Interim Head Coach Mike Kafka

KAFKA: Just for practice, just so you guys know for practice, so (tight end) Theo (Johnson), he's got a little sickness, we're holding him out today. (Defensive lineman) D.J. (Davidson), (safety Tyler) Nubin, (tackle Andrew Thomas) AT, those guys are all out. Everyone else will get some work today.

Q: So, (offensive lineman Marcus) Mbow is left tackle then?

KAFKA: If (Andrew Thomas) can't go for the game.

Q: Oh, you're saying he's out today?

KAFKA: He's out today, yeah, he's out for today.

Q: Will you give him a chance for the game at this point?

KAFKA: Yeah, absolutely. Andrew Thomas.

Q: Andrew Thomas?

KAFKA: Yeah, we'll see how it feels today and evaluate the next couple days.

Q: What have you seen from Mbow in whatever practice this week, the game the other day? Just really all season as a guy who has kind of been thrust into the situation a couple times.

KAFKA: Yeah, he's had a couple starts already and he's done a really nice job. And just stepping in, he's always dialed into his opportunities and the game plan. So, I expect nothing different if he has to step up.

Q: When you were scouting him there was always talk like, is he a tackle, is he a guard? Did you see him as both? What did you see his future as?

KAFKA: Yeah, I think the vision for him was always to be a tackle, but he has the athletic ability to kind of do both. And he's done both for us, just throughout training camp and OTAs and stuff and working it. So, I think the vision was always for tackle though.

Q: Real quick, (defensive lineman Rakeem Nuñez-Roches) Nacho, how's he doing? It looks like he had some sort of setback. He went inside a little early the other day and was out of practice yesterday. Where's he at?

KAFKA: Yeah, he's going to give it a go again today, get some work. Again, just working through the comfortability of it. Those are some things that you don't want to mess around with. So, if he felt it, we just kind of toned it back. But he had a couple days to kind of get back and get the swelling and get some of that soreness out. So, he'll give it a go again today.

Q: In regard to the design runs, people look at it from the outside, they say the sheer numbers, you're not using as many design runs post-concussion with (quarterback) Jaxson (Dart). What do you say to that, or what do you make of that?

KAFKA: Yeah, I'd say we've been carrying the same amount of design runs, run game, QB run game that we have really all season with Jaxson. So, it just really depends on how the game declares itself. We want to use it in certain situations that we want to use them. So, I would say, like, how the game's going to roll will kind of determine when and where we want to use those things. But they're always kind of a part of the game plan.

Q: What do you see with (Las Vegas Raiders running back) Ashton Jeanty? What kind of challenge do you see him presenting?

KAFKA: Oh, man, he's one of those backs that you really got to understand where he's at. I mean, he doesn't take many plays off, but where they have him located, is he out of the backfield, where's he at in the backfield, the dot, offset. He has the ability to kind of break it from anywhere on the field as a running back or as a receiver out in flat. So, we got to make sure we rally to him, get him down. It's not going to take one. It's going to have to be a gang-tackle type mentality where we can get this guy down because he can bounce off. He's got great run-through contact, great strength, great speed. He's a special player.

Q: Do you have any kind of relationship with (Raiders head coach) Pete Carroll? Have you ever crossed paths?

KAFKA: I have not. I have not, but I've always respected him from afar, watching how he's operated and the success he's had over his career. I know he's put out some really cool books about competition and competing and stuff like that. I know that's a big thing for him, and it's been really cool. Obviously, (quarterback) Russ's (Wilson) relationship with him, he's always spoke very highly of him, the stories he's told me. So nothing but respect for Coach Carroll.

Q: Is there a desperate element when you have two teams that I think are on nine-game losing streaks, like is there a desperation element to this game? Do you expect them to come out desperate, you guys to come out with anything like that?

