Head Coach Jack Del Rio
The Oakland Raiders wrapped up practice Friday as they continue to prepare for their clash against the Tennessee Titans. Head Coach Jack Del Rio met with media members to conclude another "fast Friday." He spoke about the young players on the team and how they're progressing, like wide receiver Amari Cooper and rookie safety Karl Joseph.
Here are the quick hits from his media session:
Del Rio commended Cooper for his ability to grind through his injury last season and how it's benefitted him.
"I think there's a benefit in the experience he gained. I think that's part of what you do. As you live life, as you compete at the highest level, you realize things, you learn things along the way. Certainly, having that occur as young player, as a rookie, and experiencing that, I think one, we know more about him in terms of the toughness that he brings, but I think he understands more about really how important the detail of taking care of himself and taking care of his body and understanding how demanding the season is for the NFL player."
He expressed that he's excited to see Joseph make his NFL debut and see some time on the field.
"I'm excited to see him play. I know he's excited to get a chance to play. We plan on playing him. So there 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."
Del Rio also praised Joseph's attitude around the team and his overall work ethic.
"What I'm most impressed with is his attitude has been great. He works hard. He's conscientious. He's got some explosive abilities as a football player. I think the health issue is really kind of behind him now. I feel good about that. I feel good about the way he's preparing. Now we just look forward to all of us going out and playing well on Sunday."
After missing Week 1, the Raiders Head Coach appreciated what tackle Austin Howard contributed last week.
"Well, we really appreciate the way he fought through last week. It took a lot out of him. Now he's back down and will be resting this week. He showed some toughness and fought through it. The group up front has done a great job of that to start the year. These things will start to settle down for us and we'll get back to what we envisioned coming out of camp. The good news is the group is fighting through it and performing very well for us."
