Thoughts from the Dark Side

NFL Headlines

MVN - an Oakland Raiders independent news, commentary, analysis, and media site

Oakland Raider News: Team reports to camp and Lane Kiffin speaks

By Patrick Patterson | July 24th, 2008

E-mail | Print | Share

Training camp opened today, if this was baseball, it would be time for a long winded essay by George Will as read by Bob Costas about hope springing eternal and all those other cliches that are part of Americana. This is football, however, and instead of waxing poetically about new beginnings the Raider Nation is preparing their spikes and face paint to get hyped. So far, there is good news in that there have been no holdouts, and the only no-show is LaMont Jordan who is on the slow boat to anywhere else. Kiffin spoke to the media today and the overall feeling is that the Raiders are going to be ready to have a much better season than the last several.

That sound you heard last night was the Raider Nation breathing a collective sigh of relief when it was announced that Nnamdi Asomugha had signed his franchise tender and would be in camp and getting ready for the season. That relief was only intensified when the long rumored hold-out of Derrick Burgess never materialized. Javon Walker appears to have recovered from his injuries, and according to Kiffin in much better shape.

As of this writing the Raiders are holding their first practice of camp, so the players are there shaking the rust out of their systems and getting to know their new teammates, as well as getting their first chance to have some real contact since last December. This time is crucial to the success of the Oakland Raiders this year.

Kiffin pointed out that JaMarcus Russell’s weight is fine, despite being heavier than the other quarterbacks. Russell is a big framed man, so that is to be expected. Despite the story floated by Don Banks earlier this season, Russell was able to pass all of his conditioning tests.

One early concern is that whilst Tommy Kelly was able to pass his conditioning test, he still has a way to go before he can play. That is a definite concern considering the extremely lucrative contract he signed over the offseason. The Raiders are going to need Kelly healthy to be a penetrating force along the line for the defense to be successful. His counterpart Terdell Sands also passed his conditioning tests to cheers and encouragement from his teammates. This bodes well for the team as Sands is going to be counted upon to rebound from a sub-par 2007.

Kiffin even took time to address some of the media speculation that has been swirling around this offseason. He established that he knew going in that it was Al Davis’s team, and that it was not going to be a usual situation. He also said that he couldn’t stress about it or it would distract from what he was trying to do with the team.

Kiffin in response to the chorus of criticisms from the former players this last offseason:

“What they’re discussing I can’t change so that subject is what it is,” Kiffin said. “I go about and I control what I can control and get us as good as we can get with what I can control. I don’t have control of that.”

Kiffin was asked if he ever tried to change those things, he said, “I think you try to change anything as far as what you can do to be a better team. I’m always going to find the best way to do things that I can and the best way to put our players in the best situation to win. That doesn’t necessarily provide a smooth environment or a smooth relationship but that’s my job to our staff and our players.”

The translation is that the Raider Nation will never know the true extent of what went on between Kiffin and Al Davis this past offseason, but Kiffin is going to be giving his all within that system to make the Raiders a winning team.

Who needs George Will’s words read by Bob Costs, this is the Raider Nation, Gorilla Rilla, Defender, Sidewinder, Raider Kat, and the others are ramping up for the season. Costas’s nostalgia doesn’t fit, instead there’s Greg Papa’s enthusiasm. Raider Nation, this is the beginning.

Ready to get rolling here at TFDS!

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 4:16 pm and is filed under Terdell Sands, Nnamdi Asomugha, 2008, 2008 Oakland Raiders Training Camp, Lane Kiffin, Derrick Burgess, Oakland Raiders Coaching Staff, Tommy Kelly, JaMarcus Russell, Al Davis, NFL News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

13 Responses to “Oakland Raider News: Team reports to camp and Lane Kiffin speaks”

Raiders report to camp and Kiff Speaks - Oakland Raiders Forum says:

July 24th, 2008 at 4:20 pm

[…] report to camp and Kiff Speaks Thoughts from the Dark Side | MVN - an Oakland Raiders independent news, commentary, analysis, and m… FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its time for some football!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111 MORE __________________ […]
Twocents says:

July 24th, 2008 at 6:00 pm

Patrick,
Good to have you back.
I don’t know what you have been going through, but in tough times I always ask myself “what is lacking in this moment?”
Then, address whatever it is, one problem at a time.
Best wishes.
KA1Z3R says:

