Head Coach Jack Del Rio
The Oakland Raiders have dropped their last two games, and now own a record of 2-2, but we're only a quarter of the way through the 2017 season. Even though there's still plenty of time for adjustments to be made, Head Coach Jack Del Rio will certainly try to get his squad back on track before Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens. Monday afternoon, Del Rio was back at the Raiders team facility in Alameda, Calif., and addressed yesterday's game against the Denver Broncos.
Here are the quick hits from his presser:
After coming in for injured quarterback Derek Carr, EJ Manuel impressed Del Rio in the quarter and a half he played.
"I thought he was very poised throughout the time that he played. He handled his business. He went through the reads. I think with the exception of the clock expiring in that environment, that's the one thing he didn't get near the repetitions that we got with our starter, obviously. That's the one thing that I came out of there saying as a coach, 'OK, I have to have him better prepared for that.'"
He commented on the injury to Carr, and his expected recovery timeline.
"Obviously, it's always a big blow to lose a good player, a key player and your quarterback. The good news is he's not gone for the year. We'll get him back. It could be as short as two weeks. It could be longer, we'll see. We'll deal with that as it goes."
Del Rio touched on the running game, and how it needs to improve going forward.
"I know we have big, powerful guys up front. We've got backs that are all very capable. We have a really good staff. We have to put it together to make it work. That's the bottom line. For two weeks now, we've stubbed our toe. Maybe more than just a toe. We've struggled. It's really obvious to everybody that follows us. It's obvious to me. We're working hard to get it right."
**He reiterated his confidence in wide receiver Amari Cooper, and doesn't expect No. 89's dropped passes to be an issue.
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"I think he's going to be just fine. I believe in Amari, I think he's a really good player. That ball got on him quick yesterday, ends up being one, 'Oh my gosh, there's another one.' Yeah, OK. I believe Amari's a really good player and we'll take advantage of that. We're going to make sure that we're getting him the ball and that we're utilizing the strengths that he brings."
Del Rio spoke about the offensive line's productivity, and said he thinks they've been efficient so far.
"They're actually playing pretty well. Again, I know this goes back to what I was saying to Vic, I know people want somebody to blame. Just blame me, that's easy. Blame the head coach. Seriously. Because, we're going to get it right. I'm worried about why, but I'm not worried about explaining it and talking about it. I'm worried about getting it right. We've got a good group. We've got a good group. They're physical. We've got good backs. We've got good coaches. We will get it right. It needs to get right, now."
