Tag: 2021 Raiders training camp

Raiders starters energized, ‘ready for season’ after physicality of scrimmages with Rams

Raiders starters energized, ‘ready for season’ after physicality of scrimmages with Rams

The past two days of scrimmages with the Rams were dubbed as being the best preparation the team’s starters will have prior to the start of the season. And they were as advertised. The Raiders went toe-to-toe with a high-powered Rams team and came out of it all the better for it.

“It was fun,” said Josh Jacobs. “Because normally I don’t even strap on my helmet for practice. We thud, but we don’t hit hard enough, so we came out there and we got a little physical. It just made it fun for me. It felt like a game. And it really brought the energy and the juice to practice that we needed. It’s been fun. I can’t really wait until the season starts. I don’t know how this preseason will go, if I’m going to play or not, but I’m ready for the season to start for sure.”

Not having his helmet strapped properly on day one of the scrimmage nearly started the first dustup. His helmet came off after a hit from cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Foster Moreau immediately came to his defense. But Jacobs said it was no harm, no foul. And he was even smiling when it happened.

“I know that he didn’t do a malicious shot. Or it would’ve been a different reaction,” said Jacobs. “It wasn’t even like that. He didn’t even hit me hard, it’s just that I didn’t really have my helmet strapped up, so that was on me. I went up to him right after and I’m like ‘you good’ you know what I’m saying? I didn’t want him to be labeled as a dirty player because I knew it wasn’t like that.”

Jacobs didn’t see any action in the first preseason game and that figures to be the case again on Saturday against the Rams. But he did have an eventful couple days of scrimmage.

Day two saw him get nailed in the junk hard enough that he was still walking gingerly a half hour later.

“Yeah, I got hit in my boys. You feel me?” Jacobs said, with all of us thankful we were not feeling it. “So, yeah. Man, I was down there trying to breathe, I couldn’t breathe for a second.”

Running backs get hit, often several times, every play they are on the field, whether they’re carrying the ball or not. And the opposite is true throughout training camp where defenders let up and are forbidden from taking them to the ground.

The Rams are under no obligation to take anything off their hits, so it can shake a player into regular season mode. No one means more to this offense than tight end Darren Waller. The Pro Bowl tight end just got back this week after being out two weeks with an undisclosed injury. Nothing like a good scrimmage to shake the rust off.

“It gets the natural nerves flowing just to kind of get out there and just play football and compete,” said Waller. “So, I’m all about it. All about the process, whatever they want it to look like for us. Whether we play or we don’t, it’s good to get that live action and get someone to come up and thump you a little bit and get into the flow of moving the ball. So, I enjoy it.”

Waller looked like he was enjoying himself. And if he was rusty, it didn’t show. Check out the move he put on safety Jordan Fuller in one-on-ones Thursday.

Let’s not forget about the defense. No one was looking forward to this than them and they are feeling pretty good with the reps they got the past couple days. Even if some of them got a little overzealous cough-Maxx-Crosby-cough-cough.

“It’s a tricky deal,” said Crosby after Wednesday’s practice. “Obviously we only got three preseason games, they want to see a lot of the younger guys and see them get real live reps. And for us not being able to play really, it is what it is. We’re getting after it in practice, these two days you really get to go out there, ones vs ones and get after it, so it’s special. We got close to 50 reps out there today. You can’t take anything for granted, you just got to go out there, get after it, and get ready for week one.”

Crosby got after it, all right. So much so that on day two a big brawl which he played a major role in reigniting a couple times, ended practice early. I supposed we shouldv’e seen it coming after he said this was when players could throw punches and get away with it. So, yeah, he was really enjoying getting physical.

It wasn’t all primal, though. Sometimes it’s about testing your abilities against guys you haven’t seen every day.

“You get a lot of good work because it kind of breaks the monotony,” said DT Quinton Jefferson. “You’re going up against the same guy every day and sometimes you might not know ‘does this move really work?’ because I go against the same guy every day. So, it’s different to go against a guy who gives you a different look and a guy that might set you different.”

Head coach Jon Gruden told the players to treat this practice like a game. Because many of the veteran starters are unlikely to see game action this week, and perhaps not at all this preseason. In that regard, the past couple days were a rousing success. Now to hope they can sustain that juice for the next three weeks until they take the field for an actual game that counts.

Richie Incognito and Nicholas Morrow leave Raiders practice with injuries

A little over an hour into practice, at nearly the same moment, both Richie Incognito and Nicholas Morrow went down on the field. Morrow on the North field and Incognito on the South field. In both instances, it was the last snap of the session. …

A little over an hour into practice, at nearly the same moment, both Richie Incognito and Nicholas Morrow went down on the field. Morrow on the North field and Incognito on the South field. In both instances, it was the last snap of the session.

