Jared Veldheer in his first minicamp with Oakland

Here are some visuals from the Oakland Raiders weekend minicamp and some insight on a few players that will either try to sneak atop the depth chart, are attempting to make the roster or make a name for themselves early in their NFL careers.

Jared Veldheer – Tackle

The 3^rd round draft choice will be given every shot to earn a starting spot along the offensive line at the tackle spot. Is he very raw? Yes. But Veldheer could snatch up the vacant right tackle spot with strong showings throughout the summer and improvements on his fundamentals. He’s smart enough to work there, but confidence and exposure to the game’s speed against live opponents will go a long way in determining whether or not he can make an impact as a rookie. Oakland’s biggest concern after this weekend is his ability to sustain blocks when he is protecting the passer.

Jason Campbell – Quarterback

The passer got into a groove on Saturday at one point and looked every bit of the starter when he darted completions to his targets. Kyle Boller has shown some zip and per Tom Cable, the competition is open at signal caller. But if Campbell just shows what he can do and continues to absorb Hue Jackson’s playbook, it will be hard for the Raiders to bypass Campbell and start another player that may not be as proficient.

Mike Mitchell – Safety

Now a second year pro, the heavy hitting safety will try to show he can cover as well in order to get into more packages in 2010. Used as an attacking defender towards the end of last year, Mitchell has been working in coverage and taking on targets down the field this weekend. His toughness, aggressiveness and ethic are not in question. But his ability to work in space and make the right decisions when the secondary is spread out is.

Chane Moline – Fullback

With Oren O’Neal out of the picture, Luke Lawton’s status up in the air with a pending suspension once the season starts and no clear cut blocking fullback on the roster, Moline has a shot at snatching a roster spot as an un-drafted free agent. If he can show good hands, integrate himself in the passing game and play powerful in short yardage situations, Oakland will find a way to keep him in order to open up holes for their rushers and incorporate him as an option on offense.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Raiders rookie linebacker Rolando McClain working in camp

Oakland Raiders rookie linebacker Roland McClain is catching the eye of coaches and teammates, quickly solidifying himself as a stout defender, who will only get better on John Marshall’s unit.

“Man, he’s bigger than I thought he was,’’ veteran linebacker Thomas Howard stated of McClain. “He works hard, he’s a smart player and he jumped right in and he was able to control the defense. Like a middle linebacker is supposed to, he has great feet to be such a big guy, humble, hard worker.”

Second round pick Lamarr Houston also is shaking up camp with his aggressive play. He got into it with offensive lineman Langston Walker and veteran running back Rock Cartwright shouted at the rookie for his nasty streak.

Owner Al Davis even made time to view the happenings on the field…

Continuing on the defense, Tom Cable stated, “Oh, I don’t know. I think it depends,’’ regarding the possibilities of mixing up their 4-3, 3-4 alignments.

“We haven’t talked a lot about it. We have a plan for different things that we haven’t done. I think once we see what we can handle, what we can do, I probably could answer that better down the road.”

Hue Jackson is vocal and looks in total control of the offense. There is no doubt that Jackson is going to be in tune with the players, playbook and will have his finger on the pulse of every player the Raiders field on offense. The former Ravens assistant is a stickler for details and has been observed various times during the weekend teaching the fundamentals while emphasizing the expansion of the playbook.

Darrius Heyward-Bey gets deep and hauls in a long touchdown pass. So far, this weekend has shown that he has the ability to grow as a solid target, but they are still lapses. The second year pro does look a lot better though a year later.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Sebastian Janikowski and Shane Lechler are some veterans already on the premises.

Per an interview this week with defensive end Jay Richardson, “We got mini-camp this weekend, we finally get to have the whole team together. This whole new team we have here. Have good practices: we have two on Friday, two on Saturday, one on Sunday and kind of see where we are at. Get everyone up to speed and then the next few weeks, we’ll be polishing that up, working out and building some sort of chemistry and get guys going. It should be fun.”

Here are some things to look out for as the team comes together in their first action after the draft:

Rookies, rookies and more rookies…

How will Rolando McClain, Lamarr Houston and the rest of the new grouping of Raiders react to life in the NFL? This is their first taste of lining up against professionals. More importantly, its their teammates first glance at players that are needed to make an impact immediately and help them turn around a seven year losing stretch. The defensive heavy draft features players in vital spots.

