Bonding moment, or hazing terror?
Call it what you will, but the haircut hijinks toward rookies that ensued between practices Tuesday resulted in some of the ugliest 'dos this side of Tim Tebow's Friar Tuck look.
Lamarr Houston looked like a New Age B.A. Baracus. Jered Veldheer had sideburns, a pocket of hair above his forehead and one above his neck. Bruce Campbell's look was so bad he covered it with a baseball cap. Rolando McClain had one small ring-worm hole carved out of the back right side.
As the final practice ended, Steve Brown and Walter McFadden, their pretty heads thus far untouched, booked out of the locker room.
Maybe the Cowboys will let the Raiders veterans shave their too-good-to-carry-shoulder-pads rookie receiver Dez Bryant's head on Thursday?
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Those that sat out practice Tuesday and "most likely won't play in the (Cowboys) game," per coach Tom Cable:
WR Jacoby Ford (quad)
WR Paul Hubbard (hamstring)
WR Chaz Schilens (foot)
FB Luke Lawton (concussion)
RB Darren McFadden (hamstring)
QB Charlie Frye (wrist)
QB Bruce Gradkowski (groin)
DE Jay Richardson (left knee)
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With Gradkowski and Frye out, Kyle Boller will back up Jason Campbell and newly-signed Colt Brennan will be the third quarterback. I have written a feature on Brennan, who has now gone through four total practices with the Raiders, for tomorrow's paper.
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McFadden said he felt his left hamstring tighten up on him in the Saturday morning practice.
"I had kind of slowed down (and) tried to speed up again and then I felt it so I just kind of pulled up off of it before I did anything bad," he said.
"It feels a little tight on me. Hamstrings can be tricky injuries. I didn't want to try to get back on it too fast. I'm just trying to make sure it's 100 (percent) before I do."
He also said it was the first time he's had a hamstring issue since his senior year of high school.
"I ran a track meet and the only call I heard was the final call for the 100 meters," McFadden said. "I didn't get a chance to warm up, and that's the only time I've had hamstring problems.
"You want to make sure it's all the way healthy before you (play) because it's a hamstring, something that can nag you for a whole year...it's very frustrating. I feel like I've been having a good camp."
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Alex Daniels, the converted fullback, is looking forward to his pro debut at Dallas.
"It's just a blessing coming true," he said. "I just always wanted to play in the NFL no matter how I got there. Blocking for Darren (McFadden), blocking for (Michael) Bush, blocking for Rock (Cartwright), blocking for Mike Bennett, just any of those guys that are going to be back there is going to be (a blessing). I'm just going to open my eyes, and just look, I'm going to be in Dallas, in Jerry's world, that stadium, and just be excited to be there, and when the whistle blows, that's when the pads hit and then after that, you go ahead, and it's just all football again."
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Pro Bowl cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha has been seeing a lot of time on the left side of late, as opposed to his usual right side.
And he's enjoying the freedom of moving back and forth.
"Of course there are games that we've gone into, a handful, where it would be me just going wherever I was going to go," Asomugha said. "We've done it every year since I've been here. But there's been more of a feeling where people are listening. We're doing more things, and I love it.
"I've been playing all over the field pretty much. I've been inside, I've been outside, both sides. It looks like it won't be a thing that's selective based off who we're playing. It's just going to be a thing that we can do whenever we want. It's a part of the package. And that's great. It gets me more involved."
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The Raiders travel to Dallas Wednesday, play Thursday night and have Friday off.
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For timelier updates, follow me on Twitter @PaulHGutierrez
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