Head Coach Hue Jackson addresses the media. Photo by Tony Gonzales
Q: What is Ford's status for Sunday?
Coach Jackson: I'll let you know as we go. It's going to be day-to-day as we go, so we'll know as we move forward.
Q: Was it good to have Kevin Boss back out there?
Coach Jackson: It's been a long time, but it's good to have him out there in a limited capacity moving around and catching balls, but we'll see where he is as we keep moving forward.
Q: How did things go with the referees on the field?
Coach Jackson: They are good and threw the flag. I told them to throw the flag and don't hesitate. They were very good and we only had a few, so that's a good thing. I think we won the battle today because we only had about three or four. It wasn't 15, I promise you that.
Q: [Darren] McFadden limited?
Coach Jackson: Well, he's limited right now.
Q: Is there a reason or is it because he carried the workload?
Coach Jackson: It's because he carried the workload. Absolutely.
Q: Did the grab around the neck [during the Broncos game] have anything to do with that?
Coach Jackson: It could, possibly.
Q: Do you expect [Richard] Seymour out there for the game?
Coach Jackson: I expect him out there really soon. Yes, absolutely.
Q: Richard didn't hurt his arm throwing the pitch out at the Oakland A's game did he? The ball bounced…
Coach Jackson: Did he do that? [Laughs] I was too busy watching our film. But, it bounced? Richard! Where is he? [Laughs] Are you kidding me? I can't believe the ball bounced with the athlete that he is. Thank you for telling me. I didn't know that. I need a picture of that. He needs to hit quarterbacks for a living and don't worry about throwing a baseball.
Q: Any chance this week for [Mike] Mitchell or [Louis] Murphy?
Coach Jackson: Again, I'll know as we continue to move forward. Obviously, they need to practice in order to play so I'll get a good feel about that tomorrow.
Q: Looking closer at Buffalo, what do you see about this team?
Coach Jackson: Good football team. Oh man, they are 1-0, they beat one of our division teams, the Kansas City Chiefs, they got after them. Chan Gailey is a heck of a coach, they are very explosive on offense, and good players with Fred Jackson and [Steve] Johnson. The young man Chandler, who is 6'7", is a match-up nightmare and made a lot of plays against Kansas City. It will be a tall chore for our defense, but I think we'll be looking forward to it. On the offense, their defense made some plays. They took the Kansas City offense who had some talented receivers and runners and shut them down. We have a tall task ahead of us, but we're looking forward to it.
Q: You look at their defense with [Shawne] Merriman and does he look even close to where he was a few years ago?
Coach Jackson: He's a good player and he's making plays. He stands out and he's one of the key players on their defensive football team. Obviously, that's why they brought him there. He's a challenge and we have to get this man blocked.
Q: When you look at the road games you had this year, a half-hour bus ride across the bridge and you had to pay the toll and two hours a couple of nights ago. Are you worried about the rookies and young guys on the team?
Coach Jackson: No because that's the National Football League and that's the life that we chose. We know we have to travel and go play. We had this schedule a long time ago and I know our players have it. We talked about it this morning. We're not going to let the travel, accommodations, the food or the elements dictate how we're going to go play. We're going to go play Raider football the way we know how to play. We're not going to get caught up in that. We're going to go prepare this team and we're going to go practice when I think the game is. That is the most important thing, we're going to get on this plane and get our minds and our bodies prepared to play the best football game we've played all year because that is the next one we have so that's all we can worry about.
Q: What do you think about the speed of C.J. Spiller?
Coach Jackson: Wow, you just said it, the guy can run. He's a talented player and we have to swarm the ball. We have to be around the ball with him and Fred Jackson both. Fred Jackson, he can run also and we have to get around the ball. We have to get 11 guys to the ball as often as we can. We have to make sure we tackle the ball carrier and that's what you have to do to real good backs.
Q: What did you see with your offensive line on Monday night?
Coach Jackson: I was very excited about our line to rush the ball the way we did, we had one sack in the game, which was on an assignment error. That wasn't because of something because somebody physically beat us. I mean the guy got a freebie. I mean he ran back there to tackle the quarterback and we didn't block him, so he better get a sack. So, I was happy with the production of how we ran the ball and the production of the quarterback not being hit. I was disappointed that people don't understand that this line has been built and these guys are working extremely hard everyday. I only think we are going to get better and better, but I'm very happy with what we've done. I know some people wish we had all of those linemen back here from in the past, but we don't. We have the guys who are playing right now and they are turning into a very solid group and unit for us.
