was like, you have to wear this shirt when you go up there and sign your contract. Because without him and my family support, I wouldn't be here today even playing football. I was a baseball player my entire life. So, to be here and to be part of this organization, as he was, this is phenomenal for me. Just the history behind the team and that he's part of the history makes it even more important to me. So, I'm excited, I'm glad. I can't even get the words out. I'm very excited to be in Black and Silver.”

Q: You’ve been around Josh McDaniels for a while now. What's he like off the field and kind of away from the game as a person?

Bolden: “Josh is a great guy. I love Josh. Josh is a very personal coach. He's a player's coach. He likes to bring the best out of his players, and he likes to challenge his players as well. So just off the field, casually, Josh is just one of the guys, right? We can hang out; we can talk about whatever. It's more than football to him. He’s a very family-oriented guy and that's how he was raised and that's the way he coaches. And so, I love Josh. Me and Josh, we’ve bumped heads a few times, but like I said, it’s family. So, you bump heads and then we shake hands and get it over with, and we're back for the same common goal. Love Josh. Love him as a football coach. And just off the field, he's one of the more personable coaches I've had the pleasure of being coached by. I love just going in his office and you could talk about anything from the weather to something you saw on CNN an hour ago. Josh is just one of those personal guys.”

Q: When you hit free agency, how much of a priority was it to try to get back together with Josh? Were you looking at any other spots? Or when Josh called and said, hey, we want you here. Was it just, okay, I'm in now?

Bolden: “Actually, I was just sitting at home. This is not my first go around with free agency. I was just sitting at home, kind of just weighing out the options, and when I did finally talk to Josh, it was kind of one of those situations where, what would be the best situation for me and my family going forward? And then this was a very easy choice, schematically and on a personal level as well. This is a very familiar face, familiar faces, there is a lot of coaches on this staff that I've had the pleasure being coached by in the past and a few of them more recently. So, this has a hell of a ride and when Josh pretty much made his phone call it kind of summed it up where I was going for me.”

Q: You're extremely versatile. Josh loved to use you on third down where he could isolate you on linebackers. Can you just talk about their usage of you and how you became such a weapon in one-on-one against the linebackers?

Bolden: “I can't even say it was just the usage of me. If you go to Josh’s history, I was there with Shane Vereen, Danny Woodhead. I was there when James White came in. I’ve learned from a lot of players over my time, and it was just one of those situations. Josh already knew what I could do as a player. He's seen me do it before and it was just a matter of going out and doing it. I appreciate him giving me all those opportunities and a chance to finally get out there and show what I can do. Because like I said, without him I wouldn't be as far as I would on offense especially. But I appreciate him for everything he's done for me. I appreciate the players before me that helped me carve out to the player I am today. So, it's not just Josh and it wasn't just me, it was it was a group effort to get to this point.”

Q: You've been in some pretty crowded backfields before, and you've kind of carved out that role. So, what do you see your role being in this backfield with so much talent back there as well around you and kind of fitting in with them?

Bolden: “I'm expecting the same role that I had a New England. And that's they help everybody as best as I can, whether it's on special teams or on offense. I'm not looking for a specific role. I'm looking to play football and win some games at the same time. So, I don't really have any say of what I play or how much I play, I love the game of football and I want to get out there and play ball.”

Q: What was the things you liked about the way that you've been used in this offense? What's your favorite part about the scheme that the Josh has had you in before?

Bolden: “I have to say my favorite part is that you can't predict what's going on. We can line up in any formation and it could be anything that could possibly happen. So, it keeps defenses on their toes, keep us on our toes as an offense too because we don't know what we can possibly get in to. So just the fact that you never know what's coming or where it's coming from. That's my favorite part of this offense.”

Q: What is it really about the Patriots' way, number one? And number two, can some of that way be brought here to Las Vegas with what you guys are trying to do?

Bolden: “The Patriot way, to sum it up, is just doing things the right way without people having to tell you to do it the right way. It's kind of like just do it right when no one's watching and the whole, do your job and everything else. You're not worried about the next guy. You're worried about your assignment. And if they do their assignment, it’s like a puzzle piece. If I do my job and you do your job and we put our two pictures together, we make a bigger picture. And so, when you look at it from that standpoint, it's fairly easy and everybody's just going to put their own spin on it. And I'm sure when we get down to the offseason program and OTAs, we're going to have conversations about it as a team and figure out what works best for us and hopefully make some things shake this season.”

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