Raiders report: Camp ‘not a prison, but not a country club’

TRAINING CAMP

AT A GLANCE

Schedule

All practices at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, unless noted:

■ Sunday — TBD

■ Monday — Off

■ Tuesday — Practice, 7:30-9:30 a.m

■ Wednesday — Practice, 7:30-9:30 a.m

■ Thursday — Practice, 7:30-9:30 a.m.

■ Friday — Off

Quote of the day

Ron Milus came over to the Raiders from the Chargers with new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and was tasked with coaching a group of young, talented defensive backs who struggled last season. He can be seen on the practice field each day fostering a competitive environment in each drill and insists he is seeing positive signs from the secondary. His general philosophy is to strike the right tone in order to get results.

“I try to be demanding but not over the top,” he said. “It ain’t prison, but it ain’t a country club. So somewhere in the middle is where we have to get these guys to perform.There’s going to be sometimes where I’ve got to love them up, but other times where it’s like, ‘Come on, man. We have to do better than this. ‘ I think that’s where I come into play. Try to make sure these guys are held accountable, but not so over the top that they don’t like the game of football. We have to keep the love of the game. If we can get them to do that, we may like our results on Sunday.”

Play of the day

Trevon Moehrig continues to make plays on the ball during practice and Foster Moreau caught another deep seam route for a touchdown. The most exciting part of practice was a live goal-line drill with some big hitting at the line of scrimmage. But it was Henry Ruggs and Derek Carr once again hooking up for the top highlight on Saturday. Ruggs ran a post-corner and got behind Johnathan Abram as Carr dropped the ball just beyond the defender and hit Ruggs in stride for what probably would have been a touchdown.

Welcome Back

General manager Mike Mayock and rookie safety Tyree Gillespie were both on the practice field Saturday. Mayock had been in protocol after testing positive for COVID-19 early in training camp. Gillespie had been dealing with a mild soft tissue injury.

Still no Waller

Star tight end Darren Waller missed his fourth consecutive practice on Saturday.

Coach Jon Gurden is expected to speak after Sunday’s practice, so an update could come at that time. It’s not assumed to be anything serious at this time.

Running back Jalen Richard, tight ends Alex Ellis and Derek Carrier, wide receivers Trey Quinn and John Brown and safety Karl Joseph were also absent from the practice field.

Defensive end Carl Nassib was on the field for stretching before heading back to the locker room. He did not appear to be injured.

Abram making strides

Milus believes Abram could take a big step forward this season. He said the box safety role Abram is expected to fill is “very crucial” in Bradley’s scheme and has confidence Abram can fill it.

“I can say this for John,” Milus said. “John has done everything we have asked him to do. We asked him to come in a little lighter and what did he do? He came in a little bit lighter. You guys know John. He chirps a little bit, right? We asked him to turn the volume down just a little bit and he’s done that. I think it’s going to make him a better player.

“Now, when it’s all said and done, he’s got to do it on Sundays in September, October and November. But John has gotten better in my opinion by just doing the little things right, trying to get his body in the right position. If you’re asking me, I think John’s going to have a great year.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.