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Raiders Head Coach Dennis Allen:** To start off, guys that either didn't practice or weren't able to finish practice: Nick Roach, Keenan Clayton, Jared Veldheer. I gave Andre Carter the day off. Veldheer is having an MRI on his triceps, so I don't really have any update on that. As soon as I do, I'll let you guys know.
Q: Did [Jared Veldheer] get [an MRI] last week?
Coach Allen: Yeah, we're taking another look at [his triceps]. But we got Lamarr Houston back today and Billy Boyko back today. Hopefully we'll continue to get some guys back as we keep going through the rest of this week and next week.
Q: How's your bowling game?
Coach Allen: I didn't bowl, but it's obvious to me that the offense is better than the defense.* *
Q: Coach, with [offensive coordinator] Greg Olson here, do you expect Marcel Reece to get utilized a little more than he has in the past, more reps?
Coach Allen:Well, obviously Marcel's a good player for us. That's part of what we're going for here in training camp; finding out what guys can do, and specifically Greg getting a good feel for what they can do, what they do well, what maybe they're not quite as good at, and try to put them in a position where they can have some success. Marcel's a guy that we feel like is a weapon for us. He's a guy that we can do some different stuff with, flexing him out a little bit, so I would anticipate using him in that role.
Q: [Matt] Flynn looked pretty sharp today. Is that indicative of the way he's been?
Coach Allen: He's been pretty consistent throughout training camp. He's been making some good decisions. He's protected the football well, and really that's what I expect out of him. I expect him to make good decisions for us, move the ball up the field and protect the football for us. I thought, with the exception of the first drive in the game the other day, he did a nice job in doing that.* *
Q: Will you look to use Terrelle [Pryor] with the ones at all in preseason games or will you mostly stick with Matt Flynn?
Coach Allen:Do you want me to give you the whole game plan? (laughing) I don't know. We'll see as we move along. Like I've said all along, we have some plays that we feel like really suit his skill set, and we'll try to incorporate those plays in our game plans as we move along.
Q: With San Diego, Kansas City and Denver in the division with their offenses, is New Orleans going to be able to give you the best test you'll be able to see this preseason?
Coach Allen:Well, obviously I haven't seen a lot of the divisional opponents as far as what they're offering offensively, but I do know the New Orleans Saints are a prolific offense. They move the ball up and down the field, they score a lot of points, so it'll be a great challenge for our defense to see where we're at when we go down to the [Mercedes-Benz] Superdome and get a chance to play those guys.
Q: Is it tough for [Tyler] Wilson to get on track if he's not getting a lot of snaps? And I imagine he probably won't play much on Friday?
Coach Allen:Yeah, well we'll talk about the game, the rotation and how we're going to play those guys probably tonight. We'll get into that as a coaching staff. I think Tyler … Part of his learning process is going to have to be sitting back and watching some, and that's where you're at when you're where he's at on the depth chart. I think Matt [McGloin] is getting a little more from a reps standpoint, but we're trying to split those third team reps up as close as we can based on the number of plays we go with the threes.
Q: How much better of a position are you guys, in depth wise, with the offensive line having guys like Alex [Parsons] and Andre [Gurode]?
Coach Allen:Well, I think those two guys help us and provide us with a little more depth. Those are guys that we didn't anticipate when we started training camp, and I think those guys have come on and given us a little bit more depth at that position. Obviously we're still waiting on Menelik Watson, and I think, once we get him back out here, we're going to have some depth on the O-line.
Q: Update on [Mike] Brisiel, is he still resting?
Coach Allen:No. I want to make sure that he's ready to go. Sixteen games is a long season and he's a veteran, an older player. I want to make sure he's ready to go.
Q: Week One to Week Two in the preseason, where are areas you want to see the most improvement in?
Coach Allen:Well I think first of all I want to protect the football better. I want to make better decisions. I want to make sure we're not turning the football over. Defensively, I want to make sure we're getting a little bit more pressure on the quarterback. So those are some things we want to work on. And obviously, playing New Orleans' offense, they don't give up a lot of pressure on the quarterback, so it'll be a big challenge for us.
Q: How did [Andre] Gurode do Friday, and how's he doing so far at guard this week in practice?
Coach Allen:I think he's done fairly well. It was a position that we hadn't worked him a whole lot at early in training camp. So when you look at it, guys are going to have to play more than one position, and so I think having a guy like him – who can play guard for us, that can play center for you, that's a huge upside.
Q: Latavius [Murray], do you expect him to be back out there this week?
Coach Allen:To be honest with you, I really don't know. I hope, but I really don't know when he'll be back.
