But in OTAs and minicamp, it’s more about teaching tendencies than getting results, establishing an identity rather than looking good in their uniforms on media day, right?<\/p>\n
“Last year, we were doing a lot of bailing,” Allen said. “We’d be in a press and then we’d bail. This year, it’s a lot more technically sound press-man [coverage].<\/p>\n
“So if you’re up and the receiver releases, you’re going to try and stay in that hip pocket and create leverage points for you, either inside or out. So that’s a difference right away – that you can go on the football field and see there’s no more press\/bail.”<\/p>\n
Haynes, lining up across from Lester Hayes, was part of an era when the Raiders were known for playing mostly man-coverage. This week, he was urged by Allen and others in the building to keep at least one eye on Porter, the converted receiver from Iowa State whose lanky 6-foot-2, 195-pound frame echoes Haynes’ 6-foot-2, 192-pound stature as a player.<\/p>\n
“I talked to him a little bit and I want to get out there again,” Haynes said. “I really liked his height and you could really tell he was a student. Sometimes when you talk to a guy it feels like, ‘That dude acts like he knows everything.'”<\/p>\n
“But he wasn’t one of those guys. You could tell he was there and he was learning and that’s what I did my first two years, maybe even three.”<\/p>\n
Porter, a receiver at Iowa State his first three seasons, looks the part. Especially with his 4.3-second 40-time.<\/p>\n
“I have the opportunity but, obviously, you have to make the most of it,” Porter said. “I’m excited to compete with the guys. I think we all understand there are spots open and the best player will get it, but you have to earn it.”<\/p>\n