7/20/22: News, Notes, & Quotes from Raiders veterans
The Las Vegas Raiders were the first NFL team to officially kickoff the 2022 season thanks to the Hall of Fame game scheduled for Aug. 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The rookies were the first to report on Monday and today the veterans were scheduled to come into Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center.
Tomorrow, the first day of practice will take place as training camp officially gets underway.
Today--it was news, notes and quotes from four key veterans as they met with the Raiders media:
OG John Simpson
WR Hunter Renfrow
OLB Maxx Crosby
ILB Denzel Perryman
OG John Simpson
Third-year OG John Simpson was the first to take the podium and talked about “buy-in.” What does it mean when players buy-in? To put that in perspective from a coach/player relationship--the coach can structure the perfect game-plan, cultural identity, and scheme but if the players don’t believe in it--it’s all for naught.
Below is one of my quick slant videos of Simpson as he explains ‘buy-in.”
OLB Maxx Crosby
The second veteran to take the podium was OLB Maxx Crosby. The third-year vet was recently rewarded with a new four-year, $95M ($53M guaranteed) in new money.
Despite being the fourth-highest paid EDGE in the NFL in terms of APY coming in at $23.5M, the sack numbers don’t necessarily matchup. But as I always say, don’t be a box score reader.
That’s why I run my BWF grades and grade the snap of a player rather than judging them off YouTube highlights or box scores. If a QB pressure creates a loss of down or negative play for the offense--that’s just as good as a sack.
Furthermore, when peeling back layers of the onion to get to the core, what if Crosby created pressure and the play resulted in a INT or turnover? Even better, right?
Crosby shed some light on only recording 25.0 sacks in three years in my quick slant video below:
ILB Denzel Perryman
The heart and soul of any defense usually comes down to the MIKE linebacker widely because they make the defensive calls and get their teammates aligned pre-snap. One could argue--for the Raiders, the heart & soul is Perryman.
Perryman, who is coming off his first Pro Bowl berth after being traded by the Carolina Panthers for a swap of late-round picks is seeking a new contract--just like TE Darren Waller.
However, that hasn’t stalled Perryman from maintaining his focus in “doing his job.” He lightheartedly said that his agent will be handling that dilemma while wiping sweat from his head.
I have to be honest. The beanie/beater game is on point. I do the same, no matter the weather conditions (forreal forreal). But back to the 8-year vet.
He touched on a number of things today but mainly spoke on the new cultural identity that has taken the team by storm--”accountability.” My quick slant video below sheds some light on Perryman and how “accountability” has always played a role in his game.
WR Hunter Renfrow
If you were to ask me who the most valuable skill player on the Raiders current roster outside of WR Davante Adams--it would be hands down WR Hunter Renfrow.
The diminutive yet shifty wide receiver has produced Pro Bowl numbers aligned from the slot. In HC Josh McDaniels’ offense the slot gets targeted early and often and the receivers have produced. Case in point--WR Wes Welker & WR Julian Edelman.
To think that Renfrow won’t put up a similar stat line is fool’s gold. He’s the perfect complement to Adams, as he does the dirty work underneath against slower linebackers and taking command of middle ground real-estate.
Today, Renfrow touched on being a man of faith while echoing Simpson’s earlier comments on “buy-in.”
Renfrow then doubles down on his “bread-and-butter,” which happens to be his faith. Watch my quick slant video below as Renfrow provides insight on how he stays grounded while being able to perform at the highest level.
While there wasn’t much to report other than the team prepping for tomorrow’s first day of practice--it is important to understand the team’s cultural identity, mindset, and direction moving forward, as all parties need to “buy-in” to the new movement--simply labeled the Raider Way from 1475 Raider Way.
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