ALAMEDA — Five things we learned Wednesday as the Raiders went through a non-padded practice in preparation to host the Cleveland Browns:
1) Matt, meet Johnny and Trent
Another day, another place kicker. This time it’s Matt McCrane, an undrafted rookie out of Kansas State who spent the preseason with the Arizona Cardinals.
McCrane joins punter/holder Johnny Townsend, a rookie fifth-round draft pick, and long-snapper Trent Sieg, signed when Andrew DePaola was lost to a torn ACL early in the season opener.
“This is what we have right now,” coach Jon Gruden said. “This is what we’re going to rally around.”
When the Raiders couldn’t count on much of anything from 2007 through 2012, they had long-snapper Jon Condo, punter/holder Shane Lechler and place kicker Sebastian Janikowski for 96 consecutive games.
Marquette King replaced Lechler in 2013 (and struggled at the holding aspect), with Giorgio Tavecchio handling the kicking in 2017 when Janikowski’s back gave out.
King was released, Eddy Pineiro signed to be the place kicker and then went out with a groin injury. Now Mike Nugent has a hip injury and McCrane takes over the kicking. Sieg and McCrane will be making their first appearance at the Coliseum Sunday and the grand total of the NFL experience for the Raiders’ battery is five games.
McCrane was 4-for-4 in the preseason on field goal attempts, including field goals of 53 and 54 yards. Three of nine kickoffs were touchbacks. In college, McCrane coverted 86.4 percent of his field goal attempts (57-for-66).
“We liked him out of Kansas State and what he did in the preseason,” Gruden said. “He hit two 50-yard bombs and can kick it out of the end zone, so we’re going to give him a shot.”
McCrane was encouraged by his work with Sieg and Townsend during his tryout and looks forward to getting more work in. He’ll head to the Coliseum Friday to get used to kicking off the infield dirt.
“I’m from Texas, originally, West Texas, so I’ve kicked off dirt before,” McCrane said.
Townsend has learned to go with the flow when it comes to sudden change in the battery.
“This is something I’ve never experienced before, so much turnover at the specialists positions,” Townsend said.
Nugent was placed on injured reserve with an injury that should heal soon, but he’s unlikely to be activated again this season. The Raiders were appreciative of his work, in particular a 52-yard field goal in Miami while injured.
“He felt something in his hip. You could tell by his approach on kickoffs, he wasn’t running through the football,” Gruden said. “It was amazing he was able to kick a 52-yard field goal to give us a chance at the end . . . he did a nice job for us.”
2) Martavis Bryant could be next for a breakout game.
The Raiders have gotten big performances from Jared Cook (9 catches for 180 yards) in Week 1, Amari Cooper (10 catches for 116 yards) in Week 2 and Jordy Nelson (6 catches for 173 yards) in Week 3.
Bryant has put enough practices together to be more comfortable in the offensive system. He had a pair catches for 30 yards (both first downs) against Miami and was the Derek Carr target on an ill-fated interception by Miami’s Xavien Howard that decided the game.
So Carr obviously trusts him.
“He’s demanded coverage,” Gruden said. “I think he helps Amari have big days. I think he helps Jordy have big days and I think he made some big plays.”
Nelson said Bryant is much more than a vertical stretch threat to draw coverage elsewhere.
“He made two plays for us to move the chains,” Nelson said. “They had nothing to do with his speed, just a typical route where he ran, got the ball, broke a tackle. He’s a complete receiver, not someone who’s just going to go out there and run fast.”
3) Expect to see Donald Penn at right tackle
Penn was working with the offensive line during the non-padded session as he works through the concussion protocol. He played 18 snaps against Miami before giving way to T.J. Clemmings.
“I think he’s going to be OK,” Gruden said. “Honestly, just because you enter the protocol doesn’t mean you have a concussion. Any time there is a concern, you enter the protocol.”
The Raiders need Penn to be at his best, because Browns end Myles Garrett, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2017, is a 6-foot-4, 272-pound pass rusher who often lines up on the left edge.
Garrett has four sacks already this season, tied for the NFL lead with Cameron Jordan (Saints), Von Miller (Broncos) and some guy named Khalil Mack (Bears). Along with quarterback Baker Mayfield and cornerback Denzel Ward, Garrett is considered a cornerstone of the franchise.,
4) Will Arden Key ‘get home’ at home?
Key, the third-round pick out of LSU, had some nice rushes against Miami although the Raiders’ pass rush has been mostly inadequate through three games.
Instead of hot road assignment in Denver and Miami, Key will be back at home in a more comfortable climate.
“He’s getting better. Obviously the heat and altitude in Denver was tough on any rookie. Then at Miami that heat was a very good experience for him,” Gruden said. “He got some good pressure. I thought he made some good effort plays. We expect him to get home, hopefully soon.”
Some good news for the middle of the defensive line — P.J. Hall, the defensive tackle who missed the last two games with an ankle injury, was back on the practice field.
Hall was limited at practice. Others listed as limited included Penn, Key (groin), running back Marshawn Lynch (shoulder), guard Gabe Jackson (pectoral), cornerback Nick Nelson (hamstring) and center Rodney Hudson (ankle). Safety Karl Joseph (hamstring) did not participate, while tackle Brandon Parker (ankle) was a full participant.
5) Jet sweep school
Given the way the Raiders were gouged by jet sweep shovel pass plays against the Rams (Todd Gurley) and Dolphins (Jakeem Grant, Alberte Wilson) rest assured those plays were addressed once the media viewing period was complete.
With the Raiders’ susceptibility to the play on film, Gruden likened it to an ATM which is spitting out twenty-dollar bills, with people lining up to get their cash.
Browns coach Hue Jackson didn’t deny the Browns are paying attention.
“There’s a saying in the league, `people are going to scratch where it itches,’ ” Jackson told Bay Area reporters by conference call. “If you have things that have been a problem, people are going to find out if you fixed them or not. Sometimes people don’t fix them and sometimes they do.”
