Raiders: Ex-49ers tight end Walker poses big test
Niners fans aren’t the only ones who miss tight end Delanie Walker. Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio wishes Walker were still in Santa Clara and not in Tennessee waiting for his linebackers to arrive Sunday.
“Why is he not still across the bay?” Del Rio asked before practice Wednesday. “The guy’s a good player, man. He’s one of these guys that can be a mismatch in the secondary. He’s big enough to cause problems for safeties, and he’s fast enough to cause problems for linebackers.
“It’s hard to put a corner on him all the time. … I have a lot of respect for his game.”
Del Rio’s defense allowed 180 yards on 10 catches Sunday to three Atlanta tight ends named Jacob Tamme, Austin Hooper and Levine Toilolo. In fact, covering tight ends has been an issue going back to last season, with the exception of the brief time linebacker Neiron Ball was healthy. (He is on injured reserve this season.)
Now, they have to deal with Walker, who had 94 catches for 1,088 yards and six touchdowns last season and sometimes lines up in the slot.
“He’s fast, he’s physical,” Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota said in a conference call. “To have someone like that, whether it’s as a safety blanket or someone that can really get open and cause matchup problems makes my job as quarterback a whole lot easier.”
Del Rio said Walker is not necessarily at the top of the Raiders’ list of concerns. Especially because they did so many things wrong in the first two games.
“Well, if you don’t have your eyes on him, then he’s wide open, he’ll catch it and run,” Del Rio said. “I don’t think there’s any major issue with really anything other than having our eyes right. I think he is a good player. We’re going to give him the attention he deserves, but beyond that, it’s kind of, ‘Do your job.’ ”
As far as that goes, Del Rio thinks his players have responded well in practice to giving up 69 points in the first two games.
“I think they’ve been outstanding in that regard,” Del Rio said. “I think there’s accountability here. I think we all recognize the obvious, but we’re not going to dwell on it.
“We’re not going to sit around and wait for somebody to come by and feel sorry for us. I think the guys are very purposeful going about their work.
“We’ve got a good group. We’re going to play good ball and starting this week will be great.”
Tennessee head coach Mike Mularkey has faced the Raiders twice in the past year, once in preseason last month, and said he is not buying what the game video is telling him.
“It’s a good defense,” he said in a conference call. “I’ve been in the league a long time; I know better than to let my guard down. I know Jack and (defensive coordinator) Ken (Norton Jr.), and those guys will do whatever they have to do to get it back up to the level that they’ve had them.
“We’re not going to let our guard down on this one.”