July 24th, 2008 at 6:36 pm

Welcome back pat… Nice post. I hope Walker performs to the contract we signed him for. I also hope Sands does the same. I’m glad to hear that he passed the conditioning test.
KUSHMAN says:

July 24th, 2008 at 7:55 pm

yes good article, setting off the new season.. man tommy kelly, i mean he needs to perform well. but why didnt skeletor franchise tag him.. would have made so much sense… so if he didnt turn out like we wanted he would get the boot with no regrets.. but he is a power house in the lockeroom according to kiffen…so we all must trust his and rob ryans judgement. sands passing all of his drills.. that is spectacular!! i know that once the man has some wind under him along with that size and power… runners and qb’s are gonna have a tough time getting around him.

whats goin on with the 3 headed monster?? mainly dmac?! very curious on how he does goin up against our star LBs and superstar backfield?!?!
KUSHMAN says:

July 24th, 2008 at 8:34 pm

and by locker room i meant weight room… im sure the man puts up 400+ on the bench.
Raider Blues says:

July 24th, 2008 at 10:24 pm

He better put up 400+ on the bench!!! My goodness gracious I can do that and I’m fighting bad guys not playing line in the NFL!

Good Article! No football doesn’t need to be America’s pastime but it was a nice way to approach this article.
Bill says:

July 24th, 2008 at 11:01 pm

Jordan will be reporting to camp on friday if he is not traded or waived by then. His agent and his lawyer has already contacted the Raiders and told them to expect him. The bad thing is the Raiders can not do anything about it. As long as he is under contract he has the right to practice with his team. GIVE THE MAN HIS PAPERS AL! We don’t need his lazyness or bad attitude at camp this year.
Andres Sanchez says:

July 24th, 2008 at 11:55 pm

Thanks for updating for us Pat, I’ll be reading up on your work.

God Bless America and Long live the Raider Nation
UK Raider says:

July 25th, 2008 at 2:22 am

According to S&B Report Tommy Kelly was chucking bodies everywhere on the first day of camp which is just what we wanted to hear. Also Sands passing conditioning tests is great start. Harris getting turned over by rookie DE Scott is only big time concern for me but getting everone on board (incl. Aso) in camp is great start. Lots of positives, hope the report was reliable.
UK Raider says:

July 25th, 2008 at 4:46 am

Also forgot to say that reportedly Bush was just as impressive. I know he has got to earn the right for carries like Huggy Jr has but from college film for me this guy has too much talent to be labelled as a ’short yardage’ back only. It’s early days yet but the ‘three headed monster’ could well be a reality.
Raider Scott says:

July 25th, 2008 at 8:59 am

The scary part is, as Kushman pointed out, we have to trust in Rob Ryan’s judgment. Based on our performance at stopping the run over the last few years, I can’t say that I feel confident in Ryan’s coaching ability. Maybe it is just a matter of adding/upgrading a few new guys (Hall, Wilson, etc) to help shore up the running game but I still think we are questionable up front. Everyone knows we are susceptible to the run, so we will find out pretty quickly if Kelly and Sands are up to the task.
NightWing Raider says:

July 25th, 2008 at 9:04 am

We’ve waited a long time for this day.
Like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, it’s time to see who fits into this picture we call the NEW Raiders.
It’s time to separate the players from the pretenders.
Last season there were about 7 or 8 games where we were ahead with less than 6 minutes left in the game.
We win those games and we’re in the post-season.
The Raider brain trust has spent loads of money and time trying to address that issue.
… score more points /get the defense off the field.
Get ready for one exciting season of Raider football.
I know I’m ready.
Are You Ready ?
BRING IT ON !
azraider37 says:

July 25th, 2008 at 12:27 pm

Everything sounds great. I’m starting to think that our d-line may come through this year. The way it sounds things couldn’t be much better at camp, with one exception……Jordan. We definately don’t need that turd showing up and being a huge destraction. I have a bad feeling that Al is going to be super stubbern about this. He should have Jordan’s walking papers waiting for him when he shows up. But Al will feel like he is giving up and letting Jordan win. I hope this doesn’t last through the weekend let alone through camp. Let’s finish this and get the real Raiders ready to suprise some people!