Friday, June 25, 2004
By MARTY JAMES
Executive Sports Editor
ALAMEDA -- Norv Turner has already picked up on a couple of important things as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders.
No. 1, he said, it's a football team that likes to work and knows how to work. "There's some guys that have really put in a great offseason," said Turner.
No. 2, they like to play, and they have fun doing it, said Turner, who was hired in late January to lead the Raiders.
"That gives us a chance, and that's exciting to me," Turner said Thursday, following the Raiders' final minicamp at the team's headquarters in Alameda. "There's a group of young players that have been drafted over the last three or four years that are potential Pro Bowl players. There's guys that are going to have great success in their careers. There's a lot of starters in that group.
"I think the chemistry of this team and the mix is outstanding."
The voluntary three-day minicamp, which began Tuesday and included selected veterans and rookies, ended in spirited fashion, with the offense and defense scrimmaging in shirts, shorts and helmets for the last half-hour of practice.
Noticeably absent were veteran wide receivers and future Pro Football Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Tim Brown, but for many of the younger players, it was a chance to get familiar with a new playbook, a new staff and impress their position coaches.
The Raiders worked on their offense, defense and special teams in the 90-minute session.
"We've got a new coaching staff here, and everybody wants to show them we can play," said Carlos Francis, a rookie wide receiver from Texas Tech. "I want to let them know that I'm here. I'm going to take one day at a time. I need to work extremely hard to make this team -- that's my main focus."
The minicamp also served for more player evaluation during the offseason. There was light contact, but the tempo and intensity will pick up significantly when the Raiders report to training camp on July 29 at the Napa Valley Marriott.
It's during two-a-day practices in full pads at Redwood Middle School where there's blocking and tackling and where positions can be won or lost.
The Raiders' ninth training camp in Napa will consist of 28 practice days, a schedule that will take them up to their third game of the preseason.
"This is a great time of year," said Turner, a native of Martinez in the East Bay and a former Washington Redskins head coach. "We're not concerned about playing a game. We're coaching everybody and getting them ready to go to camp. I told the guys that when camp comes, it changes. The sense of urgency goes up dramatically. You've got 15 days before your first preseason game.
"Guys fall by the wayside in camp, if they don't pay attention, if they don't learn the specifics of their position. What you do is you give someone else a great chance to make the football team."
After a complete meltdown during the 2003 NFL season, when the Raiders went from AFC champions and Super Bowl participants to a 4-12 record in one disastrous year, there's really only one direction for the team to go -- and that's upward.
"The ingredients we have as a football team to me that make us exciting are that we're talented, and talented at a lot of positions and a lot of different age groups," said Turner. "We're a lot younger football team than anyone realizes."
Turner continued: "The thing about this football team and this coaching staff is that there's a lot of guys in that building that feel they have something to prove -- and I'm one of them. I think when you have that approach, that attitude, it does raise everything up a little bit."
One of those young players is Tyler Brayton, a second-year defensive end from Colorado who hasn't missed a workout during the offseason.
"You can't get better than that," said Turner.
Offensive tackle Robert Gallery, the team's top pick in the April draft from Iowa, is working on learning the playbook as much as he is about pass blocking and run blocking techniques.
"I learned some things I've got to work on, so that I'll be ready to go to training camp," said Gallery. "I'm trying to learn as fast as I can."
The Raiders had two sessions in the last 10 days with Jeff Fish, their strength and conditioning coach. Their weight room is also open in the mornings five days a week in the offseason.
"Physically, as long as they stay in shape, we'll be ready to go when we go to camp," said Turner.
Rich Gannon and Kerry Collins got the most work and repetitions at quarterback, and threw short and medium range passes in different drills.
All in all, Collins was pleased with the way the minicamp went.
"I think we performed well," he said. "We've got a lot of young guys we're working in. We made some mistakes, but I felt like we improved every day we were out there. I saw a lot of guys practice hard and really make progress."
Turner got his first look at the Raiders' training camp setup a couple of weeks ago during a visit to Napa. He gave it a thumbs up.
"It's outstanding. It's not so spread out, like a college campus. I like getting away from the facility and having that training camp mentality. When you can keep everything that compact it's a big plus."
