--Two games, two sacks surrendered. Two pre-snap penalties.
This isn't what anyone had in mind for the second overall pick of the 2004 NFL Draft, Robert Gallery included.
Coach Art Shell, a Hall of Fame left tackle himself, said during the Raiders mandatory minicamp he expected nothing less than a Pro Bowl from Gallery. He was finally moving to left tackle after two years at right tackle, the position he played at Iowa when he was considered a lineman in the mold of a Tony Boselli or Jonathan Ogden.
Gallery's promising rookie year was followed by a disappointing second season.
The first two pre-season games of 2006 have not been encouraging.
"I had some mistakes and haven't been myself the last couple of weeks," Gallery said. "But it is the preseason. I am going to get through this and be where I want to be and where everybody says I should be."
Shell said he has bigger problems than the play of Gallery.
"I'm not worried about Robert," Shell said. "Robert is going to be fine."
Part of Gallery's problem could be information overload.
Linemen claim going from the right to the left is like learning to be left-handed after being right-handed. Since joining the Raiders, Gallery's line coaches have been Aaron Kromer, Jim Colletto and now the tandem of co-coaches Irv Eatman and Jackie Slater.
You can throw Shell into that mix as well, as the Raiders coach has spent considerable time working with the linemen.
Shell said the Raiders have dramatically altered techniques in terms of footwork and aggression. Rather than block for a set period of time on a play, with the ball expected to be out with precision, the Raiders are blocking to the whistle and attempting to protect for deeper patterns and five- to seven-step drops.
"When you get into a game, you can sometimes revert to something you've known in the past," Gallery said.
And while Gallery himself said early on going back to left tackle was like riding a bike, he now concedes his comfort level isn't what it could be or should be.
"You just have to get back into it," Gallery said. "You are away for something for two years and it takes a little bit to get back to where I was. Easy as it may be to write and say how I should be able to get comfortable from Day 1, there are some things you've just got to do. It just takes time."
CAMP CALENDAR
The Raiders completed double-day sessions on Thursday, Aug. 17. Training camp breaks at the Napa Marriott Wednesday, Aug. 23.
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