RAIDERS HEAD COACH JACK DEL RIO
Opening statement:
"It's good to get started on the road. This was our first game on the road. Chapter 3 for us, and we like the way it was written."
On Raiders S Charles Woodson's interception during the last play of the game:
"Charles has had a number of interceptions over his storied career and came up big for us there. He made a nice play and got his feet in. He had a good hold on it and got his feet down so it was a great end. You know, games in the NFL are close every week. Some teams are able to make a play at the end, and we came up with a big one there."
On the Raiders recently making big plays during the last plays of games:
"It says a lot about us. We're aware in this league that it's going to be tight at the end, and it's the teams that make the end that win. We've worked a lot of situations before. We executed there at the end to win. It could have gone differently and a lot of different ways. At the end, we made enough plays to win the ball game."
**On the many flags that were thrown during the game:
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"There seem to be an awful lot of flags in the air right now. I don't know, it's not my job to throw flags. I just try to teach our guys how to play within the rules, and we'll keep working."
On the importance of the goal line defense at the end of the first half:
"I think getting them to stop and then offensively going down and scoring ourselves was a big turnaround. It was excellent football for our defense to not yield once we let them down there and forcing them to kick the field goal. Offensively, we took that opportunity very efficiently and got seven points."
On the importance of getting to a good start on the road:
"I think being crisp early, making plays, moving the ball, and scoring points tends to quiet the home crowd a little bit. You saw at the end when we were allowing them to close the gap that it got very loud. It wasn't like that most of the day. That's part of that I talked about earlier in the week when we said that they'll only be as loud as we let them. That's very true, and you learn on the road over the years of playing this league that the fans come here fired up and ready to make a lot of noise if the home team is playing well."
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On Raiders WR Amari Cooper's performance: **
"He's a talented guy that we're fortunate to have. Off to a terrific start for his career. I think the way he conducts himself every day and the seriousness in which he pursues his profession and tires to work on his skillset are what allow the guy to have that kind of start to his career. "
On Raiders RB Latavius Murray's performance:
"I'm very pleased to see the running game go like that. I'm pleased that we were able to convert enough on third downs and give him enough touches so he could do those things. I feel like we've run it pretty efficiently. The first couple weeks, we just haven't had as many touches, but we had more touches today and he showed what he's capable of."
"He's a terrific runner so if we give him enough room, he's going to rip off a few of those long runs. He has excellent speed and finish-ability. That's part of us creating those holes and taking advantage of it."
On the defensive strategy:
"I think the pressure was really strong throughout the day. I think we ended up with four, five, or six sacks, somewhere in there. There were a lot of other times when he (QB Josh McCown) was pressured. It's getting better. The coverage was good for a long portion. We had a few lapses there and some things that we'll correct, but all in all, I thought it was a really good effort."
On the decision to put Raiders CB TJ Carrie at safety:
"He's just a good, smart, tough football player. I asked him to do that for us, and I think we saw results in the first half. It was a strategic move to utilize some of our key players in certain situations. He's a terrific football player and a great young man. He took on the challenge and played the role we asked him to do very well. We like to draw plans specific for the teams we're playing offensively, defensively and special teams. They'll be some obvious carryover, but we like to make sure that we're planning each week for that specific opponent."
Cornerback TJ Carrie
On the play of the defense after the past 2 weeks:
"I feel we still have to work on closing out games. Although we got the win, I feel it could have been more effective on our part. We were doing such a good job in the first half, knowing that in this league it comes down to the 4th quarter."
**On the defenses struggle covering tight ends:
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"I think all of the yards we give up against tight ends shows us we are continuing to mold and trust ourselves to execute the defense at hand. The more we practice, the more reps we get, the more critical it is going to be for us."
On breaking a long road losing streak:
"Every year is different, every game is different. Just like Coach (Jack) Del Rio says, we write our own chapter every week. Coming into this week we had no thoughts of the past. We only thought about the present. In the present, we wrote another chapter, we came on the road and got a win."
Wide Receiver Amari Cooper
On having 100 receiving yards in the first half:
"I give God all the glory. I pray to him, and he came through for me. We (Cooper and QB Derek Carr) were able to connect on the pass plays."
On if he does drills for getting yards after the catch:
"I believe I have always been blessed with that ability. You really don't want to think about after the catch when the ball is in the air. You really want to focus on catching the ball, then let the rest play its way out."
On his quick connection with QB Derek Carr:
"Derek is a great person and a really great player. He throws a very anticipated ball. He keeps it away from the defensive back, which is really good for a quarterback. Before I am out of my break, the ball is in the air. I come out and run the routes I run. I believe I have some good routes. It's just a really good combination."
On what is different with him and Carr since the first game:
"The difference I think is we didn't have that many opportunities in the preseason because we didn't play the whole game. We both prepare as if we want to be great players, and I believe anytime you do that, you will be successful."
Center Rodney Hudson
On safety Charles Woodson playing hurt and making game winning play:
"Obviously we feed off of a guy like that, a future Hall of Famer. He pushes through adversity, injuries, and gives us someone to look up to. We feed off his energy." On the play of the offensive line:
"We are coming together well. The offensive line is always a work in progress. It takes five guys on every play to be successful."
