WATCH: Raiders' LB Coach Gives Critical Insights
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Las Vegas Raiders linebackers coach Mike Caldwell gets to work with stellar linebackers such as Robert Spillane as well as Divine Deablo. Rookie Tommy Eichenberg doesn't look so bad in his limited role, either.
Caldwell is one of the minds behind the Silver and Black's punishing defense. He recently spoke from to reporters, and we have the full video below:
Below is a partial transcript from defensive coordinator Patrick Graham's Thursday presser:
Q: Could you talk about Decamerion Richardson who just continues to make progress, you see him making plays, just your thoughts on his maturation?
Coach Graham: "He's been doing a good job in the in the meeting rooms and on the practice field and doing a lot of the extra stuff to try to get better. You can see him gaining confidence. He has a skill set, he has good length, he plays physical. That's the thing that stood out to me the most is his desire or his willingness to be unblocked, or the desire to make sure that those guys aren't blocking him at the end of the play, that stands out to me. And of course he's a rookie, and he's got a lot of things to learn, but the one thing that's positive about him, he usually corrects a mistake. So, he might make it once or twice, but then usually it's off the plate, and he's corrected it, and then it just comes down to execution."
Q: Decamerion Richardson doesn't seem bothered by the moment or the league or things like that. Is that something you notice? What kind of a quality is that for a player?
Coach Graham: "Most corners that get to this level, they have to have a short memory, because at some point in your career, whether it's Pop Warner, high school or college, you're going to get bombed on at some point. But he has a lot of confidence. I believe it comes from his prep. Just like any of us in our walks of life, as a coach you gain confidence from your prep, the preparation you put in. So, I think that's where he's gaining confidence. And then when you see it come to life out there on the field, that's really where you want when those plays start to happen out there on the field, that's when you get another level of confidence. So, I'm looking forward to that happening for him."
Q: What improvements have you seen from Bo Nix from the first meeting that you guys had until now?
Coach Graham: "I think I mentioned it the first press conference talking about Denver. One, he has an excellent coach with Coach [Sean] Payton. So, just the years I've been in the league, I remember my first year in the league, they destroyed us. It was down there in the Superdome. It was bad. And he does such a good job. The head coach as the play caller, just using their personnel. And you can see that Bo [Nix] is comfortable with that. He knows, 'Okay, this guy is doing this, this guy's doing that,' and he's getting them the ball in those situations. The thing that stood out to me, and again he played a lot of games in college, he has complete control of the line of scrimmage in terms of whatever parameters that Coach [Sean] Payton is giving him, but he has control. He's able to get in and out of checks, he's able to get into protection and he's not taking a lot of sacks, that's a credit to his offensive line and their scheme. But you've seen a rookie player who has a lot of experience in college - I forget how many number of games he started, I think was up there in the 70s or something crazy, whatever - but he's a mature player out there, and he's just getting better. He's just getting better."
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