Morrow stayed down for a while, with teammates kneeling around him. They brought out a cart, just in case, but Morrow would ultimately get up and walk to the side, where he then worked with trainers.

Incognito walked off as well, though very slowly. He then made his way toward the team tent, heavily favoring his right leg and, again, moving very slowly.

Before either player could be assessed, the big fight broke out on the field during special teams sessions and practice was called off. It all happened so fast, there was little time to assess the severity of either injury.

“I think we’ll look into it, we’ll know something in the next couple of days, but I don’t have anything to report yet,” Jon Gruden said after practice.

Not that Incognito would have played in Saturday’s preseason game against the Rams, and perhaps not Morrow either, but their injuries should seal the deal on any chance they had of playing. The hope now will be that neither injury is serious enough to cause them to cost them regular season games.

Certainly it appeared serious enough to warrant close monitoring.

When Richie has missed time this training camp it has been second-year guard John Simpson who has stepped in for him. Morrow plays multiple linebacker spots, so the group would shuffle around if he can’t go. Javin White got the start in the first preseason game.

Others not practicing today due to injuries include RB Jalen Richard, WR John Brown, and LB Nick Kwiatkoski.

Defensive tackle Darius Stills returned to practice today sporting a club cast on his right hand.

Big fight has Jon Gruden end Raiders practice early, Chucky not happy about ‘child’s play’

Big fight ends Raiders practice early, Chucky not happy about ‘child’s play’

A lot of trash talking and heated exchanges over two days of Raiders and Rams scrimmaging came to a hilt today. With still what was supposed to be a good 45 minutes of practice, a huge fight broke out. One that lasted a good five minutes with several waves.

After the fight finally began to disperse, head coach Jon Gruden had seen enough and ended practice abruptly.

“I thought we had great work today until the end of the special teams period,” Gruden said, speaking of the fight. “I have no idea what that was, but that’s enough of that crap. It’s not good for football, it’s not good for anything, so that was the end of that practice session.”

It was difficult to tell exactly what went down that sparked the brawl, but it caused Yannick Ngakoue and Maxx Crosby in particular to run out onto the field and come after Rams players to defend their teammates.

Neither were letting it go easily and other Raiders players were trying to hold them back. Crosby was really furious and it appeared as if his unwillingness to walk away and his choice words for some Rams players is what caused the fight to pick up again after it seemed like it might dissipate.

After Wednesday’s practice, which had quite a few squabbles as well, Crosby gave a pretty strong indication he was gonna be that dude.

“This is when you can get your punches out,” said Crosby. “You get away with a little bit extra. You know, tempers get flaring and it is what it is. It’s the first day going against somebody else, so things like that happen sometimes.”

Crosby was in good spirits after practice, even going over and giving GM Mike Mayock a big hug. His head coach was not nearly as happy.

“There’s no message, they know. They know better. Everybody knows better. And, again, it wasn’t everybody fighting, you’ll see it on TV, everybody’s screaming and yelling, but it was two guys in a special teams period and then it was a lot of trash talking that escalated. It’s just sickening really. It’s just stupidity. I’m done with that. It’s just child’s play to me.”

“Child’s play” is an interesting choice of words for the man they call ‘Chucky’.

It is a shame, though, because that ‘child’s play’ disrupted what was otherwise some good work being put in between starters for both teams.

“Emotions get a little bit higher when you introduce another team. But we got to try to overcome that,” said Kolton Miller. “Definitely we have each other’s backs, but it’s something we don’t want to get in the way of practice, you know, you want to be able to finish practice. So, obviously we could’ve ended better.”

The fights along the way and the big one that ended it not withstanding, there was a lot of good work put in. The starters got more reps in a full go session the past couple days than they will get all the rest of camp and preseason.

Next up is one of those preseason games this Saturday against these same Rams. Though with the officials on hand and the cameras on, the players should be a bit better behaved.

Things get heated at Raiders scrimmage with Rams

Things get heated at Raiders scrimmage with Rams

Josh Jacobs took the handoff from Derek Carr and found a seam up the middle to get to the second level. Once he was a few yards downfield, here comes Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, flying over to rip Jacobs’s helmet off. Raiders tight end Foster Moreau was right there to get in Ramsey’s face and defend his teammate. Ramsey continues jawing with Moreau until several other Rams and Raiders players converge to break it up.

Ramsey had been physical since the first time he lined up against Raiders players in one-on-ones, clearly seeing the scrimmage a bit differently than most of the other players on the field.