Running Back Latavius Murray
On the Browns defense:
"The big runs were going to come. It is what you have to do each game as a running back, be patient. Get it when it opens up."
On getting into a rhythm:
"Anytime you can get a solid series of runs, run after run, you get comfortable. You start to get a feel for it. The line did a great job of getting hats on people up front. We were able to make some big runs because of it."
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On wearing down the defense as the game went on:**
"We kept pounding the ball and things started to open up. That is exactly what we have to do to make the running game successful. Be patient. We aren't going to get a big run every play."
Safety Charles Woodson
On his interception:
"We allowed them to claw back in the game late. They had a chance and someone had to come up with a big play, and I'm happy it was me."
On the resilience of the team:
"This is what (Raiders Head) Coach (Jack) Del Rio has been talking about all offseason is we need to change the culture of football here. You guys know the last couple of years, we don't win these game. The last few weeks to pull out two tough games is really huge for this team."
On where he was playing on the interception:
"I think he (QB Josh McCown) tried to bait me. They put the fastest guy on the field out wide so I made sure to keep my eye on him."
Quarterback Derek Carr
On snapping the consecutive road loss streak:
"It's huge to get a road win. Like you said, this team hasn't won on the road yet. We have a new group of guys, a new coach, a new way that we do things. For this team to get this road win is awesome. To go into someone else's place and get a win, it's probably one of the hardest things to do in the NFL. I'm just happy for our team."
On S Charles Woodson's last minute interception:
"You can't talk enough about how hard he works and how much it means to him and his greatness. I joke with him all the time saying, "They had to have given you your jacket already or at least they have your coat size." He never ceases to amaze me. When he makes plays like that, it's kind of expected. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing but we just kind of expect him to do that because that's Woody (S Charles Woodson). I'm happy for him. He deserves it and works really hard for it."
On WR Amari Cooper:
"We've come a long way, but obviously we still have things that we feel we're just scratching the surface. There's so much more out there that we could do better. Whether it's a certain step on a route or timing by me, are we seeing coverage the same way. There's just so much out there where we just have to continue to push each other."
On having Cooper and veteran WR Michael Crabtree:
"It's unbelievable. I think the world of Crab (WR Michael Crabtree and Coop (WR Amari Cooper), I love them. They're the guys that look good even when I don't look good. They continue to make plays for me. I'm just so thankful."
On if he has a favorite route to run with Cooper:
"A favorite? No. All of them. Anything he runs, I feel good about. That says a lot about him because there are a lot of guys out there where I am like, "I want him on this route, I want him on that route." You don't have to do that with him."
**On how much the team has improved since training camp:
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"Oh man, a lot better. It's hard for me. I don't really know a percentage. I've never thought of it that way so I'm not really sure. I know we are drastically better and we're doing great things. There is still so much out there that we leave on the field sometimes that we can clean up."
On if he has a favorite play for Cooper:
"My favorite one was the N-route that he ran across the middle because I like watching him after the catch. Like I told you in the beginning of the season, he's a homerun waiting to happen and we've seen it. He's a nightmare for guys to cover because he is so athletic. That's not a knock on anyone, it's just praise for how good he (WR Amari Cooper) is. He knows that he can only get better from here and he's not going to stop working."
On the roughing the punter call:
"It was huge because we hurt ourselves with so many penalties and it's hard say what it was or anything like that without seeing the film, but it was huge. It was huge moment in the game for us. I will say (P) Marquette (King) made a great play because I want to give him credit. Speaking of Marquette, how about that punt? That was huge for our team and RB Taiwan (Jones) making that play. The roughing the punter was huge because it put us back on the field and kind of puts a thorn in their side"
On if he felt more pressure after getting the ball back after the roughing the punter penalty:
"No one drive is more important than another because there's so many situations in a football game. We know these games are never over. We've been working so hard our whole lives. We know when we get to this level each play is so important. There's not just one part of that that makes it more important."
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On the feeling on the sideline as the Browns began to come back: **
"When that was happening there wasn't a doubt on our sideline that we were going to finish. There wasn't a doubt on our sideline that we weren't going to have the right effort from somebody. We've spent a lot of time with a lot of special people that came and talked to us about trusting the person next to you. That's their whole life and everything that they do, is trust in the person next to them. So as we stood there and watched our defense there was no doubt. We trusted that they were going to make the stop. We expect them to make those plays. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing but we just trust each other so much that we expect those things."
On whether or not it's too early to say the Raiders are finding ways to win:
"Honestly the formula is what it was last year when we were 0-10 looking at Kansas City – just keep working hard. There's no quick fix. There's no secret. There's no anything like that. I can tell you each and every day I wake up I thank god for the opportunity. I just thank him and I'm going to go out there, and I'm going to work hard. That's literally what I do every single day. The good ones that I have learned from and been around…You just keep doing it every single day and that's what our team has done since I've been here."
On how comfortable two-minute drill situations are at this point:
"Coach puts us in really hard situations at practice and says you've got to go win it. You've got to go score. You've got to go get points. He makes it extremely hard on us so that when we get to the game it makes it a little easier. We've done a great job but we can't stop there. We have to continue to push, continue to press on into more. There's more out there for us, and we've got to keep pressing on into it."
