By MARTY JAMES

Executive Sports Editor

Stanford Routt, a second-year cornerback for the Oakland Raiders, doesn’t feel any differently from a physical standpoint.

“Athletically, I’m still the same person,” he said Tuesday. “I still can run fast and cover and hit people.”

The difference between Routt’s rookie season, in which he played 14 games and made two starts, and this year comes down to the mental part of football.

“It’s just confidence and being comfortable, just going out there trusting what you see and making plays,” Routt said after practice at the team’s training camp at Redwood Middle School. “I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m a different ballplayer. I’m just letting the game slow down to me, trusting the technique, and trusting making plays by what you see out there on the field.”

Routt, the left cornerback, is off to a good start for Oakland’s defense, recording three tackles against Philadelphia and two each against Minnesota and San Francisco. They’re just preseason games, and there’s still three weeks to go before the NFL’s regular season begins, but it’s all part of a learning process for Routt, who was taken in the second round of the 2005 draft by Oakland.

“This year the coaches are trying to use me more for outside and less for inside,” he said. “It’s just more a sense of comfort. I just play wherever needed.”

Routt was a contributor last year, finishing with 25 tackles, including 23 solo stops, a sack and a pair of pass deflections. He also saw extensive playing time on special teams.

He’s part of what looks to be an improved defensive unit that already has five interceptions through three exhibition games, matching their total from last year’s regular season. The Raiders take a 3-0 record into Friday night’s game against Detroit at the Oakland Coliseum.

“Regardless of what anybody else thinks — hey, we all know what we think, and we’ll see you on Sept. 11,” said Routt, who measures improvement play by play, game by game. “I definitely feel like we’re coming together more as a team and just playing more team ball.”

Today marks the Raiders’ final practice of camp — their home away from home for 5-6 weeks during the summer. They’ll go from the warmer temperatures of the Napa Valley and around-the-clock football schedule to the cooler weather of Alameda and more of a regular-season routine.

“I would say it’s been tough, but at the same time I think Coach (Art) Shell has done a pretty good job of taking care of us, giving us the rest time and relax time whenever we’ve needed it,” Routt said. “We’ve still got to go to work on Thursday. Basically, the only thing that changes is the scenery.”

Raiders Notebook

• The Raiders ended Tuesday’s single practice in the late afternoon following Jerry Porter’s touchdown catch in the back of the end zone from Marques Tuiasosopo.

• The Raiders wrap up their 2006 training camp with an afternoon practice today. They return to their team headquarters in Alameda Thursday.

“I’m pretty satisfied with what we’ve got accomplished,” said head coach Art Shell.

• Quarterback Aaron Brooks showed mobility in Sunday’s game against San Francisco, running for 31 yards on four carries, including a 25-yard pickup.

“I’m comfortable with him because I know one thing — he’ll only run if he needs to get out of trouble and to save the play, so that’s a plus,” said Shell. “But I’ve also talked to him about once you get out of the pocket, get the first down and get down — don’t worry about trying to go all the way, don’t take any unnecessary hits.

“I’d rather have a guy that will run when he needs to run and not run because he wants to run.”

Brooks was 10-of-17 passing for 125 yards with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Doug Gabriel on the Raiders’ first drive in a 23-7 win over the 49ers.

• The key thing with Sam Williams, a strongside linebacker who missed all of last year’s season with a torn ACL, is staying healthy, said Shell.

“It’s been an unfortunate thing for him in the past, but he’s been healthy this summer. He’s a good kid, he works very hard and he’s a tough guy. He’s paid the price to work to get back to where he is right now. He’s doing OK.”

Williams made 22 tackles during the 2004 season and entered the 2005 season as a projected starter at outside linebacker, but got hurt in training camp.

• Shell is pleased with the work of his staff.

“Just like the players we’ve got to get ready to go,” he said. “The players are working hard to get ready to go and we have to make sure we’re on top of everything also from a staff standpoint. So far the staff has been working very hard and working together. It’s a good staff. I really like this staff, just like I like my team.

“There’s communication among the staff. Everybody’s working to help each other out. It’s been all good for us so far.”