Training Camp Report: Day 18

Sports Illustrated's Raider Maven takes you inside the Las Vegas Raiders training camp with the latest inside information from the NFL's elite franchise.

Henderson, Nev.--People are hungry for information on their beloved Las Vegas Raiders, and I am here with a smorgasbord of food. Let's dig right into the latest on your beloved Silver and Black.

I get a lot of nuggets and information that alone are not big enough for a story. When I have a few that I can assemble, I will. So, welcome to The Black Hole:

I can tell you this: Raider Nation has a ton to be excited about. This article is already long, or I could give you many more reasons and players to be excited about. Keep your eyes out for the next "Black Hole," and please tell your friends about it by sharing it on social media.

• The Las Vegas Raiders are battling. It isn’t like the epic three practices per day of the past, but the rules have changed. According to one long-time Raider great, this camp is “As close to old school as you can have. Best practice I have seen around here in a long time.”
• Camp is going so well that after the defense dominated the offense earlier this week, the players found themselves on the practice field the next day, only being told that on-field activities for that session were canceled. The practice wasn’t canceled, only the on-field in-pads.
• Jon Gruden addressed it: “Well, it’s been reported we had a day off. There was no day off. We have linebacker coaches, running back coaches, offensive coordinators, defensive coordinators; we have strength and conditioning coaches, so we turned it up yesterday in the strength and conditioning room. We have some guys who are low on gas, and we needed to do some things to get their legs back, hydrate them properly. Even coaches are getting I.V.s. Some of you guys look like you could use an IV, personally. It’s hot, man. So, hydration is a big part of it and our conditioning. We had a great practice today. A lot of energy. I liked it. We took the coaches off the field and sometimes changing the schedule is good for us.”
• Team captain and quarterback Derek Carr said of Gruden’s benevolence that, “It’s definitely when you first start putting the pads on and all that kind of stuff. It’s definitely something that around the second or third period you got to talk yourself into it a little bit, but one thing is, again, it wasn’t a day off. We were still working, just in the weight room with A.J. [Neibel] and with the trainers, [Chris] Cortez and stuff. But I would say our team has been working really hard. It’s been a highly competitive camp, probably the most competitive camp I’ve been a part of. And when you watch the film and you just see the effort and you see some of the big guys, they are a little tired. You see some things that you don’t want injuries to happen. You see some of the fast guys who maybe had this little tweak, or this little thing. That’s his job to take care of the team, and that was his call. We had no idea, at least I didn’t. Maybe some of the other guys did. I had no idea. After the defense got after us a little bit yesterday, I was talking trash in the locker room. So, I was ready to kick the crap out of them today and I told them Coach gave them a free pass, so they have to wait one more day for it.”
• Quarterback Marcus Mariota has a minor injury. Nothing to worry about. I do not expect him to play Saturday and that is why the Raiders signed another quarterback,Case Cookus.
• Carr addressed Cookus, the young quarterback in camp “I remember Gru always talking about, ‘Oh, at this rookie minicamp, man, we had this guy, really smart. You’d love him.’ And Gru told me a couple weeks ago that they might bring him in and get him around Marcus and Nate and I; and just help him out and let him get some film out there and play and compete and all those things. I knew a little bit; I didn’t know him personally. But I knew through Gru, we had talked about him and all those things. But when Gru told me, ‘Hey, we are going to bring him in next week’, I was like, ‘Oh, sick.’ So, first thing I do, I put my arm around him and started talking to him just trying to teach him the snap count and all those things. It’s something about a football team, especially when you get someone new at your position, you just want to help. I don’t know how everybody is, but I just want to help him and give every bit of knowledge that I can about the offense, about what I’ve seen in my eight years and things like that. But he’s been a great kid, super nice. Has fit in right to the room, joking around, messing around with people. It’s good. I think he’s probably swimming a little bit with me and Gru being together for four years now. We’re talking about some stuff and Oly [Greg Olson] is like, ‘We’ll talk about it later, Case.’ But he really is working hard at it, and you can tell that it means something to him. It’s opportunity to put some stuff on film, so I’m going to help him as much as I can to further his career, but he’s a great kid.”
• Jon Gruden isn’t worried about Mariota.
