Originally published on SBReport.net on July 27, 2013
The Raiders continued their training camp practices on Saturday, again without pads due to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement that requires a two-day “acclimation” period for teams beginning camp. Offensive tackle Menelik Watson, linebacker Miles Burris and defensive tackle Pat Sims remained out of practice and a few more joined them by the end of Saturday’s practice. Wide receiver Greg Jenkins and linebackers Kaluka Maiava, Billy Boyko and Sio Moore all left practice early with undisclosed injuries. Head coach Dennis Allen does not believe the injuries to be serious. Roughly 1,000 fans joined the fun as the team hosted season ticket holders to watch practice from the sideline bleachers. Allen was pleased with the performance from his team on just the second day of training camp, but not surprisingly, he still knows that there’s a lot of work to do. “I thought the execution was better, but I still think we’ve got to catch the ball better,” Allen said. “We had way too many drops today, and that’s something we’ve got to continue to improve on. ” Though the receivers may have had a rough day hauling in the passes, Allen saw an improvement in his quarterbacks. “I thought our quarterbacks were a lot more crisp. I thought they did an outstanding job,” Allen said after practice. Quarterback Matt Flynn had a solid day by not throwing any interceptions, though a pass to fullback Marcel Reece was almost picked by safety Tyvon Branch, who played the ball perfectly. Flynn’s play has impressed his new head coach thus far. “I’ve been very impressed with Matt Flynn,” Allen said of his starting quarterback. “I’ve been impressed with his demeanor. He’s made some nice throws; some nice reads. I think he’s done a nice job with the first offense.” Terrelle Pryor had another good day and kept the ball out of the defense’s hands while throwing nice deep passes. Though there was only defender on the field, Pryor put together back-to-back deep touchdown passes – the first to Denarius Moore and the second to Jacoby Ford. Pryor has looked comfortable with deep balls during the two days of camp but it is the short and intermediate routes that Pryor has been known to struggle with his footwork. Rookie Tyler Wilson was able to bounce back from a tough first day by making solid reads and also keeping the ball out of the defense’s hands. Wilson certainly does have a rocket arm and showed it off with a laser across the middle that hit his wide receiver right in stride. Flynn believes that the chemistry and timing with his offense is not quite there, but he sees the potential for it to be explosive. “I think it’s coming. It’s not there yet, but one thing I do know is that we have a very talented offense,” Flynn said of his offense. “Very talented – we have a lot of guys out there that can make plays; run routes. Now, it’s all about getting all of that to come together.” One key piece of talent that Flynn will need to remain healthy is wide receiver Jacoby Ford, and Flynn knows how dangerous he can be if he’s healthy. “Jacoby is explosive, fast and extremely talented and he’s a weapon, when healthy, that we’ve got to find a way to utilize, in whatever way we can,” Flynn said of his oft-injured wide receiver. “Whether it’s running routes, handoffs, whatever. We’ve got to find a way to utilize that speed and his quickness.” Overall, though it’s just the second day of camp, Allen has been pleased with the performance of his team so early in training camp and how they’ve reacted to the challenge. “At the end of the day we’re trying to create as much competition as we can on this football team and our guys are responding and they’re competing.” Some notes from today’s practice:
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Originally published on SBReport.net on July 26, 2013 The Raiders returned to Napa, Calif. and participated in their first day of practice on Friday. Those not participating were linebacker Miles Burris, defensive tackle Pat Sims and rookie offensive tackle Menelik Watson. Burris is still recovering from knee injury and Sims and Watson have an undisclosed injury that head coach Dennis Allen did not want to discuss. “Well when they’re ready to roll, they’ll be back out there practicing,” Allen said of Watson and Sims. Allen thought that his team did a good job jumping back into practice after having roughly a month off between the mandatory mini-camp and the beginning of training camp. “We’re excited about being out here. We’re excited about the first day of training camp. I thought, for the first practice, I was pleased with what we were able to get done today. Obviously, it’s the first step in a long journey and we’ve got a lot of progress we’ve got to make and we’ve got a short time to get it done.” One player that was good to see back on the field was rookie cornerback D.J. Hayden, who missed most of the offseason workouts after having surgery to remove scar tissue in his abdomen from his original nearly fatal injury suffered last fall. Hayden was listed on the Non-football injury list last night as a precaution, according to Allen. Hayden was forced to wear a red non-contact jersey by coaches but did participate in all drills. Allen