Training camp, Day 4 (A.M. practice)
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Monday, July 30th, 2007 at 4:47 pm in Oakland Raiders.
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.
– Drop of the day _ Justin Fargas mishandled a perfect pass from Andrew Walter against a blown coverage on a wheel route for what should have been an easy touchdown.
– 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.
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July 30th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Thanks Jerry!!! Good news about BJ Ward. Maybe it’ll be Darius-Huff-Schweigert-Ward. The depth at safety is really something good. Also good news about Quentin Moses. I’m excited about this years draft. I think our selections are really going to contribute. I cant wait to cheer on Q!!!! Richardson, practicing with the second team DT’s. Humm…wonder if Oakland is on to something, of if they just want him to be flexible, versatile. Love the attitude by Coach Kiffin, I dont want him to settle for less.
Great breakdown!!! Once again thx for the updates. Cant wait to get a glimpse/sample during preseason.
July 30th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Keep up the good work, Jerry!
Gruden was a good coach because a losing culture took over this franchise and he changed it.
Kiffin is entering an organization that is in worse shape now than it was when Gruden took over. Lets hope he can work the same magic.
——————–
Following a false start by rookie fullback Oren O’Neil, Kiffin barked, “Get me a new fullback, this (bleep) is getting old.”
———————
I love it!
July 30th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
It is timely to note when he took over the 49ers, Bill Walsh inherited a 2-14 team. He duplicated that awful record in his first season but won the Super Bowl two years later.
IOW, Raider fans need to be patient.
July 30th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
Jerry, What are we to make of Mike Williams? You have written a few times (maybe 3) on him very briefly of course. And from what you have written, I must taper my initial excitement about getting the guy.
You have not written that the guy is having a rough time out there. But on the flip side, I believe you have written twice now about his weight and only once that he was catching the ball well.
I’m not sure what to make of his situation. Although from what was written above, it looks like Kiffin believes he will make the team. That is, if I am not reading too much into his statement that they have time to get his weight down.
July 30th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Thanks for the updates, Jerry….
Almost as good as being able to be there.
July 30th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
Chester Mcglockton? That guy should be banned from anything that has to do with the Raiders. One of the worst attitudes ever. Now that I know he owns Fat Burger, they will never get any of my money.
July 30th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
Great! this just sounds phantastic!
I have to say, that you definitely can block if you push morrison out of the end-zone
July 30th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
WTF is Chester doing at our pratice. He was a true waste of talent.
July 30th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Mike Williams will not make the team. If he does Kiffen will loose the respect of the team. This kid has all the tools, but so do an overwhelming majority of the kids that play on the NFL level. Williams showed the Raiders what he was made of when he pulled a hami on the 1st day of mini camp back in early may. He is lazy and he does not want it. He would already been in shape if he wanted to play in the NFL. The Lions did not want to just loose that 9 or 10 million in garuntees they gave him. If he could play on the NFL level, they would have got him in the game. He sounds like a Randy moss without the impressive highlights reel. I hope kiffin will cut him now so we don’t have to hear about him any more. I much rather get updates about Higgins, Gabriel, Buchanon, McFoy, Morant…. guys that might actually make the team.
July 30th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
I’m starting to get the feeling that JR not only will sign but is going to play a lot sooner than any us think. I said it B4 the better the running game the sooner he starts.
July 30th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
i wonder what kinda personal problems are with randall williams, hes missed like every practice so far, weird. This might be a blessing in disguise for alligator arms.
July 30th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Dream on Dick V…..Russell will be on the bench as long as McCown (or Walter) can lead this team back to respectability and put up wins.
Kiffin on McCown…..”He continues to make plays. As I watch film, I see that he’s not scared of anything. He’s throwing the ball [well], he’s got a great feel for the rush, and he’s getting rid of the ball even before he’s supposed to, because he feels something on his backside. He continues to stand in there and he’s not afraid of anything. If you watch him around the team now, his teammates flock to him a little bit. He’s fitting in really well.”
July 30th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
oops …it should have been dream on blackholepriest….sorry dick v
July 30th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Raiders have had Culpepper in for workout? WTF? Guys help me. Does that mean AW is a goner? Or is this to put pressure on JR.
July 30th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
What if Mike Williams makes the team on his play? If pulling a hammy means your lazy and don’t want it a lot great players would not be in the Hall of Fame.
July 30th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
dick V….I think we should all just sit back and watch this one. Lets give the guy a chance. I really don’t want to make this into another M.Williams debate. I am winded from the last one.
But I will only point out a few things concerning what you have written.
1) If Mike makes the team it will be because he is qualified. Kiff will not lose the respect of his players. Kiff has already shown that he will do the best for the team and not USC when he waived Bing.
2) Williams pulling a hammy has almost nothing to do with anything at this point. Curry pulled a hammy during the same practice. Are you advocating we cut him tool? Moreover, I think Mike was pretty much inactive alot in Detriot - not getting much workouts w/ the team.
3) The Lions OC already went on the record saying Mike is not the kind of receiver he wants in his offense. That’s not a knock on his skill but preferences for a type of player. Thus, Mike was made idle.
4) I agree. If he wants to be in the NFL he would already be in shape or working his a$ off to get there. But no one has outwardly written/said the guy was out of shape. On the contrary, I read the guy was virtually all muscle. Kiff has only said he would like to get Mike weight down some (my guess is to make him a bit faster), and Kiffin also said the same of NEWBERRY. He still praised Newberry for skill in the same breathe, but just wanted to get his weight down for other reasons.
Again, give the guy a shot. Don’t be so quick to judge. Let Kiffin and Co do their work. If the doesn’t impress then I’m sure they will cut him.
(As well, people often misinterpret written speech vs vocal speech. What was written here may not exactly be the way Kiffin said it or we may be missing the context as this is a Brief)
July 30th, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Time will tell all.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Ahhhhhhhh……. Chet McGlutton brought in the Reverend Nip in his Fatburger Hummer. Whew! Classic! If Chet is welcomed in camp by the Raiders then good on him. Let bygones be bygones.
J-Mac this is some GREAT stuff and keep it coming. I want more, MORE COPY! Just throw ALL your notes out here into the blog and let us sort them out!
July 30th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
To provide an example of my last statement in parentheses….In the Brief above Jerry writes about Ward and his acolades; as well as Kiff’s praise. But if you go to Raiders.com and listen to what Kiffin said in the interview you’ll see that although Kiff is excited about the guy it is measured excitement. He even states that Ward’s thing is he has to prove he can do it consistently - not just here and there. But you wouldn’t pick that up as its written here.
& to me he sounded much more excited about Moses than you would pick up here.
& Jerry this is not a knock on you…just a realization of the limitations of a Brief.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
say it ain’t so dante to be a raider
July 30th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
It’s true, when Martz came in and installed his offense, it became predicated on FAST receivers and Mike Williams instantly became obsolete. Martz knew enough to know Mike would never be his kind of WR and would never be a good TE either.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Dick V
Give it a rest…. Williams has not even played a pre-season game yet.
Ted Hendricks…
The team Gruden inherited may have had a better record but I think the talent level was lower. The Defense of 2006-2007 is in good shape ie playoff caliber. Do you remember how bad the Raiders were in 97! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Ah I am going off like a mad stork or something….
July 30th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
i dont know why u guys love this buchanon character so much…he hasnt proved sh#t other than the fact that he can make some catches in practice and the preseason..hint..none of that matters..all that matters is what u do against first teamers in the real season..theres a reasonw hy the guy didnt get drafted..wake up!!
July 30th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
I too would like to hear about how Mike Williams is actually doing. He’s the biggest enigma by far on this offense.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Jerry…please allow me to give a little constructive criticism.
About this whole Mike Williams thing (as well as any other player this concerns): As you cna see there is a lot of argument on this site. I think the bottom line is we would like to hear more about how the guy(s) is performing over how he looks. This is football and they are not auditioning to be fashion models.
The bottom line on whether or not anyone makes the team has more to do w/ how they perform vs how they look (weight, etc.). Yes, weight may impact performance at some point, but the bottom line is still performances.
I will keep reading your blog, but I think it will be more potent and relevant if this limited space is utilized to write about performances rather than focusing on whether someone can be on a boardwalk.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
1960, I agree with you when you say there is more talent on this team, however, the moral is waaay worse last season than it ever has been. Kiffin is doing a great job making them forget.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
If by enigma you mean non-factor I wholeheartedly agree. I would rather see a guy who makes catches is practice and preseason receiving accolades than someone who has done nothing. All I know about Williams so far is that he is fat and hurt.
July 30th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
I echo the sentiments stating that McGlockton should be banned for life. The “once a Raider, always a Raider ” adage should have a special exemption in his case and in Larry Brown’s. He was a tremendous waste of talent who half-assed it the majority of the time and was a cancer in the locker room.
The report on Quentin Moses could be misleading. Let’s hope it really is his stellar play and not any “offensive” line play!
Love that Kiffin enthusiasm, intensity!
July 30th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
TH
Agreed on the morale issue… Last year the offense was so bad I could not even watch it. I can’t imagine playing in such a situation with the No 2 wide receiver essentially banned from the team yet making a huge contract and these stupid 7 step drop back and reads in which the DL was there sometimes before the QB and all the false starts. It was truly one of the worst coaching performances ever.
The smartest thing Kiffin did was to convince Knapp and Cable to coach for the Raiders. These guys are just a year removed from working with a great rushing offense with mediocre talent on the line. Having those two brought instant credibility and are a stark contrast to BB Walsh and the cave man blocking schemes that were instituted last year.
Its almost a new team being born or delivered by a stork… OK no more Hendricks jokes, He was probably my second or third favorite Raider of all time… I can still remember him with those long arms causing QBs to alter passes that then sometimes got picked off. Good name!
July 30th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
Did you know there are seven step drops in every offensive playbook in the NFL. It’s a matter play-call in other words when you use them. We’ll use them this year as well just smarter.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:47 am
Jerry, glad to hear Jay Richardson is getting a look with the first team. He was a force at Ohio State, we got a couple good DE’s in Richardson and Moses, I hope they both make the team.
July 31st, 2007 at 8:04 am
Just Win…come on brotha’ ….the guy has been catching passes in practice. You just have not read about it. You have only read about his weight (here) and one brief excerpt on him acutally catching balls.
Here is some seemingly objective analysis of Williams in practice:
“McCown seemd to do well with Mike Williams. However, Mike Williams still needs to lose some weight….
Coach Kiffin stated after practice that 235 lbs was a good playing weight, but that there was no extra work being done to ensure that Mike Williams would hit that weight. he is completely back from the hamstring injury, but doing extra workouts for weight loss would just weaken him and invite further injury. Coach Kiffin went on to say that as long as kept up in these work outs and practices, it should be enough to get the weight off him….
In my humble opinion, while demonstrating good hands, Williams still isn’t running clean routes. He is rounding off, isn’t playing sharp nor is he playing full speed and/or finishing the play. He still needs to step it up to make the squad. He did seem more together than he did
Saturday.”
July 31st, 2007 at 8:32 am
Hey Jerry - great job - you’re the best in the business!!!!