After struggling through Geno Smith press conferences last season, it will be a breath of fresh air for Las Vegas Raiders fans to listen to Fernando Mendoza. Well, when he inevitably gets his opportunity to start and speak to reporters consistently, anyway, which may come sooner than some think.
Mendoza had a great showing during his preseason debut, as his arm looked strong, he was accurate, he used his legs, made great decisions and didn't let miscues derail him. Klint Kubiak wouldn't let the strong outing change his mind about Kirk Cousins as the starter, though. At least not yet.
But Kubiak said a lot of interesting things when speaking to the media after the exhibition contest against the Arizona Cardinals. And so did Mendoza, who is always exciting and never controversial when addressing reporters. So, let's dive into everything he said following his first action.
Everything Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza said after his strong debut
When asked for his quick reaction about the "dream come true" feeling of his NFL debut:
"First, I want to thank God and my teammates and coaches for allowing me the opportunity. Today was an invigorating experience where, there's not many moments where you feel fully alive, and on the field when you feel fully alive, especially in the NFL atmosphere. So, I want to give thanks to that. It was great to get out there, get my feet wet, especially the first drive. It felt a little sped up because so much anticipation and excitement. However, I feel like my teammates around me protected me very well, and they helped me. They helped slow me down, and I think it was a good experience."
On what gave him the confidence to rip the ball up the seam to Malik Benson:
"It's all about the timing and trust in your feet, especially as Coach [Andrew] Janoko and Coach [Mike] Sullivan say, is at that point in time, I knew I was able to identify the coverage, and I knew the spot Malik [Benson] was going to be, and that was a good timing and anticipation. With the route, it was fantastic protection, it was a great fake by the running back, and it was something that we've worked on with building that time and anticipation. However, there's other throws and other passes that I made that did not have great timing and anticipation throughout the game. But, that was one that was a good connection, and it shows that there are some that have time and anticipation. Like you see Kirk [Cousins]. Kirk has this time anticipation. Boom, boom, boom, and so that's an area I've got to grow in."
When asked about who gets the ball on the touchdown that he threw to Jack Bech:
"Jack [Bech] has it. He risked his body and made a great catch. The offensive line made great blocks, and it was great. I actually didn't realize that that was Jack's first touchdown, and evidently, hopefully, looking forward, in the future, him scoring many touchdowns in the regular season."
On whether he had rookies jitters or not, and if the crowd played a role in helping him:
"I believe that confidence is always a big part in how you play, especially whether you're an athlete, artist, performer, in everyday life, confidence is a big aspect in your eventual performance. And one of the sources of confidence is prior experience. So, I have leaned on that in the past. However, Mr. [Tom] Brady was able to talk to our team last night, and he said, 'No matter how good of a high school or college player you were, the NFL's a different level,' and I felt that tonight, and I have a lot to grow from."
On his emotions ahead his NFL debut:
"I would say they are what I thought they would be. Especially as a quarterback, you don't want to get too emotional, because you want to be able to process, make the right checks, make the right reads, and I felt that it was good emotion. Getting in the huddle with my guys, and in a sense, being able to break through and finally play a snap in the preseason, which is going to be faster than practice, just how it is with adrenaline, and then the regular season gets faster than that, and on and on. So, I think it was a good experience to get my feet wet Overall, it was good to get my feet wet."
When asked about scoring during his second series:
"It was great. It was great. In the first series, I felt a little sped up. It was good to come back on the sideline, learn from my mistakes, and then in the second series, we were able to score. Third series, I missed a read there, and the fourth series, I thought we had a good thing going. Unfortunately, I missed a throw at the end. Overall, I felt that the group that I was in with, they blocked fantastic. They had great routes. Run game was good. Unfortunately, I let my teammates down today. But, it's a growing experience, and I feel like we're all growing, and it showed me that I need to grow a lot."
On coach Kubiak's declaration that he'll be playing a lot this preseason:
"I believe that reps is always the answer. It's like there's no secret. It's the more and more repetition that you have at a certain craft, that you're able to go closer to mastery every single rep that you attain. That's something that I strive on the opportunity. I'm excited for the opportunity. Any opportunity of rep that I get, whether it's four series tonight, whether it's however many series week two, week three, whether it's practicing against Houston, I'm looking for the opportunity because I have a lot of room to grow. I'm really excited to get out there with my guys."
When asked about his rapport and opinion of Malik Benson:
"Malik [Benson] is a fantastic player. Throughout all of camp, as well as all of our receivers, I've seen something special in him. He is a great playmaker. He understands the game, and I believe that our chemistry as both rookies is evolving, and so to be able to learn from him on what he wants from ball placement, timing, anticipation, I believe we're both growing together."
On what surprised him most about the NFL's speed and his feel for the game:
"Yeah, I would say that the speed, all of us haven't played football in a little while, so I think the speed's always going to be a little amped up. I thought the guys did great out there today. There was one play where I scrambled to the right, and usually sometimes I'll be able to get the edge, maybe scramble for two or three yards, and it's like, 'Wow, I got it a little faster than I thought.' So, I throw the ball away and try to make the smart play to best serve my teammates. So, I would say definitely faster and hit harder. So, surprise, but no surprise."
