Raiders Training Camp Is Underway, Plus Geno Smith Joins | NFL

Raiders Training Camp Is Underway, Plus Geno Smith Joins | NFL

[Music] Football is back. All is right in the world. Day one of training camp practice at Inner Mountain Health Performance Center. The players are out on the field. The grass is green. The sun shines a little bit brighter here in Henderson, Nevada. And of course, training camp is opened up. Eric Allen, Amber Theo Harris, Raiders training camp special. Welcome in everybody here on this first episode. We can’t wait to talk about some of the position battles. We’re going to talk to um some of the new coaches. Joe Woods, the secondary coach, also Gino Smith is coming up. There’s a new quarterback in town and uh a new member of our broadcast team. We’re happy to have him. Kirk Moore then all coming up on this special. But let’s get into it. I mean, it feels so different. It does. It feels different in this building. There is a reason to be excited. Raider Nation has a lot to talk about. Uh number one, the offense is something to be excited about because of the potential. Chip Kelly is now in as offensive coordinator under of course Pete Carroll, the new head coach. Uh coming fresh under John Spy Tech, new GM, who’s a Super Bowl, two Super Bowl winners there at the top of the organization. Also new minority ownership. And Tom Brady, he’s got a couple Super Bowls as well. So there’s a theme here. Yes, EA. There’s a winning mentality being built inside of these walls. Um and and you bring in a Chip Kelly who just won a national championship uh with Ohio State. He he’s coached in the NFL and they’ve got Gino Smith. That’s a reason to be excited. It really is. I think it first starts, of course, with Pete Carroll and what he’s been able to do over the course of his career. uh you feel comfortable and confident that he’s the kind of guy who just doesn’t talk about culture, but he’s going to build it by himself as far as being the figurehead, being able to get the crowd going, being able to come into this building and have everybody have the same type of energy. He’s running around. He’s excited. The hoops out there in the indoor court. So, if you ever walk by him, he’s ready to challenge you on some horse. And then it goes to Chip Kelly. Chip has been so successful with multiple offenses. We all know him when he first uh uh came onto the scene in Oregon and being able to really have that dynamite explosive offense being able to run, make those big plays off to the National Football League. Had tremendous success with the Eagles and some of the other stops. Remember Shady McCoy under him did a fantastic job. And then last year the national championship with Ohio State able to get that team over to Hunt being able to have those explosive receivers but really focusing on the run game. right now with the Raiders, he has all those things plus Brock Bower. So, I’m really excited to see how Chip kind of infuses his style of offense with Ashton Genty, with Brock Bowers, with Gino, with the receivers. We have the young guys coming up. So, he has a lot of pieces, a lot of players to be able to design offensive schemes around. Very excited about what he’s going to be able to do this year. And look, the rookie class is something to be excited about. We have not seen them on the field in an NFL game, but when you have a top six pick and you go with a running back, you know he’s the real deal and Ashton Genty and you have to like what Chip Kelly you can expect to do uh most likely establish that run game, play action pass. Um this feels like the right fit to get the ball to guys like Brock B. It is. And I think what’s important with the young guys as far as how you evaluate them, I think what Spy Techch and Coach Carol tried to do is get players that fit this scheme. So there’s not going to be, I don’t believe, a big gap between what these players were able to do in college and what their DS. Yes, there’s going to be a definite defin definite uh adjustment from the speed aspect of it, but I think Gentry is going to be the kind of guy who’s going to be able to get three, four yards of carry along with Brock Bowers in the middle of the football field. That’s really going to put some stress on if you’re a strong safety or a linebacker and you’re worried about Brock Bowers. All of a sudden, you bring the nickel back. Now, the Raiders have the opportunity to run the football with a light box. So, I think those two dynamics working together when you have a guy like Ashton who’s been so successful in college, has that second gear, has that stocky build for him for for himself, and then you have Brock Bowers who’s a number one tight end according to ESPN in the National Football League after one year. Jacobe Meyers able to be a consistent football player as a number two guy. Then you have those young guys. So, there’s a lot right now that we have to look forward to with this uh Raiders offense. And in years past, we go into training camp feeling like the defense could be the strength. And last year, that’s how we felt. And so many injuries took place. I think at one point all 11 guys were first to third year players, a lot of young experience. And now they keep Patrick Graham as defensive coordinator, but bringing coaches like Joe Woods, who we’re getting ready to talk to, who has defensive coordinator experience in the secondary, coach in the secondary and being the defensive um pass game coordinator, they add competition. I think that’s going to be a theme as well. It is. It is. Pete Carol creates competition, especially we just saw Jamal Adams get added to the roster along with five other players the day before training camp starts. What does that do as a player, right? If you’re in one of those, keep on your toes. Keeps you on your toes. And and you know, a little secret here. I I think Jamal may not be playing safety. I think he may be that versatile guy in the middle of the football field. May play a little bit of Will, may a little bit of Sam, may put a little of Nickel. So, it’ll be interesting to see where you put him with all these younger guys and new players. But when you’re talking about the defense, first we got to be healthy. I mean, last year, of course, Max was banged up. Malcolm Coots never played. Christian Wilkins didn’t play a lot, so we had just a lot of turnover. So, health is the most important aspect of the defense. And if this defense is healthy, Malcolm Coots coming back, of course, Max