Burris opportunistic with Curry on PUP list

NAPA - Aaron Curry landing on the physically unable to perform list with a knee injury on the first day of camp is no doubt a downer for the Raiders' weak-side linebacker.But it's also an opportunity for rookie Miles Burris, Oakland's high-energy fourth-round draft choice out of San Diego State. So much so that Burris nearly had to pinch himself when he found himself lining up alongside the likes of Richard Seymour with the Raiders' first-team defense Monday during the team's opening training camp practice."Maybe when they're in the huddle a little bit and they're staring at me, probably wondering who I am," Burris said."The more reps I can get, Ill take. Its really good and beneficial for me as far as bringing me along quicker (and) being immersed out there with the first team and having to get a feel for the game more. It was a good time."Since it was the first day of camp and the Raiders were in shorts and helmets and not in pads and hitting each other -- that comes Wednesday -- it was hard to tell exactly how Burris fared. Even if his highly-publicized high motor was most definitely on display in drills.Still, coach Dennis Allen seemed impressed, when asked about Burris and fellow rookie linebacker Nate Stupar."I think both of them are instinctive football players," Allen said. "They're smart and they've done a nice job of picking up the scheme. They're still rookies and they make some rookie mistakes, but as far as the level of commitment, I've been real pleased with that."At San Diego State, Burris played in a hybrid 3-3-5 defense, so playing on the weak side in a 4-3 NFL defense will take some adjustments. But he had a rookie minicamp, three weeks of OTAs and a three-day minicamp to get ready for training camp.So where's his comfort level now, as opposed to two months ago?"A lot more comfortable," he said. "I made sure to stay studying and the book, the notes that I took from OTAs and minicamp, I took that home and was studying that every day. Just from the reps that I got there as well it did bring me a lot farther than where I expected to be and I felt pretty comfortable out there today.And the aspect of the game he feels he needs more work on is predictable.I think right now just the pass game," Burris said. "Theres a lot of ins and outs to the pass coverage. What were playing and also what the offense is giving us. And a lot of that comes from experience and reps and a lot also comes from the film room and studying your playbook."