When asked about his unusual college journey that led him to this point in Las Vegas:
"It's a great blessing, and I'm very grateful. However, being able to get to this point, that thirdstring quarterback at Cal would have not believed where we are now. However, now that I've been able to be blessed with great teammates, coaches, and given this opportunity, I need to take full advantage of the opportunity and make sure that I best serve my teammates from now going forward."
On bouncing back from mistakes and facing adversity:
"I think the number one thing as far as being a quarterback, adversity is always protecting the ball. That was a big emphasis. I believe that all three quarterbacks protected the ball well tonight. So, I think that was a check mark in our room. However, there were a couple reads I missed, and I let some of my teammates down. Whether it was a misthrow or misread or mis-check on some of the plays that I'm going to need to learn and grow from to best serve them in the future, and it's all about having the composure. Whether it's you come off and, 'Wow, I should have made a better play on third down.' You feel bad because you want to best serve your teammates, and you don't want to let them down, but at the same time, you understand to be at your best, you have to be composed and have a next-play mentality, and look at the next play as a new opportunity, as a blank slate. That's the only one that matters, and that's how you control the controllables, and that's how you bounce back from adversity. Because whether it's the first play, where I threw it away, where I should have hit the flat, it's that one play shouldn't be able to derail your entire game. So, it's having the mental fortitude, mental strength and having your teammates believe in you, and you believe in them, in order to get back on track."
When asked about how the coaching staff helps him keep his composure:
"Yeah, they have Coach [Andrew Janocko] Nocko, Coach [Klint] Kubiak, and Coach [Mike] Sullivan, they all have a very high standard. And that's the standard that I want to one day get to, and that I know our entire offensive unit and team wants to get to. And I did not meet that standard tonight. I know a lot of our offensive players, most likely they'll watch the film. And that's a standard that I think that's the best type of coaching where, I mean, they're going to hold you accountable and hold you to a high standard."
On the value of game tape and how quickly he will watch it:
"Oh, definitely right after this, I have nothing else to really do tonight. But it's great because in training camp, you're out there probably around 10-12 practices we've had against our guys. We kind of understand each other's schemes at this point. We get a lot of reps against each other, the personnel, but to actually be able to go through a week of preparation, scouting, a little bit of schematics against the Cardinals' defense. Then be able to get out there, call the huddle, have the play clock, have the real refs with the flags, have real adversity where it's not practice where it's like, 'Okay, incomplete pass, next play. Boom.' It's not scripted. It's the real game. There's no saying what could happen. All you can control is that present moment. So, I look forward to learning from it, and it's a great moment, especially as being able to play football in the NFL and having so much gratitude but also wanting to take advantage of the opportunity."
When asked how helpful Kirk Cousins has been:
"Yeah, Kirk [Cousins] has given me a lot of advice, and as we can see from his play out there today, and especially the first-team offense, I mean they are very good at what they do. And someone like Kirk, who's a master at his work, it's very beneficial to learn from, to listen from him, and sometimes ask him questions, and so, he's given me a lot of advice. Whether it's firsthand, secondhand, or just seeing him operate today, the way that he was composed out there, and led a great touchdown drive."
On his gameday routine:
"Yeah, I'll just take you through my routine today. Today, just my routine that I've had, and Coach [Mike] Sullivan, quarterback coach, says that your routine evolves. And right now, the routine I have placed that I had in college, but evidently, someone learning from Kirk [Cousins], Kirk's routine has evolved throughout his career. So, there's things I look on taking, whether it's what time to get to the stadium. Like for example, I to drove the stadium today, and that was the first time I've ever done that because usually in college you just hop on the bus, it's very regimented. So, there's a lot more autonomy that you get as an NFL player, a lot more flexibility, and I think that's going to be beneficial in the future. It goes with going to the facility, we have walk thrus, then taking a little nap, and we have team lunch, making sure I'm praying and meditating. I do a whole prayer, and then I do a little bit of a guided meditation to try to soothe my mind down and my senses down because I'm very amped up for the game. However, I need to take my activation level, let's say out of 10, I try to take it to around a six, so it gets to like 7.5, 8 at the game where I'm ready and firing. Because if I'm at a 10 out of 10, then I'm just going to be out there going crazy, running around, throwing the ball. We wouldn't want that. And comes in here, and we have a great training staff so doing tissue work with the training staff, getting stretched out, and then talking to the equipment staff. And they have done a great job as well today. And it's great to learn from them, 'Hey, here's the ball that's going to be the first quarter, second quarter. Hey, here's your'- and just different mechanics. So, it was a good game getting my feet wet kind of team-based, and having some elements that I've kept, and the elements I say, 'Okay, I have this 30 minutes here, what should I do with it when we play Houston? What should I do with it when we play the Niners.' And so, I'm looking forward to leaning on those guys, especially the veterans, on how they do it, now having experienced a game day, quote unquote."
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