— At last
Lyle Alzado Jersey , 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 preseason opener Friday at the
Oakland Coliseum, allowing players on both teams to get a new perspective after
practicing against teammates for the past 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 offseason. 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. “Even the veteran guys, it’s good to get out there and compete against
somebody else. You kind of get into that rhythm and that mentality of going
against the same guy every day.”
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 center of one after hitting a Lions player who was getting up after making a long catch near the end zone.
Whitehead
Sam Koch Jersey , who played six seasons in Detroit, including the last four as a starter, also exchanged good-natured ribbing with Lions running back Ameer
Abdullah during a goal line drill near the end of practice.
“It was fun getting a chance to catch up with the guys even though we’re chirping and everything going back and forth,” Whitehead said. “When I was there
we did the same exact thing. We were going back and forth. It’s all competitive
and we’re just trying to get each other better. This time I’m in the black and
silver and it’s just a different feel.”
The teams went through individual position drills on separate fields before coming together on both fields for team scrimmages.
Fans filled the east stands while members of the military and a handful of youth football teams sat on the west side, adding a livelier feel to
practice.
“The fans made it even better,” Detroit running back Kerryon Johnson said. “Everybody’s tired of hitting each other for however many weeks we’ve been going
against each other. It’s a new face, a new venue. It made it fun and it made it
like a real game and we really enjoyed it.”
Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford looked crisp while leading the Lions’ first unit. At one point he completed a deep throw to Marvin Jones Jr. for a
touchdown after Jones raced past Raiders cornerback Antonio Hamilton.
Carr was equally sharp but threw his first interception of training camp when he was picked off by Detroit’s Darius Slay.
“On a stupid scramble drill, too
John Lynch Jersey ,” Carr said. “I was bummed.”
Notes: Lions defensive end Ziggy Ansah made it through his second practice after coming off the physically unable to perform list earlier in the week.
“There’s certainly some different things for him that we’re going to have to
learn this year to be able to do,” Patricia said. “Just getting him on the field
is one step closer.” . Raiders running back Chris Warren provided the play of
the day when he leveled Lions linebacker Jarrad Davis and sent the former
first-round draft pick flying back.
__
After winging it with their perimeter depth late in a trying season, the Washington Wizards decided they needed more. A mature 18-year-old from Las Vegas
with a winning game and a modern style convinced them he was the right call.
The Wizards selected Oregon swingman Troy Brown Jr. with the No. 15 pick in the NBA draft Thursday night.
The 6-foot-7 Brown provides the Wizards with needed wing depth, a versatile defender and a potential playmaker for their second unit. He averaged 11.3
points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists during his lone season with the Ducks.
There were multiple meetings between Brown and members of the Wizards organization during the pre-draft process. They talked during last month’s NBA
Combine in Chicago. Brown visited Washington for a June 11 workout. It took
little convincing that the former 5-star recruit was the right choice.
”Easy,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said about the decision. ”This is a guy that we’ve been targeting.”
Team president Ernie Grunfeld said the workout on the Wizards’ practice court was just a piece of the evaluation process. Brown clearly helped his cause. The
session included standard basketball drills along with a chance for the mature
player to reveal his cerebral side.
”We asked him to draw up a last-second play and he drew up several,” Grunfeld said after Washington’s first draft choice in any round since 2015. ”So, he has
a good understanding of all those things and he’s a skilled basketball
player.”
Brown had a good feeling about the Wizards entering the draft.
”I was really excited. My workout went very well with the team. I was just very happy
Quinten Rollins Jersey ,” he said during a teleconference with local reporters. ”It’s a lifelong dream to make it to the NBA. You work so hard to
make that dream come true. To finally hear my name especially with a team that I
felt like kind of hit it off with at the workout, with the interview, I was very
excited.”
Enthusiasm was in short supply for Washington last season. After falling a game shy of reaching the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals, the Wizards finished
43-39, entered the playoffs as the eighth seed and lost in the first round to
Toronto in six games.
In 2015, the Wizards drafted Notre Dame guard Jerian Grant 19th overall before shipping him to Atlanta for forward Kelly Oubre Jr., the No. 15
selection. Washington also tabbed forward Aaron White in the second round.
Minutes for Brown will come behind All-Star guard Bradley Beal and small forward Otto Porter. Oubre served as Porter’s primary backup last season. Jodie
Meeks handled that role behind Beal, but he has 19 games remaining on his
25-game suspension for a violation of the league’s drug program.
Depth became an issue for Washington last season. Porter dealt with a lingering hip injury throughout and missed Game 6 against Toronto after
undergoing minor surgery on his lower left leg. Five-time All-Star point guard
John Wall missed 41 games with various injuries. Meeks’ suspension hit as the
playoffs began.
Beyond last season’s issues
Marcus Cannon Jersey , the NBA game’s move to more small-ball lineups puts a premium on versatile pieces.
”It’s very important. You have to have a lot of versatility (and) you have to have players that can play multiple positions,” Grunfeld said.
Now the Wizards have one more.
Washington selected another 18-year-old, Ukrainian Issuf Sanon, with the 44th selection. Grunfeld said Sanon will remain overseas for at least the 2018-19
season.
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