Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio wants it to work. He wants it all to work. He wanted Sio Moore to work at linebacker. He wanted Taylor Mays to work at safety. Ditto Rod Streater, Ray Ray Armstrong, and TJ Carrie. But more than wanting it to work for any of these individual players, Del Rio wants, needs, for it work for the entire team. And if there's one thing Del Rio's guys have learned about him just six weeks into the 2015 NFL season, it's that their new head coach isn't afraid to make a change if something isn't working the way it's supposed to.
"This staff is smart," veteran Raiders tackle Khalif Barnes said this week, via Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle. "They're not going to beat their heads against the wall. They use what works, and if it's not, they may try a few more times in practice, but they are not afraid to pull the plug.
"And they can adjust on the fly during games as well. We've got a staff full of smart guys."
It seems Del Rio, now in his second NFL head coaching stint, has adopted an "on to the next" mentality, not just from game-to-game or inane post-game press conference question to inane post-game press conference question, but also on a player-to-player basis. But it's not something Del Rio feels the need to address with his players. It's simply a fact of Raiders life in 2015.
"No, I don't really talk in those terms," Del Rio said, per Tafur. "I think for us, we're going to make it competitive all the time. We're going to look for results. When you play well, you're going to play more. That's really how we approach it."
The evidence can be found all over the Oakland roster. Moore, last year's starter at strong side linebacker, was cut. As was Miles Burris, an effort player with limited athleticism who started 15 games in 2012 and 16 games in 2014. The secondary deck was shuffled shortly after Mays' arrival in Oakland and he found himself a started in Week 2. 30 minutes of gameplay later, he was on the bench.
Even the scheme of defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. changes on a regular basis - 4-3 alignment one snap, 3-4 or 5-2 on the next.
In the end, Del Rio and the rest of the Raiders coaching staff are simply trying to find the right combination of players and scheme to make this Oakland team the best they can be. Sitting at 2-3 and coming off an early season bye, Del Rio's plan has thus far provided promising, if ultimately lukewarm results. But a tough matchup against an elite San Diego Chargers offense, led by quarterback Philip Rivers, this weekend is going to test Norton's group to the limits of their ability.
And really, while things are looking better in the here and now, are a continual host of knee-jerk, reactionary alterations to an already limited lineup really the path to victory for Del Rio?
Only time will tell.
