Oakland Raiders identity starting to show

Jun 9, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. (center) at minicamp at the Raiders practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive Coordinator

Many say defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. brought the Elephant Scheme from the Seattle Seahawks. But Norton and Del Rio played in that scheme together in the ’90s and were successful. Now, they’re teammates again, trying to succeed with the scheme on the Raiders defense.

You can already see a difference in the defense, only giving up three points in the whole game Friday. The first thing I saw was the ability to adjust after the Rams gained 61 yards on the first two plays. The Rams didn’t get too much further after the two big plays as the defense settled in and held the Rams to a field goal on the drive.

When the first unit was in, you didn’t see the Rams running through the heart of the defense either. The defense, especially against the run, is something Del Rio has always immediately impacted. But regardless to who was in, the Raiders gave up only three on the day because of the coaching adjustments throughout the game.

The Raiders had nothing like that on the 2014 defense.

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