NFL training camp is perhaps the most critical time of the year for young players and especially for those looking to make the 53-man roster.
Special teams is an area of the game where those players can make their presence felt and earn more recognition than others.
For veterans that have fallen into backup roles in the later years of their career, the effort is just as important, but for the sake of setting the tone for the young players.
Raiders Pro-Bowl punter A.J. Cole has seen the development firsthand. So far, he views it to be quite promising.
"Yeah, it's a lot of energy," Cole told media members on Thursday. "I think we've got a lot of great leadership in the special teams department. I mean, you've got guys like Brandon Bolden going into Year 12 who's really made a lot of his bones on special teams. And having guys like him, having guys like Ameer Abdullah, a bunch of other guys, they kind of set the standard.
"And the energy that they practice with and the effort level they give, they kind of set the tone and then everybody else kind of falls in line, and if you're not hanging with those guys, you can't hang. So yeah, it's going to be awesome to see. I loved our unit last year, and I'm really excited about the pieces we got. I'm excited to see who kind of stands out and what we can do on teams this year."
Bolden and Abdullah each come off their first season with the Raiders.
Bolden played eight seasons with the New England Patriots, where he was part of two Super Bowl title teams.
He also had a one-year stint with the Miami Dolphins.
Abdullah, meanwhile, played for three different teams -- the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Carolina Panthers -- prior to Las Vegas.
He enters his ninth NFL season.
The Silver and Black open the preseason by hosting the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Aug. 13, at 4 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. PDT.
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