News » With A’s in playoffs, Raiders back on the dirt in Oakland

with new kicker in house Every year the Raiders’ schedule Youth Marshawn Lynch Jersey is set up in such a way to try and have the team playing on a a field that is partially dirt from the A’s games also played on the field. That plan works out so long as the A’s don’t make the playoffs. Well, the A’s did make the playoffs which means it’s another game on the dirt infield.Many of the players just accept that they will have to deal with the dirt in spots and plan accordingly whether it be to have specific cleats or otherwise. Also most of them played on the dirt in the opener already. One guy has not — the new kicker.Matt McCrane is an undrafted rookie out of Kansas State. He was just signed this week to replace Mike Nugent who injured his hip in the Raiders game in Miami. He will not only have his NFL debut Sunday, but for any longer kicks, he will be planting on baseball field dirt.To prepare for it, he spent some time at the coliseum getting a feel for it.“We took him out there and let him kick, let him experience the dirt,” said Gruden.It was special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia who put orchestrated the 1 1鈦? hour session for McCrane on the coliseum field.“We tried different cleats, different approaches but I’m just going to go with the standard thing that I’ve been using and see what works the best,” said McCrane.“Just my standard soccer [cleats]. I didn’t do a special plant cleat. I know some kickers choose to do that. I just went with something that I normally go with.”Gruden seemed to speak a bit of tongue-in-cheek when saying that he thinks “all kickers in the league look forward to kicking off that dirt” adding he’s happy with playing on the dirt and “would make the dirt permanent if [he] had anything to do with it.”McCrane will also have pre-game Sunday to acclimate to the dirt field. He showed in the preseason with the the Cardinals that he has a strong leg, connecting on field goals from 53 and 54 yards out. We’ll see if that translates to the dirt should he be put the the position to have to do it.As for the dirt field, this would be the last time the Raiders have to play on it unless the A’s were to make the World Series. After this the Raiders won’t be back in Oakland until October 28 when they face the Colts.Follow @LeviDamien Injured punter Marquette King missed another practice Friday and the Denver Broncos were considering promoting new practice squader Colby Wadman to take his place this weekend against the New York Jets ."I'm very comfortable with him, if he has to go Womens Derek Carr Jersey ," said coach Vance Joseph.That confidence was echoed by kicker Brandon McManus and special teams coordinator Tom McMahon after King was listed as doubtful for Sunday.Joseph will meet with general manager John Elway to decide who to cut if the Broncos promote Wadman.Asked if that might be King, who signed a three-year, $7 million deal in Denver after his ouster from Oakland this offseason, Joseph said, "Well, anything's possible.""We're trying to win a football game and we've got to have a punter, obviously. So, we'll see. I'll get with John and we'll decide it," Joseph said.The Broncos brought in Wadman, a rookie from UC Davis, last week to push King after a poor punting performance at Baltimore.King had another bad outing Monday night against Kansas City, however Womens Mike Nugent Jersey , when his 35-yard punt to the Kansas City 40-yard line in the closing minutes set up the Chiefs' winning touchdown drive in a 27-23 game at Mile High Stadium.King came out of that game with a groin/right thigh injury and Wadman got all the work during the week.McMahon said he had "very high confidence" in Wadman's punting abilities, and McManus said he was equally confident in Wadman as his holder."Who knows what's going to happen if Marquette plays or not. But I've had enough holds with Colby to feel confident with him," McManus said.Wadman's college eligibility expired in 2016, and he gave himself three years to become a pro punter, working odd jobs in between workouts.Wadman said he was about to start a temp job working for his mother's boss helping out at an accounting firm in Thousand Oaks, California, when the Broncos called last week."I'm just staying ready," Wadman said. "Obviously, I haven't kicked in two years, but being out here in practice, working out with the team, they're all telling me how much they believe in me. They have confidence in me. If I do end up getting the call Youth Seth Roberts Jersey , I feel ready for it."The Broncos will play at MetLife, the biggest stadium in the NFL with a capacity of 82,500, but that doesn't faze Wadman."We played at Oregon my senior year. Pretty decent size, obviously," Wadman said of Autzen Stadium in Eugene which has a capacity of 54,000. "Size of the stadium doesn't mean a thing to me. I'm just kicking, no matter where I'm at."