Signal caller action…

Obviously, the news will surround JaMarcus Russell and what will happen in his future. But Oakland has a crew of passers, including newly acquired Jason Campbell. Bruce Gradkowski’s injury will keep him out of action for a few more weeks, so Charlie Frye and Kyle Boller will be at the helm during certain drills.

How far along are the wide receivers…?

Louis Murphy had a respectable rookie campaign; Darrius Heyward-Bey did not. Both need to show major growth in 2010, as well as Chaz Schilens, who needs to demonstrate an ability to stay healthy and produce over the course of 16-games.

Who’s lining up where along the offensive line?

All eyes will be on Jared Veldheer and Bruce Campbell, but where will the veterans line up and who will be in the mix for what spots at the end of the weekend? Especially at right guard, center and right tackle.

Will the defensive ends please step up…

Oakland will have to start finding out what players fit best along the trenches and which ones are deserving of major reps. That won’t be decided after one weekend in May, but first impressions can go a long way.

SBREPORT.NET will be in attendance covering the three-day minicamp. Stay tuned for updates and observations from Alameda.

Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

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SBREPORT: You’ve been around a lot of solid veteran defensive linemen since you arrived: Warren Sapp, Derrick Burges, Greg Spires, Kalimba Edwards, Greg Ellis…what have you learned from those guys?

JAY RICHARDSON: “That’s a good point you make, I’ve had the privilege to be around a lot of good defensive ends, just good leaders, good players and all very different. All guys you can learn from.  When it comes to leadership, Greg Ellis was just one of those guys that is going to take charge, he’s just a perfect model for what a pro is supposed to be. But when I first go there, Derrick Burgess was here, and he was kind of like the man at the time, and who you wanted to look at, to see how to do things and the way he rushed the quarterback…he was just a real special athlete. I had the privilege of watching him rush every day, just trying to take what I could, such a tough player, just started to rub off on me. Obviously, we have [Richard] Seymour now, and he’s like a champion. A guy who has three rings, he’s been to the big show and I think it just helps a lot. It valuable to have someone like that on your team.”

SBREPORT: Not to many people know about your defensive coordinator. What’s John Marshall like during game days, the week leading to the game and now, in the off-season during camp and OTAs?

RICHARDSON: “It’s fun. He plays an attacking style defense. John Marshall is a fundamentally sound coordinator. He wants everything done right all the time and he has a lot of personality. He does the best he can to try to get us going throughout the week, even though it gets tough sometimes, he sticks with it and he’s just one of those guys that is relentless. He has fun with it. We have a good time with coach Marshall.”

After a six-year stint with the New York Giants, Oakland brought back defensive line coach Mike Waufle this off-season. He was on staff when the Raiders and Giants were in the Super Bowl and has been credited for helping the careers of many successful defensive linemen. Tom Cable also has a connection with the tough coach, spending six years with Waufle at the University of California. Richardson talked about Waufle and answered a question regarding Cable’s return after speculation of his demise after the 2009 season.

SBREPORT: Mike Waufle is your new position coach. He was with the New York Giants when they won the Super Bowl recently and worked with many good linemen. Have you talked to him during the off-season and what do you expect out of Waufle?

RICHARDSON: “’Waf’ is real military man. He’s a serious guy, but he knows his stuff. He’s one of those guys that knows how to play defense. He’s been doing it for so long, he’s so technical about it and he has the formula down for everything. He knows exactly how he wants things done. It’s good to play for a coach like that because; you know when you are making a mistake, you know there is no gray area. As long as you do things the right way, you’ll be fine. He’s a very smart coach.”

SBREPORT: How does it feel knowing that Tom Cable will be back another season?

RICHARDSON: “Its good for us. You want some consistency. There can’t be a new coach every year; it makes it hard on a team trying to hold on to its identity. Under Cable, we’ve kind of grown as a team and we are still trying to polish it up. But he’s helped a lot in trying to get this team to, rallying the troops if you will and getting us all on the same page. Getting us all to understand what it’s going to take for us to win in this league and be successful as a team and not a group of individuals. So I think he’s very important to our team success.”

SBREPORT: When Jay Richardson is not playing football or training, what’s your day like during the off-season?

RICHARDSON: “Not nearly as exciting as you think. I do some grocery shopping, I play some video games. I relax, I try to do as little as possible. I’m out there paying bills, making sure my family is ok and just do the day-to-day normal stuff.”

SBREPORT: How do you approach the off-season; in terms of balancing your time off and recovering from the season, and working-out and trying to get better as a player?

