Filed for print . . .



ALAMEDA _ The Raiders are far from satisfied, but light years from demoralized.



A day removed from a 16-10 loss to the Denver Broncos, Raiders coach Jack Del Rio acknowledged Monday at his weekly press conference a 2-3 record wasn’t what he had in mind to start the bye week.

“I know we’ve made a lot of strides,” Del Rio said. “We had hopes it would be better. It’s what we’ve earned to this point . . . we’ll focus on the road ahead of us, make sure we’re learning what we can from the previous five weeks of experience.”

While Del Rio and his players have made it clear losing isn’t acceptable, it at least goes down a little easier with the realization that victory doesn’t appear light years away.

Both a 22-20 loss to the Chicago Bears and the Denver defeat could have gone the other way, and although it’s a relatively small sample size, that’s new territory for the Raiders.

One reason a season-opening 33-13 loss to Cincinnati went over so hard with the fan base is it was so familiar. In each of the last three seasons, the Raiders have lost eight games _ half their schedule _ by 10 or more points. Some by considerably more than 10.

And while losing to Denver hurt, it was a far cry from any of the last six games against the Broncos which were long over entering the fourth quarter. The Raiders, besides a chance to get healthy, can take some personal pride in going toe-to-toe with a four-time division favorite and one of five unbeaten teams in the NFL.

“Absolutely you can see progress in different areas,” Del Rio said. “That was as good as we’ve played on defense. There have been several bright spots, several areas of improvement . . . we know there’s a ton of work in front of us so we’ll reflect on our beginning, heal up, and get ready to go forward.”

Upon his hiring, Del Rio talked of a culture change _ just as virtually every NFL coach who takes over a losing team does when he walks into a new building.

Since the Raiders returned to Oakland in 1995, it’s only been accomplished once, and that was by Jon Gruden, who inherited a rock-bottom 4-12 team coached by Joe Bugel in 1998.

Gruden’s teams broke through not by winning immediately, but by playing teams close before learning how to win. Starting late in 1998 and going into 2002, had a span of 54 consecutive games where they never lost by 10 points _ in essence having a chance to win in the fourth quarter for more than three full seasons.

In 1999, the Raiders were 8-8 and were competitive deep into the second half in ever game they lost.

Through it’s a small sample size, Del Rio’s Raiders are showing some of that personality.

“I enjoy the thrill of us competing the way we do,” Del Rio said. “You learn about yourself, a lot about the team, the character you have, the resiliency and things you’re looking to build. You can see encouraging signs . . . that gives you a chance and a good place to start.”

— Del Rio said the 74-yard interception return by Chris Harris Jr. off quarterback Derek Carr against a full blitz that swung the game in the Broncos favor could have done the opposite.

“It was a hot situation,” Del Rio said. “The receiver (Seth Roberts) could have got his head around an instant quicker. The quarterback could have been slightly more in front with the ball and it could have turned into a great catch-and-run opportunity.”

— Second-round draft pick Mario Edwards Jr. played a season-high 50 snaps at defensive tackle and end, and fifth-round pick Neiron Ball, a linebacker from Florida, was in for 36 snaps and had a role in shutting out Denver tight end Owen Daniels.

Edwards had six tackles and shared a sack of Manning with Aldon Smith.

“I thought Mario played really well and Neiron played well in his increased role,” Del Rio said.

— Safety TJ Carrie played 56 of 58 defensive snaps after being upgraded from “out” to “questionable” on Saturday with a chest injury, an elevation in status which was a first for Del Rio.

“He did a pretty good job of convincing me he was ready to go,” Del Rio said.

Del Rio doesn’t discount the possibility that watching fellow safety Charles Woodson battle through a shoulder problem served as motivation for Carrie to get on the field.

— Defensive end Justin Tuck, who left in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury and did not return, was having an MRI, Del Rio said.