Oakland Raiders Training Camp: News and Notes from Day 7 Monday Aug. 6th

[Jimi18]

Oakland Raiders Training Camp: News and Notes from Day 7

On Monday morning, the Oakland Raiders participated in their seventh day of training camp practice. Here are some news and notes from various reporters of the team.
For the second consecutive day, replacement officials presided over Raiders’ practice. They are taking over for the regular officials who are currently in the middle of a contract dispute with the league.
In addition to the replacement officials, former Raiders’ linebacker Sam Williams was also in attendance, according to Vic Tafur’s Twitter page. Williams, who spent eight years with the Silver and Black, works for the team in many capacities including helping out in the community.
On the injury front, defensive tackle Richard Seymour and running back Taiwan Jones were added to the list of players who did not participate due to injury, according to Steve Corkran’s Twitter page.
Seymour (knee) and Jones (hamstring) sustained the injuries during Sunday’s practice. Ironically enough, the injuries for the two players were the same ones that hampered them during the 2011 season.
Neither injury seems to be too serious but they are significant enough to keep them out of practice.
Punter Shane Lechler (knee), linebacker Aaron Curry (knee), wide receiver Denarius Moore (hamstring) and wide receiver Eddie McGee (hamstring) all missed practice once again, according to Corkran.
Lechler is expected to return to practice “within a week or so,” according to head coach Dennis Allen.


On a positive note, cornerback Ron Bartell was back at practice and participated in some of the team’s drills, according to Corkran. However, he is unable to fully participate in full-contact practice until Wednesday.
During the practice, defensive lineman Matt Shaughnessy left the field with an ankle bruise, according to Paul Gutierrez’s Twitter page. Allen says that the severity of his injury is not yet known.
During Monday’s practice, it appeared that the defense got the better of the offense throughout most of the session.
It all began with the defensive backs’ ability to both make plays on the ball as well as create pressure.
Cornerback Ron Bartell practiced more than expected, according to Corkran. He made an impact when he broke up a pass that was headed towards wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey.
Fellow starting cornerback Shawntae Spencer, who has struggled throughout most of training camp, made some positive plays, according to Levi Damien’s Twitter page.
Early on in the session, he defended a Carson Palmer pass that was intended for Jacoby Ford. He would later almost get an interception after the same two players had a miscommunication.

Safety Matt Giordano recorded a diving interception after fellow safety Michael Huff deflected the pass, Corkran observed. The pass was intended for wide receiver Rod Streater.
Other safeties Tyvon Branch, Mike Mitchell, and Chaz Powell also made huge plays.
Branch forced Palmer to throw the ball behind tight end David Ausberry after pressuring him with a blitz, according to Damien.
Mitchell also got to the quarterback on a blitz. Damien observed that the offensive line and running backs were not doing a good job in picking up blitzes.
Powell made his impact when he stripped the football from the ball carrier and returned it for a touchdown, according to Corkran.
Also on defense, linebacker Phillip Wheeler had another good day in terms of making plays. According to Damien, Wheeler had an impressive diving pass deflection that was intended for Streater.
Along the defensive line, the team tried its best to make up for Seymour’s absence. According to Corkran, Desmond Bryant received Seymour’s first-team reps.
Rookie defensive tackle Christo Bilukidi made his way into the backfield at one point to tackle running back Lonyae Miller for a loss. Jack Crawford also made an impact by sniffing out a screen pass and making the play in the backfield.
As for the offense, quarterback Terrelle Pryor had a nice bounce back performance, according to Corkran. He made many throws that he wasn’t able to make in the previous sessions.
At one moment, he did a good job reading the blitz and making the play, Corkran observed. He also had a nice comeback pass to Streater as well as a roll-out to his left where he hit fullback Marcel Reece.

