Oakland Raiders Mandatory Mini-Camp Day 2: News and Notes

Stuart Kovacs – Jun 13, 2012

On Wednesday morning, the Oakland Raiders began their second of three mandatory mini-camps which are scheduled for this week. Here are some news and notes from a number of Raiders’ reporters.

In injury news, there weren’t any stories of major significance. After injuring his right hamstring yesterday, wide receiver Denarius Moore did not practice today, as expected.

According to Steve Corkran’s Twitter page, Moore made an appearance on the practice field but soon after went back inside the facilities to get his injured hamstring worked on.

Corkran also said that safety Mike Mitchell, fullback Manase Tonga, and defensive tackle Travis Ivey, who has a concussion after dropping the weight bar on his head, were not on the field as expected.

However, linebacker Aaron Curry, center Stefen Wisniewski, and defensive end Dave Tollefson were all in uniform and on the field even though they were not practicing as a result of injuries.

The injuries of these players have created intriguing first-team lineup tweaks, especially at wide receiver and outside linebacker.

At wide receiver, Rod Streater, Louis Murphy, Jacoby Ford, and Darrius Heyward-Bey were all given reps with the first-team, while Juron Criner and Eddie McGee spent most of their day working with the second-team, according to Levi Damien's Twitter page.

Damien also observed both positive and negative moments for Heyward-Bey. After a short reception, the former first-round draft pick was striped by safety Michael Huff resulting in a fumble.

However, he would atone for that by selling two comeback routes leading to two timing receptions from quarterback Carson Palmer. After that, Heyward-Bey would have a miscommunication on a route with Palmer and would then drop a crossing route pass.

Wide receiver Eddie McGee did not have a good day at all, according to Damien. After misreading a few balls and tipping a pass thrown to him which led to a Rolando McClain interception, McGee injured himself while diving for a pass from Palmer. He would have to leave the field to get checked by trainers.

The other position in which the complexion has changed due to injury is linebacker. With Aaron Curry not being able to participate due to knee soreness, rookie Miles Burris joined Rolando McClain and Phillip Wheeler as first-team linebackers, according to Steve Corkran.

Also, Levi Damien observed that Travis Goethel got some time at outside linebacker while rookie Nathan Stupar played some middle linebacker.

Although not affected by injury, another position of intrigue during these mini-camps is tight end. Damien observed that senior offensive assistant Al Saunders has spent most of his time working with the tight ends which mainly include Brandon Myers, David Ausberry, and Richard Gordon.

Gordon, in his second-year out of the University of Miami, caught a 60-yard touchdown pass after “leaking out”, according to Damien. However, after playing good for the most part, Gordon would drop two passes thrown to him late in the practice.

Ausberry, according to Corkran, caught a pass from Matt Leinart in double coverage.  Damien said that he also made a nice catch with Michael Huff draped all over him.

According to head coach Dennis Allen, Aaron Curry, Travis Ivey, and Denarius Moore will all be held out of tomorrow’s third and final mandatory mini-camp being held this week, but should be ready to go for the start of training camp.

If the season were to start today, the Oakland Raiders first-team would look something like this based off of who is taking the majority of first-team snaps:
QB: Carson Palmer 
RB: Darren McFadden
FB: Owen Schmitt
WR: Darrius Heyward-Bey and Jacoby Ford
TE: Brandon Myers
OL (left to right): Jared Veldheer, Cooper Carlisle. Alex Parsons, Mike Brisiel, Khalif Barnes
DE: Lamarr Houston and Matt Shaughnessy
DT: Richard Seymour and Tommy Kelly
OLB: Phillip Wheeler and Miles Burris
MLB: Rolando McClain
CB: Ron Bartell and Shawntae Spencer
S: Michael Huff and Tyvon Branch
K: Sebastian Janikowski
P: Shane Lechler
KR/PR: Jacoby Ford 

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