The Raiders training camp is now over a week old and TFDS will reflect on some of what we can learn from this team's practices to date.

*The team has some serious speed at running back – if it can see the field.

We all know about Darren McFadden's effortless glide and how he's able to turn on a fifth gear at times to push for the extra yards.  Everyone is also aware that he's struggled to stay healthy each season and has yet to play in all 16 games.  McFadden looks great in camp and, if healthy is poised for a great season, it appears.

His backups are not as healthy right now.  2nd year back Taiwan Jones has struggled with a hamstring injury throughout camp and has not seen much of the field.  When healthy, he looks like he is the fastest player on a very fast team but he needs to get healthy to get playing time.

His main competition for backup running back is Mike Goodson who was acquired via trade from Carolina in the off-season.  Goodson was having a great camp until Tuesday when he was hit hard by LB Philip Wheeler and ended up being carried off on a backboard to the Emergency Room.  Thankfully MRIs came up negative and Goodson rejoined the team that same evening but it's unknown how long he'll be out.

*The defensive backs appear to be improved.

Tyvon Branch is perhaps the best player on the defensive side of the ball and looks like he may be in for a true breakout season.  Mike Mitchell (of whom I've been openly critical) has turned in a solid camp, coming up with some key coverage plays including an interception.

Many media and fans thought that 2nd year cornerback Chimdi Chekwa would compete for a starting spot alongside Ron Bartell.  Bartell looks to be the real deal – a big, physical player with good coverage skills – but instead of Chekwa being the favorite to start next to him, fellow second year player DeMarcus Van Dyke has really stepped forward and been the talk of the camp this year.

Van Dyke is in a tight competition with veteran pro Shawtae Spencer who has had a very up-and-down camp.  Van Dyke has bulked up a bit in the off season and has worked on his recognition skills while in coverage.  Many times last season he was in or near position to make a play but did not recognize that the ball was in route to make a play on it.  This camp he's been much better about reading the reactions of the receiver and getting his hands up to deflect passes.  While he's not in shut-down territory, his ascension has been quite a pleasant surprise.


*The rookies appear to have some talent.

The most talked about rookies have been receivers – 5th round WR Juron Criner and undrafted free agent Rod Streater – both of whom are large, big bodied receivers and both of who possess good hands.

Streater and Criner have both looked good in camp.  They both do have some inconsistent practices but both appear to be locks to make the final roster even if the Raiders only take 5 wide receivers.

Other rookies have flashed in camp, though, as well.  DE Jack Crawford has had some disruptive session in which he has been able to surge through the line for a sack (at least if the defense were sacking the quarterbacks which they are not).  Christo Bilukidi has had some time at DT.  He is also competing to play the Nose Tackle position in both the 4-3 as a backup and in the 3-4 as a backup or the starter.

OL Tony Bergstrom has mostly played as a 2nd team LG but he's seen some time at RG as well in an effort to make him as versatile as possible.  He's unlikely to be the starting LG at this point, barring an injury to Cooper Carlisle, but he's shown flashes as a backup at both guard positions.

LB Miles Burris has been starting at Will position because incumbent Aaron Curry is on the PUP list with a knee injury.  Burris has shown some good plays and is a solid player but has not been spectacular.  He, like most rookies, struggles with inconsistency and has very up-and-down practices as well.

Fellow rookie Nathan Stupar has not been as noticeable as his fellow rookies but looks to be likely a practice squad addition at worst.  Because of the lack of depth in the linebacking corps he may still make the squad as a backup but he has some room to grow and learn to be an impact player.


*Penalties appear to still be a concern.

The Raiders have had 6 padded practices at this time and in each practice where there are pads, there have been a plethora of defensive off-sides calls.  Perennial offender Tommy Kelly has had his fair share of penalties and continues to try to anticipate the snap of the ball.  He is aware of the problem and has admitted it has been difficult to change his habits.  Head coach Dennis Allen is also aware of Kelly's struggles and said they would be trying to "incentivize" Kelly to help him give up his propensity to jump prior to the snap.  As the team is not able to fine a player for penalties, per the CBA, it's likely that the incentives will be playing time but Allen did not explain what he meant.

Kelly is not the only defender, however.  Many of the tackles, ends and even linebackers have been susceptible to jumping prior to the snap and this will need to be a focus of the coaching staff over the next few weeks or the team will struggle with penalties again this year.


*The staring lineup appears to be mostly set.

The coaching staff has been fairly reluctant to mix up the starting lineup much and there has been no real change to the starting 22 players since the very first time the media was allowed into OTAs back in May, after the draft and free agency.

