Head Coach Hue Jackson. Photo by Tony Gonzales
Q: Moss [his injury] – Was that something that happened today?
Coach Jackson: Yeah.
Q: Is it serious?
Coach Jackson: I couldn't tell you. We'll find out as we go. I think he'll be fine; I think, but we'll see as we go.
Q: Thoughts on playing the Texans in Houston?
Coach Jackson: Houston; the Texans, they're 3-1. Good football team, good offense, good defense, but it's about us. We've got to get better and that's what we did today. I thought we got better today, we've got to come out tomorrow and do it again. Just keep putting back-to-back days together of consistent play and let's go play a game.
Q: How did [Louis] Murphy look out there today?
Coach Jackson: Good. He looked good. He ran around; we'll see how he feels tomorrow. Again, that was his first extended practice so again until tomorrow, we'll get an idea of what he really feels like and go from there.
Q: Extra emphasis on tackling today, especially with them being padded up and everything?
Coach Jackson: I'm not going to say extra emphasis, but we made it – I guess you could say it was extra emphasis. We wanted to make sure that we did a better job of making sure that we put our face on people and I think we did.
Q: Are there fundamentals that go with stopping zone-running teams that are different from power-blocking teams? Are there a couple of things that are really crucial?
Coach Jackson: Well, I think you've got to play off the cut blocks because most zone teams that are as good as this team is that we're going to play do a great job of cutting in line and they get after you that way. So, you have to do a great job of protecting your legs and any run team that's worth a darn, if you're going to slow them down, you've got to knock them back and your defensive line has to knock the offensive line back and that's what it comes down to. You've got to make sure that you're getting penetration and they're doing everything they can to stop the penetration.
Q: Why do you think – this problem has been going on for a long time, the Raiders seem to never be good with penalties; how do you guys try to improve on that?
Coach Jackson: We have officials here. We make it an emphasis to this team; if I – again, it's an issue, and we're going to address it and we're going to keep addressing it. We're going to keep getting better at it. That's what I'm going to tell you.
Q: Have you been able to get a read on Houston's defense?
Coach Jackson: They're good [laughs]. Yeah, I got a big read on them; they're good. Wade Phillips is there from the Cowboys; he's now the defensive coordinator. He was the head coach at Dallas, now he's the defensive coordinator and he's done a good job. I mean there's a bunch of first and second-round picks on the defense and they're playing good; they're playing really good. Mario Williams and Antonio Smith, just to name a couple guys, and Jonathan Joseph came over from the Bengals, and Danieal Manning is playing safety and, and DeMeko Ryans is a linebacker. They'll probably get mad if I don't mention them all, so I'm not going to try to because they are a good defensive football team and they're playing good. He's got those guys believing and playing hard and getting to the ball and making plays, so I mean it's a great challenge, but we've got to be up to it. As I said, if we're going to be the team that I think we can become, it doesn't matter where we; it doesn't matter who we play. We've got to show up and go play Raider football they way we know how to play.
Q: What do you take from last year's loss?
Coach Jackson: What did I take from it? I was pissed, disappointed, lost the game. As a head coach now, I can say that they ran the ball on us like you wouldn't believe and that's one of my pet peeves, and I haven't gotten that solved yet, and I've got to get it solved. I do not want the people running the ball up and down the field on us, and it's something we are making a huge emphasis to, and we've got to get it corrected and we will.
Q: When teams are running on you like that, is that a scheme thing or more of a desire thing?
Coach Jackson: Well, I'm not going to say that our players don't have desire because I know they do. I don't think any player on our team wants the ball being run at them like that. I'm not going to tell you it's scheme; you're going to take out of it what you want. Here's the deal – we've got to get it solved, we've got to get it stopped; that's what we have to do. We must quit letting people run the ball at us like people have.
Q: I think the most common comment we've gotten over the years from players, all different players under different coordinators, is always don't try and do someone else's job, do your own job…
Coach Jackson: Right. No excuses. I don't know what's gone on here in the past. I know what's happening right now, but we haven't got it solved and we've got to fix it. That's my job, it's the defensive coaches' job, it's the defensive players' job, and we'll get it done.
