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Charles Woodson Sees New Oakland Raiders’ Attitude

June 14th, 2013 at 6:36 PM
By Nick Gill

Many things have changed since defensive back Charles Woodson donned the silver and black. One of the most apparent seems to be a new attitude brought in by head coach Dennis Allen and GM Reggie McKenzie. The Raiders are coming off an extremely disappointing 4-12 finish last year, but Woodson sees the team heading into a more successful direction.

'Christian Ponder, Charles Woodson' photo (c) 2011, Mike Morbeck - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

“Here, I really see a new attitude from where they’ve been previously,” Woodson said. “You’ve got a head coach who’s in his second year and he’s trying to establish that winning mindset around here.”

The Raiders have not made a playoff appearance since Woodson's last season with the team in 2002. Before last season, McKenzie was brought in to transform the Raiders into a contender. He hired Allen as the guy to get them there. They struggled in their first campaign, but this offseason McKenzie and Allen have purged the roster and brought in the type of players they believe will succeed. Woodson was one of those guys.

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Oakland Raiders Conclude 2013 Mandatory Mini-Camp a Better Team

June 13th, 2013 at 7:55 PM
By Nick Gill

The Oakland Raiders continue to plow through their offseason schedule, completing their mandatory mini-camp today. The goal this season is improvement. With all the new pieces, coaches, players, and schemes, these workouts are an important part of the process. The team won't come back together, in full, until late July for training camp.

'MIA_vs_OAK_019' photo (c) 2012, June Rivera - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

“First of all, I’ll just say, I thought this was a good camp,” Raiders head coach Dennis Allen said. “I thought we improved. I thought we got better. I like this football team. I like their mentality. I like where we’re at. I like the way they’re working. Obviously, we’re going to give them some time off before we go to training camp, but I think we’re all anxious to get there and get the pads on and really see what we’ve got.”

A big storyline during the first day of camp was the play of quarterbacks Matt Flynn, Terrelle Pryor, and Tyler Wilson. Allen thought they were inconsistent on day one, but improved as the week went forward. The position will determine so much of what 2013 will bring. The competition will continue into training camp before someone is named the starter. Right now, development is still the goal and the results will follow.

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Oakland Raiders Head Coach Dennis Allen Counting on Wide Reciever Denarius Moore and Young Corps

June 12th, 2013 at 6:56 PM
By Nick Gill

As the Oakland Raiders progress through their mandatory mini-camp this week, head coach Dennis Allen is counting on wide receiver Denarius Moore to become their number one option in the passing game. Moore has the ability but was hampered by some inconsistency in effort and production a season ago.

“I’d say he’s the guy that’s got the most experience out there right now,” Allen said. “He’s a guy that we’re counting on being our number one receiver, but we need all those guys and we need some of those young guys. I think, at the end of the day, we’ll have five, maybe six, receivers, somewhere in there, that have a chance to help this football team.”

Moore finished last season leading the the team in targets and touchdowns. If he wants to be the number one wide receiver, the third year man will have to show production each week. He had a terrific stretch last season catching six touchdowns in nine games. However, he also disappeared catching one pass on three different occasions. He never had more than five receptions in a game all of last season.

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Oakland Raiders’ Head Coach Dennis Allen Sees Lack of Consistency at Mini-Camp

June 11th, 2013 at 4:49 PM
By Nick Gill

The Oakland Raiders opened their mandatory mini-camp today to mixed reviews from head coach Dennis Allen. The team has been in a transition period this offseason with so much roster turnover that the players are having difficulty getting into rhythm with each other. The good news for the Raiders is that there is still time to fix their consistency problems.

'Dolphins vs. Raiders' photo (c) 2012, June Rivera - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

“Today’s practice really, at the end of the day, what we got to continue to work on is the consistency,” Allen said. “I thought at times we executed well. We made some plays both offensively and defensively, but the consistency with which we have to execute on a day-in and day-out basis we have to continue to work on.”

One of the main culprits when it came to the lack of consistency was the quarterbacks. It does not come as a huge surprise because Matt Flynn, Terrelle Pryor, and Tyler Wilson all lack experience. That combined with getting a feel for their new offense and offensive weapons have left them with improvements to make.

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Oakland Raiders Set for Mandatory Mini-Camp Tomorrow

June 10th, 2013 at 4:20 PM
By Nick Gill

The Oakland Raiders will host their final offseason tune-up before training camp starting tomorrow and running through Thursday. The mandatory mini-camp will be an extension of the previous three weeks of organized team activities. With training camp scheduled for late July, this is the Raiders final meeting until then.

'Oakland Colosseum' photo (c) 2005, Chris Yunker - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

A few things to watch for during the mini-camp will be quarterback Matt Flynn looking to secure the starting role. Although it won't be set in stone until the coaching staff needs to do so, Flynn has taken hold of the position. Head coach Dennis Allen likes the way Terrelle Pryor is working, but feels he's not there yet. The only other contender is rookie Tyler Wilson, who has shown strengthens, but still has a ways to go to overtake Flynn.

At the cornerback position, DJ Hayden will remain out until training camp. That leaves more reps for Tracy Porter, assuming his calf is still fine, Joselio Hanson, Phillip Adams, and Mike Jenkins to show their skills. Linebacker is another position where the Raiders have competition. Nick Roach has established himself as a leader. Miles Burris, who has been dealing with a knee injury that was surgically repaired this offseason, Kevin Burnett, Sio Moore, and Kaluka Maiava battling for three spots.

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