intends to take a slower pace with incorporating Hayden back into the defense. “We want to work him back into football condition,” Allen said of his young cornerback. “We’re going to limit some contact drills we do with him and really bring him along, I don’t know if I’d say slowly, but we’re not just going to throw him into the fire.” Despite being in a red jersey, Hayden was just grateful to be back out on the field and working with his teammates. “I’m just happy to even be out there. If I’ve gotta have a red jersey on, then that’s what it is. I’m cool with it, and happy,” Hayden said. The start of training camp also marked the first time veteran defensive back Charles Woodson returned to the Raiders training camp facility. “Coming back up to Napa, that part of it felt good,” Woodson said. “Walking out here to practice today, you know, it was, again, it was a familiar feeling, having been here a long time the first time around. I was just anxious to get out there and run around on the field today and have a little fun.” For rookie linebacker Sio Moore, it was a little different of a feeling as he enters his first training camp as an NFL player. Moore was just happy to be back on the field after an offseason that seemed longer than a month. “It felt long, to tell you the honest truth,” Moore said. “It felt good to be able to get football back on under my wings and get back out there with the guys and just working and seeing where I’m at, whether it be mentally or physically. And seeing what I’ve got to improve on from a fundamental aspect being that we’re not in pads, so it was a good day.” Though they returned to the field, the players are excited to have the two “acclimation” days over so they can get the pads on and start hitting. “I’m excited man, because then you get to play football,” Moore said. “I mean, right now we’re playing football but from a fundamental standpoint. In a couple of days, we’re going to be going at it the right way and we’ll be really able to work and being able to simulate true game-like situations because we’re going to have the pads on. It’s exciting.” The players should appear in pads for the first day starting on Sunday. A couple of plays and situations to note:
Originally published on SBReport.net on Aug. 30, 2012
With the first round of cuts done and the second round of cuts coming on Friday, SBReport.net takes a look at who will make it and who may get cut. All 32 teams in the NFL are forced to cut their squads down to 53 men on Friday, meaning 22 players are set to be released by general manager Reggie McKenzie and the Raiders. Quarterbacks – 3 53-man roster: Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Terrelle Pryor Cut: none Former Brown University quarterback Kyle Newhall-Cabellero was released as a result of the first roster cuts, leaving just three quarterbacks on the roster. There is no doubt that Palmer is the starter on this squad with Leinart acting as the backup. Pryor proved during week three of the preseason that he has explosiveness that may be utilized by offensive coordinator Greg Knapp in certain packages. Running backs – 3 53-man roster: Darren McFadden, Taiwan Jones, Mike Goodson Cut: Lonyae Miller McFadden is obviously the star of this team but needs to stay healthy or the Raiders will be left with a second-year player and a running back that doesn’t have much of a resume. Miller has been used heavily this preseason with injuries to Goodson and Jones, but the team will likely only keep three running backs on the roster heading into the regular season. Fullbacks – 2 53-man roster: Marcel Reece, Owen Schmitt Cut: none With fullback Manase Tonga being released in the first wave, it leaves Reece and Schmitt as the lone fullbacks on the roster. Each fullback brings different skill sets to the team: Reece is explosive and versatile and can be a weapon in the pass game with his experience as a wide receiver at the University of Washington; Schmitt is a prototypical fullback that is a solid blocker and has shown an ability to catch short passes as well. Expect to see both of them on the field this year, depending on the situations. Wide receivers – 6 53-man roster: Darrius Heyward-Bey, Denarius Moore, Jacoby Ford, Rod Streater, Juron Criner, Roscoe Parrish Cut: Eddie McGee, Travionte Sessions, Derek Carrier, Brandon Carswell The injuries to Ford and Moore have hurt the Raiders in the kick-return department thus far in the offseason, prompting McKenzie to sign Parrish to fill that void after he was released by the San Diego Chargers. This signing is likely to push McGee on the wrong side of the cutline. Criner and Streater have shown they can play ball, both in offseason workouts and preseason games. Criner was a fifth-round draft pick and shown he has good hands. Streater has proven to be a favorite target this preseason, hauling in 18 receptions for 165 yards in limited action during the three first preseason games. Sessions, Carrier and Carswell have had decent offseasons, but find themselves on the outside on a team with a young, solid wide receiving corps. Heyward-Bey and Criner will hold down one wide receiver position, while Moore, Ford and Streater will hold down the other. Tight ends – 3 53-man roster: Brandon Myers, Richard Gordon, David