Greetings Silver and Black Pride community. Once again I pleased to bring to all of you our player/fans interaction and interview with Tyvon Branch with #10 in the weekly installment of the series: Talkin' With Tyvon 2010
This week's Q&A with Tyvon comes during the Raiders bye week which followed their huge win at home against the Chiefs. With the raiders now in first place in the AFC West, Tyvon discusses his feelings and the Raiders as they prepare to take on the Steelers in Pittsburgh. In addition to following Tyvon here on a weekly basis, you can also keep up with Tyvon and his thoughts by following him on his twitter page @tyvonbranch.
Tyvon will be back here as he gets the chance to respond to your questions, so you are invited to pose your questions to Tyvon in the comments section.
Full Q&A after the jump.
Hello Raider Nation. What a few weeks it has been for us all. I hope all of you were able to rest up and get ready for the second half of the season. We are going to need you. As for myself, I took a few days to visit some friends and family. It is always refreshing to take a day or two and just relax. It is back it now in Raider nation, and we are excited. We have some confidence, and we have a tough schedule the rest of the way. We are looking forward to a strong push throughout the rest of the season. I hope you guys are as excited as we are to get back out there!!!
TB
TRW: You are in the bye week now after the exhilarating, overtime win at home over the Chiefs. With the Raiders winning three in a row for the first time in 7 years, can you tell Raider fans for you how the feeling his with the team this year compared to the previous three years?
TB: We are playing with some confidence, and the crowd is pushing us. We love having you guys excited. Each game is extremely meaningful, and we have some big ones coming up. We are excited.
TRW: How was it to see the sellout crowd out there and how did that impact the team?
TB: I don’t really know how else to say it, but you guys are great. The energy in the stadium was electric. I expect you all to keep it going!
TRW: You had a head injury on a special teams defending kick and came up concussed. First of all, how are you doing with that? And can you describe what happened on the play?
TB: My head is good. They wouldn’t let me come back in because of the new concussion rules, but I really pushed to get back in there. They hid my helmet from me so I couldn’t go back in. I am not really too sure how it occurred, but I was coming in off the side and collided. I was shook up for a second, but I wanted to get back in there.
TRW: The defense now seems to be playing like one solid unit, a kind of family with everyone on the same page. Can you tell us how much of this defensive coming together has to do with Richard Seymour and how much impact he has been for the defense?
TB: He is beast. Each week I am more and more impressed by him. His presence up there is so important to the rest of the squad.
TRW: The Raiders are certainly banged up a little, so the bye week really came at a good time so all can get healthy. What are the Raiders going to do to keep that winning momentum going with the week off?
TB: We are going to stay focused. We see what’s at stake, and how attainable it is. We won’t lose focus.
TRW: After the bye, the Raiders travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers, a team you beat last year at the same place. They won’t be surprised by the Raiders this time and its sure to be a very physical game, but what can you tell us about the Steelers offense that presents the most concern for the defense?
TB: They are all around a solid team. Ben is a tough QB to bring down, and they have some young receivers that make plays. It will be a tough, hard fought game. We are looking forward to getting back out there.
Thanks Tyvon and best of luck for you and the team in Pittsburgh.