Raiders look different when within view

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Being involved on the periphery of the playoff race carries with it a different feel for the Oakland Raiders, whose fans in past seasons turned to speculation on coaching changes and potential free agents or draft picks.

"Once December gets here, you get into teams that are making their run and you also get teams that are looking for something to play for," coach Jack Del Rio said.

"It can take on a different feeling depending on where you are."

Quarterback Derek Carr insists his approach won't change.

"My mentality stays the same, whether I'm trying to beat my brothers in pool basketball or whatever I'm doing," Carr said. "I'm trying to win. My wife laughs at me all the time. It doesn't matter what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to compete and I'm trying to win. You ask her, I won't let her beat me at anything."

--Tennessee coach Mike Mularkey said during his press briefing that the NFL had conceded that a defensive holding penalty against Amari Cooper which extended the Raiders game-winning drive was "poorly officiated."

Del Rio wasn't spending a lot of time worrying about it and issued a gentle reminder that Mularkey had violated NFL rules by discussing a confidential process that goes on every week between teams, the league and officials.

"We get feedback and that's stuff we typically try and keep in-house of respect for the guys and the job they do," Del Rio said. "It's meant to be private information that we get back from the league so we can better prepare our team and that's what I use it for."

--Outside linebacker defensive end Khalil Mack has been a force in the last two games and now has seven sacks. He has also been more animated during games and on the sideline.

"Just a little bit," Mack said. "Knowing I've got to speak up more, talk to the guys, something I'm trying to get better at each week."

Del Rio, asked if Mack has stepped up his game up since defensive end Aldon Smith was suspended, said it was more a matter of stepping up for the team, rather than to fill a void.

"I think (defensive line coach) Jethro Franklin has donea great job of not really spending a lot of time worrying about what you don't have or what isn't here and more of, 'Hey, this is what we need to get done as a group together.'"

--Defensive end Justin Tuck, the Raiders' nominee for the Walter Payton Man of Year award for his charitable work, is on injured reserve and struggling with having to be a spectator.

But he's remained around the team, and unlike many players on Injured Reserve, has been on the sidelines and at the facility with his teammates, contributing as much knowledge as he can.

"They voted me team captain and captain has a lot more to do than just being on the field," Tuck said. "We've got a lot of young guys, especially on the D-line. Any way I can be a part of helping their growth, I think that's important.

"Plus, what's the alternative? I can go home and watch the team on TV, but that would get boring pretty quickly."

--St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke might be willing to share his proposed stadium in the Los Angeles area.

The Rams proposed a sort a partnership with either the San Diego Chargers or Raiders in Inglewood, Calif., the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Wednesday.

According to the report, the second team would share construction costs but realize only game-day revenue. The second team would not be involved in the surrounding development or stadium design.

NFL Network's Albert Breer reported that the Rams' partnership proposal was sent to the league's Committee on Los Angeles, not the teams, and was made without specifying a team as a partner.

The Rams, Chargers and Raiders were making presentations to NFL owners in Irving, Texas, on Wednesday. All three franchises are seeking stadium solutions in their current home market.

The Chargers and Raiders are working jointly on a stadium proposal in Carson, Calif.

Three of the six owners on the league's L.A. committee said this week that they want to get a deal done as soon as next month.

"We want to get something done in January," Houston Texans owner Bob McNair said Wednesday.

L.A. committee members John Mara of the New York Giants and Clark Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs voiced a similar target on Tuesday.

Bob Iger, chairman and chief executive of Disney, was appointed last month as non-executive chairman by Carson Holdings, which was formed to bring the Chargers and the Raiders to the proposed facility in Carson that would be built by the company.

If the NFL approves the plan, Iger would be responsible for hiring the executive responsible for overseeing the day-to-day functioning of the $1.7 billion stadium that would be built on a 168-acre plot of land that is located 13 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.

Kroenke wants to build a $1.86 billion, 80,000-seat stadium in Inglewood on land he owns on the old Hollywood Park site.

Public forums were held in October by the NFL in the three cities. Teams are required to receive a three-fourths vote from NFL owners -- or 24 of 32 owners -- in order to be approved for relocation.

The league has not had an NFL team in Los Angeles since the Rams and Raiders departed for St. Louis and Oakland, respectively, in 1995.

--A week after employing rookie linebacker Ben Heeney for 38 snaps against Detroit, the Raiders utlized veteran Curtis Lofton for the majority of the work against Tennessee, while Heeney was in for 18 plays.

The Chiefs provide a personnel dilemma in that Heeney is more active and better suited at covering tight ends such as Travis Kelce, while Lofton is better against the run, which remains a big part of the Kansas City offense.

--Linebacker Neiron Ball, who missed the last five games because of a knee injury, was working on the side with the training staff and might be week or two from getting on the field.

--Running back Taiwan Jones was limited in practice because of a knee injury and could resume his duties on special teams and as a reserve running back against the Chiefs.

--Center Rodney Hudson, who missed two of the last three games because of an ankle sprain, did not practice and is day-to-day to face his former team, the Kansas City Chiefs.

--Safety Charles Woodson took his usual Wednesday off because of a shoulder injury but is expected to face the Chiefs.

--Cornerback Keith McGill did not practice because of an ankle injury and isn't expected to face the Chiefs.