Del Rio wants major improvement in Raiders' defense

Nov 23, 2017 - 3:05 AM ALAMEDA, Calif. -- One day after Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio dodged a question about staff changes in the wake of the Denver Broncos dumping offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, the axe fell.

Defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr., the man Del Rio hired to run his team's defense upon his hiring in 2015, was fired. John Pagano, who came on this past offseason as assistant head coach and whose job was working with the defensive secondary, was promoted.

When Del Rio addressed it for the first time with the local media, he talked of his desire for the defense to play "fast" and trust the process.

And while he said he expects Pagano to move ahead as defensive coordinator next year, he hinted more changes could be in store if the poor play continues.

"I know one thing, nobody should feel comfortable because what I've been watching is not enough," Del Rio said. "No one should feel comfortable."

Norton was a first-time coordinator. Pagano was defensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers from 2012 through 2016 until he was allowed to walk following the hiring of Anthony Lynn as head coach.

A little more than a year ago, the Raiders and Chargers were 6-2 teams fighting for division supremacy. When they play in Oakland on Sunday, they're instead fighting for relevancy in the playoff race.

The Raiders will have Pagano in charge of the defense while the Broncos will have deposed Raiders offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave calling plays. Musgrave replaced McCoy after the Broncos lost their sixth straight game.

Free safety Reggie Nelson, one of the Raiders' defensive co-captains, is in his 11th season but has never undergone a coordinator change during the season.

"I have not been a part of anything like this before," Nelson said. "Unfortunately, in this business, with the production on defense, we haven't been playing well. So everybody has their hand in it and we've got to just come out and play because it's going to keep trickling down. We've still got a job to do."

Two things got Norton fired -- not enough takeaways and an inability to defend against the pass.

The Raiders have gone 10 games without an interception, the longest stretch to open a season in NFL history. They have six fumble recoveries. A season after tying for the NFL lead at plus-16 in turnover margin, the Raiders are tied for 29th at minus-9.

The lack of takeaways has resulted in a lack of short-field drives for the offense. The Raiders started 20 drives at the opponent's 40-yard line or closer last season and have four such drives this year -- and none since Week 3.

The pass defense has been historically bad. Opposing quarterbacks are completing 72.3 percent of their passes with 17 touchdowns and a passer rating of 113.3 thanks in large part to the zero interceptions.

The all-time record for career passer rating is 104.8 by Aaron Rodgers; the record for completion percentage is Drew Brees at 66.8 percent.

So to suggest the Raiders have had issues defending the pass would be an understatement.

And the man they elevated, Pagano, was hired with the mission of improving the communication and overall play of the defensive secondary.

While Norton took the fall, Nelson said everybody felt the sting.

"The axe came down on everybody," Nelson said. "Everybody felt it in this building. We love Norton, regardless. Unfortunately, the production wasn't to a high standard this year and it's a production league. He's not playing, we are."

Cornerback David Amerson, out for the last three games because of a foot injury, is having a hard time wrapping his brain around the Raiders' inability to get interceptions and excel in terms of turnover ratio.

"I can't explain how we haven't been able to create turnovers or do some of the things we did last year," Amerson said. "The one area we needed to keep our high standard or go past was turnovers and we haven't been able to do that so far. We've got to find a way if we want to keep playing in January."

SERIES HISTORY: 115th regular-season meeting. Raiders lead series, 61-51-2. Broncos won 16-10 in Week 4, holding the Raiders to 254 yards in total offense, 2-for-12 on third-down conversions and 24 yards rushing. The Raiders' only offense to speak of was a 64-yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr to Johnny Holton. In the last game at the Coliseum, the Raiders won 30-20 against the defending Super Bowl champs to improve to 7-2 in what might have been the signature win under Jack Del Rio. The Raiders rushed for 218 yards on 43 carries and three touchdowns, with Latavius Murray gaining 114 yards on 20 carries.

--Raiders quarterback Derek Carr wanted to put to rest the idea that he had a strained relationship with former offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave. The move to Todd Downing was made in part because of his connection as quarterbacks coach with Carr and that he was thought of as the man to take Carr to the next level.

"I went to two Pro Bowls with coach Musgrave," Carr said. "He's one of the smartest people I've ever been around. Every time I see him I give him a big hug. When we played at Denver, I went straight to him, gave him a hug, asked him how he was doing, asked him how his boys were doing.

"That's definitely the farthest thing from the truth that me and coach Musgrave didn't like each other."

It came as at least a minor surprise when Musgrave wasn't offered a contract after his contract expired with the Raiders, with Jack Del Rio opting to promote quarterbacks coach Todd Downing.

The sixth-ranked offense under Musgrave has fallen to No. 20 under Downing.

Del Rio also fired Musgrave when he was head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He doesn't see the Broncos doing much differently under Musgrave than they did under Mike McCoy.

The Broncos will start second-year quarterback Paxton Lynch against the Raiders.

"You can't change dramatically what you've done with your system in Week 12 or Week 13," Del Rio said. "We'll prepare ourselves and be ready to go against the system, and understand there may be some things that Bill likes a little more than what Mike might do."

Cornerback David Amerson said the knowledge works both ways.

"The guy was here. So he obviously knows some of our personnel, what guys are good at and what guys are not good at," Amerson said. "What we like to do and what we don't like to do, and vice-versa. And we know what he likes to do, being in practice against him and things like that. It works out for both sides, really."

--Linebacker Bruce Irvin posted a one-word response to Ken Norton Jr.'s dismissal on Twitter, which could be condensed to the letters "B" and "S."

Irvin played in Seattle with Norton as linebackers coach before joining the Raiders as an unrestricted free agent. After talking with Del Rio and Pagano, he did not participate in practice Wednesday for non-injury purposes.

Defensive end Khalil Mack, who declined comment regarding Norton's firing to reporters, also did not practice.

"I don't try and handle them," Del Rio said. "I think the biggest thing is to understand the relationship, respect that, give them a little space and then at the end of the day we're going to get on with our work. But I'm human. It wasn't easy for me, either."

--The Raiders' struggling defense has gotten no contributions from their second- and third-round draft picks of 2016, end/tackle Jihad Ward and rush linebacker Shilique Calhoun.

Both were healthy scratches against New England.

"You'd certainly like to have them heavily involved, but you get what you earn," Del Rio said. "They haven't earned it to this point."

NOTES: CB David Amerson did not practice because of a foot injury and could miss his fourth consecutive game. ... WR Johnny Holton, who is also a special teams gunner, did not practice while in the league's concussion protocol. ... G Gabe Jackson, who has been dealing with ankle and toe issues, did not practice. ... DE Khalil Mack did not participate in practice for non-injury reasons. ... T Marshall Newhouse, inactive against New England with hip and quad issues, did not practice. ... LB Cory James who has been dealing with a knee injury, was limited in practice.