COSTA MESA, Calif — After two days led by dominant play by the defense, the offensive side of the ball showed flashes of great play-making Friday at Raiders training camp.
Before practice even began, Antonio Pierce had a brief, but stern response to the now infamous video of the ‘Kermit The Frog’ puppet which was dressed as Patrick Mahomes made its rounds on social media Thursday.
”We addressed it as a team yesterday and we nipped it in the bud, it’s over with,” Pierce said.
Pierce also gave credit to how prepared his team has been and how effective the leaders are on the field.
”Our leaders are really stepping up. They’re holding everybody accountable so if you’re a guy that’s not really focused or paying attention or if you have any kind of mental lapse, you get called out, right away,” Pierce said.
Offensive playmakers
One of the leaders on offense, Jakobi Meyers, snagged two touchdowns, both tossed by Aidan O’Connell, during a red zone 11-on-11 session.
Jakobi Meyers just had a nice snag from AOC for a TD during 11-on-11
— Anthony Bautista (@byanthonyba) July 26, 2024
Meyers downplayed his individual success and instead credited the offense as a whole.
”It really ain’t about me. For real. As long as I’m where I’m supposed to be, in the right moments, I’m going to be OK,” Meyers said.
Meyers didn’t have too much to say about the ongoing QB competition, as he only has one request.
”The ball don’t really care who throws it. Just put it somewhere around me,” Meyers said.
Tre Tucker shared a similar sentiment.
”It doesn’t matter who’s throwing the ball, it’s our job to catch it and get their name in the papers,” Tucker said.
Rookie Brock Bowers found the end zone three times Friday, catching a back shoulder fade for each touchdown and proving to be a tough matchup for defensive backs.
Strong play in the secondary
While the offense made strides, the defense still had plenty of highlights throughout the day.
Jack Jones picked off O’Connell during another 11-on-11 session. O’Connell was pressured by Maxx Crosby and tossed the ball out of desperation, leading to the turnover.
Jones had a strong day going against his counterparts on offense, adding three deflections to his interception while guarding the likes of Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers.
Isaiah Pola-Mao also picked off O'Connell during 11-on-11 drills.
Jakorian Bennett had a strong day at practice, whose performance garners respect from his teammates on both sides of the ball.
“I’m really impressed with JB,” Tucker said. ”He's taken a whole different approach to it…I’m excited to see him blossom”
Special Teams
The Raiders did a lot of work on special teams Friday, spending portions of practice working on punt coverage and punt returns.
While working on punt returns, Jones, Tucker, Alex Bachman, Tyreik McAllister, Nate Hobbs and Ameer Abdullah each took turns returning punts Friday