KAFKA: I just expect our guys to play our game, play our game plan, go and execute our game plan. I think they're in the right frame of mind, and having the meetings today, being able to bounce around those meetings, I think they're in the right frame of mind. So, it's about today, just putting together a good day of work so that we can go out to Vegas and have a good day.

Q: Outside the building, people look at the game with a different perspective, obviously, than the players do. What do you look at as where you guys are at as what the players' motivation is at this point?

KAFKA: Yeah, we're all in this thing together, so I think we all have the same vision and all have the same mindset in terms of putting together a great game plan, going and executing that game plan, mastering it all, and then going out to Vegas with the right frame of mind to go find a way to win, whatever that takes. Whatever that takes offensively, defensively, or special teams, finding a way to get a win at the end of the game.

Q: What is it, though, that motivates players at this point in the season? What do you use as a coach? Is it personal pride? Is it individual? Do you try to use all of that?

KAFKA: Yeah, I know as a former player and being in those locker rooms, like we're a bunch of competitors. The coaching staff that we have here is a bunch of competitors, and so we want to win. And I think our mentality is not going to change from that. Our mentality is to go in there and find a way to win. And, I mean, when you talk with the guys, you see them in their books, you see them in the hallways, and you're talking to those guys, like that's really where they're at and that's where their mentality is at, not the outside or anything else, but focusing on this game and finding a way to win.

Offensive Coordinator Tim Kelly

Q: What do you see from (quarterback) Jaxson (Dart) in the last few weeks? The numbers kind of don't match what they were pre-concussion.

KELLY: Yeah, the big takeaway is we've got to do a better job helping him win the plays find us. Collectively as a group, whether it ends up being a missed assignment, whether it ends up being a drop, whether it ends up being something along those lines. I think everyone's kind of got unfortunately a hand in that. It's not just one person or one thing. We just have to do a better job as a unit of being able to go out and play sound football and fundamentally just do what we've been doing up until this point consistently and making the plays when they come our way. Whether it's a block up front, like I said, a drop, whether Jaxson can make a better throw, a better check, whatever it may be. It's not just one thing. I think that's more of a collective unit issue than anything else.

Q: (Wide receiver) Darius (Slayton) has been a good receiver in this league for a long time. He's had some drop issues this year. Does that, at some point, even with somebody who's had success and been in the league for a long time, does that just get mental at some point? Like you start thinking about the last one when you're trying to-

KELLY: Yeah, and obviously I can't speak for Slay, but that has to play a role in it in some way, shape, or form. But again, when you have someone with a track record that he has with his ability to demonstrate, to go and make plays, just a matter of being able to kind of go and recalibrate and get back to neutral when something unfortunate happens like that. And that's something that Slay's a guy that we've been able to count on since I've gotten here, and that's not going to change.

Q: What did you see from (offensive lineman) Marcus Mbow?

KELLY: He's obviously in kind of a unique situation. That position in general just has to be ready to go at a moment's notice. And at a premier position, being able to go out there and not be noticed is really a testament to him and his ability to prepare, stay locked in. And even though he may not be getting all the reps during the week, but being able to understand the game plan and still go out and function at a high level. So, Marcus did a good job with that. He's got a whole week to prepare and looking forward to seeing him play on Sunday.

Q: And what areas did you expect him to be able to build on that? I mean be better, specifically.

KELLY: I would say all of it. It's coming off the sideline cold, having to go in and execute against a defense that was multiple in its looks. He was clean assignment wise and was physical and did a good job in pass protection for the most part. So yeah, just looking to build on that collectively. I don't know if there's one area where we're saying, hey, you have to get better here. But just going out and doing it consistently. And again, now he's had a whole week to prepare to be able to go out and play at a high level.

Q: I understand the focus is right now. But does Marcus, as we move forward, does he have guard tendencies too? Does he have guard flexibility? You know what a guard/tackle looks like. Do you see that he could play both at some point in this league?

