It wasn't that long ago that I was worried about the lack of news floating around regarding the Oakland Raiders players scheduling their own workouts during the NFL Lockout. Drew Brees and Tony Romo (among others) were on TV and in the papers blabbing about their scheduled workouts. Watching and reading I felt like a penniless shopper staring in through windows at items I wanted but could not afford. It was not an unfamiliar feeling. The Raiders are not that far removed from an era of ineptitude that was characterized by team wide lack of interest and unprofessional. Days I had hoped and thought were behind them, but was beginning to doubt.
Well, those days are long gone. As we have come to learn the Raiders are getting together for workouts. More reports of these workouts are coming to light, and with each one I am more convinced that this is indeed a new era in Raiders football. The latest report can be found by Bill Williamson on ESPN.
Williamson lets us know that, according to Maximum Sports Management, Richard Seymour is handling the costs of setting up the workouts, and he is doing it right. Besides the football drills they will activities like weight lifting, swimming and a nutritional expert. Here is a quote from the linked article:
Teams are working out in pockets throughout the league. But this four-day program is impressive. This is different than a bunch of guys throwing the ball around on a high school field. It appears this camp will be professional and supervised. The only thing missing will be the Oakland coaching staff.
The report also reiterates that Seymour will be running the defense and Campbell will be running the offense—all good things. But the one thing that actually made me smile when I read was the quoting of the opening phrase of Richard Seymour's email sent out to the team while organizing the workouts.
Men, I hope everyone is well and is staying in shape because we are going to out-work everyone we face this season, and it starts right now in the offseason.
Given the apathy and lethargy that this team has battled through and was essentially epitomized by the blubbery bust of a QB released just over a year ago this news almost makes the lockout worth it. Also, who is willing to bet that Al Davis made it known at some point that he would find a way to reimburse Seymour for any costs it took to put this together?