Not their best day prompts outburst from Raiders’ leader

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — A sluggish start to their workday against the Rams got only moderately better as Wednesday’s joint practice unfolded. But it never quite reached a level the Raiders found acceptable.

And that was a point of contention for a number of players.

“The standard is you show up and get better,” Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby said. “I don’t know, for me, as a leader, it’s unacceptable when you see guys not being at their best.”

The ever-hyped Crosby isn’t one to hold his tongue. And on a handful of occasions, he could be heard urging his teammates from either the line of scrimmage or the sideline.

When all else fails, he has no qualms about resorting to extracurriculars to let everyone know it’s time to turn it up a notch.

Even if, as he explained, “I gotta go out there and take matters into my own hands.”

Hence the jawing and fisticuffs that occurred when Crosby swatted at the football being held by Rams running back Cam Akers toward the end of a play. Akers didn’t appreciate Crosby fighting to jar the ball loose and let Crosby know about it.

Crosby responded by throwing a series of punches at Akers. Before long, players from both teams joined the fracas.

When asked afterward if he was stirring things up to send a message to his teammates to pick up the pace, Crosby just smiled. “I was just doing what I do,” he said.

As for Akers, Crosby explained: “He didn’t like that. So he got what he got.”

And so did the Raiders, whose slow start on Wednesday didn’t sit well with anyone.

“I wouldn’t say today was our best day,” safety Roderic Teamer said.

Teamer and the rest of the Raiders could have used any number of explanations for the lackluster practice — among them the four days off given to most of the Raiders’ key players, or the change in routine practicing against the Rams in Thousand Oaks rather than at their home base in Henderson.

But nobody was about to make excuses.

“Nah, that’s football. You got days off,” said wide receiver DeAndre Carter, when asked if the layoff played a role.

“You gotta be able to come out, anytime you step on the grass and put your best foot forward from the start and continue all the way through,” Carter added. “That’s on us.”

By no means was the day a complete wash. The Raiders strung together a handful of positive plays, including the 70-yard touchdown throw from Jimmy Garoppolo to Phillip Dorsett and the interception by cornerback Sam Webb off a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage.

But after three weeks of mostly crisp and efficient football during training camp — culminating with two impressive joint practices and a 34-7 win over the 49ers last week — the Raiders believe a standard is being set.

It’s one they fell short of on Wednesday during a practice in which the defense got chewed up by Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, and a handful of dropped passes sabotaged the offense.

Not that anyone had to point it out to other Raiders. They knew.

“As practice is going on, everybody’s watching the same thing that’s going on on the field,” said Teamer. “We could all feel it, and we know that it wasn’t our best performance. We know we can do better.”

They hope that starts Thursday when the Raiders wrap up their joint practices with the Rams.

“There’s an opportunity tomorrow to get better,” Crosby said. “I’m looking forward to everyone getting out there and getting better.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.