Does Life Begin (Again) at 41 for Alzado? : Raiders: Out of football since 1986, the defensive end reports to training camp with the rookies.

“Hi, Kid!,” said Raider Coach Art Shell as he spied Lyle Alzado in the dining room at training camp Sunday.

Alzado is hardly a kid. At 41, he is two years younger than Shell. They played against each twice a year for eight seasons when Alzado was with the Denver Broncos.

“It’s been a while since he’s played, but there’s no age limit in this game,” Shell said. “He’s going to have every opportunity to show what he can do. It’s not going to be easy for him, but he’s determined to show that he can still play the game. That’s why he’s come in early, because he wants to do whatever it takes to get the job done. He had a mindset that he wants to play football.

“He’s one of the toughest guys I ever went up against,” Shell said. “He had the complete game. He had the ability to play the run as well as rush the passer. He was a tough guy and an excellent player.”

Alzado, retired from the NFL since 1986, began his comeback Sunday when he reported to the Raider training camp. Hoping to get a head start, Alzado, a 16-year veteran, reported with the rookies.

“I’m going to be perfectly honest with you,” Alzado said. “I’m very nervous about being here. I think I was the first one here this morning.”

Alzado said he’s making his comeback because he missed the violence of the NFL.

“Why do you watch football?” Alzado said. “It’s not pretty. It’s the violence. I miss it. I want it.”

An actor since he quit football, Alzado recently opened a restaurant that has become a popular nightspot in West Hollywood and has plans to open 10 more restaurants in the United States and eight in Mexico.

So why does he need football? Is Alzado just doing this for the publicity? “I’m here to give it my best shot,” Alzado said. “Let’s face it, everybody knows me. What do I need any publicity for? Money has nothing to do with this. I make twice as much money away from (football). I’m doing it because I love these guys and miss the physical challenge of trying to do this. I don’t think people should judge me until they see what I can and can’t do.”

Alzado, who made his reputation as a Brooklyn street fighter as a youth, vows to put up a fight to make the team.

“I can promise you one thing. I’m going to kick a lot of . . . before it’s over,” he boasted.

The defensive end is competing against players 20 years younger to earn a spot on the Raiders’ defensive team.

“The stipulation that people put on age is wrong,” Alzado said. “I can remember when people said if you hit 30 you’re on the downside as an athlete. But if you take care of yourself and train hard and have the right diet, I think the physical peak of an athlete can be between 45 and 50.

“Look at Mark Spitz and George Foreman. I think this will open a whole new door to athletes who believe they can still do it and have taken care of themselves. If you look in any biological book you’ll see that the physical peak of a man is when he’s in his 40s.

“Remember this, nobody can ever measure the depth of your desire when you really want it bad enough,” Alzado said. “I visualize wanting this. I visualize succeeding every day.”

Can Alzado still help the Raider defense?

“If he can play the way he was playing before he retired then I think he could help us,” Shell said.

Alzado thinks he can bolster the Raider defense.

“Al Davis and I spoke about a year and a half ago, and he asked me if I could still play, and I said I thought I could help the team in certain areas,” Alzado said. “That’s why I’m here. I’m not here to take anyone’s spot or move anybody out. I’m here to teach some of the guys and, if it works out, play in spots and give the team an extra edge.”

And if it doesn’t work out?

“I don’t have a big enough ego that if Art Shell tells me he can’t use me I wouldn’t understand it,” Alzado said. “I would understand that completely.”

This is Alzado’s second stint with the Raiders. And he enjoyed his first because of the unique personalities on the club, such as those of Lester Hayes and Ted Hendricks.

“Everyone of those guys camped out on the edge of reality, and it made for a lot of fun,” Alzado said. “I can remember Ted Hendricks riding into practice on a horse.”

A fourth round draft pick in 1971, Alzado played seven seasons with the Denver Broncos before he was traded to Cleveland for three high draft picks. Although he played well in three seasons in Cleveland, leading the Browns in tackles in 1981, Cleveland traded him to the Raiders for an eighth round draft pick in 1982.

Alzado trained rigorously for this comeback, working with three personal trainers. And he appears fit at 6-foot-3 and 265 pounds. He said he has just 9% bodyfat.

His training program consisted of plyometrics, a technique designed to enhance his speed, and neuromuscular reeducation, a process in which Alzado was given massages to remove adhesions from old injuries.

Alzado lifted weights at Gold’s Gym in Venice and then ran the beach on his hands. No kidding.

“Everything I do on my feet I do on my hands,” Alzado said.

Although the Raiders have a club policy of assigning roommates to all players, Alzado has no roommate at training camp.

Why?

“No one wanted to room with me,” Alzado quipped. “I guess they still think I’m the psycho I was when I was first here.”

Raider Notes

Ron Brown, expected to report Sunday, was excused until today. In an experiment, Brown is moving from wide receiver to cornerback, the position he played at Arizona State. Running back Greg Bell, expected to report Sunday afternoon, was excused until Sunday night. . . . Anthony Smith, the Raiders’ top draft pick, remains unsigned, but Coach Art Shell is hopeful that Smith will reach agreement on a contract with the club soon. Will missing practice hurt Smith? “You like to have them here from day one,” Shell said. “But he was with us all during the summer so he knows what we’re doing and what we expect of him. I’d like to see him here now and I hope we get this thing done as quickly as possible. But we’re very close to getting it done.” . . . Only two other draft picks remain unsigned: linebacker Aaron Wallace, a second round pick from Texas A&M;, and Myron Jones, an 11th-round pick from Fresno State. . . . The first workout is today at 3 p.m. Veterans aren’t due to report until Friday. . . . The Raiders open their exhibition season in London against the New Orleans Saints on Saturday, Aug. 5. . . . The Raiders have two home exhibition games scheduled, but the National reported they have approached Oakland officials about moving a game against the Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 18 from the Los Angeles Coliseum to the Oakland Coliseum.