Photo by Tony Gonzales
The Raiders took to the practice field this afternoon in Alameda and some familiar faces were back in action - WR Brice Butler, WR Juron Criner, FB Marcel Reece and TE Scott Simonson were all back at practice after missing yesterday's session.
When practice ended, Head Coach Dennis Allen spoke about the team's preparation for the Packers and the continuity on the offensive line.
"I think they're [the offensive line] playing with confidence and I think that's going to be a position that I think is going to be one of the strengths of our football team," Coach Allen said. "It's been nice to see some of these young guys come along. A guy like Menelik Watson, who really didn't play last year, he's come out and performed really well at right tackle. As well as a guy like Gabe Jackson has done a good job in there at guard."
In addition to Coach Allen, both coordinators spoke to the media, and during his remarks, Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson made sure to speak about the progress WR James Jones has made throughout the preseason.
"For him, he's playing more within the system," Olson said. "He's a veteran player. He knows what he needs to do to get ready for the regular season. He's been great in the wide receiver room. For us, let's get through these next two weeks and let's make sure he's fresh and ready to go for the opening game against the Jets."
When Defensive Coordinator Jason Tarver took his turn at the microphone, he addressed numerous topics about the defense, including the improvement he's seen from highly-touted rookie Khalil Mack.
"Khalil got better from Week 1 to Week 2," he said. "I really like Khalil in that when he makes a mistake, he learns from it. He doesn't like being wrong. He's had very few major mental errors as we've gone through, which is going to create more opportunities for him to make plays."
At this point in the preseason, the team is looking forward to the opportunity to play another game, something RB Latavius Murray spoke about after practice.
"I think practice was real good today, real crisp," said Murray. "I think guys were flying around, so I think we're looking sharp and we're just ready to go out to Green Bay and put on a good show."
The Raiders will be back on the practice field tomorrow before traveling to Green Bay on Thursday, so be sure to check Raiders.com for updates from the field and post-practice remarks from the players.
