Raiders have accepted Jack Del Rio’s preaching of the basics
Turns out Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio wasn’t saying those words only for his health.
Through the season’s first eight games, Oakland was last in the NFL, allowing 314.6 net yards passing per game.
Defensive end Justin Tuck went down, linebacker Aldon Smith was suspended and then rookie defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. went down with a neck injury two weeks ago.
The Raiders also lost rookie linebacker Neiron Ball to a knee injury, as well as top free-agent signing Nate Allen — the safety didn’t look good in his five games, but was also coming back from a Week 1 knee injury.
Benson Mayowa and Denico Autry thrived at defensive end in last Thursday’s win over San Diego.
Mayowa recovered a fumble and his 40-yard run-back set up a go-ahead touchdown.
[...] it’s clear they and the rest of the defense have heard what Del Rio, coordinator Ken Norton Jr. and the rest of the staff is preaching.
Raiders fullback Marcel Reece, suspended Monday for four games, said that he took a plant-root extract called Umcka, which he describes as a “completely safe substance that is clearly legal by NFL policy.”
[...] an internal chemical reaction caused the positive test that led to his suspension by the NFL …
Rookie receiver Amari Cooper sat out a good deal of last Thursday’s game because of a sore foot.
