Las Vegas Raiders coach Klint Kubiak did not want to disclose whether he plans to play any starters or what his rotation might look like for Thursday’s final preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers.
It’s more clear what he will be looking for from whichever players are on the field.
Kubiak was extremely frustrated with the nine penalties his team committed last week in a win over the Houston Texans, including five on special teams.
He doesn’t want to see a repeat when the Raiders host the 49ers in a 5 p.m.game at Allegiant Stadium.
“We put it on ourselves as coaches No. 1, with how we educate them, what we’re practicing, what we’re drilling, and it’s on us, as coaches, to get it fixed,” Kubiak said Friday after watching Thursday’s game film. “I don’t know if I’ve seen that many special teams penalties in a game, and you look at the guys that are committing these penalties, and these are some younger guys, and it’s not acceptable. So, we have to get it fixed.”
Some of the penalties were players trying to do too much, which are more palatable to deal with for a coach. But Decamerion Richardson inexplicably tried to down a punt inside the 5-yard line after stepping out of bounds when the ball was just sitting on the field.
“I know we had some penalties last week, and nobody’s sicker than me,” said special teams coach Joe DeCamillis, who also cited Kansei Matsuzawa’s landing zone infraction on a kickoff. “(Richardson) has been drilling that every time, and again that cost us. Going from starting at the 5 to the 20. People say, ‘hidden yardage’ in the kicking game. That ain’t hidden yardage, that’s 15 yards we should have had back there. Those are the ones that I’m upset about.”
It’s probably no surprise the Raiders opened practice each day this week with their most extended special teams periods of camp, though Kubiak said it’s just a matter of starting to get into regular-season mode.
“It’s something that we’re talking about, and it’s something that we’re going to address,” linebacker and special teams ace Segun Olubi said. “Obviously can’t happen, and we’re doing everything that we can in practice to make sure that we’re finishing well on these blocks and that we’re getting things done the way that they need to get done so that we can move forward and play complementary football.”
The penalties weren’t just limited to special teams, either.
Kubiak expressed displeasure with a cadence issue from rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza that led to a procedure penalty and called both a taunting call on rookie cornerback Jermod McCoy and a defensive substitution infraction “unacceptable.”
Kubiak knows the Raiders must play a cleaner game if they want to compete once the season begins.
“(It’s about) holding guys accountable, working, drilling things that we didn’t do as well,” he said. “I know those are things that we coach them on every day, but we do have a lot of young guys that you can’t take anything for granted.”
Many of those same young guys will have their last chance to make an impression on the coaching staff and the front office before cutdown day on Sunday when NFL teams have to be down to 53 players.
Kubiak has said game reps are the most valuable tool for measuring which players can help the roster, not just on offense or defense but also on special teams.
While he was non-committal about exactly who would get those opportunities, it’s likely Mendoza will once again get extended reps at quarterback.
Kubiak has said the only way he will get better is with reps, and if Kirk Cousins is indeed the starting quarterback for Week 1, Mendoza’s practice reps are about to take a big hit. So Thursday could be very valuable for him.
Cousins and the starting offense may see some action, especially after the wide receiver room was called out for needing to give the team more, but it may not be much more than a cameo if anything.
Star running back Ashton Jeanty is extremely unlikely to play after suffering an injury in practice and Kubiak has ruled out playing star defensive end Maxx Crosby in the preseason.
Otherwise, all eyes will be on the fringes of the roster where several young players have their last opportunity to make an impression on the Raiders and the rest of the league’s 31 other teams should they hit the waiver wire.
San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan has said his starters are unlikely to play.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
