I recently had the chance to go to Napa, California and watch the Raiders practice. It was a great experience, and if you haven’t had the chance to attend training camp, I suggest you try to make it out to one sometime. When it comes to the Raiders there’s a lot of competition and some players to keep an eye on. Here’s some notes from what I saw from the Raiders.
First off the quarterback situation. Rookie Tyler Wilson is falling out of the competition for the starting job this season, which isn’t really a shock. He’s young, he’s learning a new offense and sitting on the bench taking in the experience could be beneficial to him. When I was there he was losing reps as front runner Matt Flynn and Terrelle Pryor had the ball the most. That being said, when Wilson was running the offense, he looked good out there. Very strong arm and was connecting with his receivers with beautiful passes hitting them right in the chest the majority of the time. He was able to make the deep passes downfield which was nice to see.
It continues to be Flynn’s job to lose, and he didn’t look horrible out there. He was also connecting with his receivers, but some of his passes were low and it’s no secret he doesn’t have a very strong arm. He showed he could run to pick up a few yards when needed and seemed to have a nice rhythm going with wide receiver Denarius Moore.
There’s been a lot of hype around Pryor lately, and you can see the improvements he’s made, however there are still concerns about him. First and foremost he holds onto the ball way too long; if not for that red no contact jersey he would have been sacked quite a few times. He also overthrew his receivers on a few plays, and like Flynn threw the ball very low on occasion. Pryor does have the ability to run which makes him a more athletic quarterback, but as of now he hasn’t completely outperformed Flynn to earn that starting spot. How they perform against a real defense in real game situations will determine who gets to start on September 8th in Indy.
Some receivers stood out more than others. When I was there Jacoby Ford was still out with injury, as well as Conner Vernon, who has created quite some hype around Raider Nation; needless to say I was quite disappointed that I wasn’t able to see him out there, but there’s always preseason. Rod Streater looked great as he was making plays, as was Moore who had maybe one or two dropped passes that day. Last season Raiders receivers had trouble holding onto the ball, and at practice coaches were conveying the importance of tucking the ball after they catch it, so that’s still a work in process.
One standout I saw was Sam McGuffie, a slot receiver who was making some impressive plays. The 5’10” 23-year-old was jumping for the ball and making some tough plays on some not so good passes.
The tight end positions are still very much up in the air. No standout performances by David Ausberry, Richard Gordon, Mychal Rivera or Nick Kasa.
Running back Darren McFadden looked good out there, as he usually does. There’s no doubting McFadden’s talent when healthy. With offensive coordinator Greg Olson’s new power scheme, Run DMC could have an explosive season, if he can stay healthy, so keep your fingers crossed.
Defensively, Sio Moore had a nice day as he was all over the field making plays. One of the highlights of the day was seeing Charles Woodson back in action sporting that silver and black 24 jersey. Rookie cornerback D.J. Hayden continues to wear the red no contact jersey as they wait for doctors to clear him for full contact.
The punters got some work in as well and both Chris Kluwe and Marquette King looked good. They were also practicing throws for fakes and both have a pretty nice arm.
Star kicker, Sebastian Janikowski was putting on a show hitting every field goal attempt he had, but what else is new, right? Speaking of which, Seabass signed a four year contract extension, making him the highest paid kicker in the league. The Raiders also locked up long snapper Jon Condo with a three year contract extension. So, congratulations to them on their very deserving contracts.
The quarterback competition continues to be the most intriguing thing about the Raiders 2013 training camp. It’s come down to Flynn and Pryor, which should make for a very interesting preseason.