Before Wednesday afternoon, the press corps hadn’t seen many
interceptions from the Raiders’ defense. Granted, we haven’t had access to most
of the practices. But among the ones we had seen, there were only a few picks.
And those had all been tipped before intercepted.

In the second Wednesday session, though, cornerback DeAngelo
Hall and linebacker Thomas Howard both came up with clean steals (the former
against JaMarcus Russell, the latter against Andrew Walter).

Apparently, it opened some floodgates.

Thursday, corner Stanford Routt made a nice one-handed snag
on a pass by Russell, rookie Tyvon Branch intercepted a ball in the end zone
that was batted by wide receiver Drew Carter, Rashad Baker got one against
Russell, and safety Darrick Brown reeled in a desperation heave by Marques
Tuiasosopo.

A few other notes from Thursday, the final day of a
three-day mini-camp.

* No word on running back LaMont Jordan, who is still dancing the
limbo and nowhere in sight. Meanwhile, quarterback Brian White, an undrafted free
agent from Portland
State, is missing in
action. “We’re still
looking into that,” is all coach Lane Kiffin would say about White.

*
Quotes of the day

“Made
you look good.” WR Javon Walker to James
Lofton, after reaching down to grab an errant throw from his position coach.

“Set
the edge, Malik!” Linebackers coach Don
Martindale to rookie Malik Jackson after a running play broke outside for
decent yardage.

“Down
right there, and a forced fumble.”
Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, lobbying for more than just a tackle
after Gerard Warren jumped in front of Justin Fargas and yelled “bai-yow!” in a
non-contact red-zone drill.

* Most
costly pass of the day: Hounded by the rush, Andrew Walter threw the ball away
- over the razor wire surrounding the Raiders’ practice field and into the
industrial wasteland of the Oakland
Airport.

* Good
grab: Jonathan Holland spun around to haul in a late pass with one hand.

* The Raiders have two more weeks of organized team
activities, Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday each week. Word is there will be media
access on the Thursdays.