having a full year coming off of surgery. If you have the opportunity to have Wilkins there, those linebackers who are known to be able to have Super Bowl experience, be able to put that down. They’re going to be the ones that connect that front and back end together. I think that’s really critical and really important. But you got to have that health. You got to be healthy, particularly on the front line because that pressure up front with Max, who we all know is 100 miles an hour every single play. And I think everyone feeds off that, but you got to be healthy to feed off that. You and I have covered a lot of teams uh outside of the Raiders that have gone on to Super Bowls, and one thing they have in common is a strong defensive line with some depth, right? You didn’t even mention Adam Butler or Tyrie Wilson who are gonna rotate in and keep that defensive line fresh. By the way, Kristen Wilkins starting on the pup. Uh no really word on when he might come off of the physically unable to perform list. So, we’ll keep you guys posted on that as we know it throughout these specials. But Adam Butler, Adam, I really like Adam Butler. I mean, starting last year, I I thought he wanted to make a presence as far as everyone thought I was just the kind of guy who’s going to rush the passer from the three technique or the nose tackle. He did an amazing job stopping the run last night, particularly early on uh last year. So, I really like the fact that we’re able to resign him. He gives us some pop, some push in the middle of the football field. And oh yes, he can rush the passer from that three technique or that nose tackle position. And then Tyrie, this is the time when Tyrie needs to pop. I mean, last year at the end of the year, I thought we saw some really good uh uh plays from him as far as getting off the ball fast, understanding what you can do. Kind of that jet package where you have those two outside guys and we put him at the three technique inside. He’s able to bull rush that guard and he makes some really uh uh tremendous plays toward the end of the season. So, I’m really expecting big things from Tyreek. Not only depth in the defensive line, but things winning teams have is a strong secondary. Pete Carol knows that. Of course, we you don’t want to constantly compare it, but the Legion of Boom was a big deal. It was a phenomenon. It’s the reason why he went to back-to-back Super Bowls with Seattle. And then you’ve got Joe Woods here who won a Super Bowl as defensive backs coach of the Denver Broncos, the no-fly zone. So, um, building up this secondary has been a clear priority, not only in the draft, bringing in young guys like Darien Porter, who a lot of people are excited about bringing over Jeremy Chen, the safety from Washington, Eric Stokes from Green Bay, Darnie Holmes, they resigned him, and of course, they extended uh Isaiah Pamau, who a lot of people are very excited about. So, what do you notice about those guys? What do they all have in common? and you have done a great breakdown and you’ve done your your your film prep on on this uh position battles. Uh the length is obviously there. I mean all these guys are long for the most part these corners the new guy Stokes you’re talking about Darren Porter is a long guy on the corner be able to have that skill set. Not only they’re long and tall but these guys can run. I mean, they’re four four3 types of guys, and that is humongous when you have the opportunity to maybe play a cover four where you only have a certain part of the football field that you’re covering and you have man-to-man, but if he goes, you know, 15 yards across the football field, you have that middle guy who’s going to help you out. So, to be long, to be fast, and this type of system will really help you. And then the physical part of the quarterback spot, those guys can press you, they can get up in your face, they’re not afraid to tackle. I think that’s the one theme that kind of runs through this secondary and the previous secondaries that coach uh Pete has coached. These guys are long. They’re a little bit faster, but the physical presence of the quarterback specifically is really what sticks out to me right now. I’m not saying there was some intention in building this roster, but when you average out the height of all of the corners and safeties that were added, it is almost exactly the same of the corners and safeties that were on the Legion of Boom. almost the number if you have your researchers do it is almost exactly the same as far as average height. So there’s clearly a prototype with Pete Carol which is very exciting. Um and and and I love that Pete Carroll said that Darien Porter the guy they drafted uh in the third round out out of Iowa State. He said he fits the mold of what we’re looking for. The sky’s is the limit for him. Let me tell you Amber uh I think it was rookie mini camp. Uh, I was, you know, walking through the cafeteria and Daren was in there and I introduced him to Mike Haynes. And Mike is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play. They were similar size. And I was like, man, if you have any questions, you need to ask this guy right here, Mike Haynes. And so he took Mike Haynes number down and I believe they they spoke a couple times. But that’s the kind of player that you want, particularly young player who’s not afraid to ask questions and kind of understand, you know, who came before you, learn everything you can from these great players. So, I was really uh happy to see this guy was he’s like a sponge. Yeah. And that’s only going to help him get better. And he has a Hall of Famer, soon to be Hall of Fame that he can also ask a couple questions to as we’re counting down to Canada for this one. Um, one of the things that gives uh, I think Raider Nation hope is we have looked around the NFL in years past and seen tremendous improvements. You know, we all know the Raiders had four wins last year. We all know they finished last in the division. It wasn’t what anybody wanted, but look at the Commanders last year. They were in the same position. They were a team that went from four wins to 12 and five in the NFC Championship game, right? Uh there in fact there was five teams in the NFL last year that had a 4- win game or more improvement, right? Uh so there is always uh hope to look at what the trajectory could be. One was right here in our own division. The Chargers uh had five wins. They went up to 11 wins. So that’s a sixgame swing. When Jim Harbaugh