Silver and Black Report

FB Marcel Reece in action versus the 49ers

Oakland Raiders wide receiver Chaz Schilens continues to show fragility and is expected to be out for three-to-six weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery. Head coach Tom Cable had a media session yesterday and stated it’s a “three to six week issue.”

Schilens would have been a starter, even though he has not been able to prove himself as a starter since entering the league and has spent more time on the sidelines injured than on the field. This guarantees more playing time for Louis Murphy, who is Oakland’s best wide receiver. Darrius Heyward-Bey would have seen time out there regardless being a first round pick last year and the owner wanting to see his speedy receiver in action. Oakland was very thin and had many questions along this unit to begin with, now, without a player they depended on, Hue Jackson will face some major hurdles in the passing game unless the youngsters develop quickly.

Running back Michael Bush will undergo a procedure on his fractured left thumb, but will not likely miss the opener. Bush will get the bulk of the load of the ground if healthy.

Jared Veldheer will dabble at center and tackle this week. He’s too raw and very inexperienced at both spots. More maturations will be needed, but expect the rookie to be in the line-up sometime this year, especially if Samson Satele or Langston Walker cannot entrench themselves at their respective positions. Tom Cable said of Satele, “ want to look at it. There were some things from last night’s game that I was not pleased with but there were also a lot of good things at the center position. I think the fact that Samson is ready to go is the most important thing right now.”

DE Jay Richardson and DL Alex Daniels will miss the final game of the pre-season.

Cable gave very little when talking about his special teams: “I felt like we were getting closer to that. I don’t know after last night that it’s any clearer than it was before but I’ve got an idea.” There is little indication on who will grab the return duties, but at this point, the veteran Yamon Figurs provides more consistency and a better option at wide receiver. Johnnie Lee Higgins has not been the same since getting rocked in the home opener in 2009.

Cable on Marcel Reece:  ”Well, I’ll say this: He just continues to get better. That’s the thing that he’s shown us is that, from one week to the next he’s going out and improving on whatever his negatives were from the week before. It’s starting to show up more and more that this guy, you can coach him, he’ll take it and he’ll go get it again. I certainly think that he’s really showing himself the right way.”

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Oakland Raiders wide receiver Chaz Schilens went through arthroscopic knee surgery. He will be out indefinitely, as head coach Tom Cable did not reveal the length of his recovery.

For a second straight campaign, Schilens is likely to miss the opener due to an impairment. He broke the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot on August 18, 2009 and did not see action until the latter part of the campaign.

The 24-year old is looked at as the Raiders number one target, but why has he warranted such regard?

Schilens has only 44 career receptions for 591 yards and 4 scores and has only been elevated up the depth chart based on the weakness of the Raiders wide receiver corps.

By default, you can put the spotlight on Schilens. Darrius Heyward-Bey is still a project, Louis Murphy is in development as much as any other young target on the roster and every other wide receiver is either a special teamer at best or wouldn’t round out any other club’s receiving unit.

Schilens still has to prove he can play 16-games. Not just a full complement of games, but play at a high level against opposing starters that know that he’ll be getting the ball and that has the burden of being a ‘go to guy.’ Something he has never been and has not been able to prove at the pro level.

This just proves the fragility of the Raiders receiving department.

And if any one of these players miss extended time, regardless of who’s running the offense now, the aerial game will remain anemic.

• Alex Daniels switched his jersey number from 39 to 71. The move from lineman to fullback was not as expected. “I just didn’t feel like we made the improvement as quickly as I’d hoped,” Cable said. “He was brought in here, started out on defense to be a pass rusher, and obviously, it’s good to get a set of legs back over there. It just didn’t feel like to me it was working.”
• Langston Walker (back) Richard Seymour (triceps) and Samson Satele (ankle) did not practice yesterday.
• Jay Richardson expects to be ready for the opener after undergoing surgery on his meniscus tear.
• Bruce Gradkowski is expected to play in the final two pre-season contests.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

The Oakland Raiders took Monday off and will get back to work today as they plan to wrap up training camp within the next three days.

