Del Rio:'Good Or Bad The Past Is In The Past'

Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio was in a pretty good mood in training camp, and for good reason.

His team is projected to be a serious contender to New England in the AFC, his first-round pick was cleared of a sexual assault allegation, and his quarterback was looking as strong as ever after rebounding from a broken leg a year ago. Del Rio talked with reporters about the team’s progress in training camp and about some of the key players, part of which is below:

Q: Do you sense a heightened awareness from players that they know people are picking them?

A: I don’t think you could stick your head in the sand and not be aware, that wouldn’t be realistic. For us, we’re more concerned with where our focus is and where our energy is. It’s about becoming a football team and coming together and understanding that we’re all a part of something greater than self. It’s about putting in the work and getting ourselves ready for a very challenging schedule.

Q: How do you combine the elements of being confident and building off of last year but also staying focused?

A: First of all, good or bad, whatever happened in the past is left in the past. I think for us each year, you have to come in and reestablish who you are, the things you believe in, learn how to sacrifice, get yourself in shape — and it’s not just physical condition, it’s mental, emotional conditioning. That’s what we’re here to do. We’re working hard at it. We’re just getting started here in camp. It’s very early in camp. We’ve got a long way to go, but I like the spirit of this football team. We’ve got a good group of men, and we know we’ve got a lot of work in front of us.

Q: How fine is the line with getting ready and protecting the players?