Training Camp Report: Day Seven

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.

• Rookie safety Tre'von Moehrig has been a beast in camp. They are trying to keep it a competition, but the more you talk with people in the organization, the more you realize it isn’t much competition.
• Moehrig is expected to continue the separation when the pads come on Tuesday.

• He is going to make his presence felt early.
• Ever since the Las Vegas Raider announced that they had signed running back Kenyan Drake, we have reported that they plan to use him everywhere they can.
• He is the latest NFL star that will be moved and maneuvered all over the field. He is too good to be on the bench, and Jon Gruden is tinkering like a mad scientist with the playbook for him.
• A lot of people have slept on wide receiver Zay Jones, but not Jon Gruden. “He’s possibly our highest conditioned athlete. We traded for him. Mike [Mayock] made a great trade a couple years ago. We were in real need; he learned our offense in a week, and he was starting. He’s in the mix now. He can play X, he can play Z, he can play anywhere on our offense, honestly. He’s versatile, he’s tough, he’s smart and he’s a great competitor, so I wouldn’t count him out.”
• Jon Gruden knows that he has to fix the Raiders red zone offense. Something he isn’t backing down from. “We are trying to do that every year. We emphasize it every day, every year. We got to call better plays, we got to run the ball better in the red zone. Our running game was horrific in the red zone. It wasn’t good. I think we ran it too much. But it starts right there, we got to run the ball better in the red zone.”
• We have written in great detail about how the players have embraced rookie tackle Alex Leatherwood. One told me, “I think it is really interesting how he has approached the camp.
• He handles his business like a seasoned vet.”
• Jon Gruden echoed those sentiments of his rookie road-grader from Alabama. “He is a veteran. A lot of guys got drafted ahead of him that didn’t even play this year. This guy played 15 games, won a national title at left tackle. I like Alabama guys. I get accused of that because when I turn on their film, they beat the hell out of everybody, and a lot of times they win games because they got the best players. I know their coaching staff is outstanding, but this is one of the most decorated offensive linemen coming out of college football ever. He blocked for Tua [Tagovailoa]; he blocked for another first-rounder the next year. All their wide outs are first-rounders and I think Najee Harris went in the first round, so somebody is blocking. I mean you’ve got plus eight length. You measure him, his width and his height, he’s eight inches longer than he is tall, and that’s a huge trait for the tackles that we look for.”
• I reported how respected running back Theo Riddick was well-liked by his teammates. Jon Gruden had high praise for the Notre Dame product. “Well, first, we’re disappointed Theo [Riddick] chose to retire. He was contemplating that, and I think he was considering that last year, and possibly some of my recruiting skills I’ll able to talk him out of that. But he leaves a void in his presence. It starts there. They called him ‘Pops’, he was a leader. He was great for Josh [Jacobs]. He was great for all of our guys.”
• Cornerback Nate Hobbs is a young man I have watched for many years. When the pads come on on Tuesday, I expect him to pull ahead at the slot corner position. He has had a super camp, but he shines when the pads are on.
• Jon Gruden praised the play of Moehrig and Hobbs. “Pretty good, I’m hoping. We’ve taken enough DBs in the early rounds over the years. These guys got to step up. We didn’t bring them in here to sell Raider gear, we got to get some playmaking out of these guys. And Hobbs, I think we talked about it the other day, comes from Lovie Smith. When you have that type of pedigree for three or four years, you have no idea what that can do for your growth. He can play nickel; he can play corner. Peanut [Charles] Tillman of the Bears, how to chop the ball and get the ball out. He’s been trained to do all these things. Great communicator, very alert and professional young guy. And Moehrig I think is going to show up when the games start. Right now, it’s still in shorts, but I’m really impressed at what we’ve seen so far.”
• Darius Philon has made an impact early in camp. Jon Gruden discussed why the Raiders wanted to add him to the fold. “When we played the Chargers in 2018, I thought we had a great guard in [Kelechi] Osemele and he did some good things in there against two really good guards, really good things. And he signed a contract to go to Arizona. Obviously, he’s had some problems that have been addressed. He was out of the league and we’re looking for inside rushers. We’ve been looking hard, and Gus [Bradley] and I just had a brainstorm conversation and I credit our scouting department for finding him, getting him in here early, and A.J. Neibel and our strength staff have done a great job. He reported at 296 pounds, which he hasn’t been in a long time, and he might be one of the best stories to follow during training camp if he can keep it going.”
• The starters are pretty much decided right now. But, the real battles on the Raiders are at the backup spots. That is why Jon Gruden is so excited about the preseason games this year.
