Raiders camp summary (731): Defense arrives

Share

Summary -- The Raiders defense took a major step forward a day after being MIA in the training camp opener. Yes, the offense was still able to make some plays Tuesday but the defense got the better of the battle in the final practice before the pads come on and hitting commences.Offensive play of the day -- Streaking across the middle, going right to left, Jacoby Ford stretched out and caught a bullet from Carson Palmer with the tips of his fingers before hauling in the pass. Ford appeared to wince as Michael Huff closed in, but with no pads and thus, no hitting, Ford's ribs were safe.Defensive play of the day -- Palmer seemed to have Juron Criner open for a big gain on a deep inand then safety Mike Mitchell entered the picture. Timing his arrival perfectly, Mitchell stepped in front of Criner and cleanly picked the ball off and took off to the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown.Injury report -- Running back Mike Goodson (hamstring) and tight end Richard Gordon (hip flexor) did not finish practice. Meanwhile, the four players who sat out Monday were out again Tuesday -- punter Shane Lechler (knee), linebacker Aaron Curry (knee), cornerback Ron Bartell (hamstring) and nose tackle Travis Ivey (conditioning). Curry is on the Physically Unable to Participate list and Lechler and Bartell were reportedly put on the activeNon-Football Injury listNotable -- Undrafted rookie punter Marquette King showed off his booming punting leg, which can be inconsistent. He did, however, unleash one punt that had a hangtime of 5.2 seconds, at least, according to the stopwatch on my Android phone.Quotable -- "We're going to go play football. That's the way the game was meant to be played, in pads, and we'll put them on and we'll mix it up a little bit and we'll find out who's going to compete when we put the pads on." -- coach Dennis Allen, on the Raiders donning pads Wednesday morning.Eye on reps -- Running back Taiwan Jones was the second-team running back and, before he went down with the strained hamstring, Mike Goodson was running with the third team. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor also saw some second-team snaps, sharing time with Matt Leinart.Extra work -- A day after being nearly invisible, Criner was heavily involved with the first-team offensejust as he was late in OTAs and in minicamp.Coaching moment -- Sensing the team going flat in the hotter-than-advertised-76 degrees midway through the 170-minute practice, coach Dennis Allen put a halt to practice and called the entire team together at midfield for, let's just call it a pep talk. The team responded and finished practice with better urgency.Next practice -- The Raiders put the pads on for the first time since Jan. 1 and hit Wednesday at 8:50 a.m.

Contact Us