Head Coach Jack Del Rio
The Oakland Raiders officially kicked off practice on Wednesday in preparation for this Sunday's game against the San Diego Chargers. Prior to practice, Head Coach Jack Del Rio spoke with reporters about facing the team's division rival. This will be the second matchup between the opposing teams this season and it should be a physical battle.
Here are the quick hits from Del Rio's media session:
**He talked about the team's prep for the week ahead and moving past last week's loss.
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"Busy in our preparation, ready for a trip down to San Diego and taking on the Chargers. Good football team, well coached, lot of talent. They've had a lot of injuries this year and Philip Rivers doesn't miss a beat. The defense has been playing very well with [defensive coordinator John] Pagano leading the way down there and I just think they're doing a good job. So, we're getting ourselves geared up, bouncing back onto next."
Del Rio praised Chargers rookie defensive end Joey Bosa for his effort when they faced earlier this season.
"Well, we saw him in his first game and got two sacks against us. So, he's very active, looks like they have a good young player that we'll be seeing at least twice a year for a long time. Good player."
The Raiders skipper shared his thoughts on the potential playoff berth and emphasized that the team remains focused on the week at hand.
"We just dig into our preparation, recover from the last game and then get ready to go compete. All you have to do is put on the tape. They make a lot of plays, very productive offense, very stingy defense. Our work is cut out for us. You can just see the tape and understand that and that's what we do. We focus on the tape, focus on the preparation."
Del Rio commented on the Raiders' depth and that the team has stepped up in wake of some injuries.
"I think, you know, in the back end, certainly TJ [Carrie] has stepped up and done a nice job for us and Nate [Allen] has stepped in with Karl [Joseph] being out and did a nice job the other night. For us, the offensive line, we've played five different right tackles. I mean, things come up, things happen and I feel like the guys have done a good job of 'next man up' mentality, being prepared and the coaches not flinching and us going forward."
