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Russell has shown marked improvement this preseason.
(photo by Patrick A. Patterson/Examiner.com)
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It seems like only yesterday that the Raiders were going just entering Camp Cable and staring with their "learning practices" where they would not even complete a play during their drills. But, now camp is winding up, and will break on Thursday.
Camp opened with questions swirling over the organization. Many of those questions were answered, but other questions arose. As seems to be inevitable these days, there also was some high drama to arise behind the shield. Fortunately, the Raiders seemed to suffer no major losses due to injury, and the players seem unified behind the purpose of winning football games, which is something that has been lacking with this team for the past several years.
The run defense was one of the top questions surrounding the team all offseason. So far the answers have not looked good. Despite both the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys being able to run well on the Raiders, Cable insists that the primary problem is still "pad level." However, they did drop a defensive back to add another linebacker.
Darrius Heyward-Bey has looked better in practice, but has only had one catch in his two preseason games so far. He has been pulling coverage further downfield, but with the pressure on him as the top wide-out taken in the draft, he will need to make the catches.
Mike Mitchell has been sidelined with an injury since just before the first preseason game, so he hasn't been seen in action yet. However, he was doing well in practice before the injury. The injury is a concern, considering he missed much of the OTAs with a similar injury.
JaMarcus Russell has progressed well over the course of training camp. He wasn't perfect in his two preseason outings so far, but he is head and shoulders over where he was during the OTAs. The injury to Chaz Schilens who was emerging as a favored target will hurt the passing game, but Schilens should be back early in the season.
Starting next week, the Raiders will be back to practicing at their facility in Alameda. Stick with examiner.com for updates throughout the rest of the preseason and into the season.
You can also find Patrick Patterson on Thoughts from the Dark Side.
Thank you to Cal Bears Examiner, Rob Calonge, for his excellent team coverage of Training Camp.
Comments
When are we going to trade for a solid DT or a DE?
CROSSING MY FINGERS FOR A DT PICKUP SOON!!!
How are the backup dt's (Joseph, Boschetti, Sands, Bryant) looking? How is Nap Harris looking? Can Cohen or any other Dt's out there or soon to be out there help?
What's up with Mitchell? All I keep hearing everywhere is that he is hurt. Is there any indication of when he may return? Is he gonna get to see any action in preseason at all?
We should try to get Wilfork from the Patriots. The two sides don't look to be getting anywhere and he is disenchanted with the franchise (kind of like Burgess). We like to trade with New England, we should go after him. Give em back the draft pick they gave us for Burgess and maybe a player we can afford to lose. Cause, as you all know, we despertly need an experienced DT with some skills.
i thing tha this is going to be a good team this yeard will ,wr walker, morpys,darrius heywarts,chaz schilen, n TE miller n TE mayers, Rb 3goods guys guys l me say this to u guys the this team is going tobe a playofs... n if wi se the jamarcus can handels this guys garsia is ther for baby, Df will be ok if wi scord pins is old wi net if Dfns stop the other team 4times is going to be a games for as Gooooo Raidersssssss yes win babyyyy
We have a problem at d/t but there also is a major problem at linebacker. The l/b's have to take an equal part of the blame.They still lack discipline. On run defense there wasn't any linebacker to be found on those runs by Coffee, they left their gaps and the holes wasn't because of the d/line but the linebackers being out of position. That is why they are looking at Brown instead of Morrison. Morrison knows he has a problem getting off blocks and making tackles in his gap. Until the linebackers start staying home and protecting their gaps we can't evaluate the d/line honestly. There are many plays when you go back and look at the film where the d/line did its job but no l/backer was home, so everyone blames the d/line. Its al about discipline. We haven't had a decent linebacker who will knock you out in so long that no name comes to mind. None of our linebacker are physical at the point of attack. Look at the starters, not one aggressive l/b on the roster. LB discpline is a problem.
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