Training camp, Day 4 (A.M. practice)
Posted by Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer on Monday at 4:47 pm
News and notes, sights and sounds, from the Raiders' practice Monday morning:
– Raiders coach Lane Kiffin was more animated than at any other time during sessions open to the media dating back to his first minicamp.
Following a false start by rookie fullback Oren O'Neil, Kiffin barked, "Get me a new fullback, this (bleep) is getting old."
Kiffin was calling for players by name, insisting they hustle, and doing it in a sharp and extremely familiar tone. There is less sarcasm and far fewer profanities, but the pitch and delivery were unmistakable.
Close your eyes, and he could have passed for Jon Gruden.
"Sounds just like him," tackle Barry Sims said. "Sometimes I have flashbacks."
Is that good or bad?
"As long as I'm still in there it's good," Sims said.
– O'Neil, who was replaced by Zack Crockett after his false start, recovered nicely. He later had a pair of punishing blocks in a goal line drill, one in which he drove Kirk Morrison into the end zone.
– A year ago, the Raiders were drilling offensive linemen on the correct way to recover a fumble _ which unfortunately became a very real issue once Aaron Brooks and Andrew Walter found themselves besiged by the pass rush.
On Monday, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo was standing in front of quarterbacks and simulating errant snaps from the shotgun formation, flipping the ball to the left and right, and sometimes rolling it on the ground.
Without Adam Treu around, you never know . . .
– Preceeding a third-down play on a seven-on-seven drill in the red zone, defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was taunting the offense before the snap.
"Seabass, get ready," Ryan said.
Quarterback Josh McCown then rolled right and hit John Madsen for a touchdown.
– McCown had a pair of interceptions, one by safety B.J. Ward in a team session and another by linebacker Kyle Shotwell during seven-on-seven.
Kiffin, however, said he believes McCown is earning the trust of his teammates for the confidence he exudes as well as his ability to feel pressure coming from his blind side and make plays.
– Kiffin softened his comments a bit regarding JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1 overall pick who remains unsigned.
"I have great confidence in our people back in the office," Kiffin said. "They do keep me updated. Things are going well at this time. At the end of the day we have to do the best thing in the interest of the Raiders and for our future. I know our people are doing that right now."
– Ward's interception was his latest eye-opening play, coming the day after he knocked Johnnie Lee Higgins into a camera affixed on a tripod and knocked the helmet off Ronald Curry.
"Whether it’s special teams, or hitting somebody or getting an interception, the plays have to be made and I have to stand out in some way, shape or fashion," Ward said.
Ward looks to be a natural to fill the Jarrod Cooper role as a reserve safety and special teams player, but said he has neither the sense of humor nor the tattoos of Cooper.
"Coop, those are some big shoes to fill," Ward said. "No tattoos on me. If they aren't on me now, I'm never getting them."
Ward said Kiffin has been giving him a hard time about busting up a camera setup worth $14,000 and that Curry was initially unhappy about being de-helmeted.
"Ron Curry got mad at me yesterday because I knocked his helmet off," Ward said. "But he came up to me today and said, `Keep doing what you've got to do. You've got to make the team just like everybody else."
– Kiffin had no problem at the team's mandatory minicamp saying Warren Sapp had weighed in at 334 pounds the previous year. But that was after Sapp had lost 48 pounds.
Maybe when wide receiver Mike Williams reaches his prescribed weight, we'll find out how heavy he was when training camp began. For now, Kiffin says he doesn't know.
"We'd like for him to get down to 235," Kiffin said. "I've seen him play really well at that weight before. We've got a ways to go to get there, sa far as time frame. It's not like he has to be that in one week."
– Rookie defensive end Quintin Moses continues to impress, earning Kiffin's praise for the second straight day.
"On offense we're really struggling to block him right now," Kiffin said. "He continues to improve and he's playing the run game better which is what he had to come into this camp and do. We knew he had some pass rush skills but he needs to show us he can be an every down player."
Jay Richardson, a rookie fifth-round pick from Ohio State, also got in some work with the first team defense and also played inside at tackle with the second team.
– Jake Grove was back with the first team at center after Jeremy Newberry got a look for a good portion of Sunday's practice. Newberry worked with the second team.
– Visitors to practice included ex-Raiders Chester McGlockton and Napoleon Kaufman, who drove to Napa in McGlockton's "Fatburger" Hummer. McGlockton owns a "Fatburger" franchise in Pleasant Hill.
– Cornerback Duane Starks and tight end James Adkisson left practice with hamstring issues. Those who missed practice included cornerback John Bowie (Achilles), tackle Chad Slaughter (calf), guard Ben Claxton (knee) and tight end Randal Williams (personal reasons).
Defensive end Derrick Burgess (hernia) and running back Michael Bush (leg) remained on the physically unable to perform list and at one point were running sprints at about three-quarter speed.
Ryan was reporting a sore arm after throwing batting practice to several Raiders players following practice Sunday at a team "home run derby."
There was a large dent in the United Rentals hydraulic lift used for filming, courtesy of a line smash by Jerry Porter.
