Running back Latavius Murray
With the first practice of Raiders Training Camp 2016 set to begin tomorrow, select players spoke with media members about preparing for the upcoming year. They touched on a variety of topics: from handling expectations, to relating with the coaching, and the addition of new players on the team.
Here are some of the best sound bites from today:
Safety Reggie Nelson
On reuniting with Head Coach Jack Del Rio and joining the Silver and Black:
"I mean, it was just a no-brainer for me to come back to [Head] Coach Jack [Del Rio]. I know him, and he knows me, he knows what to expect from me and I know what to expect from him. I just wanted to be comfortable and I felt that I would be comfortable here with a young, upcoming team."
Cornerback David Amerson
Thoughts regarding the loss of safety Charles Woodson and how the team will adapt:
"I think as a secondary, everybody has to step up their play a little bit. Like you said, losing a great play maker like that and a legend, I think they're looking for somebody to step into that role and I think it's going to boost the play of everybody."
Running back Latavius Murray
On or off the field, the fourth-year back is constantly thinking about different ways he can impact the game:
"I guess you can't go out there and do it if you don't visualize yourself doing it. I have dreams about football every day. I wake up, I might jump in my sleep whether it's a guy I made miss or a guy that hit me. You have to eat, sleep and think football and I do."."
Running back Taiwan Jones
Shares his feelings about the expectations surrounding the team, and what the mood is like going into training camp:
"Yeah, it's been a while, but as you know, I'm going into my sixth season and it hasn't felt like this in a long time. We have a lot of young guys that came in with tremendous confidence and with a lot of ability to get better. The coaching staff, man, they're amazing. They know how to relate to us. Just the feeling that you guys feel and that we feel, it hasn't been here in a long time, so I'm excited about it."
Cornerback TJ Carrie
The Raiders have the pieces to be a quality football team, the Ohio-product describes it as putting a puzzle together and figuring out how to make them fit:
"Expectations are always going to be high. It's our job to keep focus, stay sound. Words are words. Things are going to be said, but at the end of the day, we still have to perform on the field on Sundays. That's the main goal as of right now… A lot of the times you can have the pieces but don't know where to put them at."