Chaz Schilens, who has been sidelined the last two years during the summer, may miss action at the start of the campaign as he did in 2009. Head coach Tom Cable informed the media yesterday that the wide receiver may need an arthroscopic procedure on his knee.

“I’m very concerned. It’s been a tough road for him,” Cable said. “We get through the foot thing now and something else has kind of reared up on us. We’ll take care of it and get him back as soon as we can.”

Here is some other excerpts form his conference call:

Cable:  ”The long run [Matt Forte] concerned me obviously. We got cut out of the gap and didn’t play it very well from the back side. That concerned me in that it was really something that could have been prevented. We just didn’t play it very good. I felt like defensively we played team defense for about two-thirds of the game. But about a third of the time just breakdowns here and there. We had a couple of missed assignments, guys not running to the ball, guys came out of coverage on the one touchdown we gave up we took our eyes off the man in man coverage. Things like that. fortunately they’re all things we can definitely fix. I’m excited about that. I’d rather it just happen.”

How is Samson Satele?

We probably won’t know more until this afternoon some time. I know they will do an X-ray today and look at it in depth. But we’ll know more this afternoon.

On Kamerion Wimbley:

I think he is who we thought he was. He played outside linebacker at Cleveland. That’s what he’s been known for. He’s done a fine job with it here. Our plan all along as we talked about was to use him on third down in terms of rushing the passer. He showed up the other night. That’s exciting for our team. He’s exactly what we thought. He’d be a guy who could rush the passer in passing situations and play the Sam linebacker on the other downs.

On the fullbacks:

We’re getting some nice play out of Marcel Reece. He’s improving definitely. Even if you take away the screen play to him he made a nice run on. I just like where he’s going as a blocker. He’s becoming more and more physical with each game. He certainly understands now what we’re asking him to do. He’s been good in pass protection. I think he’s improving and that’s good to see. Manase Tonga, he has shown some things being physical and assert himself that way and caught the ball well the other night. It was good to get Luke Lawton back in the mix. He’d been out for quite some time. I feel like there’s good competition there.

On Rolando McClain:

I’ve seen great awareness. I’ve seen good speed to the ball. I’ve seen excellent pass defense. I’ve seen a guy who is around the ball in the run game. Probably he would be the first to tell you, he needs to pull the trigger a little bit more. But his recognition at the speed of it and getting to the ball has been excellent. The thing that I’m most pleased about is he’s done a nice job of getting us liked up and adjusting and then the pass defense. He’s been more than we thought.

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Stevie Brown is earning his way onto the roster. He notched his second interception in as many games and Oakland is happy they hit the nail on the head with his selection in April.

“Certainly, from the time he got here in (offseason workouts) and minicamp and all through camp to this point, he has shown that ability to be around the ball,”  Cable commented.

Isaiah Ekejiuba, who? Slade Norris is cementing his name on special teams. “This is great for us,” Norris said. “Coming into training camp, we knew we had a great team that could do something special, and so far we’re proving it.”

Jim Zorn on Jason Campbell and what he can do in Oakland:

“Watch him,” Zorn said at the Ravens’ training camp. “If they protect him and they give him an opportunity to move the chains and move the ball and not have to go to drastic schemes to protect him, absolutely he’s going to be fine.

“Now, his big growth has got to continue to be decision-making . . . He does have a lot of talent. . . . He’s learned a lot in a couple years.”

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

SBReport.net was in attendance on Monday, capturing images of the Oakland Raiders at work during their training camp session. Here are some stills of the Silver & Black players and coaches:

Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable addressing the media on Monday.

LB Ricky Brown (#57) targeting a ball carrier during drills.

Paul Hubbard (#16) and Chaz Schilens (#81) running stride for stride

Safety Mike Mitchell (#34) enjoys being the aggressor in camp.