comes in, uh they also had a new offensive coordinator come in in that team and a new defensive coordinator. Uh you know what’s similar to new coach? Yes. new offensive coordinator. Um, but all those teams that really turned it around, Jaden Daniels came in, right, for the Commanders. Um, the Vikings turned it around last year. They went from seven wins to 14 wins. Their quarterback quarterback player. Yeah, exactly. And so what do the Raiders have? Yeah, we have a quarterback who’s established, who has the credibility, the experience. He I think he’s one of four guys that uh has touchdown interception ratio or something like that. He’s in rare air right now. We’re talking about those other four quarterbacks, Robbie Mahomes, Josh Allen, and one of the other guys, but those are the critical areas on a football team that you need to have solidified, right? The quarterback position, the head coach, offensive coordinator, the GM. So, all those things are kind of tied together. And once you have that and those all those those pieces have had success like in the, you know, recent history uh recent past here. So, those are things that help you get over the hump a little bit. I know we’re in a very difficult division, but Pete’s not afraid or he’s won against all these coaches. Uh, Gino has won. Uh, the our GM has won. So, I’m really really happy about what our direction is, the players and the people we have in place in those leadership positions are going to get us to the point where we’re a successful football team. It’s fun to be in the AFC West. If you want to be the best, you beat the best. And now with Pete Carol, the Raiders are in a division where every single head coach has either won the hoisted the Lombardi or been there. Jim Harbaugh has not been there, but he he did win a national championship. So, you got to love the competition. All right, we have so much to cover. Uh, coming up next, we have Joe Woods. He is such a great addition. He is a winner coming to this organization. We’re talking to Coach Joe Woods coming up next right here on Raiders Training Camp. [Music] Every year, millions fly with us at Allegion because together we go places. We see old friends and try new things. We laugh. We really like to laugh and reconnect. We remember and we wander, which leads to wonder. From how we go to where we go to what we do when we get there, we go further together. And a blue moon. Well, that is a delicious looking orange slice. Thank you. That’s actually my son’s slice. Proud of you, son. Thanks, Dad. I’m sorry. This is a slice of your son. Look, it’s an honor to be chosen for a blue moon. Well, if it’s an honor. Yeah. No, just kidding. That was a really good one. The larger one is the dad. Nothing outshines a blue moon. At Cox, we’re always a step ahead. There you go. I’ll show you. Like before your basement became movie central, we made sure you’d have strong Wi-Fi. Even down here. And you can rest easy knowing the price of your plan won’t go up for 3 years, guaranteed. See, he’s looking out for you. And so are we. With advanced security that blocks threats on your network. Good boy. Whatever the future brings, Cox will keep you a step ahead. Oh. The Raiders training camp special is brought to you by Allegent, the official airline of the Raiders. Low fairs, non-stop flights only at allegant.com. And by SiriusXM. Get closer to what moves you with SiriusXM. Here 247 NFL news and talk on SiriusXM NFL radio channel 88. Welcome back. Raiders training camp special. It is day one of practice. Eric Allen so excited to see all of the new faces, a new coaching regime, and it’s Pete Carol who we all know has a Super Bowl ring. He’s done it before. And what do winners do? They bring in a winning staff. That’s right. and none other than uh the the defensive uh pass game coordinator and the DB coach right now, Joe Woods joins us. He’s one of the new but but kind of old faces. You’re back with the Raiders. You were here in 2014. And Coach Woods, it’s so good to see you. What brought you back? How did that process work out? When Pete Carol calls you, you’re like, “Yeah, maybe let me think about it.” Yeah, there’s no question. I was uh actually on an interview and he called me during dinner and I was like, “Coach, can you just give me a little bit of time?” And then, you know, I talked to him and he said he had a position. and I said, “Okay, I’ll come interview.” And uh, you know, everything worked out. But, you know, going back, I met Pete um, really when I was back at Tampa through Monty Keifin, you know, cuz they had that relationship and coach Kein used to tell me he had a thousand numbers on his desk and said, “Go call Coach Pete.” So, I call, they say, “Get the secretary. I’ll get Coach Pete.” And after I called him a couple times, I went in and, you know, Mike Tomlin, Raheem Morris, we were all there. And I went in, I said, “Guys, who’s Coach Pete?” He’s like, “Yo, that’s Pete Carol.” So that’s when I first met him back in 0405. Uh so developed that relationship and I’m excited to be here with him. Yeah. Coach, those uh coaching circles are really strong, really tight. Um Coach Kein coached me one year in New Orleans. So I I know, man, he was a guy who was always reaching out for folks. But when you get an opportunity for a job, do you look at is the first what’s the first thing you do? Do you look at the roster? Do you look at the other coaches? What’s the first thing you do when you get an opportunity? uh like you have here with the Raiders. I mean, honestly, you want to go to an organization where you feel like everybody’s tied in together. And for me, when Coach Carol made the decision to go there, um I knew, man, they were going to try to build it the right way. And I wanted to be around good people. Um again, he helped me along the way as a DB coach. So, it was for me was an opportunity to go work with a guy that helped teach me. So, it was a no-brainer for me. And like I said, I’m excited to be here. And you look at um the defensive backs. I mean, just yesterday, a new name is added to that list. There is in Jamal Adams, there is no doubt that you and Patrick Graham and coach Carol want to definitely create competition competition at that spot. Uh, when we look at some of these new faces, I know EA’s excited about guys like Jeremy Chin, what he did with the Commanders last year, Darien Porter, who who’s a bigger corner there, uh, coming out of the draft, Eric Stokes, who’s a veteran. Uh, break down kind