New Raiders offensive line coach Mike Tice is very optimistic about the running game in 2015, and had nice things to say about all three of his top running backs, including the much-maligned Trent Richardson on his third NFL stop, according to Raiders.com. Latavius Murray and Richardson are pencilled in for large roles in the offense.
“Each one has their own style. I like the Murray kid. He really came on in that veteran mini-camp. He got his legs under him and showed some quickness, some good finish,” said Tice on SiruisXM NFL Radio. “I thought the young man out of Alabama came on. He lost some weight, his quickness came around.”
In addition to Murray and Richardson, Tice also had a glowing review of Roy Helu Jr..
“And then the young man we picked up out of Washington, a local boy out of San Ramon, I think he had an outstanding offseason and he shows good quickness, good awareness,” said Tice. “I think the nice thing about the kid out of Washington…is that he has nice hands out of the backfield – he can catch the football.”
Here are some more stories from around the AFC West:
- The Raiders are finally giving focus to developing their young defensive backs, writes Steve Corkan of RaidersBeat.com (via Facebook). The team is no longer trying to find short-term solutions in modestly-priced veterans, and is prepared to hand the backend of the defense to D.J. Hayden, T.J. Carrie, and Keith McGill.
- The Broncos and Demaryius Thomas are still far apart on a long-term contract, and Troy Renck of the Denver Post is having trouble seeing how the two sides come together on an agreement. He writes that $40MM guaranteed is the low number on what Thomas needs based on his value, but he writes the Broncos can’t meet that number, and might be better off leasing him with the franchise tag this season and again next season before moving on to a run-first offense with a strong defense under head coach Gary Kubiak.
- While fans and pundits are waiting for an announcement on which teams will be torn away from their current cities to move to Los Angeles, Dan McSwain of the U-T San Diego writes that the city of San Diego might be better if the Chargers leave. He writes that the public funding for a new stadium would hurt the local economy, and the people of San Diego would be fortunate if the team left for L.A. instead of putting that burden on them.