As I mentioned Wednesday, center Samson Satele is finally on the field, in the late stages of his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery.

That's good news for Raiders fans. No offense to John Wade, but he couldn't beat out Jake Grove for the starting job last year, and Grove was never the strongest link along the Oakland line. I thought Grove improved after putting on some muscle last year, but he had pretty much tapped his potential.

Satele, acquired in a trade with the Dolphins (who, interestingly, wound up with Grove), isn't huge " the Raiders list him at 6-3, 300 " but he's agile and plays with a mean streak. He is supposed to be an upgrade at the position, or will be when he's fully healthy. For now, the Raiders are working him in slowly. Wednesday was his first day back.

Here are portions of my interview with Satele that day:

How did it feel to get back out there?

"Back in football shape. Back to hitting some guys for the first time in a while. But it feels good."

Are you limited in any way?

"Take a little bit of reps here and there, but as the days go on, the more reps I get. I mean, next week or whenever, I'll probably practice full practice."

How are you feeling physically?

"I feel good. The rehab here was awesome. Those guys got me ready in no time, and got my strength back up. These guys did an awesome job of helping me on my strength, and not just that but everything else."

Pinpoint anything in rehab that was particularly effective?

"Just the guys in there. The training staff they have is unbelievable. Like I said, they did everything and anything to get me out here early. So I'm out here. Which I'm not supposed to, but they got me ready, so I'm ready to practice."

So you're ahead of schedule?

"Yeah, ahead of schedule. Like I say, Scotty (Touchet) and all those guys in there, they just did a great job."

Comfortable yet in the Tom Cable blocking scheme?

"Oh, yeah, it fits me. I can run, athletic. And the guys around me, like Robert (Gallery) and Cooper (Carlisle), they're made for this system. They can run, and I'm just trying to catch up to them."

How close is it to other systems you've played in?

"It's not close. This is my third year, and the last two years I've been in a power system. So that is way different from what we're doing. I mean, I got help no matter which I go, so it's a good system for me."

What are the challenges in learning the system?

"There's a lot of other stuff that we have to call here. Not so much a lot of calls, but as long as you learn the basics, like every offensive system, everything else just falls in place. Just learning the different languages, I guess."

Especially important for a center, making line calls?

"Yeah, that's what I mean. Center calls everything on the line. The quarterback does, but if the center gets it out before the quarterback, the line can hear it. So it's a good system. I've just gotta learn the language."

Do you like having a head coach who was an offensive line coach?

"Oh, yeah. Offensive linemen, we're not receivers. We like to run the ball. But to have him as a head coach, he's always there pinpointing everything that goes wrong in the front. So it's like we have another O-line coach there."