Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Aug. 30, 2013

The Raiders entered their fourth preseason game with many question marks still in their starting lineup, a rare occasions for teams about to head into the regular season.

Still, there was a game to play and the Raiders came up short falling to 1-3 in the preseason as they fell to the Seattle Seahawks 22-6 in their final attempt before the regular season begins.

There's no doubt that one of the biggest competitions and story lines heading into the game was the starting quarterback situation. With Matt Flynn out with tendinitis, Pryor got the start and played the whole first half.

Pryor was able to show what he brings to the starting lineup right from the beginning as he used his athleticism early and often. After going three and out on his first drive, Pryor was able to get the ball moving on his second drive with some well-timed throws and his ability to run.

One of the more telling plays demonstrating what Pryor brings to the offense was a plan in which he scrambled to the right, forcing the linebackers up to prevent the scramble giving the young quarterback a passing lane to find Rod Streater for the first down.

Pryor showed his athleticism later on a third down by making a ridiculous move on a defender on a 3rd and 7 rush that left the defender motionless and unable to get a hand on him as Pryor was able to turn nothing into a 25-yard gain for the first down.

Unfortunately for Pryor, the drive ended with a sack that halted the drive and forced a 45-yard field goal that Justin Medlock nailed to make the score 10-3 with the Seahawks on top.

On Pryor's next drive, he was unable to make the necessary throw on his first attempt as he let his pass for Jacoby Ford go late and Seahawks cornerback Walter Thurmond intercepted the under-thrown ball.

Overall, Pryor was able to show what he brings to the offense by making the defense accountable but finished just 3/8 passing for 31 yards and one interception, including three rushes for 48 yards. Granted, it should be noted that the Raiders offensive receiving corps should be held accountable for about three drops.

Since the starting quarterback position may come down to this game, it's only right we look at both quarterback's lines throughout the preseason.

Flynn finished with a 70 percent completion rate for 180 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Meanwhile, Pryor has provided 53 percent completion rate for 221 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions to go along with 138 rushing yards. Pryor might not have done enough to grab the starting job by the horns, but it's certainly something Allen is going to have to think about heading into the season opener.

Another question mark coming into the game was how the Raiders would replace starting left tackle Jared Veldheer. Head coach Dennis Allen turned to rookie Menelik Watson for Thursday's game, a second-round draft pick that hasn't played at all during the preseason after limited practice during training camp due to a calf injury.

Watson looked strong during his half of play using his athleticism to stay in front of his defender any not surrendering and clear-cut sacks. Watson did give up one sack but it was on a play in which Pryor held onto the ball excessively long and tried rolling to his left, though Watson was unable to hold his block and Pryor was sacked for the loss. Watson had a solid game, especially given he has had little time practicing and no game time in the preseason.

Defensive tackle Pat Sims was also out for much of training camp and made his preseason debut on Thursday. Sims made his presence felt from the start while applying pressure on the quarterback and penetrating the backfield allowing the linebackers to make tackles. The Raiders were able to stop the Seahawks rushing attack and limit the team to just 53 rushing yards.

The Raiders will need Sims to continue his strong play after his presence seemed to give the defensive line an added boost and allow pressure to be applied to the opposing quarterback, something the Raiders have been lacking throughout preseason.

Down 16-6 heading into the half, the Raiders were unable to mount a comeback with rookie quarterbacks Matt McGloin and Tyler Wilson.

The good news was the coaching staff was able to get more film on fourth-round draft pick Tyler Wilson, who has seen limited playing time during the preseason after a solid offseason workout regimen.

Though it was only two drives in the fourth quarter, Wilson finished the game 8/12 for 65 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions. Wilson was able to show off his strong arm on a couple of passes including a laser of a throw to wide receiver Juron Criner for a first down on 3rd and 5.

General manager Reggie McKenzie and the Raiders front office have some tough decisions to make as the roster has to be cut down to 53 by 3:00 p.m. PST on Aug. 31.

