Oakland Raiders unofficial Depth Chart released
Jul 28, 2014; Napa, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders players join hands in a huddle at training camp at Napa Valley Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Every year this happens the week of the first Oakland Raiders Pre-Season game, and every year it causes Raider Nation to take notice of how the team is shaping up. At times, it can cause some pretty interesting language to be spoken as well. Especially if your favorite player didn’t quite reach the level of the Depth Chart you were hoping for. Still, there are a couple of key player placements that make it interesting.
First off, you have to know or at least find out who is injured. There are some players listed ahead of others, but they aren’t practicing right now due to various reasons. Yes, TE David Ausberry is listed ahead of TE Mychal Rivera, but Ausberry left practice on Monday with an undisclosed knee injury. Whether or not Ausberry can return before the game on Friday or not is still up in the air. Besides, it’s the first release of the depth chart which means very little at this juncture in Training Camp.
LB Sio Moore and LB Miles Burris are in one heck of a battle for the starting spot at Weak Side LB. Unfortunately, Moore has been dealing with sore ribs, and he hasn’t been suited up for the last couple of days. This gives Burris some extra playing time to further impress the coaching staff, but, either way, Moore and Burris will be working in tandem throughout the season. Plus, if they’re both playing at a high level, that’s only going to help the Raiders defense. For me, it doesn’t matter how these two are listed, because they are a one-two punch. More interesting to me is seeing Carlos Fields moving up the chart. Hopefully he has a stand out performance in the game.
The things I like to see on this chart are rookie players like Justin Ellis, T.J. Carrie, Gabe Jackson, Khalil Mack, and Shelby Harris all making a statement to be on the field. It’s nice to see the body of work put into Draft Day coming to fruition for the Raiders. Let’s face it, one of the harshest criticisms the Raiders get is not retaining players that they drafted. Yet, there are a lot of players that were drafted in recent years still playing on this team. Some of those players took longer to develop, but the patience to allow them that devolpment is finally paying off (i.e., Chimdi Chekwa, Menelik Watson, and Andre Holmes).
It just goes to show that there is something special beginning to form in Oakland. It started with the coaching staff and trickled on down to the players in the locker room. The biggest difference this year, there are proven veteran players fully supporting the direction the Raiders are headed. That speaks volume as to how this team will perform on the field. If a team is #ALLIN together, then that will translate into wins during the season. You don’t have to have the most talent to be good, you just have to believe that it can be done. If you believe, truly believe, then nothing will stand in your way. That’s the Oakland Raiders attitude, they believe!
Along with that winning attitude, the Raiders have an abundance of talented players, young and old, who want to bring this team out of the depths of despair. Together they form a common bond that won’t easily be broken. That’s the #ALLIN attitude. It’s kind of an “All or Nothing” conquest to bring the Raiders back to their winning ways. I have seen the attitude first hand. You’ve read about it yourselves, and this time it’s not all hype. This time it’s real.
So rise up Raider Nation and be heard. Let’s trend this thing down the throats of all the other fans out there. Let’s show them what a true nation is. It’s time to #ALLIN on whatever Social Media outlet you want (i.e., Twitter, Facebook, etc…). It’s time that Raider Nation unites along with their team to show the world how special this whole thing will be. Stand up! Unite! Fight the good fight, and #ALLIN!