With the absence of Taiwan Jones, Mike Goodson made a strong case for himself as the team’s second-team running back. According to Damien, the former Carolina Panther had a nice cutback run early in practice that resulted in a long gain.
Shortly after that, he “shook” defensive lineman Hall Davis who came up with air when attempting to make the tackle, according to Gutierrez. Later on, Goodson was able to get behind linebacker Miles Burris for a long catch.
At the tight end position, Brandon Myers has separated himself from the pack. After practice, Allen said that Myers was the number one tight end on the team’s depth chart.
Corkran observed earlier that Myers was quietly putting together a very solid training camp. At one point, Myers beat linebacker Rolando McClain on a crossing route that resulted in a long gain.
With seven training camp practices in the books, the team is beginning to take shape. Allen’s declaration of Myers’ spot on the depth chart is the first of many we will see throughout this period.
Raider Nation Times will continue to monitor the team’s progress throughout the entire training camp period.
Follow us on Twitter: @StuartKovacs and @RNTimes

[Jimi18]

Oakland Raiders: News and notes from Monday's training camp practice - San Jose Mercury News

more news.. some same

NAPA -- Some highlights from a morning practice session that included the first live sequence with tackling to the ground of training camp:
*There was more sloppiness than coach Dennis Allen would have liked in the early portion in practice, including offsides penalties by Lamar Houston, Dominique Hamilton, Travis Goethel and Carl Ihenacho, dropped passes by Brandon Carswell and Tory Humphrey and an unforced fumble by Lonyae Miller.
Allen said those issues would be addressed during meetings as mistakes that are costly in the NFL.
*"The first thing you've got to learn is how not to beat yourself," Allen said.
Defensive tackle Richard Seymour sat out his second straight practice with a sore knee, but it's more about rest than the injury, according to Allen. Punter Shane Lechler is at least a week away as he rehabs a sore knee.
In the meantime, free agent Marquette King hits some punts with a Lechler-like height and distance but has issues with consistency.
In the first live session of camp (tackling to the ground was allowed, the lone restrictions were no cut blocking or hitting the quarterback), the offense got the better of the defense in short yardage situations.
Miller gained tough interior yards and swing passes by Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart gained yards. Leinart got one big yardage pass to Mike Goodson down the left sideline.
Goodson continues to assert himself as the primary backup for


Darren McFadden.
Nice short-yardage run by Owen Schmitt, who will compete for a Zack Crockett-type role.
What looked as if it could be a platoon situation at tight end instead looks like Brandon Myers could seize the role of full time starter, with David Ausberry coming in occasionally in some packages and Richard Gordon primarily as a blocker
Myers has shown a nice feel for offensive coordinator Greg Knapp's offense, which made heavy use of tight ends in the receiving game when Knapp was quarterbacks coach in Houston.
Lots more work than expected for cornerback Ron Bartell, who practiced without shoulder pads but was on the field a lot. He can't practice with pads until Wednesday.
Cornerback Shawntae Spencer made a nice breakup of a deep pass which was intercepted by Matt Giordano out of bounds.

[Mr Terrific]

Wow, giant walls of texts, kind of like an Okie post, but much more informative.

Thanks

[Mr Terrific]

Also on defense, linebacker Phillip Wheeler had another good day in terms of making plays. According to Damien, Wheeler had an impressive diving pass deflection that was intended for Streater.

Wheeler is going to help this LB core.

[Jiu Jitsu Jon]

"Damien observed that the offensive line and running backs were not doing a good job in picking up blitzes."

Arghhh! Please fix this guys!

[AL 9000]

"Damien observed that the offensive line and running backs were not doing a good job in picking up blitzes."

Arghhh! Please fix this guys!

Yup, this is the number one thing that jumped out at me too.

[Jimi18]

Feel free to add
Usually i just post links and teasers
But i know many view from a phone in todays world, so I just pasted
Ran prolly has some good updates.

[Jimi18]

Training camp notes: Day 7 - Silver And Black Pride

It was oddly peaceful walking onto the practice field in camp on Monday. Looking across the way to see the line of empty bleachers which had been filled with a loud crowd of Raider faithful. Even the weather started out quiet as the morning was overcast and there was a damp chill in the air.