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Aug. 27, 2013

The Raiders announced three transactions in order to reduce their roster down to the mandatory 75 players before Tuesday's deadline.

After heading into Tuesday with 78 players on the roster, the Raiders made three transactions to reach the limit. Oakland has placed linebacker Miles Burris on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, while sending cornerback Joselio Hanson and running back Latavius Murray to the injured reserve.

Murray and Hanson are likely out for the remainder of the season as it is expected that the team will designate starting left tackle Jared Veldheer as their one player on IR that can return.

Burris is eligible to return back to the active roster after week six of the regular season. Since the team has a bye during week seven, the first time Burris could see the field would be week 8 at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Raiders also signed kicker Justin Medlock, who will likely only be around until Aug. 31, when the team is set to cut down to just 53 players. In order to make room for Medlock at the moment, the Raiders waived Mitchell White.

Kicker Sebastian Janikowski has been missing practice time due to an undisclosed injury.

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Aug. 26, 2013

The Raiders have begun the process of cutting down their roster as they are required to be down to just 75 players on their roster on Tuesday.

One of the bigger names to be released by the Raiders so far was special teams standout Josh Cribbs. Cribbs seemed to lack the burst he once possessed on kickoff returns. This seemed a real possibility as head coach Dennis Allen gave Jacoby Ford the kickoff return duties in the first half after Cribbs handled the first two attempts with little explosion, along with struggling to hold on to the ball. Cribbs had knee surgery in the offseason prior to signing with the Raiders.

The team also announced the waiving of DE Brandon Bair, OL Alex Parsons, LB Keenan Clayton, LB Eric Haper, FB Jon Hoese, WR Sam McGuffie, DB Cory Nelms, C Andrew Robiskie, WR Tray Session, DT Myles Wade, and WR Isaiah Williams.

With the cuts, the Raiders now stand at 78 players, just three over the approaching limit.

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Aug. 24, 2013

The Raiders took the field for their third preseason game and found themselves in a similar situation to last week, falling behind 17-0 in the first quarter.

To say the game started off ugly would be an understatement. The offense was unable to move the ball, the defense couldn’t stop Jay Cutler and the bears, and even Sebastian Janikowski missed a field goal from inside 50 yards.

Named-starting quarterback Matt Flynn had his worst game of the offseason by far, throwing two interceptions while completing three out of six attempts, for just 19 yards for a 17.4 rating.

Flynn’s first interception came on the Raiders second drive on 3rd and nine when Flynn looked for wide receiver Denarius Moore to the right, but miscommunication resulted with Moore continuing running downfield instead of breaking back towards the ball.

“They brought some pressure and we just kind of weren’t on the same page right there with what was happening,” Flynn said of the miscommunication.”I was trying to get it out quick and that’s something we have to clean up. That’s something that we’ve got to be better with.”

The Bears quickly capitalized with Cutler finding his running back Matt Forte out on the right. Forte made Raiders linebacker Kevin Burnett miss and he scampered 32 yards for the touchdown to give the Bears the 10-0 lead.

Following the Bears score, wide receiver Jacoby Ford made his presence back on the field felt as he returned his first kickoff attempt back 62 yards much to the fans’ delight.

Flynn and the offense were unable to get a first down, forcing a 49-yard field attempt from Janikowski from off the dirt which he missed wide right for a rare miss.

Flynn’s second interception came with the team already down 24-0 early in the second quarter. On 3rd and 8, Flynn dropped back and looked for Ford across the middle but threw it behind his intended receiver and was intercepted by Bears cornerback Isaiah Frey.

Head coach Dennis Allen knows his team needs to make better decisions if his team plans on being a better team this year.

“Listen, we can’t make those mistakes, especially against a good football team and expect to win the ball game. We have to protect the football,” Allen said.

Fans in attendance serenaded him with boos and chants for Pryor as Flynn ran off of the field after his second turnover of the game.

Flynn understands the fans’ sentiment and attributes it to their passion and knows they just want to win.