of that unit and what Raider Nation needs to know about some of these guys. Yeah, everything we want to do, you know, and this been in Coach Carol’s background, everybody knows it, but we want length and we want speed, you know, outside and our linebacker position. And, uh, we have a bunch of guys, uh, that can run. Um, I remember I was at the combine and Darren Porter, you know, he ran the 40 and popped up 4-3 and, you know, 63. Coach was like, “Hey, Joe, hey, I need you to go watch some Iowa State tape.” I like, you know, I mean, right away from that instant, he fits that profile. But that’s what we look for. And you look at uh Eric Stokes when he came out, very fast guy. Uh you know, at Green Bay, he struggled with injuries, but right now he’s he had an unbelievable off seasonason to this point. Um and then you know, like I said, Jamal, Jeremy Chin, length, you know, versatility as a player and that’s we want to be able to move pieces around to create matchups that we want. So right now I feel like the personnel is what we’re really looking for. Now we just have to learn how to play together. That that’s a great point. I think everyone from the outside notices the length, you know, when they talk about Pete Carol, your type of defenses, the length, the speedre, but but the skill set. What type of skill set are you looking for to be able to, you know, perform at a high level? Yeah. Size, length, speed. Okay. Once you get that, you know, like you look across the board, uh do we got a lot of length, you know, at the corner position, a lot of length at the second, uh safety position, and all the guys can run. This is the fastest on paper secondary that I’ve I’ve ever coached. Look, there’s no doubt when you look at Super Bowl championship teams, the role that secondaries play, and teams that have legendary secondaries tend to go to the Super Bowl. You did it. You left the Raiders. You go over to the Denver Broncos. They had the no-fly zone. Remember that? You won a Super Bowl with them in 2015 as the defensive backs coach. We all talk about the Legion of Boom. Is is it safe to say that the secondary is really a key focus of of what you guys are trying to do? I know all units are important, but it just seems like that is a top priority if you’re trying to go to the Super Bowl. Yeah. You I mean, being a secondary coach, you I’m going to say that. I think we’re the most important. Yeah. But, you know, never be able to say that. But I think for us, man, we’re the keepers of the defense because we’re the last line of defense, whether it’s through the passing game or the run game. So for us, we just want to make sure we stay on top, make them dump the ball down, buy time for the D line, uh to get home, um and then the run game, have the ability to make plays in space, and I think when you can control that and you’re not giving up explosive plays and you can turn the ball over, I think it’s a recipe recipe to have success. You you talked about other coaches on the staff and Marcus is, you know, a phenomenal coach, been a phenomenal player. Talk to us a little about you guys relationship. Oh, me and Mark Rod, we go way back. Uh we first worked together when we came here uh to Oakland in 2014. And then when I got promoted to the coordinator position in Denver, he was the first guy called, you know, BJ got the head job, someone to call, you know, hire Mark Rob. So he was there and then uh I went down to New Orleans back with Dennis Allen and he’s like, “Hey, you want the safety coach?” I said, “You already know Mro.” And then uh same thing when I got here with with Coach Carol. You know, we had a conversation about that position. I made the recommendation, talked with coach Graham, and then, you know, it’s just a real comfort level because Emro has pedigree. You know, he he played in the league for 12 years, all pro player. Um and guys just respect that. And uh I like it cuz me and him butt heads at times, you know. We don’t always agree, but you need that. Yes, you do. You know, so that’s a relationship we’ve had over the years. And uh I’m I’m excited he’s here with me and hope we can do big big things. You talk about pedigree and I feel like that’s what’s kind of different with the Raiders this year from from Pete Carol being a Super Bowl champ to you being a Super Bowl champ. Uh you having defensive coordinator experience and we talk about uh Marcus Robertson pedigree as a player. You mentioned allp pro. You know, he was an allp pro in 1993. Guess who also was an allp pro corner in 1993? This guy right here. This guy right here. Now, this guy’s going into the Hall of Fame. And I hope all the young bucks on the roster watch our show cuz I want you to know who your defensive back’s coach is. This guy’s going into the Hall of Fame in 1993. He had one more interception than EA. I’m not trying I’m not trying to put you because Hold on. Hold on. All right. Uh force fumbles. EA. You had I thought he was playing a different position. And uh defensive touchdowns though. Who do you think had more? Come on now. Who do you think? Come on. Oh, I’m going with E. That’s where he made four defensive touchdowns and coach Robertson had one. But how important is that when you do have players that maybe haven’t been to the mountaintop to be able to look at your coaches and your coaching staff and people say, “I’ve been there. I’ve done it. I have the credibility. Is it a big difference? I I think it is just from a confidence standpoint because I think you have like, you know, I talk to the guys and I tell them, “Hey, I’ve been coaching a long time, 30 years plus years, it doesn’t make me good, doesn’t make me bad coach, but what I have is experience.” A lot of guys out there, particularly today, early in camp, and so many numbers, but if there’s one or two guys we should keep our eye on this training camp, who are those guys and what those numbers are? Give us the sleepers. Give us the sleepers. Just Just look at them. Hey, I’m just being honest. I think Just look at everybody. Yeah, there you go. I think there’s so much talent on our team on both sides of the ball. Uh, you know, we have a a nice mix of some veteran guys, some young guys, and I think right now everybody, man, they’re they’re together. I mean, you can feel the bond. They’re pulling for one another, man. They’re helping each other out. Um, but I think there’s going to be guys that you’ll surprise you on the defensive line. you know, you already know Max, but there’s some