Oakland Raiders: Five takeaways from Raiders 2014 Minicamp

Jun 17, 2014; Alameda, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis (left) and Willie Brown at minicamp at Raiders Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Optimism 

Lastly and perhaps most importantly, the biggest trend in this Raiders minicamp week that may have been missing from others recently was an optimism and hope that this roster is perhaps building towards a more successful 2014 after the disappointments of 2012 and 2013.

That enthusiasm was shared by Allen in his final presser, but he also admitted there is a long way to go.

"“Listen, I think we had a heck of an offseason. I think our guys are battling, they’re competing. They’re working extremely hard. We’ve accomplished a lot in this offseason. We’ve gotten a lot better as a football team. We’re going to kick back a little bit and relax for a couple of weeks. I think we’ve got the type of guys on this football team that are going to make sure that they come back extremely fit and  they’re ready to go. It’s an exciting offseason and we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but we’re excited about it.”"

With more money available to spend on talent this offseason, the Raiders have reason for hope. Promising draft picks in Mack, Carr, and Jackson all impressing the coaching staff added to that offseason made it inevitable that there would be excitement and positivity when everyone finally got together for practice. As Allen said, that positivity has a long way to go along with a lot of work left before that feeling of optimism can stay for good. In the feel good time that is June, the Raiders finally seem to have a positive energy that hasn’t been felt in years. Hopefully come December that same positivity is there.