Oakland Raiders identity starting to show

Aug 14, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders coach Jack Del Rio before the preseason NFL game against the St. Louis Rams at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Bottom Line

Del Rio is doing everything he can to establish physicality as the biggest part of the Raiders identity. And so far, so good as the Raiders starters looked more physical than the Rams starters Friday, the same Rams team that blew the Raiders out last year because they were much the more physical team.

Running the ball and stopping the run are staples of a Del Rio team and a show of physicality. They also get after the quarterback as the starters had two sacks, one negated by penalty in one quarter. And outside of Cooper running the wrong route in the red-zone, the passing game looked good too.

These are all things that the Raiders will be known for in 2015.

We just need to see if the young corners will come around to become a part of their identity. If that happens, the wins will come, but it looks like this Raiders team has the pieces in place to have a winning identity sooner rather than later.