The Raiders have a new offense and a new center. But the new center is having a hard time learning the new offense because he can’t shake the age-old problem that plagues football teams in training camp.
Injury.
Stefen Wisniewski, who missed the offseason program after surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder, has now been out for more than a week with a calf injury suffered in the preseason opener.
“He needs to get the reps,” coach Dennis Allen said Tuesday, via the Detroit Free Press. “It’s football and you don’t just show up and play so every day he’s not out here he’s a little bit further behind. But he’s been keeping up mentally as far as taking the mental reps and in the meetings but it’s hard to replace those physical reps you get here and in games.”
There’s no issue with Wisniewski’s toughness. He played most of his rookie season with the shoulder injury. Still, the shoulder and now the calf have kept him from learning the team’s new zone blocking scheme, which requires linemen to be more mobile and work in unison.
“You got to be able to move,” Wisniewski said “If you look at our O-line, that’s one thing we all can do across the board. We can move, we can run, we’re athletic. So I think it’s going to work for us, especially with the speed we’ve got at running back.”
For now, the Raiders are more concerned about the speed with which Wisniewski heals.