Cooler heads prevail at joint practice
NAPA, CALIF. At last, a new face on the other side of the line.
The Oakland Raiders and Detroit Lions conducted the first of two joint practices Tuesday in preparation for their pre-season opener Friday at the Oakland Coliseum, allowing players on both teams to get a new perspective after practising against teammates for the last two weeks.
“It was nice to see some new coverages, some different stuff,” Oakland quarterback Derek Carr said. “It was good for us. It’ll be good film. A lot of things happened today, good and bad things that we needed to have happen that we haven’t had happen in practice yet.”
The practice was conducted in a controlled environment after Raiders coach Jon Gruden met with first-year Detroit coach Matt Patricia in the off-season. The two friends mapped out the workouts well before the Lions arrived in Northern California.
Patricia said the joint practices offer an opportunity for rookies and young players from both teams to make an impression.
“For a lot of the young guys that haven’t stepped onto an NFL field with anyone except for their own teammates, it certainly brings a different element from the standpoint of competitiveness and an evaluation standpoint,” Patricia said.
Unlike in previous years when the Raiders have held combined practices with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, there were no fights and only a few minor scuffles.
Oakland linebacker Tahir Whitehead was at the centre of one after hitting a Lions player who was getting up after making a long catch near the end zone. Whitehead, who played six seasons in Detroit, also exchanged good-natured ribbing with Lions running back Ameer Abdullah during a goal-line drill near the end of practice.