Ausberry Cut: Tory Humphrey, Kyle Efaw The tight end situation may change in Oakland should McKenzie decide to bring in veteran tight end Chris Cooley, who was released by the Redskins on Monday. But for now, the Raiders have three young tight ends that all bring something different to the game. Myers is the starter, for now, and brings more of an all-around game to the team, while Gordon is the best blocker of the three, and Ausberry, who is a converted wide receiver, has the best pass-catching abilities. Having the various tight end skill sets allows a lot Knapp to get creative with two-TE sets on offense. I expect the Raiders to utilize all three of the tight ends’ skill sets when necessary. Offensive line – 9 53-man roster: Jared Veldheer, Mike Brisiel, Stefan Wisniewski, Cooper Carlisle, Khalif Barnes, Joseph Barksdale, Kevin Haslam, Tony Bergstrom, Alex Parsons Cut: Lucas Nix, Nick Howell, Dan Knapp, Colin Miller Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp mentioned that he was pleased with the play of his offensive line so far, with the exception of center. This means that the starting offensive line will remain the same with Veldheer (LT), Carlisle (LG), Brisiel (RG) and Barnes (RT). Parsons has been the center with Wisniewski out with a calf injury he sustained in the first preseason game. The Raiders will keep Parsons as insurance for Wiz at the center position, and Barksdale and Haslam have proven to be versatile while playing numerous positions this offseason. Bergstrom was McKenzie’s first draft pick in the third round and brings his own versatility while being an expert in the zone-blocking scheme. Defensive tackles – 4 53-man roster: Richard Seymour, Tommy Kelly, Christo Bilukidi, Desmond Bryant Cut: Jamie Cumbie, Dominique Hamilton Seymour, Kelly and Bryant were all-but solidified as the first three defensive tackles coming into the season. The team thought that big defensive tackle Travis Ivey would help fill the void as a big run-stopping defensive tackle but he was released in the early days of training camp. Bilukidi was McKenzie’s sixth-round draft pick and has shown he can rush the pass as well as play the run, which was a worry of the coaching staff at the beginning of training camp. Cumbie and Hamilton have shown glimpses of solid play, but not enough to warrant a spot on the roster over Bilukidi. Defensive ends – 4 53-man roster: Matt Shaughnessy, Lamarr Houston, Dave Tollefson, Jack Crawford Cut: Hall Davis Getting a healthy Shaughnessy will help the Raiders defense, especially when defending the run. Houston will need to get to the quarterback more, but is a solid player and has had a solid offseason and preseason. Tollefson comes over from the New York Giants and will be asked to fill much of the pass-rush void that may have been created when the Raiders parted ways with Kamerion Wimbley. Crawford is a raw football player that has great size and speed but has played little football while he grew up in England. He has shown glimpses of his ability but was sidelined with a foot injury but has since returned to the field. Like Bilukidi, McKenzie likely wouldn’t want to part ways with one of his draft picks in Crawford, leaving Davis on the outside looking in. Linebackers – 5* 53-man roster: Rolando McClain, Philip Wheeler, Miles Burris, Travis Goethel, Carl Ihenacho, Aaron Curry* Cut: Chad Kilgore, Kaelin Burnett, Nathan Stupar The asterisk here is that linebacker Aaron Curry will likely begin the regular season on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Curry has been struggling with knee problems and has not practiced during training camp. Curry’s absence likely opens up a spot for undrafted free agent Kilgore or Ihenacho, however you look at it. Kilgore has shown great hustle when on the field, while Ihenacho has shown his own pass-rushing abilities after being converted to outside linebacker from the defensive end position he played while playing at San Jose State University. Shall Curry return to the roster, Ihenacho will likely be on the losing side of the transaction. Kilgore’s hustle has been a pleasant surprise, but McKenzie may choose to place him on the practice squad to allow him to develop more. Stupar and Burnett have been working primarily with the third-string this offseason and have yet to show the promise that McKenzie hoped he would see. Cornerbacks - 6 53-man roster: Ron Bartell, Shawntae Spencer, DeMarcus Van Dyke, Chimdi Chekwa, Pat Lee, Bryan McCann Cut:Coye Francies Bartell and Spencer have shown they can be relied on as the starting cornerbacks for the Raiders. Van Dyke and Chekwa have shown glimpses of promise but need to become consistent ont he field. McCann brings kick-return capabilities should Ford go down to injury again, or remain hurt for a lengthy time. Lee has been up and down during camp but is solid for depth at a position where the Raiders need it. Francies was just signed this week but will likely be cut after he is used for his return capabilities during Thursday’s preseason game. Safeties – 5 53-man roster: Tyvon Branch, Michael Huff, Mike Mitcheel, Matt Giordano, Brandon Underwood Cut: Curtis Taylor It should not be surprising that the Raiders are set at safety with Branch, Huff, Mitchell and Giordano. Branch