The Raiders are hoping Matt Schaub is the answer at QB. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
ALAMEDA, Calif. — There were no grand proclamations or postseason predictions, but there was a definite vibe to the Oakland Raiders’ offseason unlike the previous two under general manager Reggie McKenzie and coach Dennis Allen.
Old Raiders were brought back as invited guests, as if McKenzie and Allen were finally confident enough to show what they’ve built after back-to-back seasons of 4-12 records with a dearth of talent on the roster in part because of salary-cap restrictions.
The Raiders completed their offseason in good health, and appear to have more depth than at any time. Despite another defensive makeover, free safety Charles Woodson was delighted with the level of communication among veteran players and convinced the team would jell quickly.
Mostly, there was a chip-on-the-shoulder confidence instilled by a handful of free agents who are out to prove they have a few years of good football left after essentially being discarded by their previous employer.
Allen, asked if he could feel the difference in tone, responded in the affirmative and was sure the regular media contingent could see it as well.
“I don’t think there’s any question you can feel that,” Allen said. “You guys have been around here too. I think you’ve seen these practices here for awhile. I think we had an outstanding offseason. From the day we started our offseason program to now, I think the team has improved tremendously, but we’ve still got to go out and do it when we get to training camp and the regular season.”
They will begin those camp preparations with their first practice July 26 at the Napa Valley Marriott.
Quarterback Matt Schaub, acquired for a late-round draft pick after a horrendous season with the Houston Texans, feels rejuvenated, challenged by a new system and eager to leave the past behind him.
“There’s never enough time to get everything you want in but I feel we made efficient use of our time as a group on the field, in meeting rooms and getting to know the guys away from football,” Schaub said. “We’ve developed the chemistry of a team. I feel very comfortable where we’re at heading into the summer break.”
Meanwhile, Schaub seems unconcerned that he doesn’t have the sort of No. 1 receiver he had in Houston with Andre Johnson. He likes the skill-set of the receivers he has and thinks Andre Holmes could be a factor.
“He’s a long strider, a big guy who can stretch the field vertically and go up and get the football,” Schaub said. “Obviously with his height and his ability to adjust to it in the air are some of his strengths as well as some of the intermediate routes. Just being able to get to the top of his route, come out of his cut, he can be a guy that can stretch the field for us.”
Schaub likes other receivers, too. James Jones had his two best seasons with the Packers since he began a rigorous offseason training regimen and will discover what life is like without Aaron Rodgers. His steady presence and professionalism will add to the Raiders if he can continue to produce. Rod Streater, with 60 receptions for 888 yards in his second season, continues to improve to the point where the Raiders wonder where his ceiling actually is. Denarius Moore caught 46 passes for 695 yards and five touchdowns, but always leaves the coaching staff wanting more, going invisible for long stretches and dropping the occasional pass.
A lot of camp eyes will be trained on running back Darren McFadden, who was re-signed, and Maurice Jones-Drew, added as a free agent from Jacksonville.
Jones-Drew and McFadden couldn’t manage 3.5 yards per carry last season, but they are intent at re-energizing their careers as a tandem in the Raiders’ backfield.
Jones-Drew knows there are skeptics based on the fact that neither he nor McFadden has performed at his peak over the past two seasons and that some believe they simply have too much wear and tear to return to peak efficiency.
“Everybody can say what they want,” Jones-Drew said. “Just don’t be the same guy in a couple of months saying, ‘Oh, we knew you could do it.’ Hold yourself accountable like everybody holds us (accountable).”
McFadden, still only 26, said he feels like a rookie and isn’t interested in reconstructing the past two seasons, where he has been injury prone and averaged 3.3 yards per carry. He and Jones-Drew haven’t even discussed their parallel existence.
“It’s something that’s unspoken,” McFadden said. “We just go out there and play ball. We don’t think about what happened in the past. For me, the past is behind me. I don’t care to talk about it, really. I’m moving forward. The only place I can go is up.”
Allen thinks both running backs pass the eye test at practice.
“When you watch ’em practice, you see guys that still have explosion, guys that still have run skills, guys that still make people miss,” Allen said. “I don’t pay a lot of attention to what the statistics might say. I just see what I see with my eyes, and I see two guys that if they can stay healthy, can still perform at a high level.”
The only area the Raiders failed to address in the offseason was tight end. Second-year pro Mychal Rivera has the inside track to start based on 38 receptions for 407 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie. At 6-foot-3, 245 pounds, Rivera is more of a receiver than a blocker and is often split wide and goes in motion.
David Ausberry, who spent most of last season on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, has a similar skill set. Nick Kasa, in his second year out of Colorado, is in his third year at the position after being moved from the defensive line and is a project as an in-line tight end. Brian Leonhardt, on the practice squad last year, and undrafted free agents Jake Murphy and Scott Simonson round out the group.
