The Raiders have taken it upon themselves to hold a four day Organized Team Activities in Atlanta, Georgia. “We just wanted to give Atlanta a little bit of a taste of the Raiders,” said Pro Bowl defensive tackle Richard Seymour.
As many as 34 players have reported for duty including Rock Cartwright, Darren McFadden, Jacoby Ford, Kyle Boller, and Rolando McClain – but the surprise of the day was three rookies showing up. The rookies that showed up were center Stefen Wisniewski, cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke, and tight end Richard Gordon. They were also joined by wide receiver Nick Miller, another player who is not currently under contract. It shows a true commitment to excellence from some young guys, three of whom hardly even know their new teammates.
Update: Rookie fourth round pick running back Taiwan Jones has also joined his Raider teammates in Atlanta, bringing the rookie totals to four.
“It was impressive to see how many guys that they had down here,” Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said. The Falcons held team workouts after the Raiders Tuesday.
The Raider players are participating in some team based activities and positional based activities during the week. Richard Seymour specifically requested organized and intense workouts for his teammates. “I know there are some big Falcons fans down here, but we brought the Raider Nation,” said the mammoth defensive tackle.
“A lot of these OTA’s and seven-on-seven drills led by players are nothing more than coming out and playing touch football,” said Chip Smith of Competitive Edge Sports of Duluth. Skip worked with Jason Campbell and Richard Seymour for about a month prior to the workouts figuring out just what the offensive and defensive captain expected. “We are thrilled that they have come and entrusted their week to us,” Smith went on to say.
Jason Campbell – who housed four wide receivers for about a week prior to the camp – said, “I had to get them out of my house. They eat too much. They are younger than me too. So, it’s ‘Let’s go here. Let’s go there.’ I want to go to sleep.”
Campbell has been working with his wide receivers for a while now, according to him. It’s mainly been Louis Murphy, but DHB has been working out a lot with Murphy and the quarterback. Last week they were joined by Jacoby Ford and Nick Miller. This is the type of chemistry that can land Nick Miller a roster spot in September and also land the Raiders’ passing game in the playoffs in 2011. If they can get some efficiency from the passing game, the running game will have an opportunity to be even more dominating than last year.
But the really big story in all of this is the three rookies showing up. Jason Campbell thought they’d have 25-30 people show for the workouts. He wasn’t expecting four rookies since they are not under contract. They may not be under contract, but they aren’t at gunpoint either. I think if I were a rookie and I had the chance to be on the field with Richard Seymour, Rolando McClain, Jason Campbell, and Darren McFadden, all the while learning some of the playbook and getting to know my other teammates – I mean, how can you pass that up?
Still, it shows a big commitment from some of the young guys. Of course you might expect it from a guy like Wisniewski. And I have to say on behalf of DVD that he has done nothing short of fully embracing the Silver and Black stage of his career. You have to pull for a guy like him to get there. Richard Gordon is officially increasing his stock as well.
In the past decade, the Raiders have gone onto the field unguided by veterans like Kerry Collins and Randy Moss, and it has failed miserably. Now, however, it appears as though the stage is set for the Raiders to become competitors in 2011, thanks to guys who were not drafted to the Raiders, but have embraced the culture and everything it means to Just Win Baby. This is the first step towards getting to that next level for the Raiders. A wise friend once told me that the special teams’ pigeon that fateful day was the first sign of change for the Raiders. They now appear to be on that path out of the NFL’s cellar.
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