Fernando Mendoza throws pick-six, leads Raiders to three points
Fernando Mendoza took a sack, was hit four other times, threw a pick-six and led the Raiders to only three points. It was a rough night for the No. 1 overall pick against the backup defensive players for the Texans. extract-html.com
The Raiders quarterback played the entire first half and went 8-of-15 for 86 yards, with a drop by Malik Benson for what could have been a big gain.
The Raiders gained 55 yards on their opening drive, including a 22-yard pass from Mendoza to Jalen Nailor, before Texans rookie linebacker Wade Woodaz stepped in front of Mike Washington Jr.
Woodaz went 80 yards for a touchdown with the interception.
Veteran edge rusher Maxx Crosby greeted Mendoza on the sideline with words of encouragement.
“He’s been great," Crosby said of Mendoza in a sideline interview with ESPN. "You come in as a rookie, and you've got to start all the way back at the bottom. He’d had the right attitude. He’s working his ass off. He’s in here every single day encouraging dudes and just working. That’s all you can ask for.”
Matt Gay hit a 52-yard field goal to give the Raiders their only points of the first half. They trail 20-3 at halftime.
Mendoza handed over the reins to Aidan O'Connell to start the second half.
In his preseason debut last week, Mendoza was 10-of-16 for 97 yards and a touchdown against the Cardinals.
Reitan med solid åpning – nedtur for Hovland
Kristoffer Reitan har kommet godt i gang i den andre sluttspillturneringen på PGA-touren og ligger på 12. plass. Viktor Hovland er på 37. plass.
Reitan gikk første runde på tre slag under par, mens Hovland endte ett slag over par.
– Det var bra. De første par hullene var det litt tungt, og så setter jeg en putt som endrer litt på stemningen. Det var ganske bra for det meste, så ganske happy med det, sa Reitan til HBO Max.
Både Hovland og Reitan har vunnet hver sin store turnering på PGA-touren denne sesongen. Det sendte dem høyt på sesongrankingen, og trolig vil de få spille alle tre sluttspillturneringer.
De 50 beste får innpass i turnering nummer to, mens bare de 30 beste på rankingen kommer inn i Tour Championship.
(NTB)
New Dolphins HC Jeff Hafley Sets Tone At Line of Scrimmage, Doing So Unconventionally
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — All coaches have their preferences and quirks, and new Miami Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley has one: He doesn't like 7-on-7 drills in practice. They're great for wide receivers and defensive backs, and some coaches like that it gives the big guys on both lines a period of relative rest, but Hafley, laying out the ground rules for Thursday's joint practice with the New York Giants, insisted there would be no 7-on-7 work. "We want to play real football," he told reporters before practice, "and I want to see if we can block them, if we can pick up the pressures and our protections, if the quarterback can get rid of the ball on time, if the receivers can run the right routes so the ball can get out on time. So it's going to have to be a team thing." It's a bold move against a talented Giants front — there were plenty of would-be sacks whistled dead Thursday — but if you're trying to stress the importance of winning the line of scrimmage, the message was appreciated there. "Absolutely," said center Aaron Brewer, a second-team All-Pro in a breakout season last year. "I can't play 7-on-7, so whenever we're out there and all working, that's what it's going to be. I feel like it translates from practice to the game. There are no days in a game where you're running 7-on-7." That's echoed by defensive tackle Zach Sieler, the longest-tenured Dolphins player, here since 2019 and a leader in a locker room loaded with new arrivals. "My thing is, how do we play on Sundays? It's 11-on-11," he said. "When you put every piece together, that's how the game is played. You want to put game-like stress in practice, pushing us to the limits on every single play, and that's something we focus on a lot this year." Miami went 7-10 last year, but traded off key players as part of a rebuild that included hiring Hafley and a new general manager in Jon-Eric Sullivan. There are few NFL teams with lower outside expectations than the Dolphins, too. The oddsmakers' projected win total for the Dolphins is 4.5. However, you won't hear Hafley or his players use the low-hanging fruit of the perceived slight to fuel motivation. "I just believe that if that's what we're using to motivate, we're worried about the wrong things right now," Hafley said. "That stuff wears off after a while. There's only so much you can use it, only so much you can care about it. I want the motivation to come from within. I want the motivation to come because the players want to be great and the coaches want to be great, because they don't want to let their teammates down ... if you do that, it will last." Offensive guard is not a sexy position for a high draft pick, but the Giants and Dolphins both took guards in the top 12, with New York getting Miami (Fla.)'s Francis Mauigoa at No. 10 and Miami getting Alabama's Kadyn Proctor at 12. Proctor is massive, listed at 6-foot-7 and 360 pounds and already making a strong impression. "He's a big guy. He's fast, he's physical, and he's just a smart young guy," Brewer said of Proctor. "He buys in and gives his effort, so he's just a great football player." Miami left tackle Patrick Paul is 6-7 and bigger than the 326 pounds he's listed at, so Miami could have the largest left side in the NFL. "Overall, dominant. I feel like we didn't play to the standard that I hold us to, or our leaders hold our defense to because coming out as our first joint, trying to be smart, make sure everybody gets taken care of, but at the same time, they're not our team. So, when you have an opportunity to hit them, you hit them. And you hold them up and they get hit again. "We started to do that later on, towards the middle of the day and the rest of the day on. But we had splashes in the beginning, but I wanted to swarm from when we first got out here and it just took a little bit to get going, but I understand it's our first joint [practice]. But I let it be known, we don't wait to get punched in the mouth. That didn't happen, but we don't wait to get punched in the mouth to fire off on somebody." — Giants edge rusher Brian Burns on his team's physicality against the Dolphins.