Michael Huff (#24) working on signal calls during practice.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

For the first time this summer, the Oakland Raiders suited up in pads, but the aggression and intensity was held back as head coach Tom Cable wanted a “controlled” environment. Here are some highlights of the session/:

• Chaz Schilens appeared to be in good shape and was running solid routes per SBReport.net journalist DeMarcus Davis.
• Michael Bush ran loosely and for major gains throughout the day. He ran through LB David Nixon in one drill.
• Jared Veldheer took snaps at Center. While at LT, he struggled a tad more.
• Rolando McClain broke through the line of scrimmage a few times, once taking down RB Darren McFadden.
• Rock Cartwright is looking good in camp early, showing solid burst especially on the edges.
• Mike Mitchell is ready to hit a real opponent.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Luke Lawton during training camp drills

Here are some highlights of the Oakland Raiders training camp session on Saturday:

• Chaz Schilens was dressed, but did not participate in drills.
• Louis Murphy was “kicked in the head” per Tom Cable and sustained a concussion that will keep him from contact drills.
• With Luke Lawton’s suspension looming at the start of 2010, Marcel Reese looks ‘particularly confident per SBReport.net journalist DeMarcus Davis.
• Tyvon Branch picked off a Jason Campbell pass intended for Zach Miller. A few plays later, the tight end hit paydirt against the young safety.
• Monday, the team will be in full pads and go all out…
• Raiders owner Al Davis made an appearance on the practice field. Several players walked over to shake his had; RB Rock Cartwright, WR Jacoby Ford, RB Michael Bennett, OL Bruce Campbell, QB Kyle Boller, and OL Jared Veldheer.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Here are some highlights of the Oakland Raiders Thursday training camp session:

• Wide receiver Chaz Schilens, who had a marred season in 2009 with foot injuries, departed the practice field early yesterday due to an undisclosed ailment. He was observed walking around after practice without a limp, but at this point, you have to worry about his fragility and the lack of experience and depth at this position for the Raiders.
• Second round choice Lamarr Houston saw a lot of action with the first team at left defensive end. The fiery lineman got into scraps and was every bit of the instigator, a role he played well during OTAs.
• Defensive tackle Ryan Boschetti and wide receiver Damola Adenjii were waived.
• Darrius Heyward-Bey remained on the practice field after the session was over, getting extra work in with cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.
• Linebackers on the second team: Thomas Howard, Travis Goethel and Quentin Groves. Scout squad consisted of: David Nixon, Sam Williams and Slade Norris.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Here are more looks into the Oakland Raiders OTA sessions captured by photojournalist DeMarcus Davis. The Raiders are days away from starting their Summer training camp. Here’s a glimpse of what we saw in the Spring:

Swayze Waters, Kicker (#1)

Louis Murphy, Wide receiver (#18)

Chaz Schilens, Wide receiver (#81)

Jacoby Ford, Wide receiver (#12)

John Owens, Tight end (#82)

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Here are more exclusive images captured by our photographer DeMarcus Davis of the Oakland Raiders at work during Organized Team Activities. Visit SBReport in the coming days for more eye-popping visuals from the Silver & Black’s workouts.

Hue Jackson (pictured on the right) has been one of biggest acquisitions this off-season for the Silver & Black, He has been vocal in practices, authoritative and demanding; holding every player along the depth chart accountable for their assignments and knowledge of the playbook.

Chaz Schilens (#81, pictured below) must stay healthy and give the Raiders a full season worth of production. The team expects a lot out of the former 7^th round draft choice, but the facts are, his 44 career receptions for 591 yards are not indicative of a player that can be an effective starter at the pro level.

Recently signed Damola Adeniji (#84) was in action with the rest of the wide receivers recently.

Free safety Michael Huff (#24) was getting his hands on the football during drills. The product out of Texas is looking to build off his solid season in 2009 in a very talented Raiders secondary.

Bruce Gradkowski may be sitting out till training camp with his pectoral injury, but that has not prevented him from being present during workouts and being a positive influence on and off the field.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Oakland Raiders wide receiver Chaz Schilens spoke to the media after some work in today’s OTA. Here is an audio clip of the target: