Head Coach Jack Del Rio
Oakland Raiders Head Coach Jack Del Rio was noticeably frustrated Monday afternoon when he met with the media to recap Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Del Rio expressed not only his frustration, but the frustration of the coaching staff, and the players as well. The team's Week 14 loss to the Chiefs was not only disappointing, but it plays an important role on how the final quarter of the season could play out.
Following his press conference, here are the quick hits from his media session:
Del Rio was open about his feelings regarding yesterday's game.
"As players and coaches, we're as frustrated and pissed off about what occurred yesterday as you can be, as anybody out there is. Losing a game like that hurts. There are no words that I can say here today that are going to take away that pain or make those that care about the Raiders feel better. I'm really not going to try. We have to coach it better. We have to execute it better. We're tied together, players and coaches."
He believes quarterback Derek Carr's confidence hasn't wavered this season.
"I don't believe that he's lost any confidence in his line. I think that there have been many examples throughout this season where we have not played boldly to go make the plays. I would really like to see that. Because at the end of the day, if you kind of go halfway, it's not good enough anyway. So, I'd love to see us just let it rip, OK? And go play. Talked about hair on fire, talked about that kind of effort and energy, playing fast, that's what I believe in, and I'd love to see it more often."
Del Rio shared how the team translates its energy in practice into a game.
"Make plays. Be accountable. Take what you did in practice, you did it correctly, and do it on Sunday correctly. Then when you're making plays, it's a lot more fun."
**He broke down what it means to "let it rip" and play aggressively on offense.
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"I mean, look at the fourth quarter. Look at the way the fourth quarter played out. Where was that in the first three quarters? I mean just, look at that. I thought we played with more urgency and intensity and all of that. It's a little late when you're down 26-0. But you saw glimpses of it there. I mean, guys were making plays, getting off the field on D, offense moving the ball, throwing the ball, making guys miss, running, all the things you got to do to come alive. So, we didn't do enough of that early in that game."
Del Rio commented on the performance from the wide receivers Sunday.
"I don't like to sit up here and grade positions, so I'm not going to today. I thought they competed hard and we played a lot of guys. Obviously without both of our guys in [Amari] Cooper and [Michael] Crabtree, we didn't have Coop very long. We filled in and battled. We'd like to get more production there."