“That’s the game. That’s football,” Flynn said of the crowd’s reaction. “That’s what’s going to happen when you have passionate fans and fans expect a certain level of performance and we obviously didn’t meet that today.”

Fans got their wish as Pryor entered with the Raiders first-team offense on the next drive.

Pryor struggled on the first drive, throwing a ball high on a pass to Rod Streater that should have been picked off but Streater was able to jar it loose to stop the interception, resulting in a punt.

Following a field goal from the Bears to put the Raiders 27-0 with just 1:00 remaining. Just as Pryor had done against the Cowboys in week one, the young quarterback led the team down the field to get the team on the scoreboard.

In a similar throw to the one that almost resulted in an interception before, Pryor was able to put a nice touch on the ball this time and find rookie tight end Mychal Rivera for 26 yards. After an incomplete pass, Janikowski put the team on the field with a 58-yard field goal from off the dirt to make the score 27-3 heading into halftime.

With the first-team offense still out there, Pryor was able to finally get the team in the end zone on their first drive of the second half. The drive included a play in which Pryor displayed his athleticism by eluding numerous Bears defenders looking for a sack and eventually finding Rod Streater down the sideline for a gain of 19 on a “jump pass” for a first down.

Unfortunately, Streater was slow to get up and did not return to the field after leaving with a concussion.

Pryor proceeded to demonstrate his athleticism once again by escaping the pressure and scampering 25 yards for a rushing touchdown that gave the Raiders their first touchdown.

After the second-team defense was able to recover a botched snap on the Bears’ 34-yard line, Pryor was unable to get the ball into the end zone but the team did settle for a field goal that gave made the Bears’ lead 27-13.

Pryor was able to get the team back into the end zone on his next drive, once again on a short field after the cornerback Joselio Hanson intercepted Bears quarterback Josh McCown.

On 3rd and 16, Pryor found rookie tight end Nick Kasa for a 19-yard touchdown reception. The touchdown was the first of Kasa’s career. The night would be over for Pryor after scoring 20 points on his five drives and bring the Raiders back to a manageable score being down 27-20.

Pryor isn’t thinking about any quarterback competition, he just wants to focus on the team improving.

“I’m not even looking to start,” Pryor said. “I’m not not looking to start, but I’m not looking to get into who’s going to start. I just want this team… we have a lot of things to fix offensively, defensively. We’ll fix it together, we’ll get it down. Right now, I’m leaning on my teammates and my teammates are leaning on me. Me and Matt are leaning on each other and everyone’s helping each other, and that’s how a great team starts to elapse and I think we have a great team here.”

Pryor finished the game 7/9 throwing the ball for 93 yards and one touchdown to go along with four rushes for 37 yards and a 146.8 passer rating and giving Matt McGloin a chance to win the game.

Down 34-20, McGloin was able to drive the team down the field getting to the Bears’ five-yard line.

After the Bears stopped Jeremy Stewart short of the first down, McGloin found a wide-open Jamize Olawale for the touchdown on first down. Allen then decided to go for the two-point conversion, but wide receiver Travionte Session wasn’t able to hold onto the ball on the quick slant.

The Raiders had one more chance in the last two minutes but McGloin was unable to get the job done. After being sacked to make it 4th and 24, McGloin was forced to throw up a prayer that was intercepted by the Bears, allowing them to take a knee in the victory formation and end the game with the Bears victorious 34-26.

Allen admits that Flynn did not play well and liked what he saw from Pryor, but believes he needs to take a harder look at his quarterbacks’ production before making any decision on the starting quarterback position.

“I think obviously we have to take a look at it. I think when you look at it I don’t think Matt played well in this game. Obviously, I thought Terrelle came in and gave us a spark. I thought he played well in the game. I think that’s something that we have to go and look at it. I’m not going to make any decision on anything, obviously, tonight. I want to get a chance to go back and look at the tape and see how things went. But it was obvious that Terrelle gave us a little bit of spark tonight.”

Meanwhile, Flynn is taking the job a day at a time and just taking care of what he can control such as his personal improvement.