young guys um at this the linebacker position. You know, really kind of got a new group there with, you know, with E- Rob and Devin and like, you know, we just brought in Jamal. So, I think there’s a lot of guys, and you guys already named some of the guys in the secondary. So, I think it’s just going to come down to getting out on the field, playing games, and I think once guys get comfortable, you’ll see the ability that some of these guys have in terms of playing ball. Coach Woods, I know you’re so busy. Thank you so much for spending some time with us. It’s good for Raider Nation to get reacquainted with you again, and I know they’re really happy to have you here in Las Vegas. Yeah. No, I appreciate it, guys. Thanks for having me on. Of course. All right, we’re going to step aside and when we come back, we’re going to introduce you to the newest member of our broadcast team. He’s our homie. [Music] The power of we is all for one. It’s all for you. It’s always there for you. It completes your circle. It says you’ve got a team, even when you’re out there alone. And with Inter Mountain Health in your circle, you’ll always have the care you need to live the healthiest life possible. That’s the power of we, Inter Mountain Health. For 48 straight years, Ford F-Series have been the bestselling trucks in America. We got here by engineering breakthrough technology, redefining built Ford tough, and never settling for second best. But what’s really made Ford F-Series the number one selling trucks in America is you. Ford F-Series. Built Ford tough. Every year, millions fly with us at Allegion because together we go places. We see old friends and try new things. We laugh. We really like to laugh and reconnect. We remember and we wander, which leads to wonder. From how we go to where we go to what we do when we get there, we go further together. And a blue moon. Oh, that is a delicious looking orange slice. Thank you. That’s actually my son’s slice. Proud of you, son. Thanks, Dad. I’m sorry. This is a slice of your son. Look, it’s an honor to be chosen for a blue moon. Well, if it’s an honor. Yeah. No, just kidding. That was a really good one. The larger one is the dad. Nothing outshines a blue moon. [Music] Welcome back to Raiders Draining Camp Special. It is day one. EA Harris hanging out with you. And you know, day one of practice, everybody is looking at the position battles, right? Yeah, of course. Checking it out. And who better to break down some of these battles than our main man, Kirk Morrison, who is now part of the Raiders team officially. He will be the uh the color announcer on all of the radio uh broadcasts along with Jason Horowitz. And Kirk, we’re so glad to have you as a member of our team. You’ve been a friend for a long time, former Raider. You’re an Oakland kid. You were born around the Raiders. So, what did it mean to you to get this job uh as the color analyst? Oh man, this is a dream come true. Great to be with you guys. Uh we’re teammates again. You know, I love this. Um, Eric knows I’ve watched him for a long time growing up and being a Raider fan growing up and to now be his teammate here on the broadcast side has been great. And Amber, we’ve worked uh how many years together. So, I’m excited just to be back with the organization that drafted me back in 2005. And it it’s a it’s a time right now where you can feel the excitement. It feels different. You know, we’ve been around and you you get excited about Raider football and it’s kind of faded, but this seems to be totally different. And a lot of it is because of what Pete Carroll has brought. I mean, I’m here at training camp right now and he’s got me want to go run out there on the field the way that he’s hyping the guys up in the pregame and I mean pre-practice and stuff like that. So, just a different energy and I’m excited to be a part of it. Well, we can’t wait to hear you and Jason Horowitz together. But let’s get into some of these competitions that we already saw day one out there at practice. It has begun. The cornerback is definitely one area, you know, a little thing or two. He’s just going he’s going in the Hall of Fame as one next week. That’s neither Cton in a couple weeks. Yeah. Neither here nor there. So, you know a little something about it, EA. But, uh let’s talk about the Nickelback, right? The Nickelback spot. Uh Jacan Bennett versus Darn Holmes. What are you thinking in that matchup? I mean, if you just talk about matchups right now currently, I think really it’s it’s everybody. Um it’s not just going to be about one guy. I think you’re going to see multiple guys. And how does Patrick Graham really even does he even use a kind of a nickel back? I think he may use some different I think personnel groupings that you may see multiple guys. You may see a Jeremy Chin in that nickel role. You’ve already talked about, you know, having uh multiple guys who are going to play, not just that spot, but I feel like it’s every week it’s who you’re going up against. So, yeah, we have a competition and you’ve thrown some names out there already, but I feel like as training camp goes, let’s let it all work out. Let’s let it play out. You may even put a rookie Darien uh you know Porter Jr. over there early on to see what he can do. I know he may be on the outside, but EA can help me out here. Sometimes you may just put the young guy in just to see what he can do. Right. Jakori Bennett, another guy. You can put these guys in there early on just to see where they’re at and as training camp goes along, the competition, it’s funny, will kind of play out by itself. Yeah, for sure. Kurt, that nickel spot when we’re talking about is very peculiar and difficult because if you’re a corner, you have to have some kind of like linebacker skills when you’re facing a run, right? So, talk to us a little bit about what it’s like skill setwise uh in the middle of the football field if you’re playing that that uh that nickel, that will talk to us a little about the skill set that’s needed. Yeah, the skill set you mentioned, you got to be multi-dimensional. Uh, it’s called the nickel, but a lot of defenses around just football in general, they call it the star position because you’ve got to be a star. You’ve got to be able to cover wide receivers, tight ends, but EA, you mentioned that you’ve got to fill in on the run. You got to know your run gaps. So, when that gap moves, you got to be able to not only fill in the run, but then be able to recover and get back