Allen has said that they will not shift positions based on a good practice or two but if the team is going to shift the lineup it may happen soon as they will want to have their starting lineup in place before too many preseason games go by.

The Raiders did release their first depth chart.  There is a link to it here.


*The Raiders may be a bit undersized on the defensive line.

The Raiders were hoping that NT Travis Ivey would be their large player to clog up lanes in the middle but he showed up to camp unable to pass the team's conditioning test and was released.  With Ivey's release the team is without a true Nose Tackle to play over the center.  This is especially worrisome because the team would like to mix in 3-4 but do not have ideal personnel for that alignment.

Tommy Kelly will be handling starting Nose Tackle duties this season but he is a better fit as a 3 technique DT.  Rookie Christo Bilukidi is also more of a 3 technique DT after playing DT and some DE in college.  Richard Seymour is another player who can play both DT or DE and he will be the team's starting 3-technique DT.

Because the Raiders lack that force to clog up the middle they will have to play very disciplined defense, something they have struggled with in the past.  There is no guarantee that the Raiders will be able to stop the run any better this year because their lack of bulk may be a detriment in the run game.

Overall, the Raiders have some good things going for them as well as some questions.  It will be enlightening to see the team play in the preseason to see how they match up against an opponent when they are playing to win.

The Raiders play their first pre-season game against Dallas next Monday Aug 13th at the O.co Coliseum at 5:00pm PT.

I tweet a lot during training camp practices with more insight or thoughts about the Raiders team.  Follow me on Twitter @AsherMathews

There's a question football fans have asked themselves this off season, and it alludes to the record column in Denver: Can John Elway and Peyton Manning REALLY get it up?
 
They won nine games with Tim Tebow. But Tebow and his crucifix were run out of town for the very well-known and well-liked Manning brother. Yes, we're talking about Archie's favorite son.
 
Out goes Tebow and In enters a 38-year-old Peyton Manning - an old, battered and bruised white boy from Tennessee who knows how to strike a chord.
 
I mean, he still looks like he can tune that old guitar, but it's going to be another story when he goes to play it. And Peyton hasn't played his guitar soundly since 2009. Well..2010 was a good year and all statistically, but if you watched Peyton that year you'd know he showed signs of wear. He missed the whole year afterward, and he's getting a little long in the root if you know what I mean. A lot of people aren't sure with this neck injury and old age he'll be playing with if he can even hold up for an entire season.

The Autumn wind is a pirate
Blustering in from sea
With a rollicking song he sweeps along
Swaggering boisterously.
His face is weatherbeaten
He wears a hooded sash
With a silver hat about his head
And a bristling black mustache
He growls as he storms the country
A villain big and bold
And the trees all shake and quiver and quake
As he robs them of their gold.
The Autumn wind is a Raider
Pillaging just for fun
He'll knock you 'round and upside down
And laugh when he's conquered and won.

This poem, written by NFL films now-President Steve Sabol in 1974 became the unofficial anthem of the Raiders after Raiders impresario Al Davis heard it. As the story goes, then-President of NFL Films Ed Sabol (Steve's father) played it for Al Davis before using it on an NFL Films soundtrack. Davis was silent after hearing the recitation before finally telling Sabol that "it epitomized everything that the Raiders stood for." The poem has since become synonymous with the Raiders.

No more synonymous than Davis, however, who first started coaching the Raiders as an offensive end coach in 1960, became the head coach and general manager by 1963, minority stake owner in 1966 and managing general partner in 1972. From 1972 to mid last season Davis was the top and sometimes only authority for the Raiders. He was involved with every major decision and was one of the most involved owners in the history of the NFL and almost certainly it's most accomplished having achieved the trifecta of coach, League Commissioner (of the AFL) and owner.

However, with Davis' passing on October 8th, many things were about to change with the team. To be sure, everything didn't change overnight. The next week, there was still his stamp all over the team - with a strong-armed quarterback throwing deep balls to some of the fastest players in the league. The defense still lined up in Davis' preferred man coverage and jammed opposing receivers off the line. There was still predominately 4 man pressure from the defensive line. However, change was coming to Oakland after having been rebuffed for many years.

Raiders camp begins today with weigh-ins, meetings and new head coach Allen setting the tone for his first training camp.  The team is fully present, it's believed, with the announcement this morning that Raiders 5th round pick Juron Criner has signed his contract.  As recently as last night there was a reported discrepancy of $14,000.00 on the signing bonus but it was widely believed that Criner's position was unsupportable with the CBA agreement.  In the end Criner and his agent must've decided it wasn't worth holding out of an important camp for the rookie receiver and he apparently caved instead of holding out.

