Oakland Raiders OC Greg Knapp, Insists Team Making Headway

– Jun 16, 2012

Oakland Raiders new offensive coordinator Greg Knapp sees the pieces of his unit falling into place. Much of the time spent this offseason was concentrating on adopting the new schemes on both sides of the ball.

According to Knapp the team has been introduced to 90 percent of the offensive playbook, and he’s thrilled with the improvement and the way the team is grasping everything.

Minicamp ended Thursday and Knapp sounded positive, if a bit cautious not to jump ahead of himself.   "There has to be a sense of urgency now," Knapp said. "When the new (collective bargaining agreement) got done, with less practice time, less practices, yet the expectations are the same—to win. “

"The players need to feel in May and June that we've got to learn this now; we can't wait until training camp. I hope they felt my urgency in my voice, and the way I coached on the field."

Knapp explains the importance of the players retaining what they’ve learned for the next six weeks until the Raiders report back to Napa on July 29^th for training camp.  

According to the rules of the NFL, the league doesn’t allow any football discussions between players and coaches during this off time.  Raider players need to comeback with the same strong attitude and desire they had so far this offseason to continue the development process of what Head Coach Dennis Allen and the rest of his staff want from their players.  

"I expect us to be a very successful offense, but it's going to take time," said Knapp, back for his second run at the job after a prior stint with the Raiders from 2007-08. "I've got to be patient and understanding. I want us to be balanced. I want a defensive coordinator on the other side of the field to know that we can run the ball efficiently or throw for explosive gains efficiently."

With many young offensive weapons on the team, Knapp explains it’s nice to have a veteran quarterback like Carson Palmer to lead in the transition with his willingness and patience to learn himself and guide the others around him.  

"There's going to be another growing curve when we start playing preseason games, and there's going to have to be another growing curve during the regular season because the speed of games goes so much faster," Knapp said. "But I was very pleased with what I saw at the beginning of OTAs (Organized Team Activities) and how we finished."

The Raiders really have great things happening and the offense is adopting a zone running scheme, while the team is experiencing a shift on the offensive line.  In making the adjustment Knapp explains, "Whenever you change the front five parts, one way or the other, there's a lot of communication that has to be learned through the heat of battle.”

Building the new strategies and having the team develop them and grow into them is not an easy task by any means.  Coach Allen and his staff understand this concept.  Allen said, “I think the biggest thing is as a head football coach you’ve got to be able to think on your feet. You’ve got to be able to react and respond to situations that arise and make decisions, and then don’t look back. I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve learned.”

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