“I’m not sure. I’m going to go out there and keep busting my tail everyday and learn from the mistakes I’ve made and just play the best ball I can. Preseason game number three is not going to affect me in the long run. It’s not going to change the way I prepare or the way I believe in myself.”

The game also marked the first game action that rookie cornerback D.J. Hayden saw after missing contact for much of preseason after coming back from an offseason surgery to remove scar tissue in his abdomen.

[caption id="attachment_11460" align="alignleft" width="403"]<a href="http://www.sbreport.net/wp-content/hayden3.jpg"><img alt="Rookie cornerback D.J. Hayden got his first game action against the Bears on Friday " src="http://www.sbreport.net/wp-content/hayden3.jpg" width="403" height="268" /></a> Rookie cornerback D.J. Hayden got his first game action against the Bears on Friday[/caption]

Hayden was rusty from the beginning giving up two consecutive passses for 38 yards, but then made a great play just a couple of plays later. Cutler looked to find the receiver Hayden was covering but the young corner was able to get his hands in there and bat the ball away, with defensive end Jason Hunter almost securing the interception.

“He made a couple plays. He was rusty. There’s no question about it, he was rusty,” Allen said of his young corner. “It’s his first game experience since November of last year so I’m sure we’ll go back and look at the tape and see that there were some positives in there as well as a lot of things that we have to get corrected.”

The Raiders head to Seattle to take on the Seahawks for their fourth and final preseason game next Thursday.

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Aug. 20, 2013

The Raiders have announced the addition of free agent offensive tackle Tony Hills.

Hills has played in only ten games, including just one start, since being drafted in the fourth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008. Six of those games came last season during his time with the Indianapolis Colts.

The 6-foot-4, 304-pound offensive lineman played in 42 games with the University of Texas Longhorns, including starting his final 24 as the left tackle. He allowed just four sacks over his final two seasons with the Longhorns.

The Raiders have been left thin at the offensive tackle position with starting left tackle Jared Veldheer out recovering from surgery for his torn tricep and rookie Menelik Watson continuing to suffer from a calf injury.

Though he provides little experience, Hills gives the Raiders another man to insert at the tackle position for the meantime.

Originally published on SBReport.net on Aug. 18, 2013

The Raiders returned to the practice field on Sunday, not wearing pads after their 28-20 loss to the Saints on Friday.

The practice was the first in which rookie cornerback D.J. Hayden was cleared for full contact, but the team being without pads will mean the young corner will have to wait another day to get his first hit.

Hayden is okay with that, staying content with just being on the field after suffering a near-death injury at the University of Houston last season.

“I’m happy to practice,” Hayden said after practice. “As long as I’m out there, I’m good.”

Hayden is expected to see his first game-time action when the Raiders host the Chicago Bears on Friday for their third week of preseason.

Starting quarterback Matt Flynn struggled for much of the day and had a string of three consecutive plays with a turnover.

Flynn threw an ugly pass that was picked off by Mike Jenkins, then on the next play, linebacker Kaelin Burnett was able to intercept Flynn’s pass. On the third play, Flynn dropped back and fumbled the ball as a defender got his hand in there to knock the ball away.

Terrelle Pryor was able to find some success on the field today and looked better than Flynn for the day. Pryor came in after Flynn’s mishaps and dropped in a perfect pass to Brice Butler who was running down the middle of the field.

Meanwhile, rookie quarterbacks Tyler Wilson and Matt McGloin didn’t see any snaps during team drills. Head coach Dennis Allen attributed this to being on a game-week schedule.

Though they were without pads, the defense was able to provide some pass rush on the quarterbacks with defensive ends Andre Carter and Lamarr Houston supplying the pressure. The Raiders will need to keep building a pass rush after seeing little of it on Friday against the Saints. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees routinely had plenty of time to locate an open receiver against the Raiders defense.

Starting running back Darren McFadden remained out with a shoulder injury after leaving Friday’s game early. Allen believes McFadden will be okay and sees the injury as minor.

“We limited him some today, but I don’t think it’s anything serious. I expect for him to be fine,” Allen said of his running back.

