Darrius Heyward-Bey was resoundingly labeled as a huge mistake when he was drafted 7th overall in 2009, ahead of the explosive and productive Michael Crabtree as well as Jeremy Maclin and Percy Harvin. But DHB has set out on a path of destruction this year, in an attempt to devour and shed any criticism before it commences. In May, at the final media two media session practices, DHB was the best looking wide receiver on the field, out jousting his teammates, Louis Murphy and Chaz Schilens.
On the Raiders second day of training camp, DHB continued to show he was in the zone. After reaching behind himself to grab a bad pass from Kyle Boller, he was met with praise from offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, “‘Atta way to catch the ball, Darius.” It was also reported that he made nice adjustments on a Campbell ball that was off target. And for a second consecutive day, the new No. 85 stayed late with the best cornerback in the league to work on his game.“I talked to him last year about it,” Asomugha said. “I haven’t talked to him as much about it this year because I don’t want to keep that in his head. But last year, I guess at midseason, I pulled him aside and we had a long conversation about it, not getting down on himself and those sorts of things.
“It hurt him what happened last year. Naturally he didn’t feel good about the things that were said. It’s not like it was a secret. He knew that he didn’t play well. That hurt him. This year it looks like he’s had a different purpose.”
On another note, Zach Miller is getting a lot of work in the new offense. It’s not surprising considering the way the Ravens offense likes to use the tight end in the red zone and how good Jason Campbell was at finding the tight ends in Washington. What is surprising is that Zach Miller, who has been the Raiders leading receiver for the past few years, only finds the endzone once every 23.7 catches.
“You see other tight ends in the league scoring a lot of touchdowns and you get a little envious,” said Miller. “You want to be in there celebrating the touchdowns and I believe this year, finally, will be the year it comes.”
“When you look at him, we have done a poor job of utilizing him in the red zone,” Head Coach Tom Cable said. “So, if you just start right there (to) see where he would impact that part of the field (then) that would really raise his game to a whole new level.”
During day two’s practice, Vittorio Tafur tweeted, “Campbell to Zachary Miller combo looking good.”
It appears the Raiders passing game is on target to be a lot better than last year, with or without Chaz Schilens. It is disappointing that the third year wide receiver cannot manage to stay on the practice field for an extended period of time, but this year it is not such a crushing blow. Having DHB put forth some nice practices as well as having Louis Murphy gives the Raiders a good combination of split ends. Nick Miller picking up where he left off last year is also a good sign. Jacoby Ford is a burner who has good hands and would see more field time without Schilens on the field. And lest we not forget the form the Johnnie Lee Higgins showed in 2008. On top of all that, I still like Todd Watkins as a dark horse receiver. I think people tend to underestimate Watkins because of the talent in front of him, but in my opinion, he could be a very consistent third down threat. And did I mention Zach Miller?
The Raiders afternoon practice on Thursday and their two practices on Friday were not the same type of “walk-through” the team held for the first four days last year. They were actually completing plays rather than just starting and taking the first few steps. The practices are still learning intensive and designed to focus on the small things that all team must do well to win, however Langston Walker said, “This is not a walk-through. They may call it that, but it’s pretty much full-go for offensive and defensive linemen.”
In the defensive secondary, Stanford Routt continues to struggle with his position. He was slow on an out pattern that Louis Murphy took for a touchdown. After the play he headed over to talk with defensive backs coach, Lionel Washington, and then headed off the field. Later he was told not to let Higgins get inside on a slant route, which he ended up breaking up.
Routt has to be careful. I know the guys behind him are only rookies, but Walter McFadden is a sleeper of the 2010 draft class. He was very active at Auburn, a school that also produced newcomers Quentin Groves and Jason Campbell. In addition, Mike Mitchell wants more playing time this year and that will be hard to find if Michael Huff steps his game up another level. Mitchell could end up taking time from Routt as the nickel cornerback in some packages.
“You can tell Mitchell is dying to hit somebody,” tweeted Jerry McDonald. There was a package the Raiders showed yesterday where Mitchell was on the first team defensive with Huff taking a knee. McDonald reported that neither Tyvon Branch nor Mitchell took the classic deep drop of the Raiders defense. Obviously, this will be a package to stop the run. The two safeties on the field together could be a scary combination for even the biggest running backs.
LB Quentin Groves is getting some time playing with his hand down. He lined up during some reps with the first team defense at the position. Opposed to Mitchell and Branch on the field together, this could be a pass rushing package. Defensive line coach, Mike Waufle, made a living off of interchangeable front seven players with the New York Giants. His utilization of “hybrid” players was key to the Giants 2007 Super Bowl win.
The Raiders halfbacks continued to show why they are such a dangerous combination. In one series, back up against their own goal line, Michael Bush put an ankle-breaker move on rookie middle linebacker, Rolando McClain. Bush left McClain looking for his jockstrap.
The defense was putting in work to strip the ball from Darren McFadden who has had a severe case of fumblitis dating back to his days at Arkansas. They were unsuccessful in their attempts to cause a fumble on Friday, however.
The Raiders were seen working on swing passes to the halfbacks yesterday. Something that hasn’t been productive in the offense since the days of Charlie Garner, but something the Ravens halfbacks did very well last year with 114 combined catches. The ability to put McFadden in a swing pattern and send Bush into the guts of the defense on a play action would be huge. They need to have McFadden getting in to open spaces and let Bush do the bulk of the work in the middle. The two will complement each other very well if used properly.
And last but not least, there have been no sightings of Al Davis. Yet his son, Mark, and the recently retired Willie Brown were seen yesterday watching the team drills. Mark is getting set to take over for his father and it may come sooner rather than later. It’s good to see him taking on a more active role while his father is still around. Al Davis is introducing him to the role the right way: getting him around the history of the Raiders. Teaching him what the franchise is all about so that Mark can continue the path laid by his legendary father.
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