RAIDERS HEAD COACH DENNIS ALLEN
(on whether a decision has been made at quarterback)
Yeah, we're going to go with Matt McGloin.
(on whether there is a chance the team uses two quarterbacks)
Yeah, absolutely there is a possibility of that. Just like I told the guys downstairs that we are going to see how Terrelle (Pryor) does this week in practice and see how he feels. If he is healthy enough to play, then he will be active in the game.
(on Matt McGloin's performance last week and whether that factored in the decision for him to start)
I thought he played well in the game last week and it absolutely factored into the decision making. We have tried to open up and foster an atmosphere of competition on this football team and guys when they get their opportunities if they go in and play well then they get more opportunities. I think that when you do those things then everybody feels more involved in the team and they get a little bit more excited about going out to practice every day knowing that they have a chance to go in and play. He went in and played well in the game and like I told the guys downstairs, the decision was kind of two fold. One, is Matt earned the right to get another opportunity to start and number two is I want to get another chance to really see Terrelle in a full week of practice and see how he does and see what his health is like.
(on the impact of Rashad Jennings in the running game)
He has done a great job for us. Obviously, he has had to fill in for Darren McFadden several times this year and he has really run the ball extremely well. He is a powerful back. He is kind of a thudder-type of back and he gives us kind of a little more element of power, whereas Darren gives us a little more element of explosiveness, although Rashad had an 80-yard run last week. You can never have enough good players and you can never have enough good backs in this league.
(on how difficult it is to find a return specialist that protects the ball and also gets good return yards)
Yeah, it's tough. It's not just like there is a lot of great punt returners or kick returners that are growing on trees. You try to do the best you can and emphasize protecting the football, but that is a tough proposition at times.
(on what impresses him about the Titans)
I thought when you look at what they did last week against the Colts offensively with spreading everything out and going a lot of no huddle, no back and empty type of stuff and getting the ball out of their hands, I think they have some explosive players on the offensive side of the ball both in the running game and the passing game. Obviously, Delanie Walker is a matchup issue. Chris Johnson is a heck of a running back and has gained a lot of yards over his career and is an explosive weapon that can go all the way at any time. Kendall Wright I think is an outstanding receiver, a lot of yards after the catch with him. Nate Washington has been a really good receiver in this league. I think really up front they've done a really good job, both in the run game and in protection, of blocking up front. Defensively, I know Jerry Gray is the defensive coordinator, but him and Gregg Williams have worked together before. I know Gregg's got an influence in what they're doing defensively. You look at when those two guys have been together and the defenses they've put out on the field, all those guys have always played really hard. They've always been very physical and very aggressive. I see the same things out of the Titans' defense this year. You look at a guy like Alterraun Verner who has been able to get his hands on the ball a lot. I think this is an exceptional defense, and I think this is an offense that has a lot of explosive weapons.
(on Ryan Fitzpatrick becoming more comfortable running the Titans' offense)
I definitely can see that he's able to take control of the offense. I thought they did a great job of moving the ball down the field against the Colts. They had a couple opportunities to score touchdowns and weren't able to quite do that—that really was the difference in the game last week against the Colts. I think we understand that this is an explosive offense, a very capable offense, and a really aggressive, tough defense.
(on how effective the wildcat has been for the Raiders)
Well, it's been effective. It's a small piece of what we do offensively, but we just sprinkle it in every now and then. It's been effective for us. It's helped us.
(on whether this is a must-win game)
I try not to focus on any of that stuff. I try to focus on the process. The end results always take care of themselves if you take care of the process. The team that meets the best, the team that practices the best, the team that plays the best is generally the team that is going to win on Sundays. That's really what we focus on here. We focus on the process, and if we do that well enough, those end results will take care of themselves.