and Huff are the starters and rightfully so and the Raiders have recently paid both of them like they are. Mitchell has played solidly this preseason and shown his love for the Raiders new defensive scheme. Giordano played under head coach Dennis Allen while in New Orleans and continues to prove he’s a solid backup capable of contributing. Underwood comes from Green Bay with McKenzie and is a cornerback converted to safety, which adds versatility to the defensive backfield. Specialists – 3 53-man roster: Shane Lechler, Sebastian Janikowski, Jon Condo Cut: Marquette King, Eddy Carmona This should be no surprise here as the Raiders will move forward with their Pro Bowl trio. I should also note that the Raiders, like all teams, are allowed to place eight players on their practice squad. To be eligible for the practice squad, players must meet one of the following requirements:
Originally published on SBReport.net on Aug. 14, 2012
Raider head coach Dennis Allen spoke with the media Tuesday following a Monday night loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Oakland's first preseason game. The following is the transcript from the conference call: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Do we have any updates on Stefan Wisniewski’s injury? Nothing other than it’s his calf and we will be monitoring that as we go on here today. What did the film tell you and your coaching staff last night after looking at it? It told us that we have a lot of things to clean up, as far as the little things are concerned. Our execution wasn’t where it needed to be, but we still got a long way to go to get to where we need to get to. You said Streater’s stat line looked good last night but you wanted to see more on the film about what he did. What did you see on film from him? I thought he did a nice job. He executed like he’s been executing all camp. Caught the ball well, was able to get up the field, and not a lot of wasted movement. I thought Rod Streater played really well. Jack Crawford was active for the game, yet he didn’t play. Can you explain the decision to keep him on the sidelines? Yea, he’s still not ready to go as far as that foot is concerned. There’s still a little soreness there so we just thought it was best for us to hold him and not play him in the game. Any timetable of when he can come into the game? Will he play in this next game? I’m not sure about Arizona yet. Again, he really is a day-to-day situation. It’s not anything serious but it there is obviously still some discomfort there. We are trying to push him through it and try to get him out there as soon as we can. With how quick this next game is coming up on you, how much can you accomplish within the next couple of days of practice and what do you want to address? Well, I think we can get some things accomplished. Obviously we don’t have as much time to prepare as we would like but we are still in training camp mode and there’s still some things that we’ve got to work on from the execution standpoint. So that’s going to be my message to the team. That’s going to be our motto: to be able to execute the little things better. What jumped out to you on the tape as something that you really, really liked last night? I think the things I’ve talked about already. Darren McFadden was obviously very explosive. Two explosive gains in the three touches he had. I think the first team defense played exceptionally well. And what jumped out to you as something that you’re disappointed at? I think from a special teams standpoint, we had a couple of tackles inside the 20-yard line, we lost a punt, or two punts actually, and then we didn’t have good operations on our field goal attempts. Those were a couple of things. Offensively, I think the dropped passes were obviously a big issue. I think our tempo in and out of the huddle in the second half wasn’t where it needed to be offensively. Those were probably the biggest negatives, looking back at the game. Coach, did you expect that out of Darren McFadden last night, so early in the year coming back from , was that kind of a surprise to see him slash like that early in the game? Obviously it’s exciting. I don’t know I’d say it is surprising. Everytime he touches the ball, he’s a threat to go the distance. That’s the thing we expect out of Darren and I think our guys did a nice job of blocking up front, both on the screen play and on the explosive run. He’s really a guy that you just got to get him a crease, and next thing you know, he might break it this distance. Not a surprise, but obviously felt real good about it. Does Jacoby need to do a better job fighting for the ball on the Palmer interception? I think there’s obviously a couple things there: Carson kind of thought that safety was a little more centered out. It was middle of the field safety so it wasn’t a double coverage situation. It was a thing that you coach your quarterback to do to take that shot when you get those situations. I think Jacoby could have been a little bit better at the end of the route there, trying to break that thing up. Overall, you’re going to take that shot. We want to be aggressive there and we wanted to take a shot and get a big play, it didn’t work out for us. With McFadden, is it something where you want to try