Oakland Raiders open voluntary veteran minicamp – NFL News
The Oakland Raiders kicked off their three-day voluntary veteran minicamp on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, at their Alameda practice facility in which many veteran players who either have been playing for the team or have recently joined it showed up on the field.
Those who participated in the first day of the minicamp include tight end, David Ausberry, running back, Taiwan Jones, linebacker, Philip Wheeler, and a few others.
Raiders’ head coach, Dennis Allen, said of the minicamp:
“We’re using this as an opportunity to really install our core, base offense, defence and special teams, and really just kind of let the guys go through the motions of breaking the huddle, lining up in a formation, lining up in a defence, lining up in a
punt-team formation, and allow them to get a feel for what we’re going to do and how they’re going to be asked to do it.”
Since it was the first day of the minicamp, the players were not involved in rigorous workout or extensive training or drills, but they did enough practice to warm their bodies up and prepare them for the next few days.
Raiders ended the last season without qualifying for the playoffs and were sent packing after the regular season. Since leaving the field then it was the first time that the players stepped on the field and were happy to be back to the place where they belong.
“There’s not really too much you can put in on day one, but whatever we could put in, we did. I think it went well and it’s good to see everybody again,” Ausberry said.
Meanwhile, the National Football League (NFL) also announced the regular season schedule for 2012. Raiders will play their first game against their American Football Conference (AFC) West Division rivals San Diego Chargers.
All the players who were present at the minicamp seemed thrilled and excited to know about the schedule and renewed their commitment to overcome the flaws that led to their failure in the last season.
Raiders last played in the playoffs in 2002 when they lost in the Super Bowl against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Since then, the team has not been able to make it to the postseason and the players are hoping to end the drought this time.
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