Cornerback David Amerson
Something about seeing those Titans uniforms lined up on the other side of football makes David Amerson's eyes get big.
Not only did he enjoy the best game of his professional career during the team's Week 12 contest in Nashville last season, he also put together another impressive performance against Marcus Mariota and Co. just a few weeks ago in the third preseason matchup of 2016.
Now, in what is bit of a scheduling oddity, Amerson and the rest of the Raiders defense will get their third crack at the Titans in less than a calendar year.
"I'm not sure what really their game plan is, but I'm definitely excited to go back out there and compete, and just do me," said Amerson. "It doesn't matter who I line up against, whether it's Tennessee, or the Falcons, or whatever, I'm just going in with the same mindset, and that's just to everything I can to help win."
Last season's 24-21 win over the Titans served as a coming out party for the then-recently-acquired cornerback, as he set a Raiders record with six passes defensed, and also secured an interception, and two tackles.
Not bad for a player who had joined the team prior to Week 3 of the regular season.
"I had a good game there last year," Amerson said coyly Thursday. "I had a pretty good game, but like I said, that was last year. It's a whole new year, and it can easily go the other way if I'm not on top of my stuff, so I just kind of put it behind me, and move on, and just try to do it again."
After he suffered a concussion during Sunday's loss to the Atlanta Falcons, it was unclear whether or not Amerson would have the chance to suit up against the Titans, however, he was cleared to practice on a limited basisThursday, and expects to be 100 percent for the Week 3 matchup in Music City.
"I feel good," Amerson said. "I feel normal. Ready to go."
Having a healthy Amerson Sunday is important for the Silver and Black, particularly after their well-documented struggles on the defensive side of the football through two weeks, but heading into Week 3, No. 29 knows that the time to make adjustments is now.
"I think it's just an adjustment that we all have to make as a defense, and as a secondary, and I feel like it's an easy fix," Amerson said. "It's a just few little details that we have to clean up, and we'll get it clicking."
Injury Report:
CB – David Amerson – Concussion – Limited
T – Austin Howard – Ankle – Did not participate
C – Rodney Hudson – Knee – Limited
G – Gabe Jackson – Knee – Limited
RB – Taiwan Jones – Knee – Limited
DT—Darius Latham – Concussion – Limited
T – Matt McCants – Knee – Did not participate
DL – Jihad Ward – Hip – Limited
T – Menelik Watson – Groin – Limited
Notables:
-As I mentioned earlier, David Amerson was back on the field in a limited capacity again Thursday, after being limited in Wednesday's session.
-Khalil Mack is a supreme athlete – that has never been up for debate – and Thursday afternoon he showed off a little bit during the team's stretching period, catching passes while laying on his back.
-After missing Wednesday's session because of injury, defensive tackle Darius Latham returned to the field in a limited capacity Thursday.
Quotable:
Defensive Coordinator Ken Norton, Jr. talks about why the defense has struggled through the first games of the season:
"It's hard to tell. I mean, there's a lot of things that we're looking at. At the same time, we've had some adverse situations. We all had high expectations at the same time. We're a work in progress. Continue to improve, continue working hard, paying attention to the details and I'm accountable for it. We have to work harder, work better and we expect to come out of this."
Amerson discussing the challenges the defense has faced this season:
"I think of it like this. I think last year, I feel like there were a lot of new pieces, and a new scheme for the Raiders, and everything, and just new in general. I think, with that said, teams have a whole year of game film, to look back and actually see what we're doing, what we like, and really break our defense down. They made an adjustment, and they're attacking us where they think we're weak at. We have to make the adjustment, and play chess with chess."
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