Davis still in hearts, minds of Raiders players

ALAMEDA -- It has been one year to the day that Al Davis passed away and his memory was still in the hearts and minds of several Raiders players on Monday.Even if nearly half of the current Raiders team -- 25 of the players on the 53-man roster were not with the Raiders on Oct. 8, 2011 -- had little to no contact with the face of the franchise.Third-string quarterback Terrelle Pryor, Davis' final draft pick, felt an especially strong kinship to the late Raiders owner."I mean, all I can say is I'm going to make him proud as his last pick," Pryor said. "I'm getting better every day. I know he's looking down, scheming over the Raiders because he loved football. All I know is I'm going to make him proud and I'm going to be exactly what he thought I was going to be."Fullback Marcel Reece, a street free agent-turned-Pro Bowl candidate, said there had been a quiet remembrance in the locker room."I can tell you there's guys in here that were close to him, including myself, thatdo kind of take a moment to yourself and just think about it and know you're thankful for him and what he's done and his family and the organization that he built from the ground up," Reece said. "And you're just really appreciative of it."REWIND: Remembering Al DavisDefensive tackle Richard Seymour, acquired in a splashy trade with New England on the eve of the 2009 season opener, remembered his first conversation with Davis."He asked me, 'Where are you right now?' Im like, 'Im in New England.' He said, 'Im in sunny California,'" Seymour recalled."That was the personality of the conversation. I think one thing, since being here, one thing I knew was he loved his players and his players always wanted to win for him, because they knew how much he cared about them. Even as Im here now, I want to get it to where he wants it to be in terms of turning it all around and having him be a part of it."To a man, the players in the Raiders locker rom even the newer ones, realize what Davis meant to the organization and vice versa."For me, personally, when you think about the Raiders, you think about Mr. Davis and what he meant, not only to this franchise, but to the National Football League," Seymour said. "Hes an icon that surpassed, when you talk about leaving a legacy, hell always be remembered whether its the one-year or the 10-year, the century mark, decade mark, youre always going to think about what it meant to put on the silver and black and just that mindset and mentality."