With Mike Brisiel still out with his ankle injury, Allen tried a combination of Lucas Nix at right guard and Tony Bergstrom at left guard. Veteran Andre Gurode was previously playing as the starting right guard, but today was working as the second-team center, replacing Alex Parsons.

Originally published on SBReport.net on Aug. 16, 2013

The Raiders entered the game Friday with many injuries at crucial positions and it showed during their 28-20 loss in New Orleans against the Saints. 

One of the biggest injuries was losing starting left tackle Jared Veldheer who was under the knife on Friday instead of with his teammates at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, undergoing sugery to repair his partially torn tricep. 

With Veldheer absent, head coach Dennis Allen inserted Alex Barron as the starting left tackle. Barron struggled from the beginning, unable to stay in front of Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan. Jordan was able to use his quickness on multiple occasions to get into the backfield and pressure starting quarterback Matt Flynn. 

But Barron wasn't the only member of the offensive line to disappoint. The Saints often went untouched as they got into the backfield to sack Flynn five times in the first half alone. 

Flynn was largely unable to get the offense going in the first half while playing under duress with Saints defenders in his face for much of his time on the field. 

In fact, the starting offense was unable to get on the scoreboard until the final drive of the first half, which coincidentally began with Flynn being sacked by Saints defensive end Will Smith. Smith was untouched on his way to the backfield. 

After throwing behind his rookie tight end Mychal Rivera, Flynn was finally able to drive the ball downfield on 3rd and 15 and find Brice Butler for a nice 24-yard gain for the first down. Flynn seemed to find a rhythm after that. 

Flynn completed another nice throw, this time to Denarius Moore after standing strong in the pocket and making the throw while absorbing the hit. On 1st and ten, Flynn found Moore again with a perfectly placed ball that was dropped in over the defender in the end zone for the 18-yard touchdown pass with just 31 seconds remaining in the first half. 

Flynn's first touchdown pass of the preseason made the score 23-7 heading into halftime, with the Raiders defense unable to stop Drew Brees and the Saints' potent offense. 

The Raiders were also missing three of their starting four defensive lineman, as defensive tackles Vance Walker and Pat Sims, along with defensive end Lamarr Houston all missed the game due to injury. 

The absence of the Raiders defensive linemen certainly showed, as Brees had all day to locate an open receiver as the Raiders struggled to find a pass rush. 

Brees and the offense repeatedly attacked former Saint and current Raiders cornerback Tracy Porter. The Saints' first touchdown came after wide receiver Nick Toon was able to beat Porter deep and haul in a 56-yard reception. Saints running back Mark Ingram punched in the touchdown from two-yards out. 

Porter left the game with an apparent groin injury. It is too early for a timetable for his return. 

With largely any resistance, Brees finished the first half 14/18 for 202 yards and one touchdown while giving the Saints their 23-7 lead. 

It was the Raiders' second-team defense that was able to make a game out of the contest. 

Second-year defensive end Jack Crawford got it started by taking over the first series of the half. On the very first play, Crawford got into the backfield to sack Saints backup quarterback Seneca Wallace for the eight-yard sack. Then, on 3rd and 14, Crawford got into the backfield again and forced an errant throw on the screen attempt to force the Saints to punt the ball. 

On the Saints next drive, Crawford found himself in a fortuitous position once again as he recovered a fumble punched out by defensive back Brandian Ross. 

Ross also had a nice day with his forced fumble and also making a nice play when coming in on a blitz but adjusting and tackling Saints running back Traveris Cadet for a six-yard loss. 

The young defensive end duo of David Bass and Ryan Robinson were able to hook up on a play when Bass got back into the backfield to strip Wallace of the ball which Robinson recovered in the end zone for the touchdown. 

While the second-team defense was able to hold the Saints, Terrelle Pryor and the second-team offense failed to capitalize. In fact, Pryor's only scoring drive occurred on a series that went -7 yards and ended with an Eddy Carmona field goal. The field goal cut the Saints lead to just one score at 23-17.