• He described his injury as: “He got hurt on the last run where he scored a touchdown on a zone read. I don’t think it’s serious. We think he is going to be fine in a few days, but a couple of the turnovers the other day had a lot to do with his injury.”
• We have written many times previously that Derek Carr is not only the quarterback but also the captain. No one, not even Gruden, is going to be happier about an improved defense.
• That is why the Raiders quarterback couldn’t contain his zeal when asked about how his defense is playing. “Awesome," Carr said. "If anyone walked off that field excited, it was definitely me. This is a team game and it’s the best game because it’s a team game. Every man in that locker room matters in order for us to end up with the goal that we want. And when they are making plays like that, I’ve been around days where we win 100 percent of the time and that’s hard because then you’re like, ‘Yeah, I think we are going to be pretty good, but hopefully we’re that good.’ Whereas all camp it’s been competitive. Now yesterday, when turnovers happen, they come in bunches. Like that’s an NFL saying, ‘They come in bunches.’ And for them to get them and for tipped balls, I’ve seen those hit the ground all the time, but you watch some of those efforts for guys like running the other direction to put their foot in the ground and go get those it was impressive stuff. It’s definitely being taught and it’s definitely something talked about in their training. For it to happen was exciting for us. Obviously, you don’t want to ever lose a day, but they got after us and they had turnovers and they are punching the ball out, not just interceptions or tip picks and things like that, but they were punching the ball out so you can definitely tell its being coached. Coach Gruden always says, ‘What you put on film is what you coach.’ And so, you can see it happening all throughout camp and then it just kept working, it kept working and then finally it just broke free for them. So, again, we want to limit that as an offense, but it’s an exciting thing as a team because those are short fields and short fields usually equal points in this league.”
• I expect to see many young players get a ton of reps on Saturday. Gruden echoed what we have been saying here at Sports Illustrated’s Raider Maven and on our local Las Vegas Radio show. “Well, we’ve had a lot of reps," Gruden said. "Reps are not the problem. We are going to play the Rams and get a lot of reps down there also. We want to see our right tackle play a little bit. We want to see our new center play a little bit. We’ve got some young players who are competing for jobs that need to play a lot, so we are going to look at them. A couple of veteran guys won’t play, but you’ll see our first-round draft choice and you’ll see our young center.”
• One of my favorite positions in all of football is the fullback. The Raiders, in my opinion, have the best in all of the NFL, Alec Ingold.
• Derek Carr addressed what the fullback position, nearly gone from the NFL, means to him and the Raiders attack.
• His lengthy answer was very telling. “Probably the most thankless job in maybe all of sports, I don’t know," Carr said. "I’m not on other teams, I don’t play other sports. But to me, from the outside looking in, you’re like it’s a fullback, just block the guy. And you have no idea what goes into that, like he has to see and hear the call standing behind me with his hand in the ground. And he has to know the fronts and he has to know where the safeties are. There is so much that man has to know to hit the right gap so that Josh [Jacobs] can hit the right gap and all those things. Let alone the physical toll, like they wear neck braces for a reason at fullback. Some of those collisions…I’m glad I play quarterback. My sons, they won’t be playing fullback. Some of those collisions are just different. Nowadays, I think you see a lot of fullbacks …t he guy (Kyle Juszczyk), I think he’s in San Francisco now. I mean very athletic, great athlete. There are some other guys that you see teams drafting some bigger running backs and they turn into fullbacks because of their speed really. And especially with the zone read teams and you see those guys getting out on the edge and running to go get safeties 15, 20 yards down the field. Alec [Ingold], he has that speed. When we train, he runs all the routes. He doesn’t run fullback stuff. He runs slants and go’s and digs, and all these kinds of things. And he has that ability, but he has that old school like Lorenzo Neal feel to him too. I know Lo Neal really well, Fresno State. But we got our haircut together for years when I was in college and talking to him and Alec and their mindset. You got to be different to play fullback with the way that we run the power and the counters and the iso’s. I mean it’s one-on-one, you and that guy in the hole, and if you don’t win it’s going to be a loss. And more times than not, Alec wins, so I’m trying to give the guy as much praise as I can because he’s very vital to us. And not only that, he’s extending his role. He’s trying to play running back. Just in case someone’s hurt, he can go play running back. He knows all the assignments. He goes and plays tight end some days. He’ll go with the tight ends, and he’ll run all the routes and know the protections and all that kind of stuff. A guy like that is so valuable to your team. I think you’ve seen it with the Packers when they had John Kuhn. I mean that was their third down back for a long time, and Alec is a guy who can step in and do that. You see guys like Taysom Hill playing different positions, quarterback, receiver, tight end. Alec, he can do those things. Now, we have a lot of guys who we may not need him to, but he definitely can.”