into a pass coverage if it’s a pass. It is one of the more important positions on the football field. And with the NFL going to a primarily 11 personnel offensively, meaning one back, one tight end, three receivers, that nickel position is really crucial, especially on the got to have it down third down. Third down is crucial for the nickel. And you seen these guys are starting to get paid now. That nickel position was always one who was like, he’s just an extra cornerback. Yeah, it’s funny now in the NFL was like, hey, you got two starters, you got two corners are your starters. I feel like now you have three corners. Those are three starting quarterbacks now that because so much 11 personnel being played and we spoke about this a little bit earlier in the show, Darien Porter, Eric Stokes, Damerian Richardson. Uh they are all kind of your prototypical Pete Carol corners, meaning they’re a little bit longer, a little bit bigger. So, do you feel like that’s why they’re more in the discussion for cornerback one and two? Yeah, I think you want experience. You mentioned Eric Stokes, former first round pick of the Green Bay Packers. He’s a guy that’s got experience. He’s got play. Um, and sometimes you need a change of scenery. He comes from obviously Green Bay over here to Las Vegas. And to me, you need that, I would say, new energy, new system, new scheme to really show that, hey, look, I can play at a high level. And I think that’s why you uh bring him over here as well on the opposite side trying to figure out who’s going to be that that corner. Is he going to start with a rookie or do you bring in some more experience as training camp goes along? But one thing we do know is that Pete Carol is not afraid to play young players. He’s played young players when he was in college. He as a college head coach in the NFL. You’ve seen some of those corners that he’s played while he was with Seattle, the Legion of Boom, or even more recently with uh what Tariq Woolen or you can throw in a Devin Witherspoon. He loves the young corners who can get after it. So, it’s height, it’s speed, but more importantly, you got to show some physicality. And I think that’s what this whole group so far, what I’ve seen throughout training camp, the start of training camp, they seem to to fit that build. Yeah, that’s incredible. You talk about size. Now, the receivers, now we’re used to seeing, you know, smaller guys. They’ve brought in some guys this year who are a little bit taller, a little bit faster. Talk to us a little bit about that receiving spot. Well, for me, I’m always, look, this is what I do late at night, guys. I got to stop doing it. But I go down these rabbit holes and I start to look at sort of the history and the background of not only what Pete Carol has been as a head coach in the National Football League, but now I throw in John Spytech as well who’s been with the Temp Buccaneers organization. I think about some of the receivers that they’ve had in Tampa Bay. Mike Evans is one of the tallest receivers in the league as well. He gets off the bus first and you’re saying, “Wow, who’s that guy? Who’s that tight end?” You’re like, “No, no, he plays wide receiver.” And I think John is now Spyitech has brought that over here to the Las Vegas regulars as the general manager bringing in some size at that position. It can only help out the catch radius for a quarterback like Gino Smith who we know is an accurate quarterback can put it where it needs to be. But give him even a wider, you know, radius to throw the football. You get excited about some of these young players bringing in at the wide receiving spot. The competition is going to be there. We know who wide receiver or option one is going to be as number 89 and Brock Bowers. and then Jacobe Myers and we’ll see after that. But I just love that it’s a variety of players. You can go from uh you know Dante Thornton to Trey Tucker. You’re going to see some difference and variance about how Chip Kelly is able to implement his offensive scheme with so many different looks and guys out there catching the football. Kirk, before we let you go, we got to ask you about your position. You played linebacker for the Raiders and that is a question mark. Uh there is a big competition there. They brought in a lot of talent, a lot of veteran talent as well. So, you’ve got guys like Atlanta Roberts, Devin White, Germaine Pratt, who they brought in from other teams. And then Tommy Iikenberg, uh, two spots in that defense. So, who do you like? Well, look, I’m I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag right now, but watching practice, you’re seeing some multiple linebacker sets. I’m seeing three linebackers on the field at times. Okay. I’m just letting you know right now, they brought in three Super Bowl rings. Elander Roberts had two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, been a longtime linebacker in his league going into his his 10th year. One of the hardest hitters in the National Football League. He’s already the captain of this defense. He’s been here 10 minutes. Yeah, it’s Max Crow, but it’s the middle linebacker is the guy calling the shots. He’s wearing a great line. Okay. Um Germaine Pratt also Super Bowl experience. Started in the Super Bowl for the Cincinnati Bengals a couple years back versus the Rams. you bring in that experience and and Devin White was a starter in the Super Bowl when the Buccaneers uh and Tom Brady when they beat the Kansas City Chiefs. So, trust me, there is experience, their Super Bowl experience amongst these linebackers. I’m excited for the three veterans and then the guys behind it. You mentioned Iikenberg. Lindenburg is also a guy I watched at the University of Minnesota. So, yeah, if you want to talk linebackers, I grab you for just a little bit, Amber. I got my iPad in the back. We can watch some film cuz all these guys love to get downhill. I’m excited for what they’re what they this is a position that you lost two starters last year in Dean Diablo and Robert Spain, but you added Super Bowl experience. You don’t do that in National Football League. That’s why I’m excited about this group. Hey, if you want to build a winning culture, you bring winners in. And that’s what Pete Carol and John Spych have done at that linebacker position. Kurt, congrats again. Speaking of winners, we got a winner on our broadcast team. Kurt, welcome to the family. We’re glad to have you here and we’ll see you soon. Oh man, thank you guys. I can’t wait. It’s going to be a fun season. That’s right. It will be. All right. Stick around. Coming up next, it is the man Gino. It feels good to know who’s at quarterback and he’s a Pro Bowler. It’s Gino Smith coming up next on the Raiders Training Camp special. [Music] This segment has been brought to you by SiriusXM. Subscribe to SiriusXM and hear every Raiders game, plus 247 NFL news, talk, and expert analysis on SiriusXM NFL radio. Start listening at SiriusXM.com/raers25. Every year, millions fly with us at Allegion because together we go places. We see old friends and try new things. We laugh. We really like to laugh and reconnect. We remember and we wander, which leads to wonder. 