Silver and Black Report

Oakland Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan sporting a new clean-cut look

Oakland Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan addressed the media recently and discussed various topics. SBReport.net was there to get the inside scoop on what’s going on in Raider Land.

Q: Is Tyvon Branch about to put Stuart Schweigert on the unemployed list?

Rob Ryan (RR): We think he’s going to be a safety for us. He’s going to be a good, solid player. You talk about his versatility, I mean, that jumps off the tapes when you’re watching. He’s a hard-hitting young man. He’s really fun to watch. We picked him off a lot of tapes. We’ve seen just about every game they’ve played this year and really we’re excited about him, and I know our special teams coach Brian Schneider is really excited about his returnability also.

Q: Do you see a guy like that on tape and decide he’s a safety or talk to his coach?

RR: We do all the research there is, talk to all his coaches. We want to find out as much information about a young man as possible. The two guys that we picked on defense, they’re both real solid character people, guys that we really think are serious football and we’re excited about them.Both of them have redeeming qualities and we really like the way that young man hits. It’s fun to see a guy throw his body around and tackling. We know we had an issue there and we’re looking to upgrade and I think we did that with that pick.

Q: Does Trevor Scott have any clue how to play defensive end after two years?

RR: I think that’s the thing, when you see that young man, you do see potential. To me, he’s getting stronger every day. You can see even his weight is going up, his strength is going up, every day. It’s interesting, they moved him from tight end where he’s obviously a good player for two years, but really took off for two years of pretty good production as a defensive end. Hopefully he’ll be the next Gerry Philbin.

Q: Is he a right end?

RR: We’ve seen him at both. He played in the all-star game where my father coached. Unfortunately, they got clipped in the end on a nail biter. But, this guy’s a really good talented young guy. Keith Millard will really make something special of him, I hope.

Q: Was speed the need of the draft?

RR: Yeah, I think in the National Football League, speed’s always huge. It’s real important in the National Football League because that’s the difference between saving touchdowns on defense and making touchdowns on offense. Speed kills, and it’s true, and we’ve got two excellent prospects that can run. They’re good solid young players but the thing we like about them is both of them can run and both of them are talented.

Q: Yeah, well Fabian Washington is fast. Why the hit job after three years?

RR: I think we think we have better players here. He was a fine player for us and we wish him the best. I’d like to really talk about the players that are here and we’re excited about what we have coming up this season. Obviously, you add DeAngelo Hall and the production of Stanford Routt and Nnamdi with Chris Johnson – it’s exciting.

Q: Thrilled to have Terdell Sands and Tommy Kelly instead of that Dorsey guy?

RR: I think we have very talented defensive tackles here. The thing about run stopping and things like that, I think the first thing is we’ve got to fundamentally work on our tackling, which we’re going to address. There’s a couple things in our scheme that we’re getting fixed, you just blame me for.. I know we could have done better. We’ve got that worked out. We’re tired of watching tape. We can’t wait to get started back at it. Obviously, moving Tommy Kelly inside is going to be huge for us. And also, Gerard Warren is out here working every single day. We’re excited about those guys, no question about it.

Q: Some projected Trevor Scott as an outside linebacker…

RR: He’s a defensive end. Maybe those were 3-4 teams or whatever but he does that outstanding speed so I could see how people would project him there. But we see Trevor as a developing defensive end.

Q: Might you use more 3-4?

RR: Down the road, we’ll see. Anything’s possible. But we like what we have and how our defense is setting up and we’re looking forward to working with them and improving and being an outstanding unit.

Q: Is Scott raw with his technique right now?

RR: Oh yeah. I think you can tell the guy’s a little bit green obviously playing two years at the position. Again, guys can make great leaps when you take them and mold them and teach them technique. And I think this guy’s going to ascend. He’s a good solid player right now, even before we get him. We’re looking forward to developing him and watching him grow.

Q: What caused you to move up to get Branch in the 4th round?

RR: I’m not exactly sure on what teams were there. I know several teams had him at the top of their boards of the people that we know. You get feedback as a coach ‘wow that’s a great pick’ and everybody is excited about that pick but no one’s as excited as the raiders and us on defense, that’s for sure.

Q: How hard did you push for the DeAngelo Hall trade?

RR: DeAngelo Hall, when I see him, I get a swagger. I get an excitement. I feel good about it. His attitude and everything about him just makes you, you can’t wait for the season. You know I’m a positive person and things like that. But you can really feel good about what you have in front of you when you see the eyes of DeAngelo and what he brings to the table. And how I’m just a coach, but I’m excited because know what he’s going to bring and what it’s going to mean for us on defense.

Q: Are they a better set of corners in the league?

RR: No.

Q: Is it close?

RR: Nope.

Q: What do you have in William Joseph and Kalimba Edwards?

RR: I think we’ve got two guys in my mind that are proven players that we’re excited about. It’s not everyday that you can add players that have been in the league and have been successful in this league and we added two very fine players.

Q: How do you replace Warren Sapp’s mouth on and off the field?

RR: Warren Sapp is a Hall of Fame player and a Hall of Fame person so it’s going to be tough. But life goes on and it’s great he went out on his own terms in retirement. I wish him nothing but the best. But obviously you have a Hall of Fame player around, they’re not around very much. They’re around in our building but most people, you don’t see them everyday. But he’s special, no question about it.

Q: Will Michael Huff’s role change a lot? Will he be more of free or has Schweigert won the job back?

RR: Well really guys, I’m just going to leave that for now. We’ve got so many calls to make and I see Knapp ready down here so I’ve got to get some more free agents. But we’re excited about those guys. And again we’re very confident about where we’re at on defense and I think it’s going to be better than it’s ever been here, for me, that’s for damn sure.