The Raiders have completed their first week of training camp, including two fully padded practices, and will open the preseason on Thursday in the Hall of Fame game in Canton against the Jaguars.
Plenty of work is already done, with plenty more to come.
Needless to say, their fans have plenty of questions and observations.
Here is a sampling of what arrived in this week’s mailbag:
Albert (@Albert33684910): One week in, how different does a Josh McDaniels camp feel from Jon Gruden’s?
VINCENT BONSIGNORE: Anytime there is a coaching change, there are going to be differences in how the new staff conducts training camp compared to the predecessor. In this case, without a doubt, there is a different feel to this Raiders camp relative to those under Gruden.
For instance, there is less music being played, which has created a more serious atmosphere for the workouts. You see players running laps as a penalty for making mistakes, or hitting the ground to do push-ups.
Things also look a little different in how particular drills are being run, the way the offense looks, and how the defense is being schemed. The practices also feel more physical.
Rick Johnston (@rick_j1022): Is there any movement on the Ndamukong Suh front?
VB: No sense that anything has changed relative to the Raiders’ interest.
(@BourbonRaider): Any chance we bring back Javin White?
VB: Never say never, but between the defensive scheme change and the coaching and general manager changes, the connection between the Raiders and White, the former UNLV standout, aren’t as strong as they once were.
☠️Big Ben☠️Raiders Version☠️ (@Pitz73): Last year before the season you said you had a pretty good feeling about the Raiders based on your experience covering the Rams. Any feel so far this training camp or still too soon?
VB: The Raiders’ offseason was very Rams-like with them making the bold trade for Davante Adams and signing Chandler Jones. And frankly, so were the hires of McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler. It was a smart, aggressive offseason indicative of a team that wants to get to the next level.
So yes, the upward trajectory of the Raiders feels similar.
Justin Marmon (@Marmoduke): Why does the media consistently rank the Raiders third or fourth in the division? They made the playoffs last year, the roster is significantly improved, they have a much better play-caller and most likely won’t have as much adversity on and off the field as last year. I don’t get it.
VB: While it might seem like a slight, in reality when it comes to a division as powerful as the AFC West, someone has to be picked to finish last. And a last-place finish in this division could end up being a relative term. In fact, it is conceivable the last-place team wins nine games.
All that said, the addition of Russell Wilson to the Broncos has really changed the perception of that club. Justin Herbert leads an extremely talented Chargers team. And until further notice, the Chiefs remain the team to beat. For those reasons, there seems to be a national consensus that those teams have either remained above or surpassed the Raiders.
Treysen(@TrapperTreysen): Would you consider any of the Raiders three options at No. 3 wide receiver an upgrade over Zay Jones?
VB: That is a good question. But keep in mind Jones is being paid by the Jaguars to be a featured receiver, while Keelan Cole, Demarcus Robinson and Mack Hollins are being paid as situational role players. The Raiders allocated their big wide receiver money to Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow.
Ricardo Peña (@Ricardo31768549): How are the players taking to Josh McDaniels’ coaching style? Are instances like what we saw with Malcolm Koonce embraced by players?
VB: So far, so good on that front. And the Koonce situation was just about a coach wanting every rep to be as efficient as possible and getting upset when a player mistakenly messed it up. No harm, no foul.
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at [email protected]. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.
