Inexperienced players adding to enthusiasm under Turner
June 27, 2004
By PHIL BARBER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
ALAMEDA -- Is Rich Gannon ready to regain his MVP form? Does Jerry Rice have another great year in him? Can Warren Sapp be a force in Oakland, as he was in Tampa Bay?
According to Raiders coach Norv Turner, we may be asking the wrong questions.
"Everyone wants to talk about our older players, the veteran players we've signed," Turner said Thursday after wrapping up a three-day minicamp. "But the key to this football team is the young players taking another step.
"Doug Gabriel (wide receiver), you see him out here making plays. Tyler Brayton (defensive end), Phillip Buchanon (cornerback), Napoleon Harris (inside linebacker) -- I've talked about a lot of those guys. ... We need the young guys to really step up and play at the level they're capable of playing."
At other times, Turner singled out cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and rookie tight end Courtney Anderson for praise.
With nearly all of the thirty-something Raiders excused from the minicamp, Turner and his staff have had a rare chance to evaluate their younger players.
And for the most part, the coach liked what he saw, even from his still-toddling rookies.
"(Tackle Robert) Gallery, (center Jake) Grove, Courtney Anderson, those guys, they've had fewer mental errors than a lot of the veterans," Turner said. "They've come in here with a sense of urgency, and they've handled it extremely well."
"It's been a good summer," said Gallery, whom the Raiders took with the second pick in the draft on April 24. "For the most part, I'm getting it. There's always something to pick up, and there will be until the day I stop playing. But I think it's going pretty well."
The sense of urgency to which Turner alluded was apparent throughout the three-day camp. New coaches such as special teams coordinator Joe Avezzano and defensive backs coach Clayton Lopez brought high energy to the drills, and most players seemed upbeat and energetic.
On a few occasions, they even crossed the line into aggression.
Defensive end Grant Irons tangled with a couple of different offensive linemen (Irons mixed it up with Gallery at the first minicamp, right after the draft), and cornerback Denard Walker verbally blistered Gabriel on Thursday after some minor contact in a passing drill.
"I was just having some fun out there," Walker said of his profane tirade.
Turner hopes such passion will translate into additional offseason conditioning. Strength coach Jeff Fish has guided most of the Raiders through numerous "organized team activities" and voluntary workouts. (Brayton, for one, hasn't missed a single workout.) The team weight room will remain open every morning, but many of the players will now disperse until training camp, which begins July 30.
"My point to them this morning: If you have been here for the last 31/2 months and you have been working four days a week and you have gotten yourself into this kind of condition, hey, build on it," Turner said. "Don't take a step back."
It isn't just the young guys who are providing impetus to Oakland's rebound, of course. Free agents like Sapp, linebacker Dwayne Rudd and safety Ray Buchanan are hoping to resuscitate their careers. And anyone left over from last year's 4-12 flameout is eager to get the bad taste out of his mouth.
"There are a lot of guys in that building that feel like they have something to prove," Turner said, nodding to the Raiders' facilities.
"And I am one of them."
EXTRA POINTS
Turner excused several players from Thursday's practice, saying they were "East Coast guys" who had weekend commitments. They included Buchanon, wide receiver Jerry Porter and running back Amos Zereoue.
Though he continues to be listed as a defensive lineman on the roster, second-year player Akbar Gbaja-Biamila confirmed that he has been moved to outside linebacker. DeLawrence Grant and Sam Williams have undergone similar shifts.
Several unsigned players took the field for tryouts during the three-day camp, including offensive linemen Todd Wike and Robert Hicks, and tight end Mike Hart
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