Before Carmona's field goal, Pryor made a poor decision trying to force the ball into the end zone after a bad snap, nearly having the ball intercepted.

Pryor finished 1/5 for nine yards, to go along with four rushes for 15 yards. 

With the Saints threatening with the ball on the Raiders goal line, Robinson made another play by stuffing the rushing attempt and forcing the turnover on downs, giving the Raiders new life. 

The life was short-lived as a couple of plays later fullback Jamize Olawale was tackled in the end zone for the safety. The Raiders defense was able to stand, limiting the Saints to just a field goal and giving the Raiders a chance. 

Down 28-20, un-drafted rookie Matt McGloin had one more chance to tie the game. 

After finding Greg Jenkins and Conner Vernon for a couple of first downs, the McGloin encountered a 3rd and one. While running the two-minute warning, McGloin snapped the ball too quickly as his team wasn't set and they were called for an "illegal shift" penalty. 

But the damage wasn't done there. On the next play, the offensive line was called for a false start. But the damage still wasn't done. 

After a near fumble, McGloin had to heave up a prayer on 4th and 18 that was intercepted to end the game. 

The Raiders return back home and will host the Chicago Bears at O.Co Coliseum next Friday for their third preseason game. 

Originally published on SBReport.net on Aug. 14, 2013

The Oakland Raiders were dealt a devastating blow as it was learned that starting left tackle Jared Veldheer will be put on the injured reserve after learning he has torn his tricep.

Veldheer missed practice on Tuesday to receive his second MRI of training camp and the MRI reportedly showed a tear in the big man's tricep.

The fourth-year left tackle is undoubtedly the team's best offensive lineman and was believed to step his game up to a Pro Bowl level this season.

Veldheer is expected to be placed on the Injured Reserve but be designated with the possibility to return. This means that he would be allowed to practice after week six, but could not return to games until week nine. In all likelihood, this injury could very well be a season-ending injury for Veldheer.

With Veldheer out yesterday, it was Alex Barron working the starting left tackle position.

Barron is a former first round draft pick in 2005 but has not started a regular season game since 2010 when he was with the Dallas Cowboys.

Originally published on SBReport.net on Aug. 13, 2013

Dennis Allen kept his team in pads for the second straight day as the offense saw the benefit of wearing the silver jerseys under the hot Napa sun.

A couple players returned off of the injury list including defensive lineman Lamarr Houston, linebacker Billy Boyko and offensive lineman Lucas Nix. Veteran safety Charles Woodson returned from his veteran day off as well.

Unfortunately for the Raiders offensive line, starting left tackle Jared Veldheer was not present for practice and was off to get a second MRI on his injured tricep, according to head coach Dennis Allen after practice.

The Raiders need Veldheer to be healthy as he is an integral piece of the offensive line blocking Matt Flynn's blindside.

Replacing Veldheer at the starting left tackle position was veteran Alex Barron. Veteran offensive lineman Andre Gurode remained the starting right guard while incumbent Mike Brisiel remained out with his ankle injury.

In his first practice back, Boyko made his presence felt early by using his fresh legs to get around running back Darren McFadden to record the simulated sack during a pass rushing drill.

Starting quarterback Matt Flynn looked the sharpest of the four quarterbacks today, hitting wide receiver Rod Streater over the middle on consecutive plays with a pass right on the money just out of reach of the defender. He later dropped a deep ball in nicely to Brice Butler who was able to beat the defense on a deep post and haul in the pass while remaining in full stride.

Quarterback Terrelle Pryor struggled to find any rhythm today. Pryor went for a deep pass to Butler down the left sideline but put too much air under it and allowed Phillip Adams to get over and defend the ball. Pryor later made the mistake of locking in on his receiver, rookie tight end Nick Kasa, and saw Reggie Smith time his move perfectly to jump in front of Kasa and intercept the pass.

Pryor did show progress by later making the smart decision going for the easy play by dumping the ball off to Marcel Reece instead of forcing the ball downfield.

