Coach Allen: Update on the injuries. Obviously, same guys as yesterday. [P Shane] Lechler with the knee, [CB Ron] Bartell with the hamstring, [LB Aaron] Curry with the knee, Ivey is still conditioning. [RB Mike] Goodson went down with a hamstring today and [TE] Richard Gordon went down with a hip flexor today. We'll keep evaluating those guys, let you know on a day to day basis where they're at but those are the updates on the injuries.
Q: Lechler, is that something you're concerned about or is it pretty minor?
Coach Allen: I don't expect it to be any big deal, so I'm not real concerned about it.
Q: How are the rookies adapting to life in the NFL?
Coach Allen: I think they're adapting pretty well. Every day is a new challenge for those guys. Every day they learn a little something new. They're understanding that camp in the National Football League is not an easy thing and they got to learn how to push through like everybody else does. But I think our rookies are adapting fairly decent, as it stands right now.
Q: Is there a difference in the second day after the adrenaline rush of the first day?
Coach Allen: Guys are a little more sore. Their legs are a little dead. But, again, I thought we had pretty good tempo today. The heat got to us a little bit and we had to regroup ourselves but I thought we finished up pretty strong.
Q: On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate Carson Palmer's mastery of what's going on out there?
Coach Allen: 8, 9. I think he's doing exceptional. I think he's got full command of the offense and I think he's done a nice job of running it.
Q: The defense today seemed to really step up after yesterday.
Coach Allen: Yeah, we made a few plays. I think coaches are all perfectionists, so it's never what you want. I've learned over the years when you walk off the practice field it's never as good as you thought it was and never as bad as you thought it was. Kind of reserve judgment until we get a chance to watch the tape. It was nice to see us make a few plays. Mike Mitchell made a nice play on the interception so that was good to see.
Q: You didn't have Mitchell at all during the off-season stuff. You mention that one play, but what sort of things does he bring?
Coach Allen: I think he's got some speed. I think he's got some talent. Obviously he's a little behind as far as knowing the scheme and knowing the system. But the first couple of days I've seen him out here, no pads on, I think he's done a nice job.
Q: Pads go on tomorrow. How leery are you going to be of that or is it just 'this is what it's all about'?
Coach Allen: We're going to go play football. That's the way the game was meant to be played in pads and we'll put them on and we'll mix it up a little bit. We'll find out who's going to compete when we put the pads on.
Q: Did you do anything different at practice today, tempo or otherwise, knowing that you are going to put pads on tomorrow?
Coach Allen: No, we didn't cut back at all. Today's practice was a little bit longer than yesterday because we only had one. But I thought we got pretty decent work today.
Q: We've had a lot of observations from players about changing culture, that kind of thing and the things expected of them. How do you straddle a line between respecting what went on here before and staying true to what you want to bring here and what you and [GM] Reggie [McKenzie] want to bring to the organization?
Coach Allen: I think at the end of the day, we respect the history of the organization and we respect what Mr. Davis was able to do here. The loyalty that he created within the organization, the brand that he created within this organization, but we're going to do it our way. That's the only way we know how to do it. Reggie and I have a plan on the way we want to run the football organization and that's the way we're going to do it. We hope to have success doing it that way.
Q: With some of the Raider fans being allowed on the sidelines today, does that make you look forward to us being in the stadium for the regular season?
Coach Allen: Yeah, I think it's always great to have fans out here. We can't wait. Obviously this weekend we're going to have a pretty significant group of fans come out here for practice this weekend and we'll be excited about getting into the stadium on Monday night against Dallas.
Q: Yesterday you said you put an emphasis on things like body language. How did you feel about their body language today?
Coach Allen: I thought early it was pretty good. I thought it sagged a little bit through the middle, tough part, of practice and then I thought it picked up there towards the end.
Q: Most of yesterday and a great deal of time today, it looked like a lot of clean catches. In pas years, that's been kind of an issue there. How cognizant are you in making sure that this is a team that's really secure with the ball in terms of receivers?
Coach Allen: I think when you look at the National Football League, there's no bigger stat as far as winning games as the turnover takeaway ratio. We're going to work extremely hard offensively of when we have the ball, not giving it back. And then defensively, the only reason why we go out there is to take the ball away and get the ball back for our offense. Those are things we're going to harp on and focus in on throughout the season.
Q: [FB] Marcel Reese missed a lot of the off-season stuff. What are your impressions of him?
Coach Allen: I've been impressed with Marcel. I think he's an exceptional athlete as a fullback. Again, I think Marcel, his role will be defined when we get the pads on and see where he's at from that standpoint.
Q: What kinds of things can you do to prevent the team from sagging at practice? Do you do something different?
Coach Allen: Yeah, at times you do. I don't know that there's anything specific that you do. Today I felt it was necessary to bring them all in together, let them know what I was observing and give them a chance to get it corrected. I thought they did a pretty nice job of responding.
Q: There seemed to be a lot to like about Carson's performance today. He seemed really accurate and seemed to improvise really well. What seems to be the aspects of his game that have jumped off the page to you?
Coach Allen: I think he can make every throw in the book. I think he stands tall in the pocket, he's got great vision, he understands what the defense is doing and he understands when the defense does one thing, where the vulnerabilities are and he's able to exploit it. That's what you want your quarterback to be able to do and I think he's done a great job of it.
Q: Great comfort to you as a head coach having a guy like Carson?
Coach Allen: Absolutely. You can't win in this league on a consistent basis without a quarterback and we feel good about the one we've got.
Q: Did you see any strides made between yesterday and today?
Coach Allen: Yeah, I'll have to go back in and look at the tape and really see exactly where we gained some things, but obviously we were able to take the ball away. It looked like in the third down period we were able to make a few stops and be able to get off the field in third down situations, so that was good from a defensive standpoint. Offensively, I thought the last couple periods of the day we responded a little bit.
