Q: With eight wins and two games to go, how close are you to the standard you set going into the season for what you wanted to be?
Coach Marrone:"Right now we're just concentrating on the day. We went out there and practiced and tried to have the best practice we could, and just try to get our team the best prepared to obviously come out there to Oakland and win a football game. We're not looking behind on what's happened in the past, and we're not looking really ahead. We're just looking to get things done now, and that's what we need to keep our focus."
Q: Have you found this team to be the kind of team that is good at focusing on the day and getting better every day?
Coach Marrone:"I think it's something that we've been talking about for a while and I think that's something that we're learning to do. We've been doing a better job of it, yes."
Q: Sammy Watkins said earlier about the 14-year drought without the playoffs. Is that something that you guys hear a lot?
Coach Marrone:"Again, like I said before, a lot of us weren't here for all of that time. That's what a lot of people will obviously print, that's what a lot of people write. Like I told the players, for us we've just got to make sure we do a good job and not get distracted by anything that's going on around us. If we are distracted, the only people that can distract us is ourselves."
Q: What do you think has gone into your defense being so strong? Has it gotten better as the season has gone along? Obviously, everybody takes notice when you did what you did to Green Bay.
Coach Marrone:"I think they have been very consistent. I think that's the key. And I think we have a lot of good players on that side of the football. They all hold each other accountable. They all feed off each other. They've been consistent and we're going to need to be consistent for the rest of the way out, obviously with the challenge we have this upcoming week."
Q: What do you see when you look at the Raiders? Every coach we talk to every week doesn't look at their record, because they see a different thing on film than what the record indicates.
Coach Marrone:"I see them playing really well. I really do. I see them on offense – I think they're big, they're physical. You've got a quarterback that can make all the throws, make all the plays. I think defensively it's the same way. I think out front they're big and physical. They tackle for losses and get after the quarterback. They can cover with veteran guys back there. I think it's the same way. We're coaches and we don't look at the records. We look at just what we see on film, and I see a team that's playing at a high level that's going to be a big challenge for us."
Q: With Khalil Mack in your backyard up there and the position you were in the draft, I'm sure you looked at him very closely. What did you see from him on film and what do you remember about considering him in the draft process?
Coach Marrone:"Obviously Doug Whaley, our general manager, will be able to talk about that more than me. But I know that from what I've seen, and obviously I saw film on him when he was in college and I've heard a lot of great things about him, I think that it matched. I really do. He's a player – he's got a lot of tackles for losses and he can rush the quarterback; he's physical. I just think he's someone that's getting better and better. From our standpoint, we've got to know where he is on that field. He's that type of player."
Q: Can you talk about the contributions of running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley, who was a Raider for a long time? What has he brought to you?
Coach Marrone:"Well, Tyrone and I were together at Syracuse before we came here. He did a great job developing the running backs that we had there, and I think he gives great insight even for me on different players, different positions. He gives you a great feel. He's an extremely hard worker. He takes a lot of pride in his group, his position group. He takes a lot of pride in helping us get better offensively. Again, he's a very, very good football player, but he's even more of an outstanding person and family man."
