Oakland Raiders keep Latavius Murray fresh for the long run

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Less means more so far for running back Latavius Murray.

The NFL's 28th ranked rushing game in 2015 is No. 2 through two games in 2016.

At no point last season did the Raiders have back to back games like the 167-yard effort against New Orleans, backed up with a 155 yard performance against the Atlanta Falcons.

The leading rusher through two games, as he was for the Raiders all last season, is Murray, who made the Pro Bowl as an alternate with 1,066 yards rushing.

Yet the Murray who ended the season a year ago was nothing like the one who started out of the season.

Of the 370 carries the Raiders had last season, Murray had 260 of them -- or 71.9 percent. Quarterback Derek Carr was the Raiders second-leading rusher with 138 yards.

With the addition of rookie running backs DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard, the Raiders are sharing their carries.

Murray has 22 rushes for 116 yards, but has fewer than half the runs from scrimmage with Richard (10 for 101) and Washington (11 for 60) also getting work.

"Obviously we have a rotation going, so I'm not in there as much and its definitely less taxing on my body," Murray said.

Murray averaged only 3.3 yards per carry in the second half of the season last year as the carries mounted, with the departed Roy Helu Jr. as well as special teams ace Taiwan Jones not doing much to share the load.

As soon as he got a look at Washington and Richard in the offseason, Carr told Murray he would be thankful.

"We'd sit back and watch and I said, 'Man, that's the best thing that ever happened to you,'" Carr said. "He'd just laugh because as a competitor he wants every rep. But this year, every ball he gets, he's going to be 100 percent fresh."

In the offseason, besides working on his conditioning and speed, Murray went to the video room.

"That was one thing I did, I watched all my no gain and negative runs just to see where I could have done more and been better," Murray said. "I also watched other guys from around the league to see what they did to turn their runs into an explosive run."

Murray also had five receptions for 44 yards against Atlanta and consistently broke the first tackle. A 7-yard run in the opener against New Orleans and a 1-yard scoring run against Atlanta found Murray pushing the pile.

Carr calls the goal line Murray "Angry Tay," which runs counter to his reserved personality.

"This year I'm just making sure I use my size to my advantage, breaking tackles, trying to run through guys," Murray said. "I guess who's ever on the other side of the ball becomes the victim of 'Angry Tay.'"

SERIES HISTORY: 45th regular season meeting. Raiders lead all-time series 24-20, including a 24-21 win in Nashville last Nov. 29. Quarterback Derek Carr completed 24 of 37 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns, with a 2-yard strike to Seth Roberts with 1:21 left as the game winner. The Raiders out-gained the Titans 407 to 249 but Tennessee had three touchdown passes from Marcus Mariota, who also threw two interceptions. The Titans last win over the Raiders in Oakland was 38-13 in the 2010 regular-season opener.

--Rookie sixth-round draft pick Cory James will take on a bigger role this week after getting nine late snaps against Atlanta, although it remains to be seen if he'll start in place of Ben Heeney at middle linebacker.

For what James lacks in experience, coach Jack Del Rio hopes he makes up for with a nose for the ball.

"He's just a guy that is kind of a ball magnet," Del Rio said, noting that James came away with three takeaways in a recent practice. "He's around the football, he's physical, he's fast."

James confirms he's always been that way.

"I just feel like it's an instinct thing," James said. "I've been doing that since they moved me to (middle linebacker) in college. Every since I've been trying to find the ball. It's been working out for me so far. ... I feel like my speed and awareness to find the ball helps with that."

--Taking a seat while watching his team give up 1,035 yards and 69 points in two games is not what Karl Joseph had in mind as a start for his rookie season.

But after getting nothing more than special teams snaps for two games, he's prepared to play against Tennessee, although it's not clear whether he'll start, play in some specific packages or occasionally sub in for Keith McGill.

"We're sharing reps, so I don't know how it will go," Joseph said. "My mindset never really changes."

Joseph, who went into training camp as a starter and who started early in the preseason, said it was explained to him the Raiders simply wanted to get him some time on the field.

With veteran quarterbacks such as Drew Brees and Matt Ryan moving at will on the Raiders defense, Joseph will get a look.

NOTES: T Menelik Watson returned to practice after missing the Atlanta game because of a groin injury. ... T Matt McCants did not practice after missing the Atlanta game because of a knee injury. ... CB David Amerson is in the NFL concussion protocol but is expected to play against Tennessee. ... G Gabe Jackson, who missed practice last week but played against Atlanta, is practicing. ... C Rodney Hudson, who missed practice last week but played against Atlanta, is practicing.