HENDERSON, Nev.—The day many Las Vegas Raiders fans were eager to see finally came on Saturday.
With Kirk Cousins not practicing with the team due to disciplinary reasons for his fight with Maxx Crosby on Friday, first overall pick Fernando Mendoza finally got his opportunity to shine with the first team.
Overall, Mendoza seemed to have a good grasp n the offense. While some plays were ruined due to pressure or a botched snap, Mendoza played cleanly and efficiently throughout the morning. He limited the mistakes that were present in the early days and ran the starters through some successful drills, finding big targets such as Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer in situational drills before leading his team down the field to secure a manageable field goal in an end-of-game situation.
“So much of what we do offensively is timing-oriented,” said quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan on how he is adjusting Mendoza and the other quarterbacks along in the offense.
“You don’t want to be bouncing and, all of a sudden, you’re still on your first read. So, often times, the quarterback, that’s the guy that’s back there squeezing the trigger’s got to make that decision. And, often times, if you think, you’re too late.”
Earlier in the day, however, the offense seemed to show an emphasis on the run game.
Even with the caveat of Crosby also getting the day off, the running game still carried the load in the early part of Saturday’s practice session. The emphasis on the ground game worked early on, with runs from Ashton Jeanty and Mike Washington Jr. getting some attention. The protection was also solid throughout, with Jeanty breaking runs off the right side and backup H-back Patrick Gurd clearing the way for a good run from Roman Hemby.
“Every offensive lineman’s dream is to run the ball. Lean on those guys up front, make them tired, don’t let them tee off with the pass rush,” said Raiders offensive tackle DJ Glaze. “It’s huge. If we can establish the run, then that opens up everything.”
Perhaps the focus on the ground had something to do with a secondary that had been buzzing in recent days.
With the young defensive backs the Raiders have in their arsenal making plays, they had to adjust to keep making plays on the ball. At times, they did manage to make the adjustment with some PBUs and a fumble caused by Dalton Johnson punching the ball out of the hands of tight end Ian Thomas. New defensive coordinator Rob Leonard said early on that he is committed to creating a defense that generates takeaways and, while they have been up to the challenge for the most part, there is still some ways to go for the unit to reach their maximum potential.
“I think we’re making a lot of plays on the football in terms of the PBUs. We want to pull them down,” said defensive passing game coordinator Joe Woods. “The number one stat in terms of winning games is taking away the football, so we’re going to be aggressive in coverage. We may get a few penalties here and there, but you have to challenge people in order to get to the ball.”
The one thing that has been clear throughout training camp is how dedicated the coaching staff has been towards getting the players closer to where they want to be.
Sullivan shared that he and Mendoza walked through his plays during OTAs, with the quarterback writing on every play and seeing where he could improve. The competitions that have been taking place throughout camp have been done to ensure everyone keeps their effort level high, with praise coming in to head coach Klint Kubiak for creating a culture built around efficiency and keeping players accountable while staying fair.
“If I had to pick one area, I think it’s just an overall comfort and confidence and command in the operation,” said Sullivan when asked about where Mendoza has improved the most.
“You go back to in general in college, not very many teams huddle. There’s not a lot of cadence in the operation at the line of scrimmage. A lot of things are kind of called into the headset. The visual and verbal communication that he’s made, certainly the ability to play under center and take snaps from under center, those are things that we’ve seen him improve upon and he’s going to continue to work on.”
With only a couple of practices remaining until the Raiders kick off their preseason slate against the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, Mendoza and the rest of the younger players will soon get their opportunity to showcase just how far they have come in a short amount of time.