Raiders report: A rough day at the office for Jimmy Garoppolo

The Raiders’ defense has taken a great deal of criticism the last few seasons for its inability to create turnovers.

That certainly wasn’t the case during Friday’s indoor practice at the team facility in Henderson.

Four players intercepted passes from starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who continued his uneven training camp with a difficult session. Jakorian Bennett, Robert Spillane, Isaiah Pola-Mao and Jaydon Grant all got in on the act.

“It’s very important to us,” linebacker Divine Deablo said of the defense’s focus on deflecting passes and coming up with turnovers. “We challenge each other every day. Sometimes we put pushup competitions on the board, whoever gets the most picks doesn’t have to do pushups and stuff like that.”

The Raiders were 30th in the league in turnover differential last season and tied for last in the league with just six interceptions.

A key word around the building this year has been “disruption,” as in finding ways to throw opposing offenses out of sorts and cause chaos.

“It’s just a mindset is what our coach says,” Deablo said. “Obviously, you’ve got to do your job first. But once you have done your job, just go after the ball. And that’s how we become a better defense.”

Bolden enjoying camp, jokes

Running back Brandon Bolden has been around for an eternity in NFL years. Just ask his teammates.

“There’s a few jabs here and there, a couple of low blows and it’s just like, ‘Alright you got me on that one,’ ” Bolden said with a laugh. “But my favorite one to this day was, ‘Brandon was in the league when Jesus created the game of football.’ That’s been my favorite one so far.”

But veteran backfield-mate Ameer Abdullah credited Bolden, a 33-year-old with two Super Bowl rings, with still providing excitement and energy, along with encouragement and advice for the younger running backs on the roster.

Of course, he still got a dig in on Bolden.

“I’m glad that Brandon gets so excited to play ball,” Abdullah said. “He’s going into year 4000, so for a guy that’s been around for that long to still bring the same energy to the game is such a big lift for our team.”

The key to longevity in a business, and even more specifically at a position, where the average career lasts just a couple seasons is a dedication to health and fitness, according to Bolden.

“I had a great vet, Vince Wilfork, tell me you can never make the club while in the tub, as we were both in the hot tub, so it was kind of funny,” he recalled. “But he told me that and just kind of watching how those guys took care of their body, how serious they were about what was going on in their body and what they put out at practice and stuff like that. And that kind of just stuck with me way back in 2012, and to this day I’m just the same.”

Good practice

Second-year pro Thayer Munford, who is competing to win the starting right tackle spot, has mixed emotions at times about going up against star defensive end Maxx Crosby every day.

Crosby notoriously goes all out on every practice rep like it’s the final play of the Super Bowl. Munford has lost his share of battles to Crosby, but knows it will be incredibly beneficial in the end.

“It can be frustrating, of course,” Munford said. “But at the same time we know who Maxx is. We know who we’re about to go against every day, like it’s nothing new. Everybody sees that he’s top 20 in the league right now, but also at the same time, we all want to respect each other. That’s all it is.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.