Don’t get it twisted, though, that dust-up was the first of several scraps in practice today, the first of two scrimmage practices with the Rams at their Thousand Oaks facility. That wasn’t even nearly the worst of them.

There were a couple on special teams, including one that formed a pile on the field as a couple of players rolled around on the ground and the two teams converged.

It seemed like the pushing and shoving occurred just about every play, though it usually didn’t amount to much more than that. It’s clear some of these guys were itching to see some action against another team after just practicing against their teammates for months.

“It’s all fun,” said Maxx Crosby. “This is when you can get your punches out, the preseason. You get away with a little bit extra. You know, tempers get flaring and it is what it is. It’s the first day going against somebody else, so things like that happen sometimes.”

It wasn’t just relegated to the players either. The coaches were on another level too, led by Jon Gruden who could be heard yelling and cursing even more than usual.

“I feel like everybody was [extra juiced],” said Crosby of Gruden and the coaches. “At one point (laughs), it was during the special teams, and there was like seven, eight coaches screaming at one time and I was like ‘everybody just relax’, But it’s all good. That’s just how it is. You get this intrasquad thing going and people are just yelling for no reason.”

While Gruden may have had cause for some choice words for the offense, the defensive coaches shouldn’t have had much to yell about. At least not in a negative way. The defense was on point, picking off passes left and right.

Tre’von Moehrig had an interception on Matt Stafford on the second play of team sessions. Then Rasul Douglas picked him off as well. Later Cory Littleton got into the act, picking off Stafford as well. There were a couple of passes that were nearly picked off as well.

The Raiders’ offense wasn’t free from turnovers. Marcus Mariota threw an interception to LB Robert Rochel.

All in all, it was the kind of scrimmage you might expect with starters facing an opposing team for the first time in like eight months combined with young hopefuls trying to fight their way onto a roster and up the depth chart.

And we have one more day of this. Should be fun.

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Raiders CB Isaiah Johnson cleared to come off PUP after passing physical

Raiders CB Isaiah Johnson cleared to come off PUP after passing physical

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Today the Raiders take the field for their first preseason game. After which they have a day off before returning to practice on Monday. When they do, they could have a couple of players take the field who haven’t practiced yet this training camp.

The latest to pass his physical, clearing him to come off the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list is CB Isaiah Johnson. He joins rookie LB Divine Deablo who is also on the PUP and who also passed his physical this week.

Johnson was a 2019 fourth round pick out of Houston. The 6-2, 210-pounder has appeared in 19 career games with no starts.

His most memorable moment came against the Chargers in LA last season when on the final two plays of the game, he defended passes that might have otherwise been touchdowns.

Those two pass breakups were twice as many as he had had coming into the game and as many as he had the rest of last season. Injuries have been a bit of an issue for Johnson and last season he even landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list for a time. He has some ground to make up at cornerback if he’s going to find a spot on this roster again.

Raiders training camp notebook 8/12: Malcolm Koonce working at LB

Raiders training camp notebook 8/12: Malcolm Koonce working at LB

Today was the final camp practice for the Raiders prior to their preseason opener against the Seahawks no Saturday. It will be interesting to see how the team deploys many of their new pieces on the field. Especially some of their rookies.

Both of the team’s third round picks came with some questions about where they would line up for the Raiders. Most notably was Divine Deablo who played safety at Virginia Tech but was selected to play linebacker for the Raiders. He has missed all of camp so far, but passed his physical Wednesday and is expected back soon.

The other third round pick was Malcolm Koonce who was at edge rusher at Buffalo and due to his size was projected as a 3-4 outside linebacker in the pros. The thing is, however, that the Raiders run a 4-3 base, which suggested he would be a defensive end for them.

Then this week Koonce has begun spending more time with the linebackers than he did the defensive linemen and has even been lining up at linebacker in team sessions. This started on Tuesday and continued today.

“Today was my first day playing some linebacker,” Koonce said after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s an I’m going to get in where I fit in type situation. Wherever Gus or the other coaches think I can be the most successful or help the team the most, throw me in there.”

So, the question becomes, is this a position change for Koonce or is it what they had plans for him all along? It could be either one.

It could be they’re testing him out at linebacker just to see what he can do. Not necessarily that he stays there. That’s what practice is for, right? It’s also very possible this was always the plan.

While Bradley is expected to run a 4-3 base, his defenses have 3-4 looks. He had great success with the likes of Melvin Ingram at pass rushing outside linebacker with the Chargers. And Koonce is almost the exact same size as Ingram, which means Bradley could have similar plans for him.