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Low fairs, non-stop flights, only at allegant.com, and by SiriusXM. Get closer to what moves you with SiriusXM. Here 247 NFL news and talk on SiriusXM NFL radio channel 88. Welcome back to Raiders training camp special. Amber Theo Harris, Eric Allen. And this season does feel different. Not it is different. Yeah. Not because of the new coaching staff, but because you really feel great about the quarterback position going into this year. And let’s bring in the new QB of the Las Vegas Raiders, Gino Smith. An old face. We we’ve known him for a long time, but to see him in the silver and black. Gino, welcome to Raider Nation. I know uh you’ve been through OTAA’s mini camp, so you’re getting yourself acquainted. Uh but when you talked to Pete Carol and you talked to John Spych and you had the opportunity to come to Las Vegas, what was your reaction? Man, I was so fired up. Um, you know, just being a football fan, uh, my entire life, you know, just thinking about how historic, you know, the the the silver and black is and the Raiders are. And, um, you know, I’ve, you know, obviously gone against the Raiders a few times and every time you play them, uh, whether it’s, you know, at home or away, I mean, you just see the Silver and Black and you’re like, “Wow.” You know, it’s it’s the Raiders. I mean, every every everyone knows the Raiders. It’s the biggest brand in all of sports. And uh you know, I remember going into the old Oakland stadium and just seeing every you know, all the fans and just how how fired up they will be and just the spike shoulder pads and the face painting, you know, just all the things that uh you think of when you think of the Raiders. And to be a part of that now, man, it’s just a special feeling. Um to be the quarterback of the Raiders, man, it’s kind of surreal. But um you know, I’m happy to be here. I’m very happy uh that, you know, they made a decision to bring me here. And um now it’s about, you know, making them right. You know, that’s my goal is to make sure that uh they don’t ever regret the decision and they know that they made the right decision with giving me. Uh Gino, you’ve been here for a couple months. I mean, uh you’re talking about this football team. It’s kind of a whole new uh situation. Ownership wise, it’s been a change. Of course, uh GM, head coach. Talk to us a little about where you fit leadership wise and how your leadership skills are going to help this football team. Yes, sir. Uh you know, mainly for me, you know, leadership is is a natural thing and so you don’t want to force it. Uh to me, we we’ve already had great leaders on this team, and it starts with Max Crosby. Uh you know, a guy who puts the work in every single day, who gives maximum effort every single day. And he’s a guy that if you’re watching, man, that’s what you want all your players to strive to be. And so for me, you know, stepping into this locker room, I wanted to try and be the hardest working guy. You know, I wanted guys to kind of follow my lead um through example. You know, I didn’t want to come in and just, you know, kind of throw my bravado around or or talk about what I did last year and previous years because it doesn’t matter. Uh what matters is how hard we’re working now. Um you know, how much can we push ourselves to get better every single day. And so yes, as far as leadership goes, um you know, you you have to ask the guys uh you know, I just want to be a part of the team. I want to be one of the guys. And uh if they follow me, I want it to be natural. Do you know your story has always been one of my favorite uh in the NFL because I reported it all along. You know, watching you get drafted. uh you know, your career probably wasn’t what you wanted it to be and then you get the opportunity uh to go out there with Pete Carol to Seattle and people don’t real you didn’t you didn’t just go out there and have the starting job. You you sit behind Russell Wilson, he leaves, you get the starting job that year. You go to the Pro Bowl and you lead the team to the playoffs. What was Pete Carol’s role in in your career? I don’t want to take credit away from you for what you did, but what did that relationship do for your career? Um, Coach Carol has a, you know, a big role in in just the way that my career is, uh, turned around, you know, and a part of that is just his belief, um, in me, the way that he coaches, uh, so positive, and he instills belief in all of his players. Uh, he wants the guys to be, you know, their best selves and and be true to who they are. And I think that’s something that’s special. Um, the energy that he carries, you know, the way that he conducts himself, you know, it just rubs off on people. And so for me, you know, when I got to Seattle, um, I kind of had a new lease on life and I just kind of to fall back in love with the game. And I didn’t know that, you know, things would happen the way that they did. But, you know, that’s kind of how fate works. And, you know, I think fate brought me here as well um with coach Carol. And so, you know, for him um to bring me here and just to understand the type of player I am, you know, I’m always fired up and he knows me. You know, he knows how much I love the game, how passionate I am about it, and just how bad I want to win. You know, I really want to win the Super Bowl mo more than anything. And so that’s why we’re here together, you know, we’re here to try and get get the Raiders a Super Bowl and um you know, get these fans fired up and and have them something to be proud about. That’s for sure. I love that. I love hearing that, you know. Yeah. I mean, look, we’ve been here a long time. To hear the words like the Super Bowl is what we want, right? That’s not being afraid to say that. Not being afraid