Oakland Raiders Training Camp: News and Notes from Day 8

Stuart Kovacs – Aug 7, 2012

On Tuesday afternoon, the Oakland Raiders participated in their eight day of training camp practice. Here are some news and notes from various reporters of the team.

Tuesday’s session would be a more difficult practice for the team to get through for a variety of reasons. For the sixth straight day they were in pads. However, according to Steve Corkran’s Twitter page, the team would also have to deal with an extreme amount of heat.

On the injury front, defensive lineman Matt Shaughnessy was “fine and practicing,” according to Vic Tafur’s Twitter page. The former Wisconsin Badger suffered a minor ankle injury during Monday’s practice.   

Defensive lineman Richard Seymour (knee), running back Taiwan Jones (hamstring), punter Shane Lechler (knee), linebacker Aaron Curry (knee), wide receiver Denarius Moore (hamstring) and wide receiver Eddie McGee (hamstring) all missed practice once again, according to Corkran.

During the practice there was a scary moment as backup running back Mike Goodson had to be carted off of the field on a stretcher with an apparent neck injury.

According to Tafur, the helmets of Goodson and linebacker Phillip Wheeler collided when the running back was trying to catch a pass across the middle of the field.

Although Goodson had movement in his arms and legs, the team still called for medical support. Soon after, an ambulance arrived at the scene and took him to a local hospital.

Head coach Dennis Allen hopes that the running back can recover quickly. He hates when things like this happen but he understands that it is a part of the game.

This is football, things are going to happen. We don’t want it to happen, but this is football.”

Quarterback Carson Palmer also is trying to think positively hoping that the injury to Goodson isn’t serious.

It’s scary when that happens to anybody. We’re all praying and hoping it isn’t serious.”

The severity of Goodson’s injury is not yet known. Raider Nation Times will continue to monitor the situation.

In addition to Goodson, rookie defensive lineman Jack Crawford left practice with a foot injury, according to Allen. The severity of the injury is also not yet known.

During Tuesday’s practice, the defensive line looked extremely active in terms of breaking through the blocks of the offensive line.

Desmond Bryant, who is playing with the first-team defense with the injury to Seymour, had a play where he stopped running back Lonyae Miller as soon as he got the ball, according to Levi Damien’s Twitter page.

On two separate occasions, Lamarr Houston stopped Goodson behind the line of scrimmage, according to Damien.

Rookie Christo Bilukidi looked extremely active during practice, Corkran observed. He is also getting more playing time after the team decided to part ways with nose tackle Travis Ivey on Sunday.

Linebacker Rolando McClain once again impressed the coaching staff, according to Corkran. In two instances he had great coverage and running back Darren McFadden.

Linebacker Nathan Stupar once again made a mistake when he dropped a sure interception on a Terrelle Pryor Pass, according to Tafur. Allen has reportedly been unhappy with the countless mistakes the rookie had made.

On offense, tight end David Ausberry did not have the best of days, according to Damien. Although he had an impressive sliding catch during the session, he would go on to fumble the ball twice.

During pass-rush drills, offensive linemen Jared Veldheer, Mike Brisiel, and Khalif Barnes looked good against the stunts that the defensive linemen were running, according to Corkran. However, second-year tackle Joseph Barksdale picked up the wrong man on one play.

Quarterback Carson Palmer reportedly looked extremely fast while rolling out of the pocket, according to Corkran. This is a big step for Palmer as he will have to roll out a lot in the west coast offense.

The former Heisman Trophy winner also hit wide receiver Jacoby Ford in traffic even while he was under pressure. This came a few moments after the defense’s pressure almost forced him to throw an interception while targeting Ford.

Backup quarterback Terrelle Pryor continues to have the microscope on him. According to Damien, he nearly threw an interception on a wobbly pass to Nathan Stupar. However, the pass was dropped.

The former Ohio State Buckeye later on had a nice pass to wide receiver Juron Criner, Corkran observed.

Wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey continued to look good and arguably had the play of the day.

According to Damien, he split the middle of the defense and caught a deep pass that likely would have been about a 70-yard touchdown reception.

Earlier in practice, he made a nice catch in the back of the endzone where he had to go up high and keep both feet in bounds.

Running back Darren McFadden had two nice runs, Damien observed. The former first-round pick found a hole between the left tackle and left guard and ran for what would have been a touchdown. Later on, he added another touchdown run to his afternoon.

McFadden will be even more of a key now with both Goodson (neck) and Jones (hamstring) being injured.

With McFadden and Lonyae Miller as the only active and uninjured running backs on the team’s depth chart, it is easy to speculate if the Raiders will go out and sign a running back before Wednesday’s practice.

Raider Nation Times will continue to monitor this situation as well as the team’s progress throughout the entire training camp period.

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