Camp Classic Moment

The Raiders have always been a team of characters. From Otis Sistrunk to John Matuszak to Ken Stabler to Lyle Alzado, the Raiders have lived off the play of veterans who might act a little differently than most. Longtime Raider observers remembered how tackle Bob Brown set the tone of one training camp by giving the goalpost a forearm and watched it tumble. Few, though, could top the exploits of linebacker Ted Hendricks. Injured one day at a camp in Santa Rosa, Hendricks set up an ice tea stand to get him through a practice. His best moment came when he road a white horse onto the field. The Raiders may be the team in black, but Hendricks was always available to ride from the sunset to save the day. — John Clayton

NAPA, Calif. -- Here are five quick observations from the Raiders' training camp.

1. Jerry Rice will have to work on more escape moves at the line of scrimmage now that he's moved to split end. No longer a flanker, he doesn't have an extra couple of yards to maneuver around man coverage. Of course, as a split end, he will see more single coverage, which will be a novelty.

2. Charlie Garner is the perfect signing to replace Napoleon Kaufman. During team drills, he showed why when he ran a sweep to his left, took two strong steps to the inside of the defense and then bolted to the outside for a nice gain.

3. The Raiders better not lose Rich Gannon with an injury. He is the magician that runs this offense, and while Bobby Hoying still has to prove he's a decent backup, Gannon destroys defenses with his quick tosses and his ability to break running plays on first and second downs.

4. Jerry Porter may be the most improved Raider. He committed to more than the mandatory 40 days of offseason workouts. His routes are crisper. Finally, he's looking like a wide receiver instead of just a raw 6-foot-3, 225-pound athlete.

5. Defensive tackle Darrell Russell has the league's most unique pair of sunglasses. He looks like Robocop. The stems of his Oakleys don't go to his ear. Instead, they go on top of his shaved head like two gray racing stripes. Russell said his special shades free up his ears to listen to his CDs.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.