• If there is one theme of the camp, it is this.
• Proverbs 27:17, “Iron sharpens iron.” This team is so much better on both sides of the ball, but especially on defense. It is a battle now. It is a total war. These ground men are scratching and crawling, but the cool part is the camaraderie. They are a team. Gruden has molded a team.
• Another thing that Gruden and General Manager Mike Mayock have done is nearly daily is they are bringing in new players.
• Tinkering and looking at the roster, trying to create competition everywhere.
• Carl Nassib has had a super camp. He talked about what this team needs from the defense, and I thought his comments were telling. “We definitely got to improve as a unit from last year," Nassib said. "We have a lot of excitement on the defensive side of the ball. We got a lot of talent. Got a great room this year. It’s been a huge difference for me, and I can speak for some of the guys on the D-line, just to be in the same room with each other as opposed to when you’re in Zoom and the coach is talking, you don’t talk for two hours and it sucks, but when you’re chopping it up in the meeting and it’s a great time, like you’re enjoying it and getting to know each other. So, that’s been a huge bonding experience so far and I’m really excited for the group. I think that I want to improve my game every single time I get on the field, and we all take that humble approach of just getting better. I’m looking forward to this year and playing with the guys.”
• As previously mentioned many times, the Raiders are much more physical this year. Something Nassib discussed. “Great competition. Maxx [Crosby] and Yan [Yannick Ngakoue] and Cle [Clelin Ferrell] and Malc [Malcolm Koonce] and Gerri [Green]; they do stuff that I’m trying to copy them, they are trying to copy me. And I can sometimes kind of get offended when they take my move, but then I’m like, ‘Alright, I got to take yours now.’ So, competition only makes you better. Complacency really doesn’t do anything for you in football or in life, so I love the competition. We’re all trying to get out there. We don’t want to have any fall off between any rotation of guys. So, it’s been great.”
• We discussed since the day the Raiders signed him that we expect Casey Hayward to be a starter. Gruden discussed his play in camp. “Well, he’s a polished pro, No. 1," Gruden said. "He’s experienced in this system, No. 2. Got a lot of history with the coaching staff, No. 3. So, he can translate information in his own way, in a very unique way. He’s a guy that guys have to follow. He’s a helluva player. Played as a nickel corner. Played great as an outside corner. Doesn’t miss practice. Doesn’t make mistakes. So, he’s been great for our guys.”
• Jason Whitten made Foster Moreau a better player. Yannick Ngakoue is making Maxx Crosby a better player. Casey Hayward is doing that for a young defensive backfield, according to Gruden.
• “I think it helps all the corners," Gruden said. "It helps Trayvon Mullen, it helps Nate Hobbs. We’re young back there. John Abram, [Tyree] Gillespie, [Tre’von] Moehrig. They are all young. To have a guy in there that’s been on a great defense that knows the inner workings of all the things that are going to happen, it’s a huge asset for us. I said it earlier, it’s much like Eric Allen did for Charles Woodson back in the day.”
• The Raiders are using electronic equipment to monitor their players for health reasons.
• Recently there was an erroneous report that Jon Gruden ignored those reports. That is not accurate, and Gruden addressed it.
• “We practice in the Mojave Desert here," Gruden said. "We’re practicing at seven in the morning, so we do gather all kinds of information. We have some of the best trainers and doctors and people here you could imagine. So, we’re going to be real careful and smart, and you’re darn right we listen to that stuff. And our players like it and appreciate it, and we’ll continue to do that.”
• Gerald McCoy has the same effect as Hayward on the defensive line. Nassib raved about his mentor from their time together in Tampa Bay. “Yeah, he teaches me stuff every day," Nassib said. "He’s a legend. He’s doing a great job being a mentor to the young guys. He’s got the most experience. He’s got an incredible resume and he’s doing a great job.”