KELLY: Maybe. Right now, we're focusing on making sure we're getting him ready to go and play tackle. So, we don't have a ton of time to be able to kind of go and put him in the laboratory, if you will. But now looking forward to him going up this week and playing against a good front and playing tackle for us.

Q: What do you make of the lesser no design runs for Jaxson, like the last few weeks?

KELLY: I would say that while it may not be transpiring throughout the game, I wouldn't say that's necessarily the plan in terms of the different calls and different things that we have in the game plan for him. One reason or another, those may not have come off the call sheet. I would say it's probably more dictated on the game than anything else.

Q: The conspiracy theorists' thought is like trying to protect him from himself and you're saying that's not what's happening.

KELLY: We can put our tinfoil hats on. But we're preparing the offense and Jaxson to go out there and win. There's nothing as far as we need to protect him from himself. I mean, you guys watch the game, you can't do that. So, I would say, like I said, it's more dictated on how the games have gone and maybe some of the opponents that we've played and the structures that they've presented that maybe lead to that.

Q: Have you seen teams do more to limit his scrambling a bit?

KELLY: I would say that's probably to be expected when you come out and put the stuff on tape that you put on tape, teams are going to treat you a little bit differently. So that's a part of it in terms of how they're rushing, being more focused on keeping him in the pocket and doing things along those lines. So yeah, but anytime you put enough tape out there of excelling at something in this league, teams are going to try to take that away from you.

Q: What does (Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator) Patrick Graham do to try to slow him down?

KELLY: There's multiple things that he's shown. You look at how he played (Philadelphia Eagles quarterback) Jalen (Hurts) a couple weeks ago, he utilized some spies, utilized some different techniques up front. So, he's been in this league a long time and he's been calling plays at a high level. So I'm sure he'll have some wrinkles for us here on Sunday afternoon.

Defensive Coordinator Charlie Bullen

Q: How do you feel this week after that performance from your defense? I would assume you think that was one of your stronger performances.

BULLEN: Yeah, I feel good about where we're at as a defense. Last week was a good week for us. We improved in a lot of areas, so we should build on that. And really, I told the defense this week, we've improved every week from New England to Washington to last week, so that's been encouraging. I'm seeing continued improvement and that's the plan this week.

Q: What have you seen from (inside linebacker) Bobby Okereke? That seemed like one of his better games. Overall, this season, what have you seen from him and then finishing strong?

BULLEN: Yeah, Bobby did a great job the other day. I agree, really strong performance for him. Bobby has done a great job all year for us in his role as a player, but also as a leader and you want that from everybody on defense, but especially your middle linebackers. So, to have that, that's something that we benefit from as a defense, having a strong leader like that in the middle, for sure.

Q: In Hard Knocks, obviously we saw you call out (linebacker) Abdul (Carter) for kicking it into gear. Do you do that with somebody every week and what didn't we see in that clip?

BULLEN: That to me, obviously that was specific to Abdul because he was the person involved. But yeah, that's just something I believe in, highlighting really the good and bad with all the players. There are moments where public accountability needs to be on the forefront for the group to hear when guys aren't doing things right. But on the other side of that is highlighting it when they are doing things right. And I've said it before to you guys, everyone makes mistakes. How you respond in moments of adversity, to me, is character defining. Just even on a human level to share that with the defense, that's why I did that. But if anybody had done that, it'd be no different. (Outside linebacker Brian) Burns got named to the Pro Bowl this week. Obviously super happy for him and proud of him. But he also flipped a switch going into this season, changing his process and deliberately and intentionally changing his mode of operation going into year seven after he got paid. So, that was worth sharing with the group as well. I promise it's not just an outside linebacker thing. But yeah, just any time we can highlight those moments for the group to gain from, I try to do that.

Q: Obviously, Brian, you mentioned it, he's kind of one of your guys, right? He's in your room. What do you make, what do you think when you hear that he makes the Pro Bowl? He's being recognized for the season that he has had.

