By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
They came to practice outdoors wearing shoulder pads, and that was a big deal for the Raiders players who are a mere eight days from playing a preseason exhibition game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Canton, Ohio.
There were lots of media members lining the side of the grass field, one of three practice fields next to the Las Vegas Raiders’ HQ here in south Henderson about four miles east of Las Vegas Boulevard and Interstate 15. At 8:35AM, the media was given 30 minutes to take photos and videos. Those are the rules by first-year Raiders coach Josh McDaniels, who comes from the New England Patriots way of life.
There were season ticket holders sitting in the shade under tents and security patrolling the area, advising media to move out of the way of golf carts moving fans.
Before the media left to hit practice, Raiders sponsor Credit One Bank said it’s going into year two of the partnership.
The Raiders brought in three coaches and a coach to talk to the media in a room on the side of the team HQ building. The media tosses out questions to the players and coaches like special teams coach Tom McMahon who came visiting today.
McMahon said he wants, “workers” and who understand “leverage.” He seemed to like the word, “leverage.” Funny, I had a former business editor back in Tampa who was obsessed with this same word and would drop, “leverage,” into every story lede.
McMahon replaced former Raiders special team coordinator Rich Bisaccia.
Next up in the media room was wide receiver Demarcus Robinson, a seven-year NFL vet from Florida who was signed after playing for division rival Kansas City.
“It (Raiders offense) could be as explosive as any offense in the league,” Robinson said.
Then came punter/funnyman AJ Cole, one of the league’s premier punters and a free-spirited talker who joked about everything from him looking more and more like placekicker Daniel Carlson to Mack Hollins’ goofy statements.
On punting business, Cole said he’s working on “directional punting” to push the ball outside the numbers.
“I feel good where I’m at right now,” Cole said.
He said he’s trying to build trust with the new special teams coach, McMahon.
Cole joked that there won’t be any special teams tackling quips on the first day of players wearing pads.
Cole mentioned he was a “sneaky museum guy,” so he’s looking forward to seeing the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio where the Raiders are playing Jacksonville a week from Thursday. He said his favorite three museums have been in Florence, Italy; Air & Space in Washington, D.C.; and a western Pennsylvania sports museum (before a Raiders vs. Steelers away game.)
Cole expects the football hall will replace the western Pennsylvania one in his top 3 museums, but the punter politely quipped, “No offense to Pennsylvania.”
Enjoy a little of Cole’s humor here:
Following Cole was his pal, placekicker Carlson.
“I’m not the funny guy, he is,” Carlson said of his buddy, punter Cole.
“Each year is a new year and I have to prove to myself,” Carlson said.