Jon Gruden yelled out instructions
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This was the day Gruden had been waiting for ever since he was hired for a second stint as Oakland Raiders coach.
The Raiders opened their first voluntary minicamp under Gruden on Tuesday with optimism that a change in coach can alter the fortunes of a team coming off
a down season.
"The practice field has always been a laboratory for a coach," Gruden said. "That's where we earn our pay. We have to develop this team. We have to learn a
lot about them quickly. We have a lot of things to teach, a lot of things to
improve. It was fun to be out there. I don't want to be too deep or
philosophical or I might start crying."
While only the first 30 minutes of practice were open to the media, there was a different vibe than in previous years with Gruden's loud voice replacing music
as the soundtrack on the field.
There were even large video boards on the field, allowing players to watch replays of practice plays immediately after they happened to make corrections
more quickly. Gruden said that was something his first saw watching Jim
Harbaugh's practices at Michigan and adopted it himself.
Gruden viewed this minicamp as an examination to see how well the players have learned the plays and system in meeting rooms the past two weeks. Gruden
said he tried to throw a few extra wrinkles at quarterback Derek Carr and was
pleased with how he responded.
"He threw everything at me," Carr said. "He tried to get me to see if I was listening to him in the meetings. We had a lot of fun doing that. It's always
fun to accept his challenge and hopefully do good at it and look at him or wink
at him or something like that. We have fun together because we both have the
same goal of putting the ship in the water and hitting this thing running."
Gruden takes over a team that fell from 12 wins in 2016 to just six last season, leading to the firing of coach Jack Del Rio and a second stint for
Gruden in Oakland. The Raiders' facility looks far different than it did during
Gruden's first tenure from 1998-2001 with a workout center that Del Rio
initiated and new fields.
The team needs plenty of work after last year's disappointment.
The Raiders had major drops in scoring (26 to 18.8), yards per game (373.3 to 324.1) and committed twice as many turnovers (14 to 28) this past season as Carr
took a major step back in his development while dealing with a back injury for
part of the season.
But Gruden sees great potential that Carr can get back to the level he was in 2016 when his play helped earn him a $125 million, five-year extension in the
offseason.
"I got really excited out there today," Gruden said. "You can have a really creative imagination with that guy at the quarterback position. He can make
every throw. It comes out of his hand fast and accurate. He's mobile and sharp.
He's a great leader."
The defense became the first in NFL history to fail to record an interception in the first 10 games of the season and generated only 14 takeaways all season
compared to 30 in 2016.
The Raiders have brought in more than 20 free agents this offseason as Gruden has tried to put his own imprint on the team with one of the most significant
moves being the signing of receiver Jordy Nelson to replace Michael Crabtree,
who was released to make room.
But there are also some key pieces missing, most notably 2016 AP Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack
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next offseason.
Starting left tackle Donald Penn is still recovering from foot surgery and last year's top two draft picks, cornerback Gareon Conley (shin) and safety Obi
Melifonwu (hip), aren't taking part in team drills.
Following four trades and a flurry of free-agent deals, the Cleveland Browns are looking better.
Maybe even good enough to win a game next season.
On the day one-of-a-kind left tackle Joe Thomas said goodbye after 11 stellar seasons, the Browns took the first steps without their perennial Pro Bowler, a
player who might be replaced but never duplicated.
Hours after Thomas announced he’s retiring, the Browns confirmed the acquisition of quarterback Tyrod Taylor, wide receiver Jarvis Landry and
cornerback Damarious Randall in three separate deals pulled off last week by new
general manager John Dorsey, who also shipped quarterback DeShone Kizer to Green
Bay and defensive tackle Danny Shelton to New England.
Dorsey stayed just as aggressive in free agency, reaching contract agreements with seven players, including offensive tackles Chris Hubbard and Donald
Stephenson, who can help offset the loss of Thomas. Running back Carlos Hyde
also is leaving San Francisco for Cleveland.
The Browns didn’t confirm their haul of free agents
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Stephenson, Hyde, tight end Darren Fells, defensive end Chris Smith and
cornerbacks Terrance Mitchell and T.J. Carrie. Those deals are expected to be
finalized Thursday, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because
the contracts are not yet signed.
And while Dorsey acquired needed talent to a team coming off a 0-16 season, he hung on to all five of Cleveland’s picks in the first two rounds of this
year’s draft. The Browns have the No. 1 and No. 4 picks and three in the second
round.
”Anytime you can have a chance to acquire three good football players right off the bat in the trades, you’ve got to do it,” said Dorsey, hired in December
after five years in Kansas City. ”I give a lot of credit to everyone in football
operations because we sat there for two months. We made some plans and laid some
plans in regard to free agency and how we were going to attack it. We identified
certain players we thought would help this organization moving forward who had
the qualities we were looking for with regard to do they love football? Are they
leaders at their position? Are they guys that are going to be good in the locker
room?
”I thought the three guys in the trades fit everything we were looking for.”
Taylor could be the team’s long-sought answer at quarterback. He led the Buffalo Bills to their first playoff appearance in 17 years last season and has
the ability to move the chains through the air or on the ground.
”He’s a great kid. Great leader, smart as a whip,” said Dorsey
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enough arm talent and he doesn’t turn the ball over.”
Kizer led the league with 22 interceptions as a rookie and his turnovers in key situations sabotaged the Browns’ chances to win.
Taylor is expected to start next season as the Browns groom a young quarterback, and the team is doing its diligence to decide which one to take. On
Wednesday, Alonzo Highsmith, the team’s vice president of player personnel,
attended Baker Mayfield’s pro day at Oklahoma.
”We view Tyrod as a perfect fit to lead our team,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said. ”He possesses the qualities we want of a starting quarterback. He’s smart,
a leader, and an efficient passer that doesn’t turn the ball over. He’s a winner
and has been very productive as a starting quarterback in this league. The
expectation is for Tyrod to come in and be our quarterback, get himself
acclimated to our offense and help us get to winning as quickly as
possible.”
Landry will help that happen.
The three-time Pro Bowler, who has caught 400 passes in his first four seasons, gives the Browns a downfield threat to pair with wide receiver Josh
Gordon. Landry had a league-leading 112 receptions last season for the Miami
Dolphins, who received a fourth-round pick this year and a seventh-rounder in
2019 from Cleveland.
”It’s really exciting that we had the opportunity to put him on our team
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difference maker that we expect to make our offense go.”
Landry is set to make $16 million under the franchise tag he signed with Miami – or more than $15 million more than Gordon, who received a qualifying
offer for $790,000 in 2018 as an exclusive rights free agent.
The 25-year-old Randall played cornerback for three years with the Packers, but the Browns intend to move him to free safety.
”Demarious is very versatile,” Dorsey said. ”I’ve long admired him when he was playing safety back at Arizona State. He’s a first-round pick a couple of
years ago, which shows you what his skill set is. He’s proven his versatility
where he can play corner, he can play safety. I’m glad we got all three of those
guys.”
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