Pryor wasn't the only quarterback who struggled, as Matt McGloin should have had his own interception. McGloin attempted to drop the ball off short to his tight end but cornerback Cory Nelms jumped the route and should have had a pick-six but saw the ball drop through his hands instead. McGloin was able to bounce back on the next throw by finding wide receiver Isaiah Williams for a deep completion down the right sideline.

Rookie quarterback Tyler Wilson continues to see limited snaps in practice, often getting just one repetition per 11-on-11 session. Wilson's first attempt was thrown behind his intended receiver and Nick Kasa could not come up with the sliding catch. Wilson did however show off his cannon later in the day by throwing a fastball to Isaiah Williams in traffic for the short completion. Wilson's arm strength hasn't been the question, but him using it correctly has.

One player that continues to stand out is cornerback Chance Casey. Casey has shown his ability to be around the ball and did so once again on Tuesday.

Casey saw time with the second team on Tuesday and proved he belonged there by making a nice play by jumping in on a pass by Pryor to Butler. Casey stuck with Butler and timed his move quickly to get his hand in the way of Butler and knock the ball harmlessly down to the ground.

Casey is making a strong case for making the final 53-man roster and very well may if he keeps his high level of play going.

The Raiders return to the practice field at 9:20 a.m. on Wednesday morning, their last full practice before they head to New Orleans to take on the Saints on Friday.

Originally published on SBReport.net on Aug. 12, 2013


The Raiders put the pads back on as they returned to the field for their morning practice on Monday.

Returning to practice was linebacker Sio Moore and cornerback D.J. Hayden, though Hayden was still wearing his red "no contact" jersey.

Raiders head coach Dennis Allen believes that his young cornerback should be out of the red jersey and returning to contact shortly.

He won't play this week. He should be cleared for contact on... really Friday is when he should be cleared for contact. We'll re-evaluate that with the doctors after that but the plan going forward I would anticipate is that he would be up and going for the Chicago game."

Cornerback Tracy Porter was the only player that left practice early with what coach is referring to as an injury that's just a product of training camp. Veteran Charles Woodson was given the day off, according to Allen.

With Porter out, Hayden spent much of the time with the first team getting reps opposite of Mike Jenkins. Hayden also worked with the second team, increasing the amount of time he was on the field. Hayden can use as many reps as he can get after missing much of the Offseason Team Activities after his surgery to remove scar tissue in his abdomen.

The team worked on their special teams quite a bit on Monday, especially their punting units. One interesting note is that offensive lineman and current starting center Stefen Wisniewski was getting reps as the second-team long snapper. Wide receiver and kick returner Josh Cribbs was also getting tries at long snapping, moving up from being the personal punt protector.

You can't blame Allen and the coaching staff for making sure they have a backup plan after the debacle that occurred week one of last season. Pro Bowl long snapper Jon Condo went down with a head injury during the game and was replaced with backup linebacker Travis Goethel, who had a hard time getting the ball back to the punter.

Veteran offensive lineman Andre Gurode saw time as the starting right tackle with Mike Brisiel still out with a nagging injury.

Sio Moore made his return to the field noticeable early on in team drills as he got around right tackle Khalif Barnes to apply pressure to Matt Flynn. Moore spends part of each practice working with the linebackers and working with the defensive lineman since the coaches intend on using the versatile rookie in a variety of positions.

The defense did a nice job forcing throws underneath today once again, though the offense were able to get a few more deeper down the field. Matt McGloin had a couple of nice throws to Andre Holmes and Greg Jenkins for sizable gains.

Quarterback Terrelle Pryor had a pass intercepted with tight end Brian Leonhardt reached back to try and catch a ball thrown slightly behind him and it was tipped up and intercepted by the defender.

A similar situation happened to starting quarterback Matt Flynn as he tried to throw it to Denarius Moore, though it wasn't as far behind his intended receiver. Moore reached back and tried to make the catch but couldn't haul it in.

The Raiders return to the field on Tuesday for an afternoon session beginning at 2:50 p.m.