Oakland Raiders' New Motto—Wanted: 53 Men Committed to One Purpose

What Tom Cable has done in the first four days of the Oakland Raiders training camp has been great. The Raiders are focusing on the mental aspect of the game. Coach Cable has called this, “learning-intensive.”

There has been a major focus on the fundamentals, which has turned the practice field into an outdoor classroom.

The Raiders have taken a much different approach then the cross-bay rival San Francisco 49ers, who have gone full pads to start their training camp. 

Already, the 49ers are seeing the side effects as linebacker Parys Haralson hurt his right hip flexor in their morning practice.

However, in Napa, the Raiders have been in full study mode, which in return has allowed the younger players to get the mental reps, before the pads come on. It allows players to think about the task at hand and fully understand their job and role.

It has allowed players to focus on doing the right things. Once the pads are on, players tend to focus on making the team so much, mental mistakes happen.

Players are going so fast that it leads to missed assignments and injuries. For example, look at Parys Haralson of the San Francisco 49ers or Tarvaris Jackson of the Minnesota Vikings.

These four days will be vital; every single practice and every single rep is very important to the rookies. It also helps refresh the minds of the veterans.

The Oakland Raiders did an excellent job by signing all of their draft picks before training camp started. There are teams around the NFL who's rookies still haven't reported to camp (cough, cough Crabtree). Those rookies are missing out big time.

I was very pleased to see Darrius Heyward-Bey get his contract finished in time for camp. He has shown to be a team player as a rookie.

Today is the last day of non-contact practices. On Monday players will be in full pads, something the Raiders players are looking forward to.

I came across this photo of Tom Cable wearing a shirt that has the words:

Wanted: 53 Men Committed To One Purpose.

This got me to thinking; out of the 80 players who have reported to camp, who will make the final roster and who will be cut?

Without questions, these players listed will make the final roster:

OFFENSE

QB: JaMarcus Russell, Jeff Garcia

RB: Darren McFadden, Justin Fargas, Michael Bush

FB: Oren Oneal

TE: Zach Miller, Brandon Myers

WR: Chaz Schilens, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Louis Murphy, Jevon Walker

OL: Mario Henderson, Robert Gallery, Samson Satele, Cooper Carlisle, Khalif Barnes, Erik Pears, Marcus Johnson, John Wade, Paul McQuistan, Chris Morris

DEFENSE

DL: Tommy Kelly, Greg Ellis, Trevor Scott, Jay Richardson, Gerard Warren, Terdell Sands, Matt Shaughnessy

LB: Kirk Morrison, Thomas Howard, Jon Alston, Isaiah Ekejiuba, Ricky Brown, Sam Williams, Slade Norris

CB: Nnamdi Asomugha, Chris Johnson, Stanford Routt, Justin Miller

FS/SS: Tyvon Branch, Hiram Eugene, Michael Huff, Mike Mitchell

SPECIAL TEAMS

K: Sebastian Janikowski

P: Shane Lechler

LS: Jon Condo

That, right there, is 48 players.

The Raiders will have five open spots for the roster to go between this group of guys listed below.

My questions to you; who would you add or who would you take off my list to make the final roster?

Here are the names of players looking to earn a spot on the team. Which players below do you believe can help the Raiders win this upcoming season?

Out of the list below, it only looks like five players will have a legit shot of making the final cut.

OFFENSE

QB: Bruce Gradkowski, Charlie Frye

RB: Gary Russell, Louis Rankin

FB: Luke Lawton, Marcel Reece, Lorenzo Neal

TE: Darrell Strong, John Paul Foschi, Tony Stewart

WR: Jonathan Holland, Nick Miller, Samie Parker, Shawn Bayes, Todd Watkins, Will Franklin

OL: Jonathan Compas, James Marten, Mark Wilson

DEFENSE 

DL: Ryan Boschetti, William Joseph, Desmond Bryant, Derrick Burgess, Derrick Gray, Greyson Gunhiem

LB: David Nixon, Chris Oneil

CB: John Bowie, Darrick Brown, Jason Horton,

FS/SS: Jerome Boyd

Please comment on this; I want to hear what real Raiders fans think of this article, and your thoughts on who and who shouldn't make the final roster.