If Koonce can show up well in coverage, it increases his chances of seeing more snaps. They already like his pass rush abilities. That’s what he said is traditionally what coaches like in his game. Now it’s time to see if he has some hidden coverage abilities as well.

Jon Gruden explains reason for late scratch of Raiders on-field practice Wednesday

Jon Gruden explains reason for late scratch of Raiders on-field practice Wednesday

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“I’m not an idiot!” said Jon Gruden, when asked if he pays much attention to GPS tracking of his players which shows how much distance each player travels in a given day.

“We’re practicing in the Mojave desert here,” he continued. “We’re practicing at seven in the morning, so we do gather all kinds of information. We have some of the best trainers and doctors here that you can imagine, so we’re going to be real careful and real smart.”

Even at 7:30 am, the sun here in Las Vegas is brutal. Often times the temp hits triple digits during practice. Just standing on the side is unpleasant. I can’t imagine having to run around in it in pads and a helmet for two hours.

Still, you assume the staff here keeps tabs on these guys to make sure none of them fall out or worse.

Apparently last Tuesday, the team had hit a bit of a wall. The offense was clearly struggling. There were four interceptions, spread around to three of the team’s four quarterbacks, and a few fumbles as well.

So, come Wednesday morning, Gruden made a late audible and pulled the plug on having them out on the field again. So late, in fact, that the players all had their pads on and we in the media were already on the sideline before being sent back to the media work room. Gruden explains why.

“We have some guys that are low on gas and we needed to do some things to get their legs back,” said Gruden. “Hydrate them properly. Even coaches are getting IV’s. Some of you guys look like you could use an IV (laughs). It’s HOT, man. Hydration is a big part of it. And our conditioning, we had a great practice today, a lot of energy, I liked it, we took the coaches off the field. And sometimes a change in the schedule is good for us.”

Gruden did want to emphasize, however, that, though they weren’t out on the field, the team was still working, saying “There was no day off” and noting that all the coaches were still here and “we turned it up in the strength and conditioning room.”

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Raiders training camp notebook: Second-year receivers stepping up with Darren Waller out

Raiders second-year receivers stepping-up with Darren Waller down

The past couple days have been the next phase in Raiders training camp. They moved from the acclimation period to practicing in pads. With that comes more team sessions and therefore more opportunities to see offense vs defense.

Unfortunately, these past two practices have also happened without the Raiders best player on the field.

Darren Waller caught a franchise record 107 passes last season. Gruden has said this offense is built around his Pro Bowl tight end which means not having him out there means the team “changed the script a little bit” as Gruden put it.

That means relying more on the actual wide receivers on the team. That begins with second-year receivers Henry Ruggs III and Bryan Edwards.

Ruggs was the team’s top pick in last year’s draft, but it was Edwards who was stealing the show in training camp. Injuries put a damper on his season and likely played a role in why Waller had the workload he did.

Gruden would like the wide receivers to take some pressure off of Waller and the past two days have offered a preview of what that might look like.

Edwards in particular was making some of his high-point, 50/50 ball catches today, showing that he has the potential to step up in this offense to take pressure off Waller.

“[Gruden] told me I was going to get more opportunities with Waller down for a little bit and I’m trying to make the most of it,” said Edwards.

A couple catches were particularly impressive. One in which he got Amik Robertson turned around Carr threw it up for Edwards to make a play on it. Another in which Edwards got a step on Keisean Nixon and by the time Nixon had recovered, he ended up committing pass interference. And Edwards still caught it.

Ruggs showed off his deep speed Tuesday on a long touchdown in which he got behind the defense. Today he made several catches that showed he’s been working on his route running. Gruden sees Ruggs improvement in the mental side of the game.

“I think the big thing with Henry is he’s out here, he’s practicing, and he knows the offense,” said Gruden. “He anticipates what’s going to be called now instead of reacting to what’s called as he’s lining up.”

Last season the Raiders had high hopes for these two young receivers. They were starters for the season opener together. But it didn’t take long before it was clear the Raiders top receivers would be Waller, Nelson Agholor, and Hunter Renfrow. And they’d have to postpone their hopes for Ruggs and Edwards.

Waller’s absence thrusts them back into the spotlight. Gruden says he likes what he’s seen so far and I’d have to agree with him. Though I’m sure once games arrive, he’d just rather have his beast tight end back in the lineup, he may come out of this with greater comfort in the abilities of his young receivers to pick up the slack.

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Two interceptions by Raiders LB Nick Kwiatkoski upends ‘hell of a camp’ by Marcus Mariota

Two picks by Nick Kwiatkoski upends ‘hell of a camp’ by Marcus Mariota

Tuesday was the first day in pads for the Raiders. Had it not been, it would have felt like a serious deja vu moment when linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski stepped up and picked off a Marcus Mariota pass over the middle. Because it was the second day in a row he had done it. And both of the picks looked identical.

