Offensive Coordinator Bill Musgrave
The Oakland Raiders were back on the field Thursday afternoon, continuing their on-field preparations for their Week 12 showdown with the Carolina Panthers.
Following the day's work, offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave held his weekly press conference, and discussed the challenges of the Panthers defensive front, as well as the growth he's seen in rookie quarterback Connor Cook.
Musgrave shared his initial thoughts about the vaunted Panthers defense.
"Tough defense coming in, as we all know, tough front. Two, good tackles, [you] can definitely see why they were 15-1 last year."
The versatility of the Raiders running backs provides a nice luxury for the Silver and Black's offense as a whole.
"It helps us when we can put a plan together, and hopefully isolate some defensive shortcomings, or maybe some matchups that are heavily in our favor. The running backs do a nice job of executing the plan. It's one thing to put a plan together, it's another thing entirely for the players to go out and execute it, take it to that elite level; very thankful for our group, our stable of running backs."
The Raiders offensive coordinator also shared his thoughts about rookie running back Jalen Richard.
"He's just a terrific young man. On the field, he's great. On the sideline, really good with adjustments, staying positive when we experience the ebb, rather than the flow, of a football game. He's terrific all-around, taking about Jalen [Richard]."
**Jamize Olawale has also shown to be a valuable asset offensively, and is one that Musgrave would like to utilize more going forward.
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"We had a good experience with it down there in Tampa Bay also and Jamize [Olawale] does a super job for us. He runs some short routes for us the other day too, which usually he's out there just to create some space, but Derek [Carr] found him. So, his role is ever-expanding because he's showing multiple traits."
He also spoke about the improvement he's seen in rookie quarterback Connor Cook.
"He is doing better. He's doing better each and every week. I thought he really grew during the preseason. He got some adequate turns and each week he's doing a nice job in the meetings and also being supportive of Derek and Matt McGloin during the game and being that extra set of eyes and having his perspective added to the equation, which we value a bunch."
