Head Coach Jack Del Rio

The preseason is dedicated to growth, maturation, and learning experiences, and in the eyes of Oakland Raiders Head Coach Jack Del Rio, the team took a step in its development Saturday night. While the Silver and Black ultimately lost to the Los Angeles Rams in their preseason home opener, the team showed flashes of its playmaking ability. Following the 24-21 defeat, Del Rio met with the media and recapped what he saw from the sideline.

Here are the quick hits from his time at the podium:

**Following the loss, Del Rio told reporters he'd like to see things tightened up on defense.

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"I'm more concerned with just the basic execution right now. I think we'll go a long way when we clean some of those things up. The things that we've talked about for too long in terms of communication errors, eye violations and things like that that just keep you from ever being really good on defense. Those just have to get cleaned up."

He shared what he's seen from linebackers Nicholas Morrow and Jelani Jenkins.

"Yeah, Nick, those young guys we gave them an opportunity to compete. He finds the ball a little bit. I think Jelani Jenkins went in there and played pretty well in the second or third series and played the rest of the first half. I thought he was pretty solid, too. Those two guys flashed. Nick at the end of the game had a nice breakup. Almost got a pick. Would've ended it. Would've been nice. So yeah, I think they're doing a good job."

Del Rio talked about quarterback Derek Carr's mentality while he's on the field.

"I thought of being engaged, staying in the game, getting every play call, thinking the game, talking about what he's seeing in the defensive rotation and just kind of mentally playing the game. That's ideal the way he goes about it. Very professional, great teammate and that's exactly what we're looking for."

He believes that tight end Jared Cook can be a versatile weapon for the team going forward.

"We've been working our tight end position pretty good, involving them in our offense throughout the offseason and through training camp. I think tonight you saw a little example of that with Jared [Cook] and Lee [Smith]. I think Jared is a real weapon for us and will look forward to getting him involved and not allowing people to roll up as much to Amari."

Del Rio recapped the performance from the offensive line Saturday, specifically the tackle position.

"Overall, it felt like the protection was good, felt like we ran the ball pretty solid. I look forward to watching the film. I just don't know enough about line play. Nothing really jumped out one way or the other. That's usually a good sign for the linemen. If there's not a glaring mistake, if it's a quiet night for the offensive line, that's usually a good thing. But I'll be able to comment more on their play when we get back together."