Las Vegas Raiders training camp is fully underway in Henderson, and new head coach Josh McDaniels is busy installing his new offense. One of the most important aspects of doing so is communication. The former New England Patriots offensive coordinator spoke on this recently.
Josh McDaniels speaks on the importance of communication in Raiders training camp
Following Sunday’s practice, McDaniels was asked about what he looks for during this period (non-pads) as far as player evaluations.
“Communication definitely. There’s an element of pre-snap communication, and there’s an element of post-snap assignments that really is the most important part of this. We spend the entire first half of the practice teaching the techniques and fundamentals we’d like to see show up in the team drills. So, you can evaluate the communication. You can see that they know their assignment and you can see that they are trying to use the techniques and fundamentals that we’re teaching.”
It’s interesting to see the Raiders’ offense come together here in the early going. While much of last year’s unit remains intact, especially along the offensive line, the positions are far from set. When you realize that the coaching staff is trying to see which player will go where, mastering the fundamentals as McDaniels sees fit becomes crucial. The fact is that sloppy play and needless penalties often killed drives last season and cleaning up those mistakes starts with the basics.
With pads set to come on later this week, taking the time to master these drills becomes that much more important. As McDaniels pointed out, they need to see if the players know their assignments, and from there, they can judge who’s the best fit for each position. It’s no secret that all eyes will continue to be on the offensive line as the second week of training camp gets underway.
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*Top Photo: Sports Illustrated
