– Nnamdi Asomugha left the field with a foot injury that was getting a
close examination from the medical staff.
“(Nnamdi’s) foot was bothering him about a third of the way through
practice,so we sent him to get an X-ray,” coach Lane Kiffin said.
Asomugha sat out a good deal of Monday night’s practice as well, but
Kiffin said the first the team heard about any problem was Tuesday.
– Tuesday’s practice in terms of the passing game wasn’t as bad as the
previous evening, perhaps. Well, other than than the four interceptions.
But on the second-to-last day of training camp, Kiffin figured a public
assessment of the Raiders’ play was in order before they board a plane
bound for Nashville, Tenn., and a date with the Tennessee Titans.
When it was suggested that maybe it was time for camp to be over, Kiffin
begged to differ.
“No I don’t think so. I wish we had more time. The reality is I don’t
think we’re very good right now as a team,” Kiffin said. “Whatever that
first game was, I think we’re going to have a big test going into
Tennessee against that team. If we don’t have our stuff right and our
guys aren’t right we’ll get run out of that stadium real quick.”
Veteran fullback Justin Griffith did not disagree.
“I agree with coach Kiffin. We’re in the development stages right now,”
Griffith said.
“In the first preseason game, you’re out there and you’re all excited.
You see what you have and I’d say we did pretty good. But Tennessee is a
different team, the coach has been there for a long time so their system
has been in for awhile and their defense is one of the best. It will be
a good test for us, going into a different environment.”
Kiffin hasn’t minced many words since camp began, and it’s true the
Raiders offense _ particularly the passing game _ has been poor for the
last two days. Still, it’s precisely the kind of comments a coach gives
when a team is coming off a promising preseason opener and headed on the
road.
He wouldn’t rule out double sessions when the team got back to Alameda
if things don’t progress as hoped.
– The Raiders had at least a few decently timed plays in the passing
game, as opposed to the debacle Monday night. There was also the
encouraging sign of Javon Walker having the best day of any Raiders wide
receiver, catching at least five passes and playing with some burst and
enthusiasm.
On a reverse roll by quarterback Andrew Walter, Walker came back a good
five yards to make a catch before going out of bounds.
“Good job working back, Javon,” offensive coordinator Greg Knapp said.
Then again . . .
Marques Tuiasosopo overthrew Drew Carter, who tipped the ball directly
to a waiting Michael Huff at free safety.
JaMarcus Russell threw an inexplicable pass directly to diving newcomer
Nick Sanchez during a seven-on-seven drill (the ball may or may not have
hit the ground).
Russell appeared to be trying to hit Johnnie Lee Higgins, but somehow
their wires got crossed and it ended up as a gift interception to Thomas
Howard.
Andrew Walter threw a sideline pass that glanced off the hands of
Johnnie Lee Higgins and into the hands of DeAngelo Hall.
There were other unsightly plays.
Walter threw a up a duck intended for John Madsen which fell well short
and was broken up by Rashad Baker. Higgins had a ball sail through his
hands moments after the pass that bounced off his hands for a pick.
Ronald Curry dropped two more passes _ one easy, the other more
difficult, although certainly within the realm for someone worthy of his
own highlight reel of difficult receptions.
Russell threw a swing pass to running back Darren McFadden which was
telegraphed to the point where Howard had a better chance to catch it
than McFadden did. The ball fell incomplete.
There were some good passes as well. Walter found Madsen for a touchdown
drill behind Howard, and again for a touchdown at the other end of the
field during a goal line session at the end of practice.
– During the longest seven-on-seven session of practice, seven of the
first eight passes, six of them by Russell, two by Walter, were to
underneath receivers.
Russell threw to Justin Griffith, McFadden and Chris Wagner before
finding Chaz Schilens a whole seven yards down field. Then he dumped one
off to Michael Bush on the right flat and Walter followed with passes to
Madsen and McFadden.
At that point, someone from the defensive side shouted out, “It’s check
down Tuesday!”
It got a little better from there. Five of the next seven passes were
intended for receivers, although one was the Sanchez interception.
“A number of those were check downs but that’s what was there,” Kiffin
said. “In that drill our linebackers play really deep in general in zone
coverage so you’re going to deal with a lot of check downs versus our
defense. And when you’re in seven-on-seven you’re going to deal with
check downs.”
– During one late drill, tackle Mario Henderson essentially blew up a
play before a defender by going the wrong way.
“Mario, it’s a sprint left!,” Knapp said.
– Kiffin conceded the Raiders’ defensive backfield can make things tough
on the passing game, but declined to use it as a hall pass for each poor
pass. It’s equally try that the Raiders have had trouble throwing even
against second-teamers.
“I think we get tested with our first unit because our defense is so
talented, especially the first secondary and Stanford (Routt) being the
third corner,” Kiffin said. “That’s part of it but that’s no excuse. We
have to improve our timing, consistency. It’s going to continue to hurt
us until we have all of our receivers practicing every day with our
quarterback and we’re in good enough shape that they can do that.”
– Safety Tyvon Branch underwent surgery on a broken thumb. Kiffin
expects the rookie to put on a cast and face Tennessee. Those who did
not practice included cornerback John Bowie, tight end Darrell Strong,
wide receiver Arman Shields and kicker Sebastian Janikowski.
– No egregious errors from McFadden after his first tough day at the
office during the Monday sessions, where he had fumbles and dropped
passes in both practices.
“He made some normal mistakes that rookies make over the last two
practices,”’ Kiffin said. “So it will be good to see him rebound. He’s
getting tired, he’s getting overloaded with a lot of plays and that’s
how it should be now.”
McFadden said he hasn’t hit a rookie wall.
“The last two days haven’t been as good as the rest of camp has been,”
McFadden said. “There’s always those days where you have those ups, and
there’s days where you have those downs.”
– Kiffin said running back Justin Fargas is probably the most “game
ready” player on the offense and would see limited action against
Tennessee, with McFadden, Michael Bush and Louis Rankin getting most of
the work.
– Actor Antonio Fargas said he treated himself to a birthday present by
coming to watch his son practice.
– The Raiders will practice Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. and again in the
evening before calling it a camp. When they return from Tennessee, they
will resume work in Alameda.
The evening practice, which will simulate the Titans’ offense and
defense, will be held earlier because the portable lights have already
been removed from the field. Rental trucks have arrived so the field
house and weight room can begin to be broken down.
