Raiders report: 4 starters miss Tuesday’s walkthrough
Raiders report
Schedule
All practices at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, unless noted:
Wednesday — Practice, 11 a.m
Thursday — Practice, 11 a.m
Friday — Off
Saturday — at Cleveland Browns, FirstEnergy Stadium, 1:30 p.m.
Sunday — Off
Monday — Rich Bisaccia news conference, 1 p.m.
Quote of the Day
As bad as things have been for the Raiders over the last couple of months, they’re by no means eliminated from the postseason. While it seems less and less likely, there is still a chance to turn things around.
It would start with finding a way to bounce back from a historically ugly loss in Kansas City and finding a way to win on the road in Cleveland this week.
Quarterback Derek Carr said that opportunity is the positive side of playing in a league that can so wildly fluctuate from week to week.
“It’s nuts, right?” he said. “It’s a week-to-week league, that’s for sure. One day they love you and the next they hate you. They blame you for everything and then they praise you for stuff that really wasn’t even you.”
That’s a lesson Carr learned a long time ago, and one he’s stressing to his teammates. “Look, it doesn’t matter if we win by a whole bunch of points or if we lose by a whole bunch of points, you win by a close game or lose by a close game, you always move on to the next game,” he said. “I know it’s hard for people to comprehend, but that’s why we do what we do.”
Injury report
Tight end Darren Waller, who has missed the last two games with injuries suffered to his knee and back against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, did not participate in Tuesday’s walkthrough practice.
Interim coach Rich Bisaccia said Monday the star pass catcher was making progress, but indicated he had yet to get back on the grass doing football activities.
Three other starters were also listed as having not participated, though one of those, safety Johnathan Abram, is dealing with illness and not injury.
Linebacker and leading tackler Denzel Perryman remained out after missing Sunday’s game with an ankle injury. Starting cornerback Trayvon Mullen, who came off the injured list after missing two months, did not participate Tuesday after aggravating the toe injury that landed him on injured reserve.
Defensive end Maxx Crosby (calf), tight end Foster Moreau (abdomen), defensive end Carl Nassib (knee) and linebacker Patrick Onwuasor (hamstring) were all limited on Tuesday.
Hands up
The pass rush continues to be one of the more consistent aspects of the Raiders’ game, but it hasn’t quite had the impact it had early in the season when it was borderline dominant.
Defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson believes teams are adjusting by getting rid of the ball quicker and calling plays with extra protection. He believes it’s the job of the defensive front to find a way to overcome those changes.
“I think we just have to do a better job with chemistry and being on the same page, doing everything we can to affect the quarterback,’ he said. “We notice teams are doing a lot of quick game on us, so even if that means just getting our hands up and batting balls, we just have to do a better job of affecting the (quarterback) any way we can.”
Group effort
The Raiders’ offensive line has once again struggled over the last two weeks, particularly in pass protection. It won’t get any easier this week with some of the league’s best pass rushers suiting up for Cleveland.
“We’ll have our work cut out for us,” Carr said. “The games are won in the trenches. … It’s going to be a fight. … I think we can move the ball … I feel like we’ve done that well, but we got to score points.”
Adam Hill Las Vegas Review-Journal
