When the Raiders held their first intrasquad scrimmage of training camp, it looked a lot like last season. The defense was well ahead of the offense.
There were a pair of turnovers, two sacks, dropped passes, and miscommunication between the receivers and quarterbacks at times during the one-hour scrimmage. An offense that managed only 12 touchdowns last season still has plenty of work to do under new coach Lane Kiffin.
"I felt the defense really showed up today," Kiffin said Saturday. "There was a lot of tempo, energy, hitting and flying around. I was very pleased with them."
There were nine series in the scrimmage, with quarterbacks Andrew Walter, Josh McCown and Daunte Culpepper each getting three. Walter was the only one not to lead a scoring drive, fumbling a snap from center, throwing an interception to Chris Carr and going three-and-out on the first series.
Walter finished 3-for-8 and his most memorable play came when he dropped a snap from center Jeremy Newberry, looked at it for a moment, then kicked the ball before it was recovered by defensive lineman Kevin Huntley. Kiffin scolded Walter as he walked off the field.
"Sixty plays, two turnovers. That's two too many obviously," Kiffin said.