Oakland Raiders: Just Blog Baby’s Day at Training Camp

Photo by Tony Gonzales/raiders.com

Speaking of DE’s, I was disappointed that Justin Tuck was not on the field, as he spent most of this day with the trainers.  However, he came out toward the end of practice and gave a thumbs up to the crowd.  That’s always a good sign.  Maybe he just had a much needed day off?  Antonio Smith also spent the day on the sidelines nursing his injury.

LaMarr Woodley looks extremely healthy and looked like he was having fun.  During one of the breaks, Woodley poked fun at a fan which had the entire crowd laughing.  Ryan Robinson and Shelby Harris had a very good series during rushing the QB drills.  As a matter of fact, Harris was running with the first team for most of practice.  Jack Crawford played more as a DT than a DE, and he seemed to have a decent showing.

The best performance of the day was put on by Jelly!  That’s right, our 4th Round Draft Pick out of Louisiana Tech is extremely impressive to watch.  At one point, Ellis took on all the 1st string OL one by one.  He got the better of Austin Howard and Khalif Barnes, and he held his own against Donald Penn.  The two OL that held their own against Jelly were Menelik Watson and Stefen Wisniewski.  Still, Ellis looks ready to be a viable DT in the NFL.

Our DL will be much improved and a force to be reckoned with.  They are going to cause problems for opposing teams, and this will allow for the LB’s and DB’s to make big plays.  This defense is really taking shape, and the DL was a lot of fun to watch.