Raiders’ Abram focusing on staying injury-free and available

Say this much for Raiders safety Johnathan Abram: the man clearly has discipline.

So many times during training camp Abram was in perfect position to drop the hammer on a ball-carrier. But just at the last second, he’d issue a two-hand tap or an innocent shoulder nudge rather than a full-fledged hit.

Knowing how much Abram likes the physicality of football, it had to take every ounce of constraint he could muster not to waylay someone when given the chance.

Thankfully for Abram, those days are coming to an end. The Raiders’ punishing second-year safety, who missed all but one game of his rookie season after injuring his shoulder in the season opener, is counting the days until the Sept. 13 opener in Charlotte against the Carolina Panthers.

To say he’s ready to throw his body into a moving object wearing an opposing jersey is an understatement.

The key for him is finding the fine line between being the physical enforcer he wants to be and understanding the ramifications that sometimes come with that mindset. As last year showed, the Raiders sorely missed the intimidating element Abram adds to a defense. “He’s a key, no doubt,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said.

Abram understands. And while he isn’t about to start playing timidly or being overly careful, he knows he needs to more often look to make the prudent play rather than the highlight hit.

“More so just being smarter, making sure that I’m available,” Abram said. “The best ability is availability, so just making sure I stay healthy.”

That approach seems to have also translated into Abram being a more cerebral player. After spending so much of last year mentally absorbing the sights and sounds of the NFL and the Raiders’ defense, an osmosis effect took place. The key was staying connected to the team during his rehabilitation and pouring himself into the weekly game-plan preparation.

“That was the biggest thing, just being able to understand the defense, seeing how the game plan changes week in and week out,” Abram said. “And seeing the adjustments that need to be made, seeing the coaching points that were made and that showed up every single Sunday. And just trusting it.”

As a result, Abram has a better command of the defense. “I understand it a lot more,” Abram said.

It’s a growth spurt the coaching staff has noticed.

“I think he’s becoming a better communicator, which you have to be in the back end,” Gruden said. “You’ve got to be able to recognize splits, formations, know the situations and communicate that to those around you. So I think his communication is better.”

More and more, Abram is feeling comfortable not only digesting what he is seeing on the field but relaying what he is seeing to his teammates.

“I see things before they happen, so I just try to make sure I let everybody out there on the field know,” Abram said.

As the leader on the third level of the defense, Abram is working closely with an extremely young group of teammates in second-year cornerbacks Trayvon Mullen and Isaiah Johnson and rookie cornerbacks Damon Arnette and Amik Robertson.

It’s a promising group that has flashed some major swagger and ability in training camp. The key now is transferring all of that onto the field.

Arnette and Mullen have locked down the two starting cornerback jobs, with Johnson making a strong push as the third corner. Robertson is the backup to slot cornerback Lamarcus Joyner.

Veteran safeties Damarious Randall, Erik Harris and Jeff Heath are the elder statesmen. But make no mistake, the Raiders are building a young foundation in the secondary. “We’re hoping we can create an identity on that side of the ball, centered around a bunch of young guys,” Gruden said.

Abram said youth will not be an excuse for subpar play. It’s about everybody understanding their roles and the playbook and being able to talk to each other in real time.

“I don’t think experience has anything to do with it,” Abram said. “It doesn’t matter who’s out there, if it’s a bunch of five veterans out there on the field. If they don’t communicate, then they can’t play fast and they can’t play well together,”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore onTwitter.