Head Coach Jack Del Rio
After 16 long weeks, the final stretch of the NFL regular season is upon us, and the AFC West title coming down to the wire. The Oakland Raiders hold their destiny in their own hands, and could either land in the No. 1 seed, No. 2 seed, or No. 5 seed. Monday afternoon, Head Coach Jack Del Rio sat down for his weekly presser to speak with the media about the upcoming week.
The Raiders commander-in-chief reflected on the victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, and briefly touched on the status of quarterback Derek Carr. As he's emphasized all season, Del Rio stated that the team has a goal in mind, and regardless of the circumstances the team will remain focused on winning the AFC West.
Here are the quick hits from Del Rio's press conference:
The Raiders Head Coach expressed that the team is grateful for its 12th victory, but is hungry for more.
"I think certainly appreciative of getting that 12th win. The idea is to stack up as many wins as you can. At the end of the year, you're looking to see if that's enough to place you where you'd like to be placed. Then you go from there. It's a tough game. Things happen in this game. It's all about the team. It's all about us moving on with the next opportunity and pulling together as a group of men and being unselfish and sacrificing for each other. All of those things. It doesn't change. It doesn't change regardless of who it is. It's about the team. It's about us winning"
He spoke about his initial impressions of quarterback Matt McGloin, and what he's seen from him over the past two seasons.
"Having almost two full years with him and then obviously preparing a couple times a year to go against the Raiders when I was in Denver, so getting a sense of who he is and what he is, what he likes and what he does and how he competes and all those things, you're always learning about your guys. I wouldn't consider it a closed book with any of the guys. We've been here two years together and we're learning about each other all the time. But, he's a competitive guy, he loves ball, loves to compete and prepares hard. I think his teammates know that."
Del Rio discussed that in the wake of Carr's injury the team will rally and continue its mission.
"No, we're going to do what we always do. I think there's a natural feeling of stepping up and rallying around whoever is playing at whatever position it is. I feel the same about it being the quarterback. I think it's about us as a team going out and competing against the other team."
He talked about rookie running back DeAndré Washington's performance and how he's progressed over the course of the season.
"He worked and he stayed ready, and I thought there was just a little bit of urgency, not just offensively. Whether it's on the scout team or whether it's getting reps within our offense, even in a special teams role. I think that's the beautiful thing about it, when a guy responds. And it wasn't like we didn't want him up. We just had choices we had to make, but I think he wanted to make sure that he really put in a little extra and let it be known that he really wanted to be part of that active group, and whether it be special teams or offensively, he wanted to make sure that he was putting his best foot forward."
Del Rio shared his thoughts on the return of defensive end Mario Edwards, Jr.
"Good to get him back. Really good to get him back. He got just under 20 reps. We wanted to cap it at 20, 30, somewhere in there. We didn't end up taking a ton of reps on the day. I think we had in the 50's yesterday. Solid first outing and I know for him, he had a big smile on his face. He was just happy to be back in the action and get a chance to play again."
