HENDERSON, Nev.—The pads finally came on for the Las Vegas Raiders on Day Five of training camp on Monday, and the players wasted no time in imposing their will.
Safety Tristin McCollum would force a pass breakup on Malik Benson after delivering a perfectly-timed hit. The next unit would see the defense force a fumble on Roman Hemby. From that point on, the hits would come frequent and loud, with the likes of Maxx Crosby and Jeremy Chinn being willing to initiate contact as they often have throughout their NFL careers.
“The intensity was there,” said Chinn after Monday’s practice.
Chinn also added that, while he was “a little bit” frustrated that training camp meant he had to pull off instead of delivering the big hit, but that it was all football and he still gets to make plays.
The defensive line would thrive in this new environment, putting pressure and forcing quick decisions from the quarterbacks. Crosby got another sack on Kirk Cousins in training camp, while sophomore defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway continues to impress. It lead to a few mistakes from the offensive line, particularly with Jordan Meredith having trouble on snaps to Fernando Mendoza.
“Tonka and Jonah [Laulu] have been hooping, for real,” said defensive lineman Thomas Booker on some of his younger teammates making plays throughout the morning.
“Tonka, specifically, I think just with the pass rush and the fluidity of his movement…you can tell that he was a multi-sport athlete. He played basketball, he played baseball, all the rest of it, and you can see it kind of transition to football. He never looks like he’s out of sorts.”
However, the offensive line would get better as the day went on, being up for the task after the initial flurry from the defense.
“I think the offensive line has done a good job of coordinating together,” mentioned Booker about the group he has faced off against plenty throughout the first week of training camp.
“Offensive line is a job that requires a lot of teamwork, communication and coordination. A guy that I’ve gone against a good amount, Jordan Meredith, he’s been doing a really good job at center. I’ve been getting a lot of shade reps against him.”
With pressure creating some issues for the Raiders offense, the team period resulted in some improvisation from head coach Klint Kubiak and the offensive coaching staff.
Along with the quick passing game, the Raiders seemed to place an emphasis on trying to use the defense’s aggression against them. There were some instances throughout the team period where that strategy worked, with a screen from Cousins to Ashton Jeanty finding enough space for a big gain. Mike Washington Jr. would also get some run with the second unit, getting a good chunk of the snaps today as he continues to impress the coaches.
“It just opens up everything for you,” said Raiders running backs coach Omar Young on the versatility that his positional group has brought to Kubiak’s offense.
“It’s no one thing that the defense can set their hat on and say “Oh man, these guys are going to go do this when they’re in this.” The more that we can be versatile in our group, the better our offense is going to be.”
The defense has embraced the new physicality, while the offense has found ways to counterpunch. Expect more of the same throughout the week as the preseason approaches.