to say that. That’s that’s that winning mentality we love. Yeah. We we heard about your relationship with uh coach Chip Kelly. Talk a little bit about what it’s been like getting back with uh or getting with uh Chip Kelly. Well, he recruited you back when I was in high school, man. We had a lot of talks and uh you know, I was I was almost on my way to Oregon. Um and you know, just kind of happened to make some other uh choices, but I’ve always revered Coach Kelly. I’ve always believed that he’s an innovative coach and a great coach. And even when I was coming out for the draft, you know, he was with the Eagles and, you know, thought about drafting me. That didn’t happen. But, uh it’s just a relationship we’ve always had. And now again like I said with fate man we just you know it just all kind of you know came full circle and now we’re here and um I get a chance to be coached by him. He gets the chance to you know really implement his style on me and I’m looking forward to it. I’m happy that uh you know things are happening the way that they are. Uh it’s great to be a part of this offense. We got so many great weapons and so many players that are going to make you know big time names for themselves. And so I just want to make sure that I get the hands into the ball of the guys and let them do their things. Who who was the who was the quarterback that was able to play at Oregon because you didn’t go there? I can’t. Was it Marcus Mariota? No, Mariota is a little bit after me, but I think that uh it was a guy it was I can’t remember the guy’s name, but he was right before Mary. Well, he’s probably thanking God that you didn’t go there. He’s the guy that went to the natty number one, and I can’t remember. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Uh I remember that. I remember him. Yeah. Player. Um I want to look at some of the players that you’re mentioning getting the ball the uh in their hands. Um especially the rookies. You have Ashton Genty to get a top six running back in the draft as your running back and then a guy like Jack Bes and Dante Thornton who are are tall lanky kind of receivers. We I remember you know that year you went to the playoffs of Seattle. You had DK Metaf. You had Tyler Lockett. You had Kenneth Walker who by the way was a rookie that year, right? Gave you a thousand yards. A lot of parallels. It seems like these rookies around you are kind of what you like. They’re built in the prototype of what you’ve had success with before. Yeah, I would say so. But I would also say um they’re their their own person. They’re their own player. And uh that’s the best part about it is they they get to be themselves. You know, for us, man, we don’t want them to be anyone else. We don’t want them to try and be anyone else. We want them to bring the best out of themselves. And for me, uh it’s about pushing ourselves every day. But we’re counting on these rookies, man. And I think they’ve done a great job at picking up the offense. Um it’s still a long ways to go. But we haven’t even scratched the surface of who we’re going to be as a team and and as an offense. But you know, so far, you know, the young guys have stepped right in and they’re competing right with us and, you know, we’re not going to treat them like rookies. You know, we we expect them to go out there and make plays and we need those guys to be ready to step up. And so, um, they’ve done a great job so far. I can’t wait to get on the field with those guys, uh, you know, once the preseason hits and just see how much, you know, they’ve, you know, gotten better throughout training camp and, you know, OTAAS and, you know, really see those guys blossom. It’s going to be fun. Do you as a player, do you look at your division a little bit differently? Do you do like the conference? You’re in the AFC West now. You know, they’ve had tremendous success in in recent years. Do you look at the AFC West a little bit different as a as a division or you just say whoever’s on the schedule, that’s who we’re playing. Yeah. I don’t I don’t have any particulars, man. I I’ll play anybody. Whoever they line up in front of us, that’s that’s got to get it. And uh you know, obviously, you know, we know the division is uh one of the better ones in the NFL. I just came out of a great division as well. So, we expect tough matchups and it’s the NFL. There are no cupcake games. Every game is going to be a championship game. That’s the way we approach it and we look forward to, you know, playing all of our division games, but we got to take it one game at a time. One guy I cannot let you go. We haven’t even mentioned him this show just yet. Brock Bowers, we talk about the rookies. You got a secondyear guy that is number one at his position according to ESPN. in your little bit of time with him, tell us why you think something special can happen between you two. Yeah, he’s number one in our hearts as well. Uh, you know, whenever whenever I don’t throw Brock the ball, I just kind of, you know, feel a little bit bad. I’m like, man, this guy’s such a great player. He works so hard. He’s so humble. You know, just the way his demeanor and the way that he approaches every single day, uh, just makes you want the best for that guy. And I think he’s going to only improve. Um, you know, what’s higher than number one, I don’t know. But I think he can only improve. And uh you know the thing about Brock man is that like I said he’s a special player but also a spe special person. And you know for me as his quarterback I just got to be at my best so that he can be at his best and that’s the reason why I work so hard. All those weapons you Chip Kelly Pete Carol I know Raider Nation has so much to be excited about. Just a positive vibe in the building and Gino continued success to you. We know that that story of redemption of of winning will continue here in Las Vegas. Thanks so much for joining us. Thanks my man. Thank you guys for having All right. All right. That’s going to do us for this training camp special, but join us next Monday, July 28th. You know what they’re doing out on the field. First day of pads. It’s going to be a great day. We’ll see you then. For Eric Allen, I’m Amber Theo Harris. [Music]

Checking in with Geno Smith, Joe Woods and Kirk Morrison at Raiders 2025 Training Camp.

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16:50 Joe Woods
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40:34 Geno Smith

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