‘You’ve got to credit Darrell Bevel the offensive coordinator. They’re doing a lot of different things’ and more of what players and coaches are saying ahead of Raiders, Lions in Week 9

Players and coaches from both teams met with the media this week in preparation for this weekend’s game. Here are some of the highlights of what players and coaches from both teams are saying.

Raiders head coach Jon Gruden on facing another top notch quarterback in Matthew Stafford:

“He’s playing good man. He’s playing really well. You’ve got to credit Darrell Bevel, the new offensive coordinator. They’re doing a lot of things. Multiple no back formations, they sprinkle in the no huddle in there, they have some really good play-action passes. Stafford can scramble and he is really a talented player. Golladay is coming on and Jones is a problem. They drafted a really good tight end, so, they’re doing a lot of good things. And defensively, their stats might say something, but they’ve seen Aaron Rodgers, Mahomes and some of the top quarterbacks in football also, so we’re going to have our hands full.”

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr on the upcoming stretch of home games and being poised to make a run:

“Absolutely, we never have a doubt and we know we have a good football team. We just have to put it all together, all three phases, every game. Be efficient, be clean, try to eliminate the penalties, that kind of stuff. If we can do that, we feel very confident we can play with anybody. But right now, we’ve got to take care of business this week and try to get a home win against a good football team.”

Lions head coach Matt Patricia on defending Derek Carr getting the ball out so quick:

“Yeah, it frustrates the pass rush I would say first and foremost. That’s one of the reasons they have that game. I would say one of the things they did last week that was different that they haven’t really done, which obviously will probably play in more this week, is they took those chances downfield too. So, the ball is still coming out quick. But a couple more shots on the outside, get the ball out fast, but now you’ve got big plays on top of it. It’s not necessarily everything underneath, it’s the vertical pass game in there. Zay Jones is someone that I anticipate really having a bigger role with some of that with his speed and his ability to run those overs and those nine routes and get down field.”

Lions linebacker Jahlani Tavai on facing Josh Jacobs:

“He’s a really good back. He wants to get into contact. Luckily, we like to get into contact as well as defensive players. So, like I said, it’s another challenge that we are ready to accept. It’s going to be fun.”