It's expected that Turner will turn up the heat in training camp, as the Raiders continue preparations for the 2004 regular season. They open on Sept. 12 at Pittsburgh.
"We're going to hit, we're going to hit in the running game, we're going to have blitz drills," the coach said. "Based on what we've talked about in our meetings, I don't think we're going to hit a lot more than other teams. But it's going to be physical and it's going to be competitive."
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Turner hopes featured back will emerge from crowd of qualified competitors that also includes Zereoue, Fargas, Wheatley
June 24, 2004
By PHIL BARBER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
ALAMEDA -- Amos Zereoue got most of the reps in nickel-package drills. Troy Hambrick bobbled a pass, then wound up catching it behind his back. Justin Fargas left a handoff on the ground, reminding everyone why he is considered a risk despite his tremendous athletic ability. And somewhere, Tyrone Wheatley enjoyed a day off.
If coach Norv Turner is having trouble sorting out the Raiders' halfback position, he probably wasn't able to clarify much on Wednesday, the second day of his team's three-day minicamp.
With Charlie Garner having defected to Tampa Bay, the Raiders have no clear starter in the backfield.
"I think there's a bunch of guys that see themselves as our starting tailback, and I think it'll work out when we get to camp," Turner said. "And I think when you have competition, and you have guys who've played, you have an opportunity to come up with a featured runner. That's our goal. If we don't come up with that, I do know we have guys who have been productive."
As Turner alluded, he has never been a runner-by-committee type of coach. Whether it was Emmitt Smith during his days in Dallas, or Stephen Davis in Washington, or Ricky Williams in Miami last year, Turner's offenses usually have relied on a single workhorse back.
"Yeah, that's the way I'd prefer to do it," the coach admitted. "When we've had success, had the best success, that's the way we've done it. ... I think that's the way the runners would prefer it."
All of which begs the question: Who will be the guy?
Wheatley seemingly has the edge, based upon his competent performance in Oakland. He was a 1,000-yard rusher in 2000, when the Raiders led the league in ground yardage under Jon Gruden, and he was one of the few offensive players to stand out last year. But Fargas is the fastest of the four, Zereoue (the former Steeler) probably has the best hands, and Hambrick was the most productive in 2003.
Coach Bill Parcells picked Hambrick to replace Emmitt Smith in Dallas last year, and Hambrick carried the load all season. He rushed for 972 yards, eighth-best in the NFC. But he averaged only 3.5 yards per carry and suffered in comparison with Cowboys fans' memories of their record-setting runner.
"It was hard," Hambrick said Wednesday, "because I didn't have Emmitt Smith's line. I didn't have Emmitt Smith's quarterback. But you know, we worked together as a collective group, and we were able to pull it and win it together, and finally get to a playoff."
But after the Cowboys drafted Notre Dame running back Julius Jones in the second round of the draft, Parcells made it clear to Hambrick that the team was going in a different direction. As the spring progressed, Hambrick began to feel less and less wanted.
"As the offseason went on, we were working out, it was more of being a nun at a nightclub," he said.
So Hambrick asked for, and received, his release from the Cowboys. Like so many other players past and present, he felt his best chance for a new start lay in Oakland -- especially since Turner's offense is not so different from the one the Cowboys ran during Hambrick's first couple of years in Dallas. He signed with the Raiders May17.
"All I am coming in to do is to try to get back on the team, get a fresh start and try to compete and show somebody I can play football," Hambrick said. "I'm very disciplined at what I do. So if I fit in, that's great. If I can help this team get up from where they were last year and back to the Super Bowl, that'll be good, too. I'm just here to help."
That could include toiling on kicking teams. Hambrick got his NFL start under Joe Avezzano, who spent 13 years with the Cowboys and now coordinates the Raiders' special teams.
In the meantime, Hambrick has a little more than a month to get in shape for training camp. Turner praised his vision and physical running style, but noted that Hambrick showed up for drills in less than peak condition.
Hambrick vowed to get into better shape.
"I'll get out there and run now if you want me to. I won't die on him."
Turner would no doubt be pleased to hear that. He'll use several factors to select a starting halfback; with luck, mortality won't be one of them.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/raiders...24raiders.html