On day five of their stay in Napa, the Oakland Raiders come out in full pads and play contact football. There was still no cut blocking or tackling to the ground as a means of injury prevention, something for which safety Mike Mitchell needed reminding.
Wide receiver Chaz Schilens returned to the field after missing time with a flare up of his foot injury.
Louis Murphy was the only player not in pads for the practice as he continues to recover from his concussion.
The Raiders got a scare when first round linebacker Rolando McClain was led off the field by a pair or trainers, but he shortly returned and finished the practice.
A significant injury to McClain would have been a major setback for the Silver and Black, as he is expected to be a starter and bring an instant impact to the middle of the defense. So far in camp, he has shown that he is transitioning well into the pro game. He drew praise from quarterback Jason Campbell yesterday when McClain leaped and extended himself to intercept one of Campbell’s passes.
Despite the “no tackling” rule, Mitchell, Jay Richardson and Michael Huff tackled ball carriers to the ground, prompting reactions from the offense.
They managed to get through one padded practice without a fight.
The defenders could not bring the running backs to the ground, but the backs kept running so they put in a good showing. However, that is not fully indicative of the strength of the running defense. McClain did get a good shot on Rock Cartwright, and Mitchell had to pull up on what would have been a de-cleater on Darren McFadden.
In the passing game, the win went to the defense with the defensive backs not letting receivers get free. Chris Johnson dropped a pick,
There were certain plays practiced that we are obligated not to report on. It is an unwritten rule, but one that we take very seriously.
Tomorrow, the practice returns to a non contact practice, and there will be two sessions: one at 8:30 am and an afternoon session at 4:30 pm. It will be interesting to see how they can tap on the breaks now that they have had a chance to go full bore.
Stay tuned to TFDS for Raiders news and information…
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