The Raiders got back to work on Thursday at their Alameda facility, continuing their preparation for Sunday's game in Seattle against the Seahawks.

David Ausberry, Vincent Brown, Chimdi Chekwa, Keith McGill and Carlos Rogers remained sidelined with injury during Thursday's session and WR Kenbrell Thompkins was not in attendance for personal reasons, and his status for Sunday's game is still uncertain.

After a slow start to his sophomore campaign, Mychal Rivera delivered his best performance of the year last week against the Browns, hauling in seven catches for 89 yards including a 22-yard completion from Derek Carr.

During his daily address to the local media, Head Coach Tony Sparano spoke about the young tight end and his continued development in the Oakland offense.

"Mike [Rivera], in the ballgame the other day, he took advantage of the two-minute situation and, obviously, made some plays in the middle of the field early in the game, and made some great catches, which that always helps, too," said Coach Sparano. "I think Mychal will continue to get better and better. I don't question that about him at all."

Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson also spoke about Rivera after practice, and how he has performed so far through the first half of 2014.

"I think Mychal is a young player that is still getting better," Olson said. "I think he had a good offseason. By no means right now is he a guy that's anywhere near where he is going to be in this league."

Rivera credits his impressive performance on Sunday to his continued dedication to the game plan in Oakland.

"Just staying in the grind," said Rivera when asked about the reason for his big day. "Staying at what you're doing. You're going to have some games that the stat sheet doesn't really show up the way it's supposed to or things like that, but as long as you do what you're supposed to do, you're going to have those good games."

The Raiders have a big test coming up on Sunday as they take on Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks on the road, but Coach Sparano doesn't believe that the raucous environment will phase his players.

"They've got great fans just like we do and they're passionate about their team," Coach Sparano said. "It's loud, but we practice that way. It's not something that should be a distraction to us. We shouldn't use it as an excuse, a distraction."

Coach Sparano and the Silver and Black will be back on the practice field tomorrow for the final time before they fly up to Seattle on Saturday. Visit Raiders.com for coverage from the practice field and reports from the locker room.