It was the second-straight day in pads at Raiders training camp today. For whatever reason there were some tempers flaring up. Most notably from Bruce Irvin who, from the start of drills, was pretty fired up.
I don’t know whether he was fired up in a good way or not, but he got in two scuffles while getting a bit extracurricular.
First he attempted to twist Lee Smith down after the play was over. Smith is not really the guy to mess with like that. He got in Irvin’s face and there were some words. Then shortly after that, in team sessions, Irvin stopped Taiwan Jones and then kept driving him back after the play, even trying to pick him off the ground. There was some face time and shoving after that too.
Later in practice, wide receiver Johnny Holton and cornerback Kenneth Durden scrapped and even went to the ground. They rolled around for a couple seconds before teammates broke it up.
"We’re looking to practice like we play, so we’re looking to have self-control," said Jack Del Rio. "I think the for the most part we have. Those guys are doing a pretty good job of taking care of business. I think for the most part it’s been minimal."
Del Rio made it clear during OTA’s that he is not a fan of teammates fighting or playing irresponsibly. They like Irvin’s fire, but I would expect Del Rio has a talk with Irvin.
Observations:
Injuries: Returning to practice today was left guard Kelechi Osemele. He missed Sunday’s practice and was the last man to emerge from the clubhouse. He had a wrap around his left calf and saw what appeared to be one third team rep before Mike Tice sent him back to the side. Definitely something worth monitoring. SaQwan Edwards limped out of team sessions midway through practice and didn’t return. Still on the PUP were Denico Autry and Greg Townsend Jr. Returning to practice.
Attending practice today were NHRA drag racers Leah Pritchett and Cruz Pedragon. Both are big Raiders fans and were special guests of Fox Sports. Leah is, well, let’s just say she isn’t how one would typically picture a person who races dragsters for a living.
NHRA Drag racer and #Raiders fan Leah Pritchett is here at camp today. pic.twitter.com/0XliHjAzOo
— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) August 1, 2016
Me and @LeahPritchettTF got to talk with @coachdelrio #NHRA #Raiders pic.twitter.com/VzfWtB9Xs8
— Cruz Pedregon (@CruzPedregon) August 1, 2016
The best move of the day came from Richard, who took a short pass from Matt McGloin and put an incredible spin move on Ben Heeney to break free up field. Heeney looked to have him wrapped up completely only to have Richard unravel him and keep his feet. Richard has a low center of gravity with great balance and it was on display with that move.
Derek Carr and Amari Cooper showed off that roomie chemistry. He hit Cooper on a slant over the middle with DJ Hayden in coverage. They got to Hayden again a bit later when Hayden gave too much of a cushion and Carr hit Cooper on a comebacker.
While AC/DC was picking on Hayden, Matt McGloin was ruining Dexter McDonald’s day. At one point he had three straight completions to the man McDonald was covering. Three different receivers; all undrafted rookies -- KJ Brent, Johnny Holton, and Max McCaffrey. McGloin continuing to distance himself as the number two ahead of Connor Cook.
Mychal Rivera and Nate Allen were battling pretty well. Allen won the first two battles with the McGloin passes to the end zone falling incomplete. Rivera eventually got the better of the match-up when he and Carr hooked up on a timing comeback route underneath. Rivera also got the better of Malcolm Smith again today. He can be a tough cover for a linebacker.
That wasn’t all for Richard either. He went outside on a run where Damontre Moore looked to have him dead to rights. Richard put his cleat in the ground and bounced inside. Moore came off his feet, kicking up a divit, and right on his wallet.
Clive Walford started things out well with Derek Carr calling him to come back to the ball and hitting him at the pylon for a score with Ben Heeney in coverage. But he could have had a much bigger play. He got a step on his defended up the left sideline and Matt McGloin threw a perfect ball to him only to have Walford flat out drop it right off his fingers.
Menelik Watson was beaten on an inside rush move by Bruce Irvin in blocking drills and later in 11-on-11’s, Mack got around him for a sack.
Rodney Hudson showed some of his athleticism in blocking drills, pulling from his center position around the left guard to lay a pad popping block on James Cowser.
Cowser did some work of his own, though, putting a good stuff on Jalen Richard on and inside run.
There were some other plays made in the defensive secondary. Karl Joseph got things started, staying in tight coverage on Michael Crabtree in the back right corner of the endzone to force an incompletion. Then it was DJ Hayden who knocked down a McGloin pass over the middle intended for Seth Roberts. Kenneth Durden read a play perfectly to step in front of a Connor Cook pass to Max McCaffrey. Brynden Trawick put a hit on tight end Ryan O’Malley to knock the ball out as soon as he clutched it.
Practice ended with the kickers aiming through narrow goal posts which are about half as wide as normal goal posts. Both kickers lined up for field goals starting at 35 yards and backing up five yards with each conversion. Seabass went first and made from 35, 40, and 45, missing from 50. Giorgio Tavecchio also made the first three and missed from 50, hitting the left upright.
Tomorrow is a very welcome day off. Yes, I’m already complaining and we still have a lot of camp left.
Loading comments...