Photo by Tony Gonzales
Coach Jackson: Another day, another practice, another opportunity to get better and we did that. Obviously guys fought through it. Long practice today, it was a good one. It was a tough one. That is the way it is supposed to be; especially after you lose a game. The guys are responding and they know what needs to be done. Obviously we are still addressing our penalty issues. Spend some time in the scoring zone today. Still need to get better there and we will, but we are addressing the things that we need to fix each and every day and I think that we will get there.
Q: Was that planned before or…
Coach Jackson: I don't tell them. When you hear that horn go off, anything can happen when I blow that horn. That is the name of the game. I don't want them to know and have it planned so everybody is prepared and ready to go. That is just the way it is. You hear the siren go off that means anything goes and I set the ball down and we decided to go down there and have a little fun. Defense did a great job; offense has to continue to grow.
Q: With certain sequences and guys bringing guys down to the ground; is that something you have to balance based on the health coming out of that game?
Coach Jackson: Oh, absolutely.
Q: Or is it we need to get better at this and we're going to do it?
Coach Jackson: No, I have to balance it, but I thought it was time to do it. It was a good time to do it. Guys were back, had a day off, bodies were recovered; let's go back at it again. I keep telling you that the physical part of this team is going to be where I want it to be at some point in time. We are working at it each and every day, and I think we are getting better at it. Week 2, it is time to make that next jump and obviously, like I said, the defense, they rose up and the offense fought. That is the beautiful part of this team; there is going to be a fraction that looks really good and another fraction that all of a sudden has to catch up. Then all of a sudden it flips and the offense does something good, and then the defense goes oh gosh we have to go get them stopped. That is part of competing.
Q: With the penalties, how is the best way to work that out because if you harp on it too much you will run the risk of guys being timid and they are a bit late off the ball; how do you work that out?
Coach Jackson: There is a fine line. I think we have a couple of culprits that I kind of know who they are that I am addressing them. Just those guy in particular, but obviously it is just a team wide problem. We need to address it. I mean it was one guy that had three the other night, and one guy that had three today in practice. I am addressing those guys and the one guy that had three the other night, didn't have one today. So that is improvement and that is what you are looking for. So I think our guys understand what needs to happen; they're pros, and pros get things fixed, and that is what I expect from our football team.
Q: Any update on Chaz (Schilens)?
Coach Jackson: Yeah there is an update, Chaz has a sprain and we will be week to week with it. Again I think you know how those things go. It all depends on how fast guys heal, how quickly guys heal, and I think that he will heal quickly from this. And be back out here very soon.
Q: How important is he to be healthy for this offense?
Coach Jackson: Very. I mean he is a big guy and is dominant at what he does. He is a big target for our quarterback and again I know every time there is an injury, everybody goes, "Oh my gosh," but I don't. You know because this is football. Obviously you want to make sure that all of our players are out there, but these things happen. Like I told you before, I would feel different if these were injuries that were going to last a whole year and all of a sudden we are not going to get guys back. These are those week to week things and I have termed them 'nicks' and you guys have made that well known. I termed them nicks because it is. I mean, if you get a player right now with no offseason and no training, all of a sudden a guy gets hurt. It takes a little bit to get a guy back and we are going to be cautious. We are going to be cautious at getting people back and we will take our time and we will get him back and he will be ready to go.
Q: Even more so you know because he always had a history?
Coach Jackson: Absolutely and that is what is unfortunate because he was doing so good. Again you hate to see it happen, but those things do happen.
Q: (DeMarcus) Van Dyke had really tight coverage like two plays in a row on Larry Fitzgerald and he made a great catch like he does a lot. Next time he just stayed right with him, but then later in the game, he was getting beat by receivers that are not up to Fitzgerald standards, how did you think his bounce back was today and how he did?
Coach Jackson: I thought it was good. Obviously, 17 went up and made a play. I mean there is no fear in him at all. Like you said, Larry Fitzgerald makes those plays on everybody. I have seen him make it with the best in this league and he made it on that young man but the young man came back with him the next time and that it was this thing is all about. Every now and then I skim things against him to go test him and I got him today, but that is the fun part. Again, our young players are getting better each and every day. What I want to make sure is that when they lose them; they don't go into the tank. That is one thing about him; he doesn't go into the tank. He comes right back out here and he keeps battling and he is looking for the next opportunity.
Q: You hear a lot of the teams in the preseason that want to stay vanilla, you guys threw the ball a lot, you went deep on the first play, you ran a reverse, you blitz a lot; is there a second school of thought where you can just show everything?.
