The Raiders were back on the practice field Monday afternoon after enjoying a league-mandated four days off during their bye week.
In addition to the Silver and Black getting back to work after their time off, it was also the first practice for Tony Sparano since he was named Interim Head Coach on September 30th.
After sustaining an injury that knocked him out of the game in London, Derek Carr was back on the practice field in a limited role. Matt Schaub also participated in practice for the first time in over a week as the veteran quarterback was out with a non-football issue.
Interim Head Coach Tony Sparano addressed the media following the afternoon session in Alameda and spoke about the health of his team in addition to elaborating on the coaching philosophy he will bring to the Raiders.
"It's no secret that my philosophy is to run the football, to keep games tight and try to be able to get yourself in a situation where you can win football games at the end of a game," said Coach Sparano.
He also said that while the team currently sits at 0-4, it's important to stress to the players the things that they have done well through the first quarter of the season.
"There are some things that we've done well and our kids need to see that," Coach Sparano said. "They need to see the things they've done well. It's easy to point out the things they haven't done well, but we need to see some of the things that we have done well and why did we do them well."
During the open locker room session, Antonio Smith relayed that Coach Sparano wants to see them smiling and winning games, and the sentiment was something that hit home for Smith. "When he said that, it kind of lit a spark in my heart," said Smith. "I think that energy, that energy that he brings even when he's just talking, addressing the team, it just commands a presence, like a respect."
Photos from the Raiders Week 6 Monday practice in Alameda - October 6, 2014.
Smith can sense the passion and determination of his new head coach. "Some people you meet in this world, you never have to hear a word they say before you know what they're about, and he's just one of those type of people," said Smith. "You can just see it. You can feel it and you can see it. He just has that commanding presence."
DL C.J. Wilson echoed his defensive teammate when he talked about the team's first practice under Coach Sparano.
"It's been going well," said Wilson. "I can definitely tell that he has a great system and a great plan for us. Day One he came and told us the plan. We dug ourselves into a hole and now it's time to climb this mountain and today went well. It was the first day of the new era and I feel like the guys are motivated and there are great expectations. It felt good."
The players have Tuesday off, but Coach Sparano and the Silver and Black will return to practice Wednesday afternoon. Be sure to log on to Raiders.com for pictures from the practice field and remarks from Interim Head Coach Tony Sparano and Derek Carr.
