Jack Del Rio wants Raiders to find their ‘mojo’ in Florida

SARASOTA, Fla. — Jack Del Rio used a word Monday that, prior to this news conference inside a hotel ballroom overlooking palm trees, a swimming pool and narrowed segment of a bay, he hadn’t when addressing reporters all year. And it wasn’t a one-off.

He used it a second and third time. And a fourth and fifth for good measure.

By the time the Raiders coach concluded, he’d left no doubt what he believes his team is searching for during a weeklong Florida retreat that is designed to balance work and relaxation for players.

“We need to kind of get our mojo back,” Del Rio said.

Mojo, something more closely associated with a flirtatious British movie detective than an American football team, may indeed be in short supply. The Raiders enter this week having lost five of their past six games, including Sunday’s road visit with the Buffalo Bills. They are staying on the East Coast, in part, to minimize their travel load before facing the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

The Raiders (3-5) will stay at a Sarasota hotel until Saturday. Throughout the week, they’ll practice and train at the IMG Academy in nearby Bradenton.

Along the way, they’ll seek Monday’s buzz word.

“It’s a faith thing,” Del Rio said. “You either believe or you don’t. I think those things all lead into that mojo that you see; those are all the little things that add up. Like I’ve said many times, we’ve got a prideful group of guys. We’re just not that far away, but we have to get it going. It’s past time, really. The second half is here, and we’ve got some ground to cover. We’ve got some ground to make up. We have to get busy.”

On defense, that starts with more takeaways.

The Raiders are the only team in NFL history to have forced zero interceptions in their first eight games. They also have scored a league-low 10 points off five total turnovers. On Sunday, the team committed four turnovers (three on offense, one on special team) while not registering a takeaway in a 34-14 loss.

Oakland has a minus-six turnover differential this year.

It was at plus-seven through eight games in 2017.

“That goes back to the whole mojo discussion,” Del Rio said. “Part of it is how we play defensively, to let it rip. (We’re) probably overly cautious, trying too hard not to do things as opposed to just playing and let it rip. I know the Raiders football team that I envisioned having. We’re not playing like that – what my vision is. We’re not playing like that right now.

“We need to be more physical up front offensively and defensively. We need to be playmakers aggressively going for the ball, competing. That’s what I’m looking for. That’s what we’re looking to get this second half.”

As Del Rio hinted, the issue encapsulates the offense, too.

The Raiders can afford to get more aggressive in the passing game. A clear Hail Mary situation presented itself Sunday on the final play of the first half. They had possession. The ball was at Buffalo’s 47-yard line, in clear range for quarterback Derek Carr to take an albeit low-percentage shot at the end zone. Such was the play call’s design.

Carr instead threw a checkdown to running back Jalen Richard. It gained 15 yards. The half ended.

There were other examples during the game, Del Rio said, in which Carr was not under duress and could’ve afforded to stand in the pocket longer, allowing routes more time to develop and also potentially push the ball downfield.

“Look, that’s what I want to see,” Del Rio said. “I want our team to be aggressive. I want our team to be physical. I want to be smart and tough. Those are the things I’m looking for. We haven’t brought enough of that this first half of the year. We get a chance to fix it. We get a chance to remedy that coming out of this Sarasota trip starting with the Dolphins on Sunday night.

“We get a chance to put our best foot forward and find that mojo.”

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Contact reporter Michael Gehlken at mgehlken@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GehlkenNFL on Twitter.