Raiders–49ers Takeaways & Defensive Deep Dive w/ Cody Alexander

From standout performers in the joint practice to a detailed look at Patrick Graham’s defense with Cody Alexander — here’s what we learned about the Raiders this week.

Author

Jesse Merrick
August 15, 2025

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Bill (Russell) said that he wakes up every morning with the thought of, 'What can you do to help somebody on his team do better?' Talking about (John) Havlicek or (Bob) Cousy, all the guys that he played with, Sam Jones. He was talking about how what he could do to help him play better. And when Bill said that to me, I said, 'You've got to be kidding. Come on.' And the whole team's there. 'You can't every day.' And he said, 'Every freakin' day.' And so, I challenged my guys from that moment on, if you can’t do it every day, maybe you can do it a couple times a week and we'll work our way up to be like Bill."

— Pete Carroll, Raiders Head Coach

Photo Courtesy: Arnie Bazemore

In today’s newsletter, we’re recapping all the big moments from the Raiders–49ers joint practice, and then taking a deep dive into Patrick Graham’s defense with insights from defensive guru Cody Alexander of MatchQuarters.com. You’ll get both the sideline observations and the X’s and O’s breakdown that show where this team is headed.

INSIDE THE ACTION: RAIDERS — 49ERS JOINT PRACTICE TAKEAWAYS

BROCK WITH THE PLAY OF THE DAY

Brock Bowers was ballin’ at Thursday’s joint practice against the 49ers. In one of the team periods he showed why he looks primed for another All-Pro season. Geno lofted one up to him on a corner route, and with Deommondore Lenoir draped over his back he hauled it in, shrugged off the tackle, and put his face mask right in Jaylen Mahoney’s chest to break through for the score. Marking one of many big plays by Brock on the day. He’s ready to roll.

TRE TUCKER’S TURNAROUND

Tre Tucker had a rough start to the joint practice. He dropped a pair of balls and even stopped short on a route against Fred Warner, who cut him off and forced Geno to throw the ball away.

Most of that happened during the 7-on-7 period which was a bit of a rocky ride for the offense as a whole, but particularly for Tucker. His QB took notice, and lifted him up.

“There's going to be ups and downs in this game, you're never going to be perfect. We strive for perfection, but we're all human. So, the main thing whenever a guy makes a mistake, or anything happens out there that we don't want to happen, it's about showing that we have each other's back. And so, whenever you can go up to a guy and pat him on the back, or give him a word of encouragement, that's what we're here for, and they do it for me as well. So it's not just a one-way street, it's a two-way street. I just want to continue to breathe life into my guys, because we got some really, really good players, and they work extremely hard. So when they mess up, it's okay. We move on to the next play and keep going."

— Geno Smith, Raiders Quarterback

That’s a pretty good example of the kind of leader Geno Smith is for this team. And his words of encouragement helped Tre turn things around. After the offense got going in the back half of practice, feeding Brock and Jakobi, they started pushing the ball down the field and Tre Tucker came alive. He hauled in not one, but two deep, diving touchdown passes and completely turned his day around. You could even argue the play below is “Play of the Day” caliber.

JEANTY, A QUICK STUDY

It was clear the Raiders wanted to get Ashton Jeanty going early on in the joint practice. They fed him the rock right away, and on the second snap of their team run period he wiggled through the left side of the line and broke one off down the left sideline, sending the crowd into a frenzy and impressing his QB in the process.

"I think Ashton today, he made a play. I won't mention it, but like, it was something we did yesterday and we didn't really get it right. And then today he came out, we got it perfect. And I thought, like man we took a big jump just from yesterday to today. And to see that from a rookie player, like he learns and he grows with every single experience. I think that's something that's going to make him so much of a great player, because he's getting better by day. And so, I thought Ashton did a great job as always, but he definitely took another step and another jump today."

— Geno Smith

It’s the little things that matter, and it’s clear the rook is honing in on the details each and everyday. He also had a couple of nice runs that he likely would have broken free on in a real game.

WHAT ABOUT THE DEFENSE?

I’ll be honest with you guys, there’s a lot going on at joint practices and you can’t always take everything in at once. In year’s past they’ve done multiple joint practices so you can watch the offense one day, and take in the defense the next. This year, Pete only wanted to do one joint practice, he’s not a big joint practice guy. So as much as I tried to get glimpses of both sides of the ball, it proved to be tough considering the setup of where we can watch practice. Having said that, I did managed to observe some things from the starting defense.

First off, Maxx Crosby was doing Maxx Crosby things. He’s known to ruin practice and for the early portion of the day he was very disruptive, till Kyle Shanahan had seen enough.

