Raiders' Chip Kelly Demands This Performance vs. Chargers

Kelly spoke to the media before practice on Friday.

To hear today's comments, view below

Raiders quarterback Geno Smith spoke before Thursday's practice. Below is a partial transcript.

Q: You just said that, from the player perspective, it's just another game. But when you look at the coaches and the rivalry there, have you ever seen a rivalry like between Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh? 

Smith: "No. I mean, you think about college, professional, I mean, their days in Seattle and San Fran, they both built great teams and had to go through one another to get to the Super Bowl. And, yeah, I mean, I watched those games. A lot of those games, they were very impressive games to watch. And when you talk to Coach [Pete Carroll], man, like again, every opportunity is a championship opportunity. And so whatever he feels with that rivalry, that's on him, but I'm focused on the game and going out there and executing and making the right reads." 

Q: What's it like for you to be able to have as many weapons as you do if you spread the ball around like you did on Sunday? 

Smith: "Somebody told me we had no weapons. So, I mean, it's just kind of like -- what is it? I think we got some of the best guys in the league, and, yeah, I mean, as long as I make the right decisions and spread the ball around and set my feet and get the ball out, those guys will make plays as we've seen. So it gives me great confidence knowing that those guys can do that, and I put the pressure on myself to make sure I'm out there making the right reads and the right throws and getting the ball in their hands." 

Q: Along those lines, a lot of work went in between you and Michael Mayer, you and Tre Tucker to get it to where it needs to be. How good did it feel that it came to fruition on Sunday? 

Smith: "Yeah, I mean, it felt good, but that's just one game. Like I said, man, we got 16 more of these things that we got to go out there and take care of, and we got to continue to grow throughout the season. There's a lot of great things that we did, but I think we all can agree that we left a lot of yards out there and maybe some points as well. And so those are the things I'm focused on, is how can we improve on those things so that we can go out there and fully execute throughout the entire game, so we can see exactly what we can be?

That's really important to me, but Mike [Mayer] and Tre [Tucker] have done a great job, extremely hard working guys. They're always prepared, and I enjoy going to work with these guys because they work extremely hard. They want to get better, and we're all eager to learn, so we're in it together. We're getting better, and it's going to be good."