Head Coach Jack Del Rio
The Oakland Raiders held the first press conferences of the 2017 regular season Wednesday afternoon, and Head Coach Jack Del Rio got things going as the team prepares for the Tennessee Titans. He discussed what challenges the Titans offense poses, and also touched on some rookie members of the Raiders defense.
Here are the quick hits from his media session:
Del Rio shared his thoughts on budding star, Titans quarterback, Marcus Mariota.
"The guy had a tremendous career in college. That's carried over. He's a good football player. I think both teams go in with quarterbacks that were ironically hurt on the same day. They have both rebounded, had good off seasons. I think Derek [Carr] came back a little quicker, but they're both back. They're both good, young players. I think that's certainly part of the storyline for this week."
The Raiders Head Coach touched on what he expects to see from first-round pick Gareon Conley.
"I expect to see him today. We'll see how the week goes. We'll know more about Sunday as we go through the week."
While the addition of running back Marshawn Lynch is a plus, Del Rio is excited to see the team as a whole.
"To me, we're excited about the work we put in building up to this opportunity to get started. Marshawn is a piece of that. There are several stories out there. At some point we'll start writing those chapters, and at the end of the year there will be a book on what it was. We're getting ready to see."
**A lot of people are anxious to see the rookies take the field, including Del Rio. In particular, he's looking forward to seeing linebacker Marquel Lee.
**
"I can't wait to see our guys play. We'll see. We put a lot of time and effort into developing our guys. That'll remain a story until it's not. If he's doing real well, I'm sure you won't ask about it much. We'll just let that unfold. We're looking forward to rolling out our guys. It's a team game. We'll put our team against their team. That's what we do come Sunday. He's part of it. He's done a good job in his role."
Even though the Raiders have defeated the Titans in their past two meetings, Del Rio doesn't think there will be any carryover.
"I don't think you carry anything forward. I think you understand, maybe that some of the guys that were there, that were with us understand some of the circumstances. What it's like to travel there. What it's like to play in that stadium. Some of those things. But no. We recognize they're a good football team, we're a good football team, and we need to go in there and battle."
