Oakland Raiders rookie DB, Tyvon Branch

The first day of this 3-day June minicamp brought some surprises and not-so surprising moments in its opening moments. The first being the absence of cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. According to Lane Kiffin, Nnamdi elected to stay out of today’s workouts because of him not being “under contract”. However, Coach Kiffin expressed that he hopes to see Nnamdi sometime this week.

The seemingly inevitable release of runningback LaMont Jordan looks to be all but a formality as Lane Kiffin reported to the attending media that Jordan was “released” from today’s workouts and that the team was moving in another direction which translates to pack your bags because the next flight out of Oakland leaves in twenty minutes. With the apparent departure of Jordan, the pressure is now squarely on returning veteran runningback Justin Fargas to shoulder the burden of gaining the tough yards that Jordan was always expected to produce. Fortunately for the Oakland Raiders, they also have the versatile rookie runningback sensation Darren McFadden and the bigger and more powerful Michael Bush to give Oakland the type of potential ground game most franchises would be envious of.

The bond between teammates is crucial if one expects to win in the NFL. The best example of that bond features Kirk Morrison and Thomas Howard. The two seemed to be able to read each other’s minds on every play. Anytime you see a play being made on the ball carrier and one of the linebackers is executing it, the other linebacker is right there with him. It’s almost uncanny how their play compliments each other. It’s like they feed off each other’s energy and get after it. If defensive coordinator Rob Ryan “unleash the hounds” with this defense, Morrison and Howard have the potential of staking their claim on claiming co-defensive MVP’s this season.

The Play of the afternoon session had to be where LB Thomas Howard more than successfully guarded RB Darren McFadden in a deep passing route. Howard may not have made an interception, but he did run step for step with McFadden and broke up the pass by batting the ball away at the last second. A wild-eyed and emphatic Howard let his fellow defensive teammates know hat he just accomplished. For an encore, Howard successfully defended McFadden again on another deep route.