From Raiders Training Camp: LB Divine Deablo

 Linebacker Divine Deablo 

Q: When we talked to you in the spring, you were kind of trying to figure out that sweet spot for you in terms of your weight and being able to cover and being able to set up against the run. Do you feel like you've found that? 

Divine Deablo: "Yes, I lost a little weight from the spring. I felt like I was a little too big, but now I feel comfortable where I'm at.” 

Q: Lot of new faces on the d-line, what are you seeing from those guys? And what’s been your impression so far of the new you guys? 

Deablo: " I think they're doing a great job, especially of taking on double teams, keeping the linemen off of us, so we're free to the ball. I think those guys are doing great.” 

Q: Defensively, you guys we're getting your hands on a lot of balls today. There were some interceptions that you guys came up with, some tipped balls. How important is that to grow as a unit in terms of making plays, not just doing your job but making plays? 

Deablo: " It's very important to us. We challenge each other every day. Sometimes we put push up competitions on the board, whoever gets the most picks doesn't have to do pushups and stuff like that. So, yeah, it's very important to us.” 

Q: Who's usually winning those competitions? Deablo: " I would say right now, the corners are winning. LB’s, we’re catching up right now. I think we had two balls today.” Q: What's that linebacker room like now with Robert Spillane? 

Deablo: " Robert Spillane is great, man. He's a smart guy. He's teaching me things. I feel like he's a very experienced linebacker. He's hardheaded, he comes to work, he puts energy into me, and that's really hard to do.So, I'm surprised and I'm grateful to have him here.” 

Q: Maxx Crosby and Robert Spillane are vocal guys. You're not the most vocal guy in the world, but you are intense. Will you talk about how the dynamics of all that mixes together with different personalities? 

Deablo: " I feel like we all just feed off of each other. I help Rob out; he helps me out. I see a lot of chemistry out there and I'm proud of us. Just got to keep it up.” 

Q: Coming in, obviously you transitioned from safety to linebacker. Luke Masterson and Amari Burney are similar in that regard. How have you been able to help those guys kind of transition after having that experience that safety? And how much do you think that benefits your game as a linebacker with that previous experience? 

Deablo: " I think where the game is today, I think it's a lot of passing. I think it helped benefit me in that scenario. As far as running game, we do have to put on a little weight to take on these linemen. But as far as [Amari] Burney and Luke [Masterson], whenever they ask me, I just help them out and give them little tips. Obviously, I'm only like a year ahead of Luke and then two ahead of Burney. But in whatever way possible, we help each other out.” 

Q: What did you learn from your first offseason that you carried into your second? Like, did you learn how to do things better in terms of when you start training and that kind of thing? 

Deablo: " My rookie offseason, I took a little while because I wanted to take a break from football. This past offseason, I went to work as soon as possible. Put on more weight, studied more film, and I feel like it's helped me a lot.” 

Q: What did you learn watching more film about you? 

Deablo: "I do a lot of wasted steps. I shouldn't move too fast to the right or to the left. I should just bounce my feet, be patient and see what's going on, and then attack because I feel like I'm fast enough to react. I just got to be patient.” 

Q: Did you find it difficult to find a balance if you go to work and just grind through the whole off season? Do you have to find a balance or is that something you were concerned about? Deablo: "I was a little concerned about it. I still found some weekends to take time to myself, get a massage, go somewhere. I went to Disneyland with my girlfriend, just small things. But outside of that, football is really important to me this year.” 

Q: Are you sensing a different mindset on the defense this year compared to last year? 

Deablo: "I am. I really don’t like to talk about last year, but this year I know we're hungry. We're all going after balls, we're all running to the ball, and we're just trying to keep that mindset and keep building it.” 

Q: I think we've seen you make some plays on the ball in coverage earlier in camp. I know that's always kind of been a strength to your game. But do you feel a little more comfortable in the pass game going into your third year? 

Deablo: "Yes, I feel a lot more comfortable. I understand what the offense is trying to do to us. I understand my responsibility, as well as everybody’s around me. So, I try to use that to my strength.” 

Q: When do you think that clicked when you started kind of understanding more of the offense? 

Deablo: " I think really finally getting to the scheme for a second year. My first year was a different scheme. The second year was a different scheme. So, me already knowing the playbook and just trying to expand from that, it helped out a lot.” 

Q: You and Brandon Facyson spent two years at Virginia Tech together. How cool was it to both be in the roles you have now on the same team? 

Deablo: " That's my boy, man. I'm happy to see him here. It just brings back memories from Virginia Tech and we just got to represent. It pushes me even more because I want to represent the Hokies as well while I'm here. So, yeah, I'm glad to have him here.” 

Q: Could you give us your analysis on Drake Thomas and Amari Burney, two rookie linebackers? Just what do you see from them? What do you like? 

Deablo: " I like that they're both very hungry. They know what to do. They really don't have any mental errors. They're always in the classroom. Shoot, they're teaching me things sometimes. So, they take football very seriously. And I appreciate them for that.” 

 Q: The word we've heard a lot is a disruption, be disruptive on defense. And we've talked about getting interceptions and deflecting balls, things like that. How do you balance trying to do that but also staying disciplined and taking care of your responsibility? 

Deablo: " It's just a mindset is what our coach said. Obviously, you got to do your job first but once you have done your job, just go after the ball. And that's how we become a better defense.” 

The Silver and Black open the preseason by hosting the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Aug. 13, at 4 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. PDT.

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