There are a lot of new faces on defense. One is rookie linebacker Khalil Mack, the fifth overall pick in the draft. Mack turned heads with his explosive play as well as his work ethic in OTAs. Anything less than double-digit sacks will be a surprise, with the feeling being he could be a first-year standout along the lines of Von Miller or Clay Matthews.
Tarell Brown and Carlos Rogers went from starting cornerbacks in San Francisco to starting cornerbacks in Oakland, and both men believe the Raiders may be on the verge of something.
The 49ers had eight non-winning seasons before Jim Harbaugh arrived as coach. Brown was a member of four of those teams, while Rogers came on in the first year of the Harbaugh regime.
“Before I got there, they weren’t good,” Rogers said. “They always had a top-10 pick, were sorry, and the division wasn’t really good, period.”
Said Brown: “My first few years we weren’t as successful, but the attention to detail changed, the mindset changed and the attitude changed and you can see that here,” Brown said. “On days like this at practice, the attention to detail is amazing and guys have been putting in extra work. You see guys standing afterward and asking lots of questions. That’s how we started with the 49ers.”
Rogers could be challenged for the starting job by DJ Hayden. Hayden, a first-round pick last year whose season was derailed by health issues, would be an additional first-round pick to go along with Mack on the defense. Rogers will play, regardless, as the slot cornerback.
Welcomed back from injury is linebacker Miles Burris, who opened the 2013 season on the physically unable to perform list and ended up playing sparingly in six games. He found himself working with the first-team defense as the weak-side linebacker in the team’s minicamp.
Burris was the weak-side starter as a rookie out of San Diego State, but offseason knee surgery became a months-long ordeal of rehab and left him watching rookie Sio Moore and veteran Kevin Burnett work as the starters.
“I’d never missed a game in my life since the fifth grade, but it taught me some great things and the lord taught me patience through it,” Burris said. “Overall, it’s been a great blessing in my life. I know it.”
Burris leans heavily on his faith, but on the field isn’t afraid to mix it up. He got into a scuffle with left tackle Donald Penn during one practice and had to be separated by his teammates.
While coach Dennis Allen warned not to make too much of lineups in the mandatory minicamp, he is clearly pleased with Burris.
“I think he’s further ahead than what he was two years ago,” Allen said. “Two years ago he was a rookie and really kind of struggling to find his way a little bit. He’s got two years in the system. Any time you have athletic ability, football instincts and work as hard as he does, you’ll find a way to get on the field and make plays.”
Here is a snapshot of the Raiders’ roster as they head to training camp:
–QUARTERBACKS: Starter – Matt Schaub. Backups – Derek Carr, Matt McGloin, Trent Edwards.
–RUNNING BACKS: Starters – Darren McFadden, FB Marcel Reece. Backups – Maurice Jones-Drew, Latavius Murray, Kory Sheets, James Stewart, George Atkinson III, FB Jamize Olawale, FB Karl Williams.
–TIGHT ENDS: Starter – Mychal Rivera. Backups – David Ausberry, Nick Kasa, Brian Leonhardt, Jake Murphy, Scott Simonson.
–WIDE RECEIVERS: Starters — James Jones, Rod Streater. Backups – Andre Holmes, Denarius Moore, Juron Criner, Brice Butler, Mike Davis, Greg Little, Greg Jenkins, Seth Roberts, Rashaan Vaughn.
–OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: Starters — LT Donald Penn, LG Khalif Barnes, C Stefen Wisniewski, RG Austin Howard, RT Menelik Watson. Backups – G Gabe Jackson, C/G Kevin Boothe, T Matt McCants, T Dan Kistler, T Erle Ladson, G Tony Bergstrom, T Jack Cornell, G/T Jarrod Shaw, G Lamar Mady, G Lucas Nix.
–DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: Starters — DRE Justin Tuck, NT Pat Sims, DT Antonio Smith, DLE LaMarr Woodley. Backups — E Shelby Harris, E Denico Autry, E Jack Crawford, E Ryan Robinson, T Justin Ellis, T Stacy McGee, T Ricky Lumpkin, T Torell Troup.
–LINEBACKERS: Starters — SLB Khalil Mack, MLB Nick Roach, WLB Sio Moore. Backups — OLB-MLB Miles Burris, OLB Kaluka Maiava, OLB Kevin Burnett, OLB Kaelin Burnett, OLB Justin Cole, LB Carlos Fields, LB Bojay Filomeautu, LB Marshall McFadden.
–DEFENSIVE BACKS: Starters — RCB Tarell Brown, LCB Carlos Rogers, SS Tyvon Branch, FS Charles Woodson. Backups — CB DJ Hayden, CB Chimdi Chekwa, CB Keith McGill, CB TJ Carrie, CB Taiwan Jones, CB Chance Casey, CB Neiko Thorpe, CB Jansen Watson, S Jonathan Dowling, S Brandian Ross, S Shelton Johnson.
–SPECIAL TEAMS: K Sebastian Janikowski, P Marquette King, LS Jon Condo.
