Offensive Coordinator Todd Downing and Defensive Coordinator Ken Norton, Jr.
The Oakland Raiders are in the midst of the preparation for the Denver Broncos, and both the offense and defense will have a lot on their plate come Sunday. Thursday afternoon, Offensive Coordinator Todd Downing and Defensive Coordinator Ken Norton, Jr., took to the podium to recap last week's game against the Washington Redskins. While both emphasized that what's done is done, it's all about moving forward.
Here are the quick hits from their media sessions:
Offensive Coordinator Todd Downing:
Downing briefly recapped last week's game against the Washington Redskins, and is focused on the team's next game.
"Just have a lot of areas that are room for improvement. We're excited to take the next step and get back on track."
He spoke about what he saw from quarterback Derek Carr last weekend, and stated the quarterback has been working diligently to fix last week's mistakes.
"You guys know how prideful of a worker he is. He's worked really hard this week to clean up some things and do his part. That's permeated our whole offense. Nobody has looked at that game as I said, and thought, 'Man, I'm really pleased with what I put on tape.' Everybody from Derek all the way down to quality control coaches has looked for ways to improve. That's going to be what propels us going forward."
Downing shared how having defensive end Khalil Mack on the Raiders roster helps the offense prepare for players like Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller.
"We have a luxury in that department in that we have No. 52 [Khalil Mack] on our team, who gives us a pretty darn good look at that kind of stuff in training camp and OTAs. Really talented guys that give us looks on the show team and such as well. We feel like we have a good plan. We excited to go out and execute it."
**Defensive Coordinator Ken Norton, Jr.:
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Norton discussed how the familiarity with the Broncos plays into Sunday's gameplan.
"I think the familiarity part of it, it really heightens as big of a game as it is and our rivalry, it really shows the closeness in the players and the coaches and the guys really know each other and spend some time together. Competition and bragging rights and guys really working hard, really have a great place in this game, but at the same time, it comes down to execution. They are who they are and we are who we are. It's a matter of really working hard.
He talked about the progression from rookie linebacker Nicholas Morrow.
"It's a competitive league and competitive team. If he's playing more, that means he's out playing someone else. He's a guy that really, with his speed, his smarts, his ability to work together with Cory James and the rest of the group, we have a high expectation of him. He has a high expectation of himself. We're excited about his growth. Same time, he's really young. A lot of things that he's seeing is for the first time. We're going to continue to coach him. He's showing up every day, excited, ready to go."
