RB Darren McFadden returned to practice. Photo by Tony Gonzales.
News and notes from Napa: RBs Taiwan Jones and Darren McFadden, WR Jacoby Ford, and DE Trevor Scott returned to practice after missing significant time due to injury.
The Raiders returned to practice Monday afternoon after a tough loss in the preseason to the 49ers. Although the team did not come away with the win, they have been able to take their mistakes and learn from them in order to improve for their next game. The return of three key players and one promising rookie helped the team push forward.
"It was like Christmas today when you see those kind of talented athletes out here playing and running around again," said Coach Jackson. "I think it helps infuse the team because the guys are very good players. Again, a great day for us at practice and we need to continue to get better."
None of the players, both on offense and defense, are discouraged by Saturday's performance. "We just have to keep playing," said CB Stanford Routt. "We had our good plays, we had our good moments. Obviously we had our bad moments because we lost. I think we're growing as a defense and we're growing as a team and we have to keep fighting. Rome wasn't built in a day and by the regular season I think we should be ready to go."
The team is using Saturday's film as a way to improve. "We just see what we did wrong on the film, get out here on the field and make these corrections," said S Stevie Brown. "If everybody rallies together and comes together, we'll be able to move forward."
Coach Jackson knows the Raiders have a lot of work to do, but trusts the improvements will be made. "We just need to continue to practice and hone in on the things we know that it takes to play," said Coach Jackson. "I think when the players see the tape, they'll understand exactly what we need to do. I know it sounds like a broken record, but trust me we are going to get this thing fixed."
Veteran QB Kyle Boller understands what it takes to move on after a disappointing game. "You just go to work," said Boller. "You learn from your mistakes, you don't panic, you just come back out to practice and execute and fix the mistakes you made last week."
The Raiders took the first step in getting back on track with a high-energy and competitive practice. "I thought it went good," said Boller. "Obviously, we have a lot of work to do. Guys came out and gave it a good effort. We just have to keep building each day. It's not going to happen overnight, but as long as you don't make the same mistakes twice and continue to work on the areas we need to improve on, then everything will be fine."