• “I love it. We’ve got some tough decisions to make. Who’s going to play in the game? Who’s going to quarterback in the fourth quarter? Who’s going to carry the ball at the end of the game? Who’s going to be in the two-minute drill? A lot of things to address. Obviously, a week or 10 days before that game, we will start to consider the health of our team and who we want to take a look at in terms of making the football team, etc.”
• But, the NFL has reduced the number of preseason games from four to three while adding the 17th regular season game. Gruden discussed the loss of a one preseason game.
• “Not very much. We’re looking at the Rams experience as a couple more preseason games. You might not see the starters in the Rams game as much as you’ll see them if you were at practice. [Rams Coach] Sean McVay and I will talk about that a little bit and try to come up with what we deem as the best thing for both of our teams. We want to see the best against the best, and we want to use the preseason game to see the guys that are inexperienced to see where they are in terms of their growth.”
• With the loss of one preseason game, the Raiders will hold two days of joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams. They will practice on Aug. 18 and 19, and the Raiders will have a preseason game at the Rams on Aug. 21. That game kicks off at 7 p.m..
• With the loss of the fourth preseason game, Jon Gruden thinks those extra practices are a Godsend for his young team. “That’ll be a great indicator for [Henry] Ruggs [III] to see Jalen Ramsey. We’re counting on our guys to challenge them too now. We got [Yannick] Ngakoue and Solomon Thomas is coming back, and we got some guys that are looking forward to competing, but you are right, they have got some great players and they got a great coach. It’ll be a great challenge for us. We got to take one day at a time.”
• Wide receiver John Brown has made it very clear that one of the big reasons he came to the Raiders was the opportunity to play with Derek Carr. There is no doubt this is Carr’s team, and he isn’t going to disappoint.
• Ron Milus and Richard Smith are two critical coaches on the Gus Bradley staff. Both men have related well to their pupils, and Jon Gruden praised their early impact on the Silver and Black.
• “They don’t get enough credit. They’ve been not only with Gus [Bradley] for a while, they’ve been in the league a long time. When you sit down with Milus, if you do a one-on-one with him, he’s at the top of the list in terms of secondary coaches. He’s coached great players. He’s made young players develop fast. He’s a great disciplinary. He’ll take anything. We’re going to do it this way. We’re going to have techniques. We’re not going to blow coverages, and if we do then you’re not going to play. But he’s a great coach; creative, fun. Addison Lynch, his assistant, is a young guy I think has a real huge upside. Reminds me of a young [Mike] Tomlin and Raheem Morris when I was in Tampa. So, we got a great energy there. I think Richard Smith brings us the veteran presence. He coached for the Houston Oilers. He can really rely on a lot of information. Quality guy, quality guy for our young coaches and players to look up to.”
• The Indianapolis Colts are a team loaded that should be a near shoo-in for the NFL Playoffs, but when Carson Wentz went down with a severe injury, the discussion about the Colts getting a new QB heated up.
• Backup quarterback Marcus Mariota has looked very good in camp. Jon Gruden has certainly been impressed.
• I am not implying, in any way, that there is a quarterback competition with Derek Carr, but Mariota has shined.
• Jon Gruden praised his Hawaiian signal-caller, “Last year was hard because he was hurt all the time. He didn’t have the offseason program and then he missed 10 weeks of the season. This complex thing we’re trying to pull off here, I don’t know what you saw today, but we’re not going to call exactly the same plays when Marcus is in the game than when Derek is in the game. You wouldn’t either. That’s why we have a very vast playbook. I think for Marcus to be great, he has to run plays that he’s good at and that he likes. That’s what we do for every quarterback. I was excited today with some of the things we looked at and there’s a lot more in the bubble here we got to get to later in the next couple of weeks.”
• The Raiders are not willing to give Mariota away. He is a terrific person, well-liked by teammates and staff, and has a very team-friendly deal.
• If the Colts are going to trade for him, they will have to overpay for him. The Raiders like having him on the roster.
• Gruden said: “He’s a great talent. He’s a great talent. He took a team to the playoffs. The Titans went from worst to first with him. He’s got as much football character as anybody you’ll meet. He’s a great athlete and a great teammate. We’re excited to have him here. Nathan Peterman is playing well too. Greg Olson has done a nice job with the quarterbacks.”
• Guard Richie Incognito has grown to a vital and critical player and leader on this team. He has had a tremendous impact on the young men on the offensive line.
• I’ve talked a lot about the leadership of Yannick Ngakoue and Casey Hayward. Incognito has done just a much as them.
• This team is very young, but the leaders they do have are extraordinary.

Tell us what you think when you make sure you like our Facebook Page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.

Want the latest breaking Las Vegas Raiders news delivered straight to your email for FREE? Sign up for the DAILY Raiders Nation newsletter when you CLICK THE FOLLOW button on the main page. Don't miss any of the latest up to the second updates for your Las Vegas Raiders when you follow on Twitter @HondoCarpenter