Raiders beat: Cornerback Sean Smith struggles in preseason loss.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Sean Smith couldn’t just shake off a bad training camp, it turns out. The Raiders cornerback, who started 15 games last season, was called for two penalties and gave up two catches in a half of play Saturday in the preseason opener against the Cardinals.
Smith, who is guaranteed $9.5 million this season, was recently given a wake-up call at training camp when he was demoted to the second team for four practices. He was back with the 1’s at Thursday’s practice and maybe the coaches thought their nightmare was over.
Not that they would admit they are concerned.
“We’ll evaluate the tape,” head coach Jack Del Rio said. “The one penalty was a good decision, the guy took off on him and he grabbed him rather than give up the touchdown. We are working on cleaning some things up in the back end.
“This was the first time this year under the lights against a team which is doing some new things, which is perfect for us.”
The 6-foot-3 Smith wasn’t able to cover the smaller, faster receivers a year ago, but Saturday night he had trouble with receivers of all shapes and sizes. It seems he is having trouble getting his feet going again after he plants them, so opposing teams are calling a lot of double moves against him.
And he’s giving up big plays to guys who may not be in the NFL for long, like on the 26-yarder to Cardinals third-teamer Brittan Golden. (Golden also beat starting cornerback David Amerson inside earlier, on a 12-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter from Carson Palmer.)
Oakland has started using Smith against tight ends in practice, but a big question is starting to loom large: Would the Raiders really cut Smith if they are already paying him all that money?
TJ Carrie replaced him in camp, as the eventual heir to that spot, first-round pick Gareon Conley, is out with a leg injury. Undrafted rookie Breon Borders was impressive in camp if he didn’t really stand out against Arizona.
Briefly: Seventh-round draft pick Shalom Luani had pretty good position on several plays, but the safety dropped a potential interception in the end zone in the second quarter. … Another seventh-rounder, defensive tackle Treyvon Hester ,hada sack when Denico Autry let Cardinals quarterback Blaine Gabbert out of his grasp in the third quarter . ... The Raiders were 1-for-4 on third downs in the first half and the Cardinals converted 8 of 10 . ... Raiders backup guard Denver Kirkland exited with a leg injury.