The interceptions were so easy and out of place, Jon Gruden is not so sure something else might be going on.

“That’s the only two interceptions we’ve thrown here and I think Marcus and Nick are roommates, I don’t know what the deal is,” Gruden said with a twinkle in his eye.

“Mariota was off to a great start yesterday and, he looks like the Galloping Ghost out there. And then today he throws four incredible passes. I think he and Nick are probably having a beer down at Caesar’s Palace right now. I don’t know what the hell that’s all about.

“Nick is a good player. You’re in zone coverage, you’re reading the quarterback, and he telegraphed both of those throws. It’s really kept him away from having one hell of a camp. And he is having a good camp, but he could be having an outstanding camp had it not been for a couple interceptions.”

Kwiatkoski denied any kind of conspiracy was going on between him and Mariota. But, then again, he would deny it.

“I don’t know what he meant by that,” Kwiatkoski said of Gruden’s comment about them being roommates. “But I think Marcus is a little bit mad at me right now. I mess with him after practice, but it’s all in fun.”

Nick went on to joke that he and Mariota “Might have to think about that for next week and make a plan.”

In all seriousness, Mariota has had some great days in this year’s camp, as I had covered after Saturday’s practice. And Gruden is putting in plays specially for the ‘Flyin’ Hawaiian’.

Meanwhile, Kwiatkoski has been splitting time between first and second-team reps with Nicholas Morrow, though both are expected to play key roles in the linebacking corps this season. Morrow is seen as a better coverage linebacker, but Kwiatkoski can clearly hold his own in that arena.

“The league’s changing,” Kwiatkoski said of the importance of being good in coverage. “You have tight ends, running backs who are all receivers now, so being able to cover running backs, cover receivers, dropping back in pass coverage and being a factor in the pass game, it adds a lot to your game.”

For what it’s worth, Kwiatkoski has two career interceptions, one in each of the past two seasons. Mariota would be wise not to stare down his receivers and become blind to Nick’s presence over the middle. Or find a new roommate.

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Jon Gruden on Raiders rookie RT Alex Leatherwood: ‘He is a veteran’

Jon Gruden on Raiders rookie RT Alex Leatherwood: ‘He is a veteran’

Not all rookies are created equal. But they are still rookies. There is always a learning curve. And more is expected in their second year for that reason. If you ask, Jon Gruden, however, his rookie right tackle is no rookie

“He is a veteran,” Gruden said of Alex Leatherwood, who the team selected with their top pick in the 2021 draft. “A lot of guys got drafted ahead of him that didn’t play this year. This guy played 15 games. Won a national title. Left tackle. I like Alabama guys. . . I know their coaching staff is outstanding, but this is one of the most decorated offensive lines to come out of college football ever. He blocked for Tua [Tagovailoa], he blocked for another first round the next year, all their wide receivers are first-rounders, and I think Najee Harris went in the first round. So, somebody’s blocking (laughs).”

Leatherwood’s selection at 17 overall was a surprise to many. He was often projected to be a second-round pick with some thinking he was destined to move inside.

The Raiders saw his arm length and figured he was worth a shot at right tackle. And they figured his character was such that he was worth a high pick. Helping make their decision easier was having a character witness on the team in Josh Jacobs who played with Leatherwood for a couple of years at Alabama.

“They called me a few times and asked me what was my thoughts and what was my relationship with him and things like that,” Jacobs said of Leatherwood.

“From the first day I met him, he was one of them guys that didn’t say too much. He might crack a couple of jokes every now and then, but he just goes about his business and he works. And that’s one of the things that attracted us when we were looking into who we were going to get in the draft. Just how he works. He just comes in, puts his head down and works.”

Leatherwood is a pretty quiet, unassuming guy. He literally said wasn’t surprised at how the draft went down simply because he had no expectations at all.

He also doesn’t quite agree with Gruden’s assertion that he’s a veteran.

“I wouldn’t say I feel like a veteran,” said Leatherwood after the first week of training camp. “I do say I feel like I bring a very business-like approach to whenever I go to practice and I go to meetings. I’m here to work and I’m super excited to be part of this team.”

It’s easy to see what the team liked about Leatherwood. Cable loves his 84 5/8-inch wingspan, which puts him in the 90th percentile at his position and two inches longer than 6-8 Kolton Miller. And Gruden likes his character and work ethic. Trent Brown had the former but was considerably lacking in the latter. This is why Brown is now the former RT and Leatherwood is the current.

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