Q: Is there danger of trying to do too much and getting out the position that they should be in?
Coach Jackson: Honestly, I can't tell that. I'm not going to sit up here and tell you it is, it isn't. I don't know. I know this – we haven't solved it and that's the bottom line. At the end of the day, we're still getting the ball run at us. We have to get that solved. It's not going to go on for 16 games, I promise you that.
Q: As an offensive mind, if you're facing a team, a defense, that was giving up 5.9 [yards per carry]?
Coach Jackson: I'm running the ball. I'm running the ball until I can get them to make me stop running the ball.
Q: Is that what you expect Houston to do?
Coach Jackson: I sure do. With that back, that offensive line, in their stadium, I would. Wouldn't you?
Q: You talked Monday about the red zone. You were really, really good in the red zone up until this last game. What happened last week and is all that fixable?
Coach Jackson: It's very fixable. I mean, obviously, we had some opportunities there; we didn't take advantage of them. We all know there was an interception thrown and we were down there another time, and we had another opportunity where we just didn't hit it. So, you go back to work, you go back in the scoring zone and you continue clean up those things. That's what we did prior to the season and we got off to a pretty good start and all now all of a sudden, we hit a bump in the road. That's what we'll go do again; we'll go get better at it, pay attention to detail, and get it done.
Q: You guys got [Jacoby] Ford back last week; [Louis] Murphy this week. Has Moore done enough where he's earned his role? He's not in danger of losing it?
Coach Jackson: Oh no, he's not in danger. You've got to earn what you get and get what you've earned. Those other guys are back and they'll earn their time; they're good players and we'll give them opportunities as we continue to move forward. But, they have nothing to do with Denarius Moore. They're back, they'll play and we have two very talented players who have a chance to get back on the field for us and I'm looking forward to it.
Q: You went empty backfield a couple of times against New England. Is that something specific to them or is that something, especially now that you're getting your receivers back, that you might do more?
Coach Jackson: I think now that we're getting our guys back, there are quite a few things I'd like to do. But, once I get can get these Lamborghinis and Mercedes-Benzes out here, and get them moving around as a unit, and playing together, and playing off each other can we start to explore more things.
Q: What did you see from Ron Parker? You picked him up last week for the practice squad and by Sunday, he's on the squad…
Coach Jackson: Man, the guy's competitive. He goes up, attacks the ball, attacks receiver, and makes plays. So obviously, he had a chance to be up and I think he's getting more comfortable with our system on defense. So, we'll see where he is this week and keep going from there.
Q: Do you see him as more of a cornerback or as safety?
Coach Jackson: I see him as a secondary player; who knows what role that is, but I think he can play back there. That's for sure.
Q: What did you like that you saw from Jason Campbell? He threw for a lot of yards last week, but his two interceptions seemed to be costly…
Coach Jackson: As I told you guys – it's not about yards; it's about winning. When you don't win the game whether you're the quarterback and down to the equipment guy, you don't feel good. I've seen some good things out of Jason, but I've seen some things we need to improve on. I think he knows that, he'll be the first to tell you that, and that's what we're going to do.
Q: [Michael] Huff looks good to go and looks fine…
Coach Jackson: I think he's getting there, getting much closer to having him back out there permanently. Obviously, he was limited today and we'll see where he is tomorrow.
Q: You are one of two rookie head coaches in the Bay Area. Do you have any observations about the other guy – [Jim] Harbaugh, his substance, his style?
Coach Jackson: [Laughs] No, I don't get a chance to look over there. I'm too busy. I know him personally and I wish him nothing but the best, but I have my issues over here that I've got to control, look at, and take care of. That's more than enough for me at this point.
Q: Where do you know him from?
Coach Jackson: Because I worked with his brother. I work for John [Harbaugh] in Baltimore and he spent a lot of time up there when he was head coach at Stanford. He was around a lot, him and his family, so I got to know him.
Q: Is there a chance [Matt] Shaughnessy is back this week?
Coach Jackson: Well, we'll see. We'll know a little bit more about that and get a little bit more in-depth detail about exactly where he is.
