Head Coach Jack Del Rio
Alameda, Calif. – The Oakland Raiders are just a day removed from their 26-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, but still remain tied with the Denver Broncos atop the AFC West. Head Coach Jack Del Rio was back at the practice facility on Monday to address Sunday's game with the media. He touched on a wide variety of mistakes made by the team over the course of the game, but is confident that the team can get back on track. Del Rio and the team are focused on putting this game in the rearview mirror and getting back to work.
Here are the quick hits from his press conference:
**He shared that the team needs to get back to work and really hone in on getting better.
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"What's most important – win or lose – what's most important is how you get past the last one and get on to the next one. There's no question in my mind, I think where it starts is each man… When things don't go the way you want, each man looks and sees what he can do better. We're going to ask each guy, every player, every coach, to do something, do one thing better this week than you did last week. Collectively, we have a really good process. Get back to work and I expect to be better. This is a group I believe in"
Del Rio talked about the team's need to continue enhancing its communication skills.
"That's an area that I can just tell you, that's one of the areas when that cleans up, it's going to alleviate a lot of issues that we're having. That's why I remain very confident in this football team and our ability to grow as the year goes on. There are young players, and that's not an alibi, that's just reality. I think as they gain confidence, they'll continue to grow and our communication will be better and better."
The Raiders Head Coach has faith in the team's leadership and trusts in the people around him.
"I think the leadership is pretty solid. I think the group's working hard. It sticks together. I don't sense any fraying whatsoever. I think the guys are a good, close group. We're going to get better as we go. Fortunately, we have been good enough as a team to be 4-2 sitting here after six games. Clearly, we're not pretending that we don't have work to do. We know we have work to do and we expect to be better."
**He discussed Amari Cooper's ability to fix mistakes quickly in order to further his development.
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"He's very prideful and wants to be a great player in the league. I mean, he got a clear example of really working the footwork on the sideline, how that could have gotten him a couple more touchdowns. It's always been something we work on, but I think it got extra focus this week. He's a good football player, so some of the things he's really focused on, we've benefited from that."
Del Rio recapped the offensive game plan and discussed the use of fullback Jamize Olawale.
"Yeah, I would have liked to have seen more carries overall. And really, the way you get more carries is convert more third downs. We didn't stay ahead of the chains the way we'd like. They were also able to possess the ball more than we'd like. So, it's one of those deals where when you look at running the football and running it well and getting everybody their carries and getting everybody involved."
