Raiders specialists take field trip, find footing at Coliseum
ALAMEDA, Calif. — Three Raiders rookies took a field trip Friday morning.
Their coordinator insisted upon its importance.
Kicker Matt McCrane, punter Johnny Townsend and long snapper Trent Sieg visited the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum a couple hours before practice. Special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia pushed for the tour. It provided his specialists a chance to gain comfort with the venue’s multi-surface field before Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns.
Neither McCrane nor Sieg previously has played there.
The Raiders last hosted a game on Sept. 10 for their opener versus the Los Angeles Rams. Long snapper Andrew DePaola suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first quarter. Two days later, Sieg signed. Last Sunday, kicker Mike Nugent suffered a hip injury during pregame warmups. On Tuesday, McCrane signed.
The club shares a stadium with the Oakland Athletics, so there is a dirt infield on the middle of the field. McCrane brought multiple pairs of cleats to test.
“It’s definitely something to get used to,” McCrane said Friday. “We kicked out there for probably an hour and a half this morning. Full snap, hold and kick and everything. To me, it’s just getting used to the atmosphere again, getting used to the new stadium. I’ve been kicking at a practice field at (Kansas) State for three weeks, so getting back in the groove again is something that I’ve been working on. But yeah, a baseball field is different. I thought it went well.”
Bisaccia and special teams assistant Byron Storer oversaw the workout.
Football hashmarks weren’t yet painted onto the field, and a field-goal post was installed behind one end zone but not the other. The A’s held their regular-season home finale last Sunday. Since they qualified for the postseason, the dirt infield will remain in place for the Browns matchup at minimum. The Raiders are scheduled to next play at the Coliseum on Oct. 28 against the Indianapolis Colts.
Notable
■ As expected on Friday’s injury report, safety Karl Joseph was the only Raiders player ruled out for Sunday’s game. He suffered a hamstring injury against the Miami Dolphins.
■ Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie tweaked his hamstring in practice Friday. He and defensive tackle P.J. Hall (ankle) were listed questionable. Right tackle Donald Penn was removed from the injury report after clearing concussion protocol. He is set to start.
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Contact reporter Michael Gehlken at mgehlken@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GehlkenNFL on Twitter.
