Las Vegas Raiders training camp: inner thoughts

The Las Vegas Raiders are entering their third week of training at training camp.

So far it has been a productive session. After talking to some people in and around the organization, I wanted to present some notes on the general feeling at the camp.

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Confidence in defensive coaching:
People in the camp are extremely excited about what they see from new Raiders defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and his staff, which they see as a major improvement from Paul Guenther and co. The players are in the right places and the Raiders believe they will have more answers for the opposing offensive coordinators than they had at the start of Gruden’s second term there. The Raiders aren’t sure if they will be awesome on defense in 2021, but they feel like they can be competitive on that side of the ball and that might be enough given the ability of the offense.

Confidence in secondary education:
Thanks to solid coaching, the Raiders feel good in their young high school. They don’t know how the squad is going to shake when it comes to the exact rotation, but they believe young players like Trayvon Mullen, Damon Arnette and Johnathan Abram can make some headway under Bradley and secondary coach Ron Milus. As Gruden said at the start of training camp, the Raiders are going to be very disappointed if this is a problem this season.

Photo by Steve Marcus / Getty Images

Feel good about the future: The Raiders have a lot of players working in their first contract. If those players can make progress in 2021, the team believe they can be fixed for a while. They’re in good salary cap form, so they can easily recruit players like running back Joseph Jacobs, defensive end Maxx Crosby and quarterback Derek Carr while keeping their core. So, Las Vegas thinks its future is bright.

Photo by Steve Marcus / Getty Images

Offensive line depth: Don’t be surprised if the Raiders continue to seek out an offensive line depth played on the original 53-man date of August 31. They like their starting offensive line, but there isn’t a big margin for error. So, if the starters get injured, that could be a problem.

Heat is a challenge: The fight is real in terms of the Las Vegas heat. Yes, the Raiders start training at 7:30 am. However, it is often close to 100 degrees at the end of the two-hour sessions. Sometimes the practice becomes a bit slow due to the oppressive heat. But, in the end, the Raiders believe it will toughen them up and help them stay in shape for all four quarter games throughout the season.

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More from Moreau: Gruden likes to have varied offensive lines and Foster Moreau can give him another one. The Raiders camp has been creating a buzz about how they can use third-year Moreau and star Darren Waller in tight double sets. This can be a problem for opposing defenses, especially if young receivers Henry Ruggs III and Bryan Edwards show up during the season. The tusks may run out of people to cover. Moreau has great skills and he could break out in 2021.