With two signings yesterday, ILB Chad Kilgore of Northwest Missouri State and WR DeAundre (Dre) Muhammad of Indiana University, the Raiders enter camp with 89 of the possible 90 roster spots filled.  They have no players on injured reserve, currently, nor any serious injuries at this time.

There was a report earlier today that the Raiders two unsigned draft picks, Tony Bergstrom and Juron Criner, had reached a stalemate with the Raiders organization.  Criner's agent, specifically, spoke to beat writer Paul Gutierrez and gave some cryptic statements that indicated his client may not be in camp at the start.

However, per a source that spoke to TFDS and is familiar with the situation, this is not the case with Bergstrom.

The source stated that Bergstrom's contract is verbally agreed and ready and Bergstrom will be arriving in Napa tonight or tomorrow and will sign the contract when he gets there.

Camp starts on Sunday, with the players reporting tomorrow.  The first practice is Monday.

For more Raiders news and analysis, follow me on Twitter @AsherMathews

TFDS recently covered the offense in preparation of next week's training camp.  Now, we will look at the defense.

Dennis Allen will certainly be hands on with this defense, trying to tweak it to fix the issues that have plagued the unit for years.  It may not happen instantly, but with the help of first-time DC Jason Tarver they'll have this defense ready for the season.


CAMP BATTLES:


Strong-side Linebacker: Philip Wheeler vs Miles Burris

Philip Wheeler was brought in as FA after spending his first four years with the Indianapolis Colts, playing in the cover-2 defense that has been there since Tony Dungy was head coach.  Built more like a safety then a linebacker, Wheeler has quick feet and a good ability to back pedal to keep plays in front of him.  These skills make him a good LB in zone coverage which the Raiders are expected to run much more prevalently this season.

Wheeler was a DE in college so he does have some pass rush skills.  Due to his slighter build he sometimes struggles shedding blocks, but he takes good angles to make the tackle and shows more in run game then passing game even so.

Miles Burris was drafted in the 4th round in this years draft.  He is a versatile, all round linebacker with no particular elite skills but no glaring flaws, either.  His skills allow him to play in multiple linebacker positions but he'll start his NFL career at Outside Linebacker.

Burris is a "hustle player" and is all over the field.  He's an above average athlete that can rush the passer, stuff the run and be a factor in coverage.  He has a tendency to overpursue run plays at time but has the hustle to make up for it.  His transition to coverage assignments in the NFL will be a challenge that that's true of most college LBs.

Winner: Philip Wheeler will have starting spot but don't be surprised when Burris is rotated in, consistently.

Jamal Black is a co-host of the Two Tone Crew podcast and has been playing fantasy football for more than a decade.  Jamal uses statistics heavily in projecting players' future success and attempts to look at football from many different angles to come to the best conclusions.

For more thoughts on the NFL and Fantasy Football, follow him on Twitter @Jamalisms

Read any Fantasy Football For Beginners article, and you will see the standard suggestion of drafting a running back with each of your first two picks. In large part this is because many leagues prefer starting two running backs on each team, and only one quarterback. This means running backs are a precious commodity in fantasy circles. As the NFL continues its transition to high-powered passing offenses, however, the RB/RB strategy faces increasing scrutiny. The yellow brick road we've been on for the last 5-10 years is leading to an emerald city where too few running backs can be trusted to dominate, while too many quarterbacks can. (I'll spare you the 'horse of a different color' reference) Precious commodity or not, predictability is a big issue.

Depending on your scoring system (and the intelligence of your competition), I can imagine as many as four quarterbacks being taken in the first round. Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Matthew Stafford each passed for more than 5,000 yards last year. Aaron Rodgers, meanwhile, won the league MVP and would almost certainly have exceeded the 5,000 yard mark if he had played in the final week of the season.

Any combination of these guys in round one shouldn't surprise you, though the first few picks are still more likely than not to be running backs. If these guys last through the first set of picks, expect a run on quarterbacks in round two and don't be afraid to start the run if it hasn't happened by the time your pick comes around.

Despite the changing landscape, I still feel the earliest few picks (at least) should be spent on a work-horse running back. The question is, which one do you want?

In this article, I'll zero in on last year's champion – Maurice Jones-Drew. We'll take a look at the last ten years to try and spot trends and glean understanding from the combined fates of former league leading rushers. Is Jones-Drew likely to repeat as the rushing champion? Should you take him with your first pick? Let's see what recent history has to say on those matters.