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Eric Rowe – December 23, 2020 Download PDF version

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

S Eric Rowe

(I wanted to ask you about TE Darren Waller, obviously a big challenge for you. When you watch him on tape, what do you see and how do you deal with this guy?) – “Waller, he is definitely a different breed. He’s not really a tight end. He’s basically a receiver – a big receiver. He’s explosive, he can run. I see cornerbacks and safeties covering him and he’s beating them. It’s definitely going to be a huge challenge this week.”

(When you have a guy like TE Darren Waller, and like you said, he’s so versatile with where he lines up, what do you think that does for an offense?) – “That just creates a whole bunch of personnel mismatches. They use him in 13, 22, 21 (personnel) and usually when you get big people personnel like that, most teams put more linebackers out there to cover tight ends of some sort. That’s just a huge mismatch for him, and that’s what they want. When you have a guy like that, you can just open up the whole playbook.”

(I know that the Raiders are Job No. 1; but it’s Christmas week. You all have families. What does the holiday mean to you in the middle of football season and how do you handle it?) – “The holiday means a lot because families come together, spend time, have Christmas dinner or lunch, a hot breakfast or however families do it. This year it’s a little bit different because usually every Christmas or around Christmas, there is always a game; but I’ve never had to leave on Christmas Day. It’s definitely an adjustment but it’s not a forever thing. We’ve got a job to get done and we’ve just got to go.”

(How do you feel about the opportunity to be the only game on TV on NFL Network on a Saturday night? What opportunity comes with that?) – “Honestly, I forgot it was a prime time game. (laughter) Usually with those, at the end of the day, it’s just another game. But maybe this time if you’ve got family that’s in a different part of the country, they can watch it because it’s the only game on that night. Yeah, you get a little bit more exposure. There is always a little bit more hype to it when it comes down to that game day.”

(A lot has been talked about how strange a year it has been for everybody in the league given what’s going on. When you think back, what was the real sign you had, the first real sign in-person, where you told yourself … was it when you got tested or some of the protocols, what was it?) – “It was when we didn’t have to come in for the offseason program. (laughter) Usually it’s a cycle every year. I go home for January, February to the end of March. Come back in April to whatever city I’m at. But this year, I stayed at home. I’m from Texas so I stayed at home all of the way until I think I got out here in June. I think it was around mid-June. That was weird because I have been doing this routine, cycle, for about six years. Ever since that moment, I knew this whole year was going to be different.”

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