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On how he’s settling in with the Raiders in Oakland following training camp: “It’s nice to get back home. I got a chance to sleep in my own bed a couple nights so that was good. I thought we had a good day at work today. It’s good for us to get back in this environment and get our guys used to the locker room here, the practice facility here, the weight room and all that kind of good stuff.”

On if coming back to Alameda makes everything a little more serious: “Every time you change the surroundings, people realize there’s a little something different. Getting back here…we’re getting close. So I think everybody feels the sense that we’re getting close to the opening day of the season.”

On Matt Leinart playing this week: “That’s the plan is for him to play this week.”

On Richard Seymour playing this week: “Don’t know. Again, I’m not going to make any decision on him until gameday. He felt a little bit better today so we’ll see where he’s at come gameday.

On if Seymour’s injury is more serious than he originally thought: “No, it’s the same issues that he’s been dealing with for a while now. It’s nothing more than some tendinitis. It’s something that you’re going to have to manage and when you get into regular season games you play through some of that stuff.”

On Aaron Curry: “I think the 31^st is the day that we actually have to make a decision on what we’re going to do there. I’m going to wait until the very last minute to make that decision on what we need to do with him.”

On how close Jacoby Ford is: “He was better today. He was out of the boot, so that’s progress. Is he closer? Yes. How close? I’m not sure.”

On the possibility of carrying five defensive tackles on the roster: “I don’t think this is a situation where we have to carry somebody extra because of [Seymour’s] situation. It’s just something that we’ll have to manage as we go throughout the season. I’ve been through that process before with Darren Sharper in New Orleans – a guy that was a little bit ‘long in the tooth’ and so we had to take care of him and we had to manage him. It’s not unlike any other situation I’ve dealt with.”

On Stefen Wisniewski’s injury and the possibility of having an extra lineman who can play center: “I don’t think that will affect our total number because I don’t anticipate this being something that would keep him out for any extended period of time. We’ll know here within seven to 10 days what his outlook is for the opening day of the season.”

On who might play center if Alex Parsons cannot: “Parsons is the guy right now. We would look at [Mike] Brisiel as a guy that could potentially move in there.”

On how many players could make the roster with their play on Thursday: “What that exact number is, I don’t know. But there is still a lot of decisions to be made. There are still a lot of decisions to be made as far as who is on the 53-man roster. These guys are all playing, not only to make our roster, but they’re playing to make 31 other teams, too. It’s a big game for a lot of people.”

On what impressed him about Terrelle Pryor: “Like I said before, the biggest improvement that he’s made is he was able to get us in and out of the huddle with good tempo, got us to the line with the right play and we had some rhythm to our offense in the second half, which is different from what we had in the first two games. His ability to do that, and that allowed him to use his athleticism and get out and make a few plays. I think all those things feed off of each other.”

On bringing in CBs Ron Bartell and Shawntae Spencer: “They played well the other night. They’re veteran players. Even though they might have missed a little time or they might be getting older, you gain something as far as their veteran leadership; you gain something as far as their understanding of the game. One of the things we wanted to make sure we did was bring the right type of people in the building and those were two guys that we felt like were the type of people that we want to be Raiders. It remains to be seen how that move plays out. Everybody will be evaluated at the end of the year and we’ll know whether that was a good move or not when we finish up the season.”

On if he feels that Spencer and Bartell appreciate playing more since they were out most of last season: “There’s a hunger there to go out and re-prove themselves and show that they belong in this league and it takes a little while to get the rust knocked off but I’ve been pleased with the way both those guys have played. Not just the way they’ve played, but the way they’ve handled themselves in the locker room, the way they’ve handled themselves in the meeting room. It gives us a chance to have some veteran guys who can teach some of the younger guys really what it means to be a pro.”

On the possibility of having four or five defensive tackles: “Listen, I’m not into the numbers game as far as ‘we’re going to keep this many at this position, and this many and that position.’ We’re going to keep the best 53 that gives us the best chance to win games on Sundays. Those numbers can change, but we’re going to keep the guys that we feel like give us the best chance to win it.”

On what he’s looking for to keep a player: “If we’ve got a good football player, I’m going to find a way to make sure he’s on this football team. That’s the way you develop a team is you keep good football players. That won’t stop throughout the season. Everybody’s going to be evaluated throughout the season, and we’ll make whatever moves we need to make to give ourselves a chance to win.”

On how impressed he’s been with Rod Streater: “He’s done a nice job as a rookie coming in. He’s an undrafted free agent player that we felt real good about. He’s one of the top guys that we wanted to get when it came to free agency. He’s done a good job for us. He’s got to continue to develop and get better. I’m not ready to put him in the Hall of Fame. Still got a long way to go, but right now he’s made some good progress.”

On having fewer players following cuts: “It’s not as big of a notice as when you walk out on the first day it’s 53 men. There’s a huge difference there as far as the amount of guys that are on the field. I don’t think it was a big difference, as far as that’s concerned.”

On DeMarcus Van Dyke getting to field punts in games: “Potentially. We’ll see how he looks during practice this week, but obviously we’re looking to see who’s going to fulfill that role for us. We’ll explore whatever’s out there.”

On the possibility that a return specialist for Week 1 is not currently on the roster: “That’s a possibility. Again, we’re going to go through everybody’s cuts from today and we’ll go through when everybody makes their 53-man cuts and we’re going to see who’s out there and if there’s somebody that we feel gives us a chance to win, we’re going to try to go get him.”

On Lamarr Houston losing weight in the off-season: “He’s actually quicker than he was in OTAs and mini-camp. He’s lost some weight. He’s in good shape. He played outstanding the other night and if he continues to develop the way the he has and work the way he has, I would expect good things out of him.”

On Houston losing 20 pounds after only being asked to lose 10 pounds: “I think that’s about right. It’s a fine line there for him, making sure he’s light enough that he has some quickness and agility, but yet he’s heavy enough when he has to go inside in the nickel downs. I think he’s done a nice job keeping himself in shape and in condition. I think it showed the other night in the game.”