Now with the 2010 regular season upon us, Silver And Black Pride is set to bring back, on a weekly basis, its featured Oakland Raiders player interview and community interaction: Talkin' With Tyvon 2010, with Raiders starting safety Tyvon Branch. I will be posting on a weekly basis my interview with Tyvon with questions which follow each Sundays game. Tyvon will then check back in during the week to answer your questions that you have put to him.
Tyvon is really interested in interacting with Raider Nation and in addition to asking questions of Tyvon here, you can also find out more of what is going on with Tyvon by following him on his twitter page @tyvonbranch as well as his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/tyvonbranch
I think we are in for a great year with Tyvon and am most excited about his interaction with our community as he ascends to greatness!
Note: the following Q&A were after the 49ers game and prior to the Seahawks game.
Hello Raider fans. It has been a fun few weeks at Raider camp. We are enjoying our time and definitely getting better. I hope you all are as excited as I am about this season! We have one final tune up tonight before we head to Tennessee. It will be great to start hitting people and really showing what we have been working on!!
TB
TRW: With training camp having concluded and three preseason games already in the books, how do you feel camp went for you and the team?
TB: I feel as if camp went well. Personally, I was able to get better every day. That is a big goal of mine. I want to understand the intricacies of the game a little more each day!
TRW: You had recently mentioned in the press that the defense is newly installed and you are still working through some rough patches. Without revealing what you cannot reveal, what should Raider fans expect to see this year from the defense different from previous years?
TB: I think the fans will be impressed with our tenacity upfront. We have some huge d lineman, and the way we use them is a great asset.
TRW: As far as you are personally concerned, how do you feel about preseason games? Would you be comfortable with fewer preseason games, say two, but with a longer regular season schedule?
TB: I don't necessarily think two preseason games are enough to work out the kinks. I think it is valuable, especially to a younger team. With a new QB, the extra reps really help the timing as well.
TRW: You have recently mentioned Richard Seymour’s impact on the defense. What are some of the things that you see that he does to make the whole defense play better?
TB: He is so powerful upfront. He has a way of taking on a few guys at once, and it really allows our linebackers to fill in and make plays.
TRW: I imagine that you will be resting most if not all of the final preseason game against the Seahawks. With that in mind, have you already started to mentally prepare for how you can slow down the Titans’ Chris Johnson?
TB: Chris Johnson is an amazing talent. I love watching him play. Playing against him always provides some challenges, but as a team, we are focused on what needs to be done and I am comfortable with the game plan.
Let's go Raiders!!!
Thanks Tyvon, looking forward to the real games to start and looking forward to your thoughts after Tennessee.