By Steve Corkran
Friday, September 7th, 2012 at 12:07 pm in Oakland Raiders.
The media are permitted only 30 minutes of practice-viewing time each day. However, it didn’t take anywhere near that long to glean that wide receiver Denarius Moore is at full strength and ready to roll.
Moore looked strong in his push off from the line of scrimmage, comfortable making sharp cuts and running at close to full speed during the early portion of practice.
Based on that, it’s safe to assume that he is going to start Monday night against the San Diego Chargers in the regular-season opener at the Coliseum.
Moore returned to practice Thursday for the first time since Aug. 4, when he went down with his latest hamstring injury. Apparently, the time off from practice and games, as well as the intensive rehab, are just what Moore needed to get back to where he was last season, when he burst on the scene as one of the league’s most-explosive receivers.
So, it appears as if Moore and Darrius Heyward-Bey will start, with rookie Rod Streater and veteran Derek Hagan the primary backups. Rookie Juron Criner still looks hobbled by a sore ankle. Jacoby Ford hasn’t practiced or played in a game since Aug. 17 because of an injured left foot.
– Center Stefen Wisniewski (calf), kicker Sebastian Janikowski (groin) and defensive tackle Richard Seymour (knee) are practicing. Seymour and Moore were limited Thursday, as was left guard Cooper Carlisle (back).
We’ll know after practice whether Seymour, Moore and Carlisle were able to do more today, when we speak with coach Dennis Allen.
– In addition to working out wide receiver Derek Hagan on Wednesday, the Raiders also worked out receivers Jabar Gaffney and Tiquan Underwood, tight ends Fendi Onobun, Gabe Miller, Zack Pianalto and Mickey Shuler, and linebacker Joe Holland.
– No word yet on whether the Raiders-Chargers game sold enough tickets to merit the game being televised. In years past, teams had to sellout 72 hours in advance of the game for it to be televised.
However, the Raiders opted to take advantage of a new rule that enables them to have their home games televised if they sell only 85 percen of the tickets.
Again, it’s safe to assume that this game will be televised. All eight of Oakland’s regular-season home games in 2011 sold out and were televised, when the threshhold was 100 percen of tickets sold.
