Quarterback Derek Carr
For the first time in the 2016 regular season, the Oakland Raiders were punched in the mouth, suffering their first loss of the season at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
In a league where each game has so much importance, any loss weighs heavy, especially one in which the defense surrenders over 500 yards in their second-consecutive disappointing performance.
However, even with the slow start out of the gates for the defense, Head Coach Jack Del Rio has been pleased with the resolve that the unit has shown heading into their game with the Tennessee Titans.
"I think they've been outstanding in that regard," said Del Rio Wednesday. "I think there's accountability here. I think we all recognize the obvious, but we're not going to dwell on it. We're not going to sit around and wait for somebody to come by and feel sorry for us. I think the guys are very purposeful going about their work. We've got a good group. We're going to play good ball, and starting this week will be great."
Defensive tackle Denico Autry echoed Del Rio's sentiment, and acknowledged that while the team knows that improvement is needed, there are no hanging heads from any of the players following the loss.
"We've kind of kept our heads high because we know that they didn't beat us, we beat ourselves," Autry said. "That's all it was."
The first loss of the season served as a gut check for the team, but following the 35-28 loss, Autry believes the team is made up of players who know how to respond to a rough day at the office.
"You have to get up and shake it off, man," Autry explained. "You're going to have adversity, you have to go to practice and know what we have to get done, and come back and be better. As far as execution. We just went back to ground zero, and started over, just to make sure that everything was on point."
Running back Taiwan Jones is now in his sixth season as a Raider, and has seen his fair share of highs and lows in Silver and Black, but with the leadership and stability Head Coach Del Rio has provided, he think that the 2016 Raiders are equipped to respond to the challenges that the regular season presents.
"[Head Coach] Jack [Del Rio] has done a great job of giving us ownership of the team, and with that loss, no one's pointing fingers," Jones said. "Everybody is taking ownership of that loss, so we don't want to just talk about what we want to do, we're just trying to get ready so we can go out here and show everybody how we're going to respond on Sunday."
The Raiders will get their chance to right the ship this Sunday at Nissan Stadium as they travel to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans.
Kickoff is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. PT.
Injury Report:
CB – David Amerson – Concussion – Full – Questionable
T – Austin Howard – Ankle – Did not participate – Out
C – Rodney Hudson – Knee – Full – Questionable
G – Gabe Jackson – Knee – Full – Questionable
RB – Taiwan Jones – Knee – Full – Questionable
DT—Darius Latham – Concussion – Full – Questionable
T – Matt McCants – Knee – Did not participate – Out
DL – Jihad Ward – Hip – Full – Questionable
T – Menelik Watson – Groin – Full – Questionable
Notable:
-In typical "Fast Friday" fashion, the Raiders held an abbreviated practice before heading to the airport for their trip to Tennessee.
-The Raiders had full participation in Friday's practice, save Austin Howard and Matt McCants who were both ruled "out" of Sunday's matchup with the Titans.
-With Howard ruled out of the Week 3 bout, the assumption would be that Menelik Watson would return to his usual spot along the offensive line.
Quotable:
Head Coach Jack Del Rio discussing rookie safety Karl Joseph:
"I'm excited to see him play. I know he's excited to get a chance to play, and we play on playing him. Here we go. He's had a really good week of practice. I feel like we've had a good, solid week of preparation, and we're excited to go play."
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