ALAMEDA – NaVorro Bowman took a Raiders crash course last week, and it wasn’t Defense 101.
The former 49ers linebacker was learning high-level stuff right away, using six-plus years NFL experience to absorb and apply Silver and Black schematics.
Bowman’s big test came Thursday night. He aced it.
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He played 60 of 62 defensive snaps in a 31-30 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, and led the team with 11 tackles and four run stops near the line of scrimmage.
He also wore the green dot, called the plays and made checks before the snap.
He did all that three days after signing with the Raiders.
“It helped, obviously with his veteran experience and his overall knowledge of the game to begin with, to put it our terminology,” Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said. “Then green dot, the whole bit, called it. In some respects I think it’s a little better to have the green dot because (defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr.) is able to talk to him the whole time. That’s an added benefit really. But pretty remarkable for him to come in and three days turn around and have that kind of performance.”
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Bowman has had time to decompress since that night, and now has a full week to prepare for a Week 9 clash against Buffalo. His preparation still isn’t back to normal. Bowman has a lot to master as the defensive brain stem.
“The routine is still altered. The scheme is still new,” Bowman said Tuesday afternoon. “It will be for a while. You start getting that, ‘I know it’ feeling for a while, but then you get out in practice and realize you don’t know it all. Every week is important for me. I was fortunate enough to play so many years and pick up on the playbook as fast as I did last week. I’m going to take advantage of this full week and prepare the same way, if not more heading into this next game.”
That’s important for the entire Raiders defense, which received a lift from its new middle linebacker. He wants to turn one win into a streak, knowing that’s required of a team just 3-4 heading into the halfway point.
“The key is letting it go,” Bowman said. “We had the weekend off, and I’m sure guys enjoyed it after a big win. Now it’s time to get back to work and focus on the Bills.”