Oakland Raiders

Mini-camps and organized team activities, which are held in the offseason, are one thing.

Training camp, which takes place in July and August, is another thing.
“I mentioned to the team, I think OTAs and mini-camp is a lot like going to Disneyland,” Oakland Raiders coach Tom Cable said Thursday. “You get through it and you enjoy it and you’re learning and all that.

“To me, this is like the U.S. Open. Every shot counts — every practice, every rep. Today and the next three days, every rep counts, because you’re learning something. You’re getting back, dotting your I’s, crossing your T’s, if you will. It’s important.”
The first practice of Raiders’ camp was a 21⁄2-hour session at Redwood Middle School yesterday. It was a non-padded practice, with the offense wearing white jerseys and black shorts and the defense dressed in black jerseys and black shorts.

The quarterbacks and kickers are in red jerseys — in other words, they are off limits to defenders, in particular pass rushers, and anyone else.
It was the start of a long day for the Raiders, who got taped and dressed at 7 a.m. There were position meetings in the afternoon, a second practice was scheduled for 4:20 p.m., dinner from 6 to 8 p.m., a special teams meeting from 7:30 to 8:15 p.m., a team meeting at 8:15 p.m., and offense and defense meetings from 8:30 to 10 p.m. Curfew and bed check was at 11 p.m.

They’ll awake today and do it all over again — football, meetings, football, meetings.

“We’re rejuvenated,” said cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. “Guys are just happy to be here and start all over again and build off what we finished with last year. It feels good.”

The Raiders are in two-a-days for the first four days of camp, their 14th year in Napa. At the start, players were grouped with their position coaches, and there was non-stop football activity throughout the morning. It was also a non-contact practice.

Quarterbacks threw to running backs and receivers, linemen hit sleds, and there was even some offense vs. defense.

“There isn’t any competition right now,” said Cable.

“This is getting us back into the routine of camp and getting our brains back where they’re supposed to be. We’ll start all of that come Monday.”

Camp will surely take on a different look and feel when the pads come on. Everything changes at that point, said Cable.

“When you throw pads on, you add that combative part of it,” said Cable, who was wearing a shirt that read, “Wanted: 53 men committed to one purpose.”

Cable said it was a “good start to the morning in terms of how we approached it with the learning and everything. Everybody getting the reps and getting all that work is really, really good. I’m pleased to see the carry-over — that jumped out at me right away, from mini-camp and OTAs.”

But the stakes are sure to be even more important when all the gear goes on.

“You’ve got to start to harden your team and develop your toughness and your competitiveness,” said Cable, who is directing his first camp as the team’s head coach.

JaMarcus Russell got the first reps at quarterback. He was followed by Jeff Garcia, then Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye.

Tight end Zach Miller said Russell has come a long way since being a rookie.

“He’s a better player than he was two years ago,” said Miller, who has 100 receptions for 1,222 yards and four touchdowns in two seasons.

“Just through the season last year, I feel really comfortable with JaMarcus as our quarterback because him and I have a great connection out there. I really feel good about him leading us this year.”

Since it’s a closed camp, the only access granted is to reporters — and there was a large turnout yesterday, consisting of writers and TV crews from throughout the Bay Area.

They looked on as Greg Ellis, a veteran who was signed over the offseason, took his spot at defensive end.

Ellis was selected to the 2007 Pro Bowl after tallying a career-high 12.5 sacks.

“Greg’s a veteran, he’s a real pro, he’s taking information, he’s studying it, he really came in very, very prepared. We signed him for a purpose, to come in here and play for us,” said Cable.

Ellis said he wants to find his role and provide leadership on defense.

“We’ve got a good shot at this thing here,” said Ellis.

“I told Michael Irvin one day on his radio show, ‘What better place to start, to be a part of turning something around, getting on the right track, than Oakland?’

“I want to bring my skill level here. I want to be able to get to the quarterback. That’s one thing that I’m going to need to be able to do.”

Raiders Notebook

• Running back Darren McFadden said he’s more comfortable with the playbook this year than he was in 2008.

“I’m fresh, 100 percent, ready to get out there and play ball now,” said McFadden. “I can go out there at full speed with it.”

• Wide receiver Javon Walker is listed on the physically-unable-to-perform list following offseason knee surgery. He can be activated at any time.

• Defensive end Derrick Burgess was a no-show, missing his second straight day of camp.

“He’s not here. I’m not going to discuss that,” said Cable.