to increase his workload a little bit with each preseason game until the regular season, or are you still waiting to see how he responds? We are going to look at how the week plays out. Darren needs to get his touches so that he goes into the regular season ready to go. That’s the most important thing for him is to make sure he is fully ready to roll when the opening game comes up on Monday night. Which of the injured players do you expect to be back at practice tomorrow? You know, I’m not really sure yet as to who’s going to be back. I would hope that we might get a couple of the guys back. I think Mike Goodson will probably be back tomorrow. I will look at that again this evening, sit down with the trainer and find out more about who we might have back at practice. Regarding Mike Goodson, if he is good to go, or whenever he is good to go, what is the timetable when he is able to practice and be able to play in the game against the Cardinals? I think if he’s able to practice this week, we will get him in the game and let him play against Arizona. There no concrete cutoff time to getting him into practice prior to getting him into that Cardinals game? No. We’ve got Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and we play the game on Friday, so obviously I would expect you need to practice on Wednesday or Thursday to have a chance. Originally published on SBReport.net on Aug. 11, 2012
The Oakland Raiders stayed out of the pads as they practiced in shells and shorts on Saturday at their practice facility in Napa, Calif. After being disappointed in the team's focus the day before, head coach Dennis Allen may have wanted the team to remain focused mentally without having to worry about getting hit. The injuries remained the same for the most part: punter Shane Lechler (knee), tight end Brandon Myers (shoulder), running backs Taiwan Jones (hamstring) and Mike Goodson (neck), wide receivers Eddie McGee (hamstring) and Denarius Moore (hamstring), and linebacker Aaron Curry (knee). Curry is still in Los Angeles seeing a specialist for his knee, according to Allen. Goodson did return to working out on the side field with Moore, McGee and Jones on the side field. Two more players went down to injury on Saturday: linebacker Mario Kurn and wide receiver Duke Calhoun. Coach Allen said both injuries are believed to be "significant" but will have to see the MRIs. It appeared neither player could put any weight on their legs as they were helped off the field. With Myers out, tight ends David Ausberry and Richard Gordon saw an increase in snaps. Ausberry continues to run crisp routes and show his hands, as he caught a touchdown pass on a post route from quarterback Matt Leinart. Quarterback Carson Palmer avoided the interception on Saturday, showing poise in the pocket and looking comfortable, especially when throwing the deep ball. Palmer hit wide receiver Jacoby Ford in stride on a deep ball down the left sideline but had the ball clank off his hands for an incomplete pass. Terrelle Pryor had another up-and-down day, starting out by sailing some receivers but settling in late and hitting his target. With Jones and Goodson out with their injuries, halfback Lonyae Miller once again saw an increase in snaps. Expect Miller to see the majority of the carries on Monday night. Fullback Rashawn Jackson also saw an increase in his snaps due to the injuries. Jackson worked primarily with the third team over the past two days and will likely see a high number of snaps on Monday night as well. The Raiders have a shortened practice tomorrow morning before they head down to the Oakland Coliseum parking lot "B" for Raider Nation Celebration. Raider Nation Celebration is a free event for the fans, giving them an opportunity to meet the current Raiders roster, as well as Raider legends and the Raiderettes. Originally published on SBReport.net on Aug. 10, 2012 Tight end David Ausberry took time to talk to SBReport.net's DeMarcus Davis and Chris McClain. Ausberry discussed the new offense, quarterback Carson Palmer, fiery coach Al Saunders and much more. Originally published on SBReport.net on Aug. 10, 2012 Running back Mike Goodson spoke to the media for the first time following Friday's practice. Goodson went down with a neck injury and was taken to the hospital on Tuesday. Originally published on SBReport.net on Aug. 8, 2012 Veteran cornerback Ron Bartell spoke with the media following Raiders training camp on Wednesday. Bartell discussed the injury to Mike Goodson, why the Raiders defensive scheme is set to succeed, the development of second-year corner DeMarcus Van Dyke, and much more. Originally published on SBReport.net on Aug. 8, 2012 Cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke (aka DVD), took time out to talk to SBReport's own Chris McClain and DeMarcus Davis about his progress as an NFL corner, playing in front of the fans, and reflecting on the injury to teammate Mike Goodson. Originally published on SBReport.net on Aug. 8, 2012 Defensive end Jack Crawford talks about the dynamic of having a teammate injured and trying to remain focused on the task of practicing. Also, he delves into his training under Penn State defensive line coach Larry Johnson. |
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