Perspective key for passer

Walter out to build on initial effort

By MARTY JAMES
Executive Sports Editor

Andrew Walter isn’t looking to make a big deal of the way he played at quarterback for the Oakland Raiders in a preseason-opening win last week over San Francisco.

The numbers (10-of-12 passing for 82 yards) look good and Walter also threw a two-point conversion pass following Oakland’s second touchdown at McAfee Coliseum. But he isn’t too high or too low about the way things went to start the four-game exhibition season.

“Whether it was good or bad really doesn’t matter, because after the game’s over you’ve got to go on to the next one,” Walter said after Oakland’s first practice of a two-a-day at training camp Monday at Redwood Middle School. “There were a few things that we need to clean up. But for the most part, it’s something that is nice to tuck away.

“I thought it was a good game. I was very pleased with how it went. I don’t want to play it up or downplay it too much. It was a good start and it beats the alternative. At the same time, it’s in the past. It’s a lot better to have a game like that than a poor game starting off the preseason and the whole 2008 season.”

Walter, a third-round pick by the Raiders in the 2005 NFL Draft, has played in 13 league games and started eight games during the 2006 season.

Last year he played in one regular season game, completing 5 of 8 passes for 38 yards on Dec. 9 at Green Bay.

“As a player, you can never dwell on the past. And you can’t dwell on the future,” he said. “You really have to live in the present. To perform the best, that’s what you really have to do. Every day you’re out here practicing, you’re trying to get better and improve. It’s really just a state of mind.”

The Raiders will break camp after Wednesday’s practices. As camp winds down, Walter said he is much more comfortable in the offense.

“It’s the first year that I’ve had consecutive offenses. Before that I had to learn a new offense every year. It’s no way to gain a comfort level within the system or continuity with the players around you. This year, that has helped everybody.”

SIRIUS NFL Radio to broadcast from camp

SIRIUS NFL Radio, the only radio channel devoted to the NFL 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, will broadcast live from Raiders training camp in Napa today.

Former NFL front office executive Pat Kirwan and former NFL quarterback Jim Miller will host “Movin’ The Chains” live from noon to 4 p.m., exclusively on SIRIUS NFL Radio channel 124.

The visit is part of the fourth annual SIRIUS NFL Radio Training Camp Tour, which features live on-site broadcasts at all 32 NFL team training camps from July 26-Aug. 14. SIRIUS hosts will provide an expert look at every team. All shows air exclusively on SIRIUS NFL Radio.

For more information visit www.sirius.com/nfl.

Raider Nation Celebration

A crowd of approximately 14,000 was on hand for the annual Raider Nation Celebration on Sunday at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland. Fans were able to watch the team practice as part of training camp.

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