The Las Vegas Raiders defense, led by Patrick Graham, was the biggest offseason move by new head coach Pete Carroll.
Graham's retention quickly showed the nation that anyone who thought Pete Carroll’s ability to recruit and retain had perhaps waned over his time out of football was unfounded.
Our latest Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast episode examines the defensive tackle room and the depth and talent that Leonard has to lead.
Pete Carroll spoke after practice as the team is enjoying OTAs, and below we have a partial transcript of all that he said:
Head Coach Pete Carroll
Q: Anyone in particular stand out to you today? Or any position groups?
Coach Carroll: "The defense in general, the coverage group, did a really nice job today. We stepped a couple things up from Monday and it showed. The offense saw some things they hadn't seen on Monday, so it was a bit more difficult for them. But it was good to see us make the plays, and hard lessons for the offense when the defense is getting the ball. But it is all about the football for us, and the defense kind of hawking it today was emblematic of this day, so that was good stuff."
Q: How do you feel about Ashton Jeanty's development so far? For rookie running backs there's that learning curve of pass blocking.
Coach Carroll: "He's doing great. He really is. He's right on point with everything that we're doing. He's studying really hard. He's been really diligent about all aspects. There's nothing that he doesn't find important. He's going to work hard on his pass protection, the third down type of work, see if he can contribute in that kind of a role as well. So, we're not holding anything back on him. He's getting a lot of plays. I think he had the most plays for a running back yet on Monday. I don't know what the number was today, but it's there. So, he's getting a lot of turns.
Q: How cool is it for you to continue seeing Geno Smith come over here and try to integrate himself into another locker room and make himself a leader here?
Coach Carroll: "Yeah, I really feel so fortunate that we were able to get that done. John Spytek got it done for us because of all that he brings. To me, he's just been emblematic of what a leader should be, by his habits and by the way he brings himself every day. He's the first guy out here, he's the last guy to leave. It's really important to him that he stands for what leadership is all about, and he's a good football player too. He's looked great in practice so far. So, really excited about what he's bringing."
Q: Brock Bowers had such a good year last year. How do you take that next step? How does he take that next step?
Coach Carroll: "Did you see the catch he made today when the ball got tipped and they called it and I waved it off. We had to go up top and they gave him a catch. The commissioner stepped in and gave him the catch on that one. He has shown already - he's only been here two weeks because he was graduating, finishing his coursework. Hats off to him for getting that done. From the moment he stepped on the field, he did everything you could possibly ask him, his study habits, his work habits, his focus on a regular basis. He's making the catches and the plays. Geno [Smith] already knows who's out there. He knows where 89 is, and he's found him a ton of times already. He just makes himself so available. It's like what you saw last year. On a team that was struggling, he still just continued to show really positive and good attributes, and he's doing it from this point forward. So, he's a big part of the offense, for sure. Chip [Kelly] knows he's out there too."
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