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Week 1: Raiders at Chargers
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Robert Spillane tackling fatherhood and becoming voice of Raiders defense

As Robert Spillane stepped onto the practice field for his second training camp with the Raiders, he has a new outlook on life. Not only is he coming off his best NFL season to date, but he became a dad last month.

"It's the best thing in the world," Spillane said with a wide smile on his face. "I always wanted to be a father. I had such a great father and my wife has such a great father so I have great role models to look up to. There's nothing better than being a dad."

The linebacker joked that with the birth of his daughter, he gained a few pounds of "dad strength" to take onto the field this season. After scratching and clawing for every opportunity since entering the league, his growing family is added motivation to continue taking his game to new heights.

As to how Spillane can improve his game, he has plenty of assets around him in the coaching staff to learn from – including Head Coach Antonio Pierce, a former Pro Bowler and Super Bowl winning linebacker.

"He knows how to play the position," Spillane said of Pierce. "He knows things that aren't even in the playbook and how to extend yourself in different ways to make plays. And that's all we're trying to find out how to do."

Pierce brought in Mike Caldwell onto his coaching staff, who has 12 years of NFL experience as a linebacker and was previously the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator.

"I love Mike Caldwell," Spillane said. "A multi-year defensive coordinator, knows our system in and out, understands the bigger picture of the game and is able to relay it in a very clear and concise message."

Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has been a fan of Spillane's since he signed with the team. The linebacker received rave reviews from several coaches that worked with him at the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Spillane has done everything to exceed those expectations.

"He just comes in every day with great energy, not like good energy, its great energy. Willing to learn," Graham said. "He works hard, he's attentive, and then he's selfless. His leadership, I mean, he doesn't have to say a whole bunch, he just shows it. And then because he has the green dot, because he's in the middle of the defense, he talks and he's clear and decisive when he makes a decision. If I make it complicated, he knows how to make it simple to get the wording to those guys."

"He is an extension of me out there on the field," Graham added. "And that's where that relationship starts. I can't tell you how exciting it is to have him back for this year. I can't tell you how exciting it is to go in the meeting rooms and be with him."

Spillane and the rest of the defense gave a good glimpse in practice Thursday of what they are working to become. He, along with Divine Deablo and Luke Masterson, flocked to the ball every chance they got while helping the defense force two turnovers.

With consistency throughout training camp, the defense can pick up where they left off in the final stretch of last season as one of the top-ranked units.

"I love the guys around me," Spillane said. "I want to dominate one-eleventh of the field and trust the other guys to dominate their one-eleventh of the field. With that, if a break does happen and you have hungry dogs flying to the ball, those mistakes are minimized. We're finding ways to finish with effort and passion on every play."

Take an exclusive look at photos from a 2024 Training Camp practice.

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