Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders'
offseason workouts began on April 22. Oakland Raiders They concluded Thursday
with the end of a mandatory three-day minicamp. Oakland Raiders So what did Dennis
Allen, entering his third season as the Raiders' head coach, glean from nearly
two months of being around his team as it begins its reconstruction in earnest,
especially with training camp about five weeks away? Oakland Raiders Consider Every
Raiders draft pick is signed and every Raiders player under contract was in
attendance for the minicamp. No contract haggling, squabbling or unnecessary
drama. "I like the direction we're headed as a football team," Allen
said. Oakland Raiders "I think we've got a group of guys that are committed
to winning. I think they're committed to this organization, and I think we have
a lot of guys who have a lot to prove. That's an exciting thing for a football
coach. That's an exciting thing for these football players. "So I like our
direction, I like our commitment and we've just got to keep working. Oakland
Raiders " An infusion of veteran talent with past success, especially on
the defensive side of the ball, such as Justin Tuck, LaMarr Woodley and Antonio
Smith as well as Oakland taking linebacker Khalil
Mack with the No. 5 overall draft pick has given the team a new identity. And on
offense, the Raiders have a seasoned, new quarterback in Matt Schaub and
a hot prospect in second-round draft pick Derek Carr, who has overtaken Matt
McGloin as Oakland's
second-string signal-caller. Injury-wise, guard Lucas Nix (knee) is
the only player Allen sees as potentially missing the start of training camp,
even though cornerback D.J. Hayden (foot) participated in just one
organized team activities (OTAs) session and linebacker Kevin Burnett (ankle)
and Smith (undisclosed) missed them all while recovering from injuries. Allen
was asked if there was a palpable feel on the practice field that this was,
indeed, a better team than he had the previous two years. "I don't think
there's any question you can feel that," Allen said. "You guys have
been around here too, Oakland Raiders so I think you've seen these practices
around here for a while. " Oakland Raiders I think we've had an
outstanding offseason and I think our team from the day that we started the
offseason program to where we're at now, we've improved tremendously. But we've
still got to go out there and do it when we get to training camp and do it when
we get to the regular season," Oakland Raiders the end.