Coach Jackson: You're going to laugh, but that is as vanilla as I have been in a long time. That was vanilla ice cream. I mean there was no cherry on the top, no sprinkles, there was nothing to that. That was basic Raider football. You will know when I decide to open up this can and we haven't opened it yet and there is no need to. We are two and half weeks into this deal. We had a game, no doubt. A game that we got a chance to see what we are and that is the beautiful part about coming back this week. You now kind of find out where your team is and now you play to your team. Like I said to you guys before, my system is not about a system. My system is about the players that I have, and you put players in position to have success and that is what we do. Offense, defense, special teams, everything that we do, and if we continue to do that, we will be fine and it is not about opening it all up just yet. We will throw the ball and we will throw the ball with the best of them and we are going to run the ball with the best of them. So when that time comes, we will be in full gear.
Q: How close is (Louis) Murphy to getting back out there?
Coach Jackson: I think he is close, obviously that is yet to be determined, but I think he is closer than he was the other day when he last asked me. So I think we will get him back out here soon and I am excited when he does get back. I am excited when all our players get back out here.
Q: Talk about the small steps Chimdi Chekwa took today at practice.
Coach Jackson: Absolutely. I think he's getting back into the swing of things and again, we will be very cautious with these guys when we put them back out. They have been away from the hitting and everything so once we know his body is back, we'll bounce him around a little bit to get him back in there.
Q: It's also Bruce Campbell's first day back. Is he back ready to go full?
Coach Jackson: We just are cautiously putting these guys back in. We want to get them through their individuals and making sure that their legs are underneath them. We do this before you let them take off and start hitting because a lot of things can happen the other way. So we're going to be cautious with those guys, but we want to put them back out there to see what they can do.
Q: With Darrius Heyward-Bey missing a couple of practices during training camp before the game and now back today, what have you seen from him?
Coach Jackson: He's better and gotten better. We threw the ball to him during the game and he caught it. He went up and made a contested catch against the defensive back. As I told you guys before, there's going to be a point where he will come down with those catches. He's working his tail off, he's determined, he had a great day and he's catching the ball when we throw it to him. That's what matters and obviously, his confidence is up and the quarterbacks have confidence in him. We'll go from here and just keep on going. He's doing a heck of a job.
Q: What happened to Stephon Heyer out here today? He had to leave the field.
Coach Jackson: He's got a strain. I'm not sure exactly where it is, it might have been a tricep. Again, those things will happen when you're punching like we're trying to punch. He'll be fine.
Q: What's it like for Chekwa to miss time as a rookie?
Coach Jackson: It's tough. We have some guys competing, but we drafted this young man because we believe he can play. We will be cautious with him, make sure he's totally healthy and we need to stick him in there. Again, it's about performance in the game. We'll get him in practice but we have to put him in the game to see what he can do.
Q: Any decisions on Hiram (Eugene) as far as injured reserve?
Coach Jackson: Nothing yet. I think we all know that Hiram had surgery but we need to find out what is going on with that surgery. There are still some decisions to be made after that surgery to see what needs to be done. But, those things will be coming soon and we'll further evaluate that to see what it is.
Q: What have your impressions been so far of Sterling Moore?
Coach Jackson: He competes, he's tough and he's not afraid. I know he wants to be in the game and he's always pushing to get in. That's good and he's a tough, competitive guy. He didn't play a ton the other night but I think the guy should get a chance to see what he can do.
Q: Should Trent Edwards expect any time against the 49ers?
Coach Jackson: Oh he'll play against the 49ers. I was happy with his performance and he hasn't been here a long time. I'm giving him information on a quarterback communicator and he's thinking, "Okay, let me figure this thing out." He hasn't been here very long and I'm trying to make sure that I put him in situations to have success. Every now and then you have to call something that he's not very sure of so he fixes it and goes out there to execute it. I was very happy with him and I'm sure there are some throws he wishes he had back, but he's doing a great job. All three of those quarterbacks are battling. Al [Saunders] and I have done a great job with those guys and they spend a lot of time getting themselves ready. We'll continue to work with them, continue to grow and become the offense I know we can become.
Q: Do you think that last year was Trent Edwards' recuperative year and he can physically step in to do the job?
Coach Jackson: Yes, I don't see any fear with him getting hit. I can't speak to what happened in Buffalo but when I talk to the young man and see him in practice, I don't sense that he's afraid or fearing that something might happen. The guy is competing, he's letting the ball loose, he's learning the system and the players. So he's doing a good job.
Q: Does Zac Etheridge have to have any surgery?
Coach Jackson: I don't know that. I think it's another week to week thing. We'll just have to see where he is and go from there.
Q: Are you looking forward to your first Battle of the Bay?
Coach Jackson: Yes I am. I'm looking forward to the next opponent. We just lost and we're ready for the next team we're going to play. We're ready to put this team back out here to get better and make the next jump. I think our guys will be ready to perform.
Q: Why kick a 21-yard field goal in a preseason game when you could try something else?
Coach Jackson: Why wouldn't I? You don't know you can make it because what if there is some faulty protection and somebody can jump through to block a kick. You have to do it in the game to make sure you don't have faulty protection. I don't think you ever pass up a chance to not score points. That's what we're going to be about because we'll take points anytime we can get them in the right situation.
