Training Camp Puts Raiders', Spytek's Offseason Moves Under a Microscope

Earlier this offseason, Spytek noted how things will be moving forward.

"Well, I would be remiss if I didn't start with compete. That's been his central thing. But I think we're going to have a lot of positive energy. The guys that love to compete and play with passion are going to have a chance at our place. And the guys that maybe don't have that love of the game, they like it, it's a means to an end, there probably won't be as many places or spaces for them at our place. I think we want to set the tone with our film," Spytek said.

"When people watch a week or two out for our games coming, like they want to know like this is going to be a battle, this is going to be physical, this is going to be old school football, and are we made for this? I mean, that's what ultimately this game comes down to. I think, like am I willing to play harder longer than the guy lining up across from, the team lining up across from me? And if you're not, then I want to be the space that that's where the Raiders live in, and that's served me well over my career."

Spytek has spent decades in the National Football League in various roles with teams that were in similar positions to the Raiders. He plans to lean on the lessons he learned from previous experiences to help the Raiders turn things around.

"I've been a part of a couple of these. We kind of go back to our evaluation coming out, and what we believe the player to be and the person to be. And then you kind of try to envision, like does it work in our system? Will this play? Is it a good fit for the team that we're at - so the Raiders now? And you've got to kind of trust your gut," Spytek said.

"Just because the guy didn't work somewhere with a different organization for whatever that is, good or bad, I think there's always an opportunity that if it's set up the right way at the place that you're at and you believe in it, that guy will feel that. Because a lot of times they have maybe been upset the right way, they don't feel like they've been believed in, and if you can kind of breathe that life back into them, I think they've got a chance. I'm grateful for a couple of them that have come along the way and helped me win a lot of games."