I know I'm going to get attention and shifts and slides, things like that. So I love getting a challenge like that. Coach (Kyle) Shanahan, earlier in practice I felt like, kind of let me be alone for a little bit and I was doing my thing, and then as the practice went on, made it a little more difficult. I love that because that's what it's going to be like. I know that's the respect I've earned in this league, and that's a part of the respect factor that goes into it. So yeah, it was a great day, though. It was a lot of fun. We got better, and I feel like as the day went on, we got better and better."

— Maxx Crosby, Raiders Defensive End

Outside of Maxx, I got a look at the defense towards the end of practice. I’m kind of vague here on this portion because I was scanning back and forth between the offense and the defense from snap to snap, making it hard to take detailed notes of who did what, specifically. The defense did a great job buckling down inside the 20-yard line and forced the Niners to kick a field goal. Overall I thought they looked good in the red zone portions of practice.

Throughout the day George Kittle and Ricky Pearsall found some space against the Raiders’ back seven. Kittle, you can totally understand, he’s going to get free against a lot of teams. But the 49ers are battling some injuries so they don’t have their full stable of pass catchers right now. I would have liked to see more from a coverage standpoint against Pearsall and the other wideouts. We all know one of the biggest question marks on this team is whether or not their corners will be able to hold up. It’s a fairly young, and talented group, but mostly unproven and Thursday left a bit to be desired in regards to that group. I also saw Pearsall beat Eric Stokes a time or two.

I did catch Kyu Blu Kelly making a couple of plays, though. Ever since the game against Seattle he’s traded reps with Darien Porter for the starting spot opposite Stokes and Pete likes what Kelly’s doing with the opportunity.

"I'm glad you noticed it because I'm noticing it, too. He's had plays every day for about the last five or six days out here. Mock Game, too, he's just been really active. Seems like he's really settling in, and his aggressive style of play has really shown up. So, I'm fired up for him. If you've noticed, I don't know if it happened today, but yesterday, he got work with the ones just to see how he fits in and all of that. Just a great example of a guy competing his butt off and try to make a statement."

— Pete Carroll

MISS ANYTHING?

Catch up on some of our recent stories:

Young CB Steps Up & Carroll’s ‘ComPETE’ Energy Takes Over

— A rising corner seizes his moment, Terrell Edmunds looks to make an immediate impact, and Pete Carroll’s ‘ComPETE’ mantra is already changing the tone at Raiders HQ

Raiders Add Terrell Edmunds, JPJ Banged Up, Adams’ Move to LB

— The Raiders add a veteran safety, JPJ battles a rib injury, and we take a closer look at Jamal Adams’ growing role at linebacker.

DEFENSIVE MASTERCLASS: CODY ALEXANDER ON PATRICK GRAHAM’S SCHEME AND PERSONNEL

In the latest episode of the Silver & Black Sports Network Podcast, I caught up with defensive guru Cody Alexander of MatchQuarters.com for a can’t-miss breakdown of the Raiders’ defense. We dive deep into Patrick Graham’s scheme, how it’s evolving with new pieces like Jeremy Chinn and Jamal Adams, and what young guys like Kyu Blu Kelly and Darien Porter bring to the table. Cody explains the nuances behind the personnel groupings, how the secondary is shaping up, and what it will take for this defense to thrive in 2024. If you want the X’s and O’s plus insider context you won’t get anywhere else, check it out below.

FANSHOTZ FRIDAY

Photo Courtesy: Arnie Bazemore

By now, you have seen the phenomenal photos we’ve been using in many of our newsletters. They’re some of the best shots you’ll find of your favorite team, captured through the lens of our friend Arnie Bazemore of Fanshotz.com. Every Friday, we’ll feature Arnie’s favorite Raiders shot of the week that he captures at practice or on game day. This week, Arnie’s favorite shot captures Maxx Crosby ahead of the Raiders’ joint practice against the 49ers. Check out his work at his site linked above and reach out if you’re interested in working with him. He’s a great guy and has been so supportive of me over the years when I was at NBC here in Vegas, and he’s come along for the ride with Silver & Black Sports Network, too.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Raiders are off today, so no podcast for us. But they’re heading to Allegiant Stadium on Saturday for their second preseason game of the year against the 49ers.

So make sure you keep your eyes and ears peeled for Saturday’s postgame breakdown on the Silver & Black Sports Network Podcast. We’ve got some new gear to shoot the podcast remotely from Allegiant Stadium so if all goes well, we’ll be coming to you from the field out there as soon as we’re done grabbing interviews after the game.

Catch ya next time,

Silver & Black Sports Network is an independent media outlet. We are not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by the Las Vegas Raiders or the NFL.

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