RICHARDSON: “It’s been fun. I took it a little different this particular year. I took it a little bit more serious. Obviously a contract year and all of that. I just, I felt like this year, I had to be in the best shape of my life and you know, I didn’t do as much hanging out as I probably have done in the past years because this is a big year, not just for myself, but for this team, this organization and I think this is going to be a pivotal year in Oakland Raiders history. This is going to be a big one for us. So I just wanted to be ready for it. As far as my preparation goes, its at an all-time high when it comes to focus and trying to make it happen this year.”

During the draft weekend, Oakland parted ways with veteran linebacker Kirk Morrison. A teammate of Richardson since 2007, the defensive end gave his thoughts on his former teammate and what he meant to the squad.

“Captain Kirk man, I know…that’s the man. We are all going to miss Kirk. Kirk is just a good stand up guy. A good linebacker. A good player. A good smart guy. Any team that gets him, obviously, it was Jacksonville. They are fortunate to have him. He’s a real good guy in the locker room. Kirk is going to do his job and he’s a real classy guy. So, he’ll definitely be missed out here in the Bay Area.”

SBREPORT: The team is taking on a new look: Jason Campbell was acquired, the new draft picks, and JaMarcus Russell looks to be on the way out. What are your thoughts on that?

RICHARDSON: “Yeah, its crazy man. You just don’t know and as they say: you don’t know what you don’t know. All you can do is just worry about yourself. But at the same time, Jason Campbell, from what I have seen of him the last few years, it’s a pretty solid guy, a solid quarterback who knows what he’s doing. He needed a fresh start it seems, this was the best place for it to try to re-establish his identity at quarterback in this league and jump-start his career. I think there is a lot of potential in him, he’s a smart guy. You know, we have a good stable of quarterbacks. Charlie Frye can play. Bruce Gradkowski, we all saw last year, can go out there and hold his own and win games for us. It’s just going to be an interesting dynamic for us this year, going into camp with a lot of talent out here.”

SBREPORT: You’ve gone through tough seasons, but in all, what are your impressions of the fan-base and your start of your career?

RICHARDSON: “They are unbelievable. I remember when I got drafted, I never knew how many Raiders’ fans are nationwide, globally, they are really. I never watched a tons of Raider football in the Midwest, you just didn’t see too much of those games.”

“For a team that has had the lack of success, I guess I have to say, over the last half decade, no fans cheer harder, no fans travel better than our people out here and that’s a testament to the fans, that they believe in us no matter what’s going on, no matter what the situation is. I think that is just awesome. That kind of stuff gives us the energy, especially on game day, like those tough games, the Philly game. We went out, at home, against a playoff team that we beat, most of that you tribute to the fans just being there for us and giving us energy.”

He continued to talk about the direction of the club, stating, “Things are about to turn around. This team is so close to turning the corner and becoming a potential playoff contender year in and year out. We are a few pieces away, I think we have to gain our identity as a team this year and do it early on in the year and establish ourselves our first eight games and I know for a fact that we can do that. I believe it is going to happen this year. I think it’s going to be a huge year for us.”

SBREPORT: What are the next few weeks looking like in terms of mini camps etc.?

RICHARDSON: “We got mini-camp this weekend, we finally get to have the whole team together. This whole new team we have here. Have good practices: we have two on Friday, two on Saturday, one on Sunday and kind of see where we are at. Get everyone up to speed and then the next few weeks, we’ll be polishing that up, working out and building some sort of chemistry and get guys going. It should be fun.”

SBREPORT: You are also a spokesperson for “The Right to Read Foundation,” can you talk about your contributions there and your countless hours of work with The United Way and the local Boy Scouts.

RICHARDSON: “For me its fun. This was all stuff I was involved in, in my life growing up, so it only made sense that once I had a chance to help give back, to help kids that may have been in similar situations that I was in growing up –  it just made sense. As soon as I got out west, out here, my rookie year, there was an opportunity to, on Saturday mornings, to go to children’s hospitals. It was always voluntary. But I signed up. At least every other week, just because I can relate to a lot of the stuff kids are going through. Plus, it’s always just nice to go in there and cheer the kids up, especially in the hospitals. There are a lot of kids in a lot tougher situations than we are. And I think sometimes, our lives get stressful and we focus so much on ourselves and wondering how we are getting out of the situations we put ourselves into and we never stop to look back at the situations other people are in. Especially kids. Doing stuff like that keeps things in perspective.”

