Oakland Raiders 2014 Training Camp: Daily Rewind – Day 9

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

On Friday the Raiders practiced in only shells, giving the players a break from the pads and contact. It has been pretty hot during the afternoon practices in Napa. So I’m sure the break from the pads was welcomed by the players. The Raiders 2014 Training Camp consists of walk-thrus in the moring and practices at 3pm. Coach Allen was again pleased with his teams progress. Steve Mariucci was on site for NFL Network and said on-air that he has been impressed with their work on Friday.

INJURIES

Nobody that missed last practice made it back to the field today. Justin Tuck missed practice today with what Coach Allen said was, ” a little bit of a groin issue and a little bit of a veteran day off”. Nothing to be concerned about he said. Denarius Moore also left the last part of practice after getting tangled up with Carlos Rodgers, while fighting for a pass. We will see if he is out there today at 3pm.

OFFENSE

Schaub threw a pass slightly behind Ausberry and watched it go off his hands and into the hands of Charles Woodson. Other than that, Schaub once again is doing exactly what Reggie brought him in here to do. Be the stabilizing force at QB, who is consistently executing and doing his job. Derek Carr threw a couple of nice bombs today and even McGloin was sharp today as well. Mike Davis, the undrafted rookie from Texas finally started flashing at camp, catching a Carr bomb. He is a guy I think can be a really good player for the Raiders. Andre Holmes also made some plays today, he caught the other bomb from Carr. Offensive lineman Donald Penn said the O-Line is gelling, but that they don’t want to tell you, they just going to show you.

DEFENSE

We mentioned C.Wood’s interception off a deflection. Also with Tuck out, 7th round pick Shelby Harris got first team reps and was impressive. Coach Allen said Harris has been quietly moving himself up the depth chart and is excited about his progress. That seems to be a theme for the Defense this year. Guys are stepping out of the shadows and into the spot light, with success. It started with corners TJ Carrie and Chimdi Chekwa and has continued. This is great news for the depth of the team on defense, which hurt them last year. Charles Woodson was on NFL Network and said, “we are going to win this year. That is a fact”. We all know Chuck don’t play no games or blow smoke, so if hearing that from him doesn’t get Raider Nation even more excited for 2014, I don’t know what will.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I think it bears mentioning how by all accounts Coach Allen has a different demeanor this year, in a good way. Vic Tafur has a nice write up about the speech Allen gave to start training camp and how it has shaped this camp and coming season. You can read that here www.sfgate.com. I don’t want to get too far ahead, but this year just feels different. Like MJD told Mariucci, yea our record/division is tough. But that’s on paper. We have to see what happens when we put the pads on and find out what everyone is made of. I’m jacked for this season. Can’t wait.