• One of the biggest Gerald McCoy fans on the team is Derek Carr. He is thrilled to have him here. The captain praised him, saying, “Oh, he’s great. Didn’t you love his energy? He comes into a room and you’re like, ‘Man, I love this guy.’ We joked around and I sat there and talked to him, gave him a hug when I first saw him, ‘Glad you don’t have to chase me around anymore. I’m glad you’re on our team.’ He has one of the fastest get-offs I’ve ever seen. Like that ball would be snapped and he’d swim so fast and already be reaching to you as you’re dropping away. Very impressive. And so, I don’t know what his health is at. He came from a quad (injury), or something like that, I don’t know where all that’s at, but he’s been at practice, and I see him moving. I’m like he still can play. He’s still got it. He’s twitchy. You could tell he’s been in the gym. He looks great. So, I’m excited. Keep bringing them. Keep bringing good players.”
• Carr went on to add how McCoy is also a coach to these young Raiders. “I’m glad you say that because it reminded me of something about him," Carr added. "I was walking down the hallway, we got done with our meetings and we were walking to go get dressed for walk through, and as I’m walking, he has the whole D-line sitting there and he’s talking about fronts, coverages. He’s like, ‘You guys got to know the coverage because you got to know when you can take a shot when you have an eight-man front and take a shot in this gap.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ He’s sitting there and all eyes are locked in. All these young guys, they are even like writing it down. I don’t know last time I’ve seen something like that. I was so impressed that those guys, No. 1, were listening to him because he’s new. But he’s got six Pro Bowls, obviously you’ll listen to the guy, he knows what he’s doing. But, No. 2, him taking the time. I’ve been around some guys they are just going to do their thing and just keep it pushing. Man, he’s just trying to make the team better. And I was so impressed by that, he had them all and like there was no one around and I could hear him down the hall, and I come walking and there they are, just all the D-line and him just sitting there talking about fronts and when to do this. … It was really impressive. It was really cool.”
• I have taken a massive amount of criticism since last season ended, reporting that the Raiders wanted to and were actively looking to upgrade the character on this team. They want great players first, but they are looking for great people as well.
• Carr says that he notices it. “Yeah. Absolutely. 100 percent," Carr said. "Even just thinking about our quarterback room. We’ve got three guys that have played a lot of football. They’ve been in the league awhile. It’s one thing on a football team when a starter says something, like everyone is going to listen. But Marcus could easily say, ‘Fellas, come here real quick.’ Everyone is going to listen. We are all going to be there listening. Nate [Peterman] could say something, ‘Guys, come here. Look, bro, I’m telling y’all. Look, it’s like this.’ Everyone is going to listen. You look at every position and there is two, three, four guys in each room that all have that presence about them, and it’s really cool. And they are doing it. Some guys in certain positions, they choose not to, which is great, that’s fine. But you can see them go up one-on-one to a guy, ‘Hey, when you run this route …’ I see Marcus, ‘Hey, when you run that route …’, and he’ll come to me, ‘Hey, I told him …’ I was like, ‘Yeah, absolutely, you’ve played ball. That’s exactly how I see it.’ Nate will say something, ‘Hey, I told Hunter [Renfrow] … I was like, ‘Yeah, absolutely.’ You see a lot of veteran presence, but also honoring the guys that are playing. Honoring like if you see it that way on the D-line, ‘Hey do you see it that way because I see it.’ And just our team, you could just feel this momentum of everyone just heading towards getting better. Whereas, I’ve been around sometimes where people are pulling the other way and you can’t win like that.”
• Derek Carr would love to catch a touchdown pass. From Ingold or Mariota, he wants the feeling of catching one. “Him or Marcus [Mariota], I’ll take either one. I’ll never forget, we had one for C-Wood [Charles Woodson] called. We were playing a night game against the Chargers, and we had one, we actually called it, and like on this one run play no one ever looks at me and I would hand the ball off every time. We hand it off and it was C-Wood, I was going to catch a touchdown from C-Wood. I was like I’m framing this ball; he can’t have it. Like, it’s one thing I’m going to fight him on. And they had two people, they double-teamed me. Ruined everything for me, so ever since then I haven’t had a chance.”

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