What I Heard at Raiders Training Camp: The Good, The Raw, The Real

1. Jackson Powers-Johnson vs. Jordan Meredith Pete Carroll came to the Silver and Black preaching competition, and he is showing it early and immediately in the game.  He said of the JPJ vs. Meredith battle, "First off, it's just goes right to the heart of everything, it's always competing. These guys are battling further for their playing time, and they're battling, it's a good battle. You asked about Jordan [Meredith] specifically, he's done well. He played really efficiently last year. His numbers and his consistency really showed up, even though you didn't see him as a regular all the time. So, he just opened our eyes in the off-season studies. And so we're just giving him a shot. JPJ [Jackson Powers Johnson] is working his tail off. And both those guys are battling, so it just makes us better. And they're not the only two. There's battles across the board, but that's one that jumps out at you."

2.  Adam Butler Makes a Very Hold Predictio n                 Adam Butler i s a vastly underrated defensive tackle, who the Raiders coveted in free agency and made re-signing him a priority.  I asked him about the offensive line, and he had a very bold statement and a prediction: "I'm excited about Jordan Meredith. I'm excited about JPJ [Jackson Powers-Johnson] for sure. I'm a real big fan of JPJ. That's my guy. Strong, young player. He's got that energy, and I see him as an All-Pro guard at some point. I don't know if that's now or later. I'm really excited about him..."

3.  The Highest Praise Possible for Maxx Crosby

The highest praise one can get in the National Football League is from other players.  They recognize the elite better than anyone.  Devin White didn’t waste one second to praise Maxx Crosby with the highest praise possible when I asked him about the Silver and Black’s unquestioned leadership. 

“…me and him, we're both alpha dogs. But we've been gelling well, man, and I'm thankful for him. Like, when I tell you it's hard to outwork him. I've never been around a guy that has been hard to outwork because I work hard. I get in the building early, I do my body maintenance and stuff. You're not going to beat him. Like, I don't know, this guy he don't sleep, and he told me that he makes everybody in his house get up, and they've got to have that same mindset. And that did something for me, because he was like, 'If I've got to go out here and lay it out on the line and bring home this, then they're going do it too.' And that's his wife and his daughter. I'm like, 'Gah-lee.' So, that just let's you know that he's always competing. But man, Maxx just wants to win. He did a lot of recruiting to get a lot of great guys here, and it's just time to do it. It ain't no more talking about, it's just time to do it, but I'm glad to be on a team with a dog like Maxx.”

The Raw

4.  Devin White’s Vulnerability                                        It is no secret that Raiders LB Devin White was a great player.  That has waned as of late, and although we knew he was battling recovery from an injury, it was evident when watching him, and comparing him to what he used to be, he was not the same player.  The joy was missing.  In training camp, Coach Carroll declared of White, “He’s back.” So I asked him about the change back into his old self. 

His vulnerability in answering was astounding.  “I was going through a lot mentally. I had a lot going on. A lot of people don't know, growing up my father was incarcerated for a long time, and then he got out and he was very supportive and we had our little run ins where we kind of pulled away from each other a little bit. And then we got back cool with one another, and then unfortunately, my father passed. So it kind of put me just in a bad spot, a bad spot in life mentally. Just didn't care no more, because I finally found that love. There's a lot of men in this room, growing up, you want to be like your dad, that's your role model, and I didn't have that. I had to look at my mom, she was my Superman, even though she was a woman. And my mentor, Coach Houston, he was the one that got me to play football, and them the two that I looked up to, because I just didn't have them, and to get something that you never had, and then to get it taken right back from you, it just makes you not care about nothing. “

White went on to add, “…didn't really care about football at the time when that was going on, my injury was going on, just a lot was going through my head. And I was out of it. And my mama told me if you don't want to do it, you don't have to. You've overcame a lot just where we come from going D1, graduating, making money, taking care of my whole family, taking care of myself, just doing everything I wanted in life, was able to win a Super Bowl. And she was like, 'You can give up,' and when she said that, it just lit a fire under me. Like give up? That ain't me. That's never been me. And I don't want to feel sorry for myself .I just want to go out there and I wan t to just get back to having fun. And I just pray a lot, man, I get into my Word a lot and things that was my time to get closer to God.”

5. Keeping it Real and Raw on Christian Wilkins

Raiders DT Adam Butler was asked about the departure of Christian Wilkins after the Raiders cut him this week.  While Butler had no desire to discuss the Wilkins matter, what he did say was raw and real.  “I really don't want to comment further on it, but I will say that whatever you're going through as a person -- athlete, non athlete, whoever, whatever your struggle is, if you got something going on in life, just talk to somebody. Get some therapy. Whatever your deal is, is your deal. Somebody out there in this world full of the billions of people is willing to listen. They're willing to listen, hear you out and help you work through whatever you need to work through, but don't make any hasty decisions. Get help."

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