RICHARDSON NOTES:

• Participated in 48-league games; tallying 109 combined tackles and 7.0 sacks.
• While at Ohio State, the collegiate majored in African-American studies.
• Selected in the 5^th round (138^th overall) in the 2007 draft.
• His mother, Deborah Johnson, attended Ohio State, where she played rugby and graduated in 1979.

Here is a link to Jay’s Official Web Site & info about his foundation:

JayRichardson98.com

Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Johnnie Lee Higgins is impressing during Oakland’s mini-camp 

By Victor Cotto, S&B Report Staff Columnist

 “C’mon Johnnie Lee…”

 “That’s how you do it Higgins…”

 Just some of the words of encouragement directed to the 99^th overall selection in the 2007 draft during the Oakland Raiders first two days of mini-camp.

 Johnnie Lee Higgins has been a pleasant surprise so far, and the Raiders could benefit greatly if he is able to turn those positives in practice into contributing plays on Sundays.

 In his first season, Higgins barely made an impact. Besides the sense of uneasiness whenever he fielded punts, most of his glimpses on the field were of no significance and it appeared that he was not ready for pro football.

 The Raiders are very thin at wide receiver. And they are looking at the slight of frame target to move ahead of the pack in a pool of targets that is questionable after Javon Walker, Drew Carter and Ronald Curry.

 Per DeMarcus Davis, Higgins has been very active, snagging passes consistently in his vicinity and jumping ahead of the pack in these early rounds of evaluation on the wide receiver unit.

 Overall, the receivers Oakland may trot out there may not be imposing at this point. They all have question marks looming over their heads and head coach Lane Kiffin is looking for someone – anyone – to make some noise heading into training camp.

 Walker has been slow to get back on the field and there are concerns about his health, weight and transition to a new club. Kiffin stated, “Javon’s a lil’ heavy right now…”

 “He’s been picking up the offense fine, but we have a long ways to go,” he continued.

 All appears well with Curry and the Raiders feel that he will be ready to go once camp opens, but he is currently not participating in drills, working with trainers on adjacent fields with other teammates who are hindered by injuries.

 Carter has been hanging around the facility all off-season and warming up to teammates since his arrival. But he isn’t expected to light up the league and Higgins can surely compete at this point for that third and fourth spot in the depth chart.

 Higgins’ consistency will be key.

 After a solid first day in camp, the former UTEP star nearly made a circus catch per Davis during a morning drill, but followed that up by dropping two passes that were sure completions.

 That type of play is reminiscent of receivers in the recent past that Oakland felt had potential, but couldn’t max out their abilities for many reasons. Doug Gabriel was one who showed flashes of brilliance in the pre-season, only to diminish whenever the spotlight was on. Others never made it out of the practice squad or couldn’t rise the depth chart; Johnnie Morant, Carlos Francis, John Stone being some of the dubious names that fell by the wayside.

 If not at receiver, maybe Higgins can regain the confidence of teammates and fans on special teams.

 At this point, he is one of the leading candidates to take over punt return duties. But he will have to show more confidence fielding punts in order to claim that job, as it appeared that he was uneasy in 2007 when given his opportunities.

 So far, all appears well with Higgins. Teammates are supportive, coaches are aware of his skills and are trying to put him in a position to succeed. And at this point, he looks to be headed in the right direction…

 But can he keep it up?

Alameda, CA - In February, the Oakland Raiders claimed wide receiver Todd Watkins off waivers from the Atlanta Falcons. Since the start of mini-camp, the athletically gifted pass catcher has been one of the most impressive players on the field on his passage to make the club.

The Raiders have always been fascinated with his physical tools. Now they have the opportunity to see if his skill set is good enough to round out a receiving unit that is in need of help at the back end after Javon Walker, Drew Carter and Ronald Curry.

The Silver and Black Report was able to capture some audio of Watkins after practice. Click on the link below to listen to Watkins and his story:

Todd Watkins Interview

Alameda, CA – Oakland Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin addressed the media today and the Silver and Black Report was there to get the scoop on JaMarcus Russell, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Derrick Burgess and what’s going on along the defensive line and offensive line.

Lane Kiffin Press Conference

Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden and SBReport.net reporter DeMarcus Davis talk football during mini-camp

Alameda, CA – First round draft pick Darren McFadden was able to spend some time with the Silver and Black Report after a session during Oakland’s mini-camp. Click the link below to listen to what the speedy rusher has to say about his new home:

Darren McFadden Interview

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.

Alameda, CA – Oakland Raiders running back Justing Fargas addressed the media Tuesday afternoon. Click on the link below to listen:

Justin Fargas Press Conference