The quiet didn't last too long, though. As the team finished their walk thrus and began warming up, the sound of bells could be heard... Hell's bells. The fans may not have been there, but AC/DC made the Raiders feel a little more like they were in O.co getting ready for a game. Then even the clouds dispersed and the sun came out to heat things up.



A couple of players joined the walking wounded today. Taiwan Jones had a slight hamstring issue in practice that had him sidelined and Richard Seymour was also not suited up with a hurt knee. Neither injuries are considered serious. They joined the already injured Aaron Curry, Eddie McGee, Shane Lechler, and Denarius Moore.

Matt Shaughnessy hurt himself near the end of practice as well. He went down and was slow to get up, then limped off the field. Dennis Allen thinks it is nothing more than an ankle bruise and hopes to have him back tomorrow.

Rejoining his teammates was Ron Bartell who had been out the first six days of camp with a hamstring pull. He passed his physical yesterday and practiced in all but the full contact drills.

They kicked it up a few notches in practice today. Team periods were almost entirely game simulations while yesterday it was only the last part. Yesterday, they also only had the second and third team in on it while today, the first team got the first shot at it.

Oddly enough, the first play of team sessions yesterday had Philip Wheeler diving in front of a Leinart pass intended for Brandon Myers and picking it off and today the first nice play was Wheeler making an identical diving pass defended against Palmer. A few plays later, David Ausberry made a nice diving catch of his own.

The second team was highlighted by mistakes. Leinart drew Goethel offsides with a hard count. Then receiver Brandon Carswell had Pat Lee beat and Leinart put the ball right on him and he flat out dropped it.

The third team didn't fare any better and between the three teams, nary a touchdown was scored.

The catch of the day came from Juron Criner who with one outstretched arm to haul in a Pryor pass. He tucked it in with one arm with the defender all over him. So much so that as he fell to the turf, he lost his shoe. He never transferred to ball from his right arm and held onto it through the roll and the flat tire.

Palmer looked out of psynch again today. This time it was with everyone. Twice he and Jacoby Ford miscommunicated and Ford went long while Palmer thought he was going to go short. Spencer was there both times but was unable to make an interception on either one.

Spencer had one of his best practices. He has been looking pretty bad through this first week. Maybe having Bartell back across the field had him playing better. Hard to say but he had at least three passes defended today, one he tipped up and was intercepted by Matt Giordano.

That was the second opportunity Giordano had to make an interception. Both times he caught it off a tip and both times he tiptoed the sideline. The first time he was ruled out of bounds by the official. The second time, the interception was good.

While the offense was struggling in the passing game, they played well in short yardage. Mike Goodson continued his strong play in camp running the ball. He also had a couple nice catches out of the backfield-one was a long ball on the sideline in which he beat Miles Burris. Darren McFadden also played as well as we have come to expect from him in training camp. He had at least one big run on the day which is pretty standard for him.

The same can't be said for Lonyae Miller who fumbled a handoff and didn't have a lot of luck getting positive yardage otherwise.

The Raiders will continue to ramp up the intensity as the week goes on. They had tackling all the way to the ground today and will extend the amount of time in full contact as the days get closer. There are now four more practices before they meet up with the Cowboys in their home preseason opener on Monday night. It will only get more exciting from here.

To read all the excitement live as it happens, follow me on Twitter @LeviDamien for my live practice tweets.

[Fabbulous]

Wow, thanks for all the information.

[themiamiraider]

Glad to hear Myers is having a nice training camp.

[Evil Empire]

"Palmer just came off the bench" anymore.

[Jiu Jitsu Jon]

Sounds like perhaps we got the #2 RB we were needing in Mike Goodson. I'm hoping of course DMC has a healthy year but if he goes down, Goodson may really make a name for himself this year.