THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Ron Milus had been spoon-feeding Raiders rookies Tre’von Moehrig and Nate Hobbs early in training camp, but this week the defensive backs coach just threw the whole Ram at them and let them eat.
“Hobbs started last week for us at the nickel position and made an impact,” Milus said Wednesday night. “And Moehrig had his first interception of camp (Wednesday).”
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At Thursday’s abbreviated practice, Moehrig showed his great closing speed to reach up and break a deep pass to Rams receiver Cooper Kupp.
The free safety had already demonstrated his coverage ability earlier in training camp, and he wasn’t the only defensive back who had a good two days in Thousand Oaks. Trayvon Mullen was consistent as ever, strong safety Johnathan Abram (more on him later) broke up a deep pass Wednesday and Damon Arnette and Hobbs, the rookie slot corner, also fared well.
“I thought (Moehrig) did an excellent job,” Gruden said after Thursday’s practice. “Very pleased with a lot of our young players. Second-year receivers and Moehrig in the middle of our defense. Arnette had a couple of good days, Trayvon Mullen is stepping his game up.
“I know it wasn’t perfect, but pretty good. Pretty good against a very good offensive team. We’re excited about it.”
The Raiders treated the two days of joint practices as more of a preseason game than Saturday’s actual one against the Rams, since they could work on plays and scenarios without the threat of the quarterback getting injured or time running out.
“It was fun,” Milus said. “Our guys were pretty excited about the opportunity to go against the Rams and did a pretty good job.”
Besides the obvious talent — the Raiders have three former first-round picks and three second-rounders in their secondary — there is also a feistiness to the bunch that nudged Gruden to draft most of them in the first place.
“To play the game of football, you have to have a little … I don’t want to say attitude … spirit about you,” Milus said. “And that’s what we’re trying to build with our group. The biggest thing is we don’t want to go over the top with it either. I know some of the celebrations (Wednesday) were probably over the top, but you have to have some emotion.”
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The Raiders have asked the once-brash Abram to tone it down a bit, and he has, as well as making it sink in to Arnette that he has to be more focused on and off the field. As for the rookies Moehrig and Hobbs, they just make plays.
Moehrig, whom tight end Darren Waller on Thursday called “a quiet assassin,” has been getting offenses to turn the ball over practically from his youth football days. It’s still surprising the Raiders were able to draft the Jim Thorpe Award winner (given to the best collegiate defensive back) in the second round.
“Moehrig was pretty obvious with the turnovers he had at TCU, as well as his unique ability to cover man-to-man for a safety,” Milus said. “What generally happens is if you have a lot of turnovers as a high school player and college player, you normally bring them with you to the next level.”
Hobbs, who had a sack in the preseason opener against Seattle, was an outside corner at Illinois, and his toughness made him an equally obvious pick in the fifth round.
“The biggest thing that we saw with him was his physicality,” Milus said. “Even though he hasn’t played nickel in the past, you could see his run support at Illinois and some of the hits he made as an outside defender — it really translated to a guy that could go inside and do those things. Plus, he had real solid football knowledge when we interviewed him.”
As for the returning members of the secondary, Milus wanted to come in with a clean slate for Abram, Mullen and Arnette (though he did watch all of their game tape from last season). He’s been coaching defensive backs in the NFL since 1993 — with stops with Washington, the Broncos, Cardinals, Giants, Rams, Panthers, Broncos again, Chargers and now the Raiders — and doesn’t want to deal with baggage.
“I started with them, whenever we came in as a defensive staff from that point on,” Milus said. “They have gotten better.
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“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Arnette especially has a pretty good little bounce and spirit about him right now. He is growing, and hopefully when the season comes around and we need him, he is ready to do the things he was drafted to do.”
Even after the clean slate, the coaching staff needed to sit down with Arnette.
“All-around focus,” Milus said. “From how to deal with bad plays on the field to handling your everyday business, from how you start your morning to how to end your night. He is trying to be more consistent and he is getting better.”
Arnette isn’t the only with more bounce to this step. Abram broke up a deep pass for Rams receiver DeSean Jackson on Wednesday, and the 6-foot safety probably doesn’t get there if he is still weighing 205 pounds instead of 195.
“My own personal opinion was that it would help him with his movement,” Milus said, “just getting his body in the proper positions where he’s able to go make solid NFL type of plays. He lost some weight and I think he is moving better. He is doing a good job for us.”
Milus thought Abram’s play on the Jackson ball was more than just that, though.
“I think there are some things that are hidden that maybe you don’t see,” Milus said. “Things he is doing at the snap of the ball — how is he moving to get in position to go make a tackle, his eye control, what he’s looking at, making sure his first step is the right first step. Those are the things we’re looking for — get your body to move in the right way. Don’t false step …
“Start the down the right way and we’ll probably like how the down ends. He is getting better at that.”
Milus mentioned the new defensive staff, and he came over from the Chargers after four years there with new Raiders defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, three with new assistant DBs coach Addison Lynch and two with his son, Ryan Milus, the defensive quality-control coach.
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“Coach is amazing in how he goes about his day-to-day preparation and how he deals with people,” Milus said of Bradley. “Gus hasn’t had to teach the coaches before he teaches the players — we all know the system coming in.
“We don’t want to let down Gus, and his vision is of a top-five defense that plays with passion and effort and turns the ball over. We want our defense to pop off the tape.”
The Raiders are getting up early in the morning to beat the Las Vegas heat at training camp (they return Sunday) and Milus has seen daily progress to their goals.
“Next week, we need to be better than this week, and then we reset the bar,” he said. “We want the people of Las Vegas to get excited about what we’re doing.
“Man, I just love this job. I get a chance to put on shorts and a T-shirt, get on the board with a grease pen, we watch some movies, then we go to recess, watch some more movies and have recess again. It’s awesome.
“Then on Sundays, I get to be on the 50-yard line.”
(Photo of Tre’von Moehrig: Kirby Lee / USA Today)
