Raiders' mental exercises
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Press Democrat
The Raiders were lined up to run a play in a 7-on-7 passing exercise Friday morning, offense vs. defense, when defensive coordinator John Marshall shouted out: “About time for a pick!”
Except that no one was going to intercept a pass in this drill. The receivers were running routes, the linebackers and defensive backs were covering them, and the quarterback was dropping back in the pocket. But the ball never left his hand. It was a most unusual interpretation of 7-on-7, part of a most unusual start to Oakland’s 2009 training camp.
Over the first four days and eight practices, there will be no contact outside of 1-on-1 drills. In fact, the Raiders will run virtually no complete plays. Coach Tom Cable is determined to focus on mental assignments in the early portion of camp. So when offense lines up against defense, each play is whistled dead just a couple seconds after the snap, right about the time the quarterback hands off to a runner or cocks his arm to throw. In punt-return drills Friday, Shane Lechler threw the ball downfield rather than kicking it, and no one covered the “punts.”
Madness?
“I think it’s borderline genius,” linebacker Jon Alston said. “It’s a great advantage for us coming into camp, our bodies, to get acclimated to two-a-day practices, the schedule, sleeping patterns. On top of that, mentally, you can’t beat the work. You get the classroom work, then you also get on the field to refine your techniques, and you remember some you may have forgotten from OTAs (organized team activities).”
When Cable first explained the plan to his players, some — especially among the veterans — were left scratching their heads. No contact over eight practices? No mid-air battles for passes? No two-hand touch on a running back? Fullback Lorenzo Neal told Cable he’d never seen anything like it in his 17 years of pro football.
But the coach made a convincing argument. First, he offered data from the past eight years showing that a high percentage of training-camp injuries occur within the first few days.
“And that’s really because guys go from 0 to 100,” Alston said. “If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. ... Nowadays guys come in in better shape than they used to, but there’s no substitute in off time for hitting, practicing. So this is a good way to work our way into it, both mentally and physically.”
Emphasizing the mental game, Cable wants each player to know his assignments fully before trying to execute against an opponent. The contact and game-simulated action will begin Monday — when players, it is hoped, are more comfortable with cadence, footwork and choreographed movements.
“The players love playing football,” Cable said. “So when you hand them a set of pads and it’s time to go do that, they get into that part of it rather easily. That’s the way they’re wired. But when it comes down to it, if you really know who you got and how you gotta do it, you can do it that much quicker and that much more violent. And so you just kind of fit the two together.”
Honestly, the stop-and-start practices are excruciating to watch. But while this teaching-heavy approach runs counter to their experience, most of the players are giving it a thumbs-up.
“It seemed like it was weird at first when he talked about the concept, but you go through it and it’s a great concept,” special teamer Isaiah Ekejiuba said. “We’re doing a lot of learning, get all the mistakes out the way.”
“I asked coach, ‘Can I throw it on the first play?’ And he’s like ... ” quarterback JaMarcus Russell said, making a weird face. “But he’s running the show. ... It’s good in a way. Anything that helps those guys know what they’re going to do by the time Monday comes next week when we’re full pads and full go, then you’ll see the difference.”
And that’s the idea. By the time the Raiders leave Napa in late August, they will have done plenty of hitting and full-speed dueling. Consider this the calm before the storm.
Asked if the no-contact regimen heightens the anticipation for Monday, Cable formed a wry smile. “Just might,” he said.
EXTRA POINTS
Holdout DE Derrick Burgess was absent again, and Cable declined to comment on the two-time Pro Bowler’s status.
FB Oren O’Neal practiced in the morning, but not in the afternoon Friday. T Paul McQuistan practiced both sessions. Both are recovering from knee injuries.
WR Javon Walker said he had an innovative procedure done to his knee in the offseason, but refused to go into detail. “It’s going to be something amazing that’s going to benefit and help a lot of athletes,” he said.
Stanford Routt has been sharing first-team repetitions with Chris Johnson at left cornerback.
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