BULLEN: I think specifically to this year, seeing him elevate his play, I just couldn't be happier for him. As a coach, to see guys, like I said, intentionally and deliberately make commitments to changing themselves for the better, any time there's payoff for that, I couldn't be happier for him or prouder of him. Because watching his transformation, which I got to see up close and personal from a very close vantage point, it was impressive. The day he showed up here, he was ready to roll. He pushed through adversity. There were days when, it's human nature, you're not always going to have that level of energy, I guess. And there were days as his coach that I would bring it to his attention, hey, we need more, and he would embrace it. There was zero resistance the whole time and you see the results he's having on the field because of it. It's just awesome.

Q: (Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II) Dex brought up the play where he knocked out Wan'Dale's tooth in training camp. How much is that an example of the extra that he kind of brought to the table?

BULLEN: Yeah, I think that's the epitome of play on the field showing kind of how he approached this offseason. I think that was the epitome of it. I mean, the way he got to the ball was insane. I don't know that I've ever seen in practice effort to the ball like that.

Q: Because that was like 15 or 20 yards downfield.

BULLEN: Oh, more than that. It was probably 30, 30 to 30 plus, and just no change in speed, rolling at his top speed all the way to the finish. Then I believe it was (wide receiver) Wan'Dale (Robinson). Yeah, I mean, just unfortunately for Wan'Dale, that happened, but Burns was a freight train running at that point.

Q: Have you tweaked how you've used (safety Tyler) Nubin? Because he came on the blitz on the first play of the – I assume it was a blitz on the first play of the game, knocked the ball down. And then obviously he was in the backfield again to pick up the loose fumble. Have you changed how you use him a little bit to bring him more towards the quarterback, more towards the line?

BULLEN: Yeah, a little bit. And I know we talked last week about his reduced role, I guess, by the number of reps. But we've kind of found some ways to get all three of those safeties on the field at the same time. Those guys are in a pretty good rhythm with that, so it's just a matter of they're all playing well for us, so how can we best utilize them? But Nubin's great close to the box, he's tough, he's a good blitzer, he's physical, he's smart. You've got to sort through a lot when you're that close in the slot there. There's a lot mentally that you've got to process and he can handle it. So, yeah, we've kind of been going to that a little more the last couple weeks and he's done a good job. (Safety) Dane (Belton) and (safety Jevón) Holland have been playing well behind him, so we've enjoyed having those guys out there all at the same time.

Q: With (Raiders running back) Ashton Jeanty, what did you see? That seemed to be like his breakout game last week. What have you seen when you went and looked at him on film?

BULLEN: He's incredibly tough to tackle. He's ridiculous, and we've made a point of emphasis of that this week, just how it's going to take all 11 to the ball the entire game. Because when you look at Houston, I mean, Houston's one of the best defenses in the league and they were in a dogfight until the end. What got them were explosives, pass and run, and the one run that Jeanty broke out on, they thought they had him bottled up. He kind of got lost visually to the defenders and then he just worked his way out. But there's an explosive versus Chicago where he breaks a tackle downfield with a DB. But yeah, just him breaking tackles and how difficult it is to tackle him is what stands out on the tape for sure.

Q: Have you been able to get through, in your mind, to (cornerback) Deonte Banks? I ask because Carl Banks called him out for his leverage, his play. Doing whatever he wants, I think was what Carl said. Do you feel like you've been able to get through to Deonte?

BULLEN: Yeah, I mean, those are Carl's words. We just coach everybody to the standard that we have on defense. And again, going back to the praise in the room, when you do it right, you get praise, and if you don't, it gets addressed. So, no different than anybody else in there, that's been our focus with him.

Special Teams Coordinator Michael Ghobrial

GHOBRIAL: What's up everybody? Hope you guys had a merry Christmas. I think we all can agree that that cold out there is a new level, so hopefully you guys are staying warm. I'll take some questions.

