Oakland Raiders: Change of heart for Jack del Rio

OAKLAND, CA - NOVEMBER 27: Head coach Jack Del Rio of the Oakland Raiders looks on during warm ups prior to their NFL game against the Carolina Panthers on November 27, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - NOVEMBER 27: Head coach Jack Del Rio of the Oakland Raiders looks on during warm ups prior to their NFL game against the Carolina Panthers on November 27, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Is Oakland Raiders head coach Jack del Rio beginning to have a change of heart? After seeing padded practices, the coach is singing a new tune in Napa

Responding to a lackluster practice performance on Tuesday prior to the team’s first scheduled off day, the Oakland Raiders would not disappoint head coach Jack del Rio. In an after practice press conference found on Raiders.com, Del Rio gave his recounts of the days’ activities:

"This is the beginning of a marathon race, we just have to be a team that comes out and takes care of business day in and day out…Put in really good work to become a really good football team."

Mario Edwards Jr. and Bruce Irvin made their first voyage onto the Napa practice fields, much to the delight of coach del Rio. Amari Cooper, who got a little banged up, and didn’t practice heading into the off day, returned to practice as well. Overall, coach feels like, while the offense may currently be further along than his defense, sleeping on the defense is a mistake (per Raiders.com):

"Our defense is going to be pretty good this year. A lot of positives in between, to me, I like the way the group’s working. There’s good competition and we’re learning to practice with each other."

In the not-so-distant past, Del Rio has been critical of the inside linebacker position. After a few padded sessions, perhaps he has seen something that is causing the stirrings of a different tune:

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"I like Cory [James]…he’s really learning how to be an inside linebacker, the reads, the keys and the fundamentals to play the position."

Keep in mind, James was drafted out of the University of Colorado, as an outside linebacker. Most of his experience came on the outside edges lined up on the ball. As a rookie, James was a tackling machine who made a routine of taking men down, but struggled with running the defense and making rookie mistakes for lack of a better analogy.

Since the pads have come on, rookie Marquel Lee has also turned heads. One of them belongs to his head coach:

"Some guys are natural leaders, some guys are intelligent enough to handle all that…I think he’s done a pretty good job thus far of showing that he’s a pretty good learner and has got a good presence about him…He’s going to get every opportunity to compete for it, he definitely sees himself as that guy…I think he’s been pretty solid to start camp."

That is a pretty abrupt turnaround from the coach. Perhaps general manager Reggie McKenzie may have addressed the issue a little more closely than Del Rio realized. Lee is a lifelong “Mike”.

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He played his entire career at Wake Forest as a middle linebacker. He was a captain and a leader. A big strong defender who is fleet of foot as well, Lee physically could very well be the answer the Raiders need in the middle of the field. But before we crown him as the guy, remember it’s only the fifth practice of the season.