Q: What did you think of (kicker Ben) Sauls?

GHOBRIAL: I thought he did a nice job. Obviously, he wants the one kickoff back. But really cool to see him settle into his own and nail those field goals and then obviously connect on all those kickoffs after that. So, proud of where he's at. He's, like I said, a great kid, true pro, wise beyond his years. He's going to be hungry to continue to make everything better and continue to attack the day.

Q: Do you just chalk that first one up to nerves?

GHOBRIAL: No, I wouldn't even say that. I guarantee he did have some adrenaline going in, it's your first game as a rookie. But at the end of the day, the wind was really pushing left to right and he just wrapped it, so it hooked even a little bit more than probably what it is and then obviously went OB. Good learning moment for him. Obviously, the wind patterns, understanding what line he could take and how aggressive he can be. But yeah, like I said, he's a cool kid on the sideline and going up to him right after that, there was no panic in him. He was ready to go again.

Q: How beneficial was it then for him to sort of get an easy chip shot to start off, just to kind of get that confidence after that?

GHOBRIAL: I would say he would have loved to hit a 60-yarder after that. That's just kind of how he's built. He's always looking forward to just any opportunity he gets. But for him to settle in his own on a chip shot, obviously, is good for any rookie kicker. But like I said, he would relish the opportunity to go out and hit the big ball as well. So, like I said, very cool to see him settle in after that kick and then keep going.

Q: What's the rundown on the Raiders special teams?

GHOBRIAL: I think they're playing hard, number one. They've got some good schemes in there that challenge your rules. And obviously, when you get into a game where schematically and then playing hard, it challenges you to rely on your fundamentals and understand your own rules and obviously carry those things out. I think their punter has the ability to hit the big ball. He puts some good hang under there and it allows their coverage units to get downfield. I think their return guys are good. (Raiders running back) Raheem Mostert obviously has world class speed and (Raiders running back) Dylan (Laube) is doing a nice job back there finding creases, so it'll be a good challenge for us this week. I know our guys are hungry and ready to go and it'll be a good battle.

Q: How much has (safety) Dane (Belton) sort of developed into a special teams type of ace player? Have you seen a difference in him since you got here in that regard?

GHOBRIAL: Yeah, I would say after our first year with him here, we kind of looked at all his special teams reps and we developed a plan of attack on every phase. We just showed him the plays that he kind of missed out on and the plays that he showed his strength, and we're like, if we can eliminate the plays that we missed out on, then you'll be in conversation for being one of the better special teamers in this league. And honestly, that was something he was very intentional and deliberate in OTAs, in training camp and it was really cool to see him have all that success throughout the season. And with two games left, I know he's still chomping at the bit to be able to continue to do that. But again, I thought he's taken advantage of all his opportunities on every special teams unit. He's a guy that I believe demands people's respect and that's earned in this league. And like I said, he's also emerged as a special teams voice in a room. A guy that if things aren't going our way, which has happened a couple times this season, a guy that has that voice, has that credibility that could rise up and get the guys back to neutral and get ready to play again. He has that moxie to him. So, the leadership thing is probably the biggest thing I saw him develop throughout this season. Obviously, you guys have seen the stellar play by him. But I'm really proud of him as a football player and as a person. He's done a great job.

Q: It seems like it's something that you guys saw and located and said, okay, you're this close to being on the verge, we've just got to kind of make that next jump after that first season.

GHOBRIAL: I think it's honestly both parties involved. We do that with every player that's returning, even players that come from other rosters. I think that's really important to show them what their superpower is and what things they have had challenges on. I think when you show them what their superpower is and what they've had challenges with, it allows you to, number one, develop a connection with the player and show this is how we can get you better, but these are the things that you've got to do. And also, it allows them to have some buy-in as well. It's like, okay, I am that close because the film doesn't lie. I think, like I said, Dane, other players have also bought into that as well and it's something that I think is integral in a person's growth as a football player.