MINNEAPOLIS — Daniel Carlson was in midseason form as a kicker in the Raiders’ preseason opener against the Vikings on Saturday, nailing all three of his attempts, including a 56-yarder late in the first half. Kickoffs? Let’s just say it’s a work in progress. “Kind of feel like a rookie out there on the kickoffs,” he joked after the Raiders’ 24-23 loss .
All thanks to the NFL’s peculiar new kickoff rules, which have left fans scratching their heads and coaches and kickers experimenting to devise an effective plan. That led to an adventurous first live foray for Carlson into the new world kickers are dealing with. That includes managing the 20-yard landing zone — the spot kickers must drop the ball in to avoid costly penalties.
Kick it too far, as Carlson did when his opening boot rolled out of the end zone for a touchback, and you set opponents up at their 30. Kick it too short, as he did later in the game by dropping it one yard outside the landing zone, and reward opponents with a spot at their 40. Carlson said Saturday was all in the spirit of experimentation, a luxury he can lean on during the largely meaningless preseason so he can be as buttoned up as possible come the regular season.
“Now’s the kind of time where I do want to experiment with it,” Carlson said. “Do I want to do that for the team? No. But I’d rather do it now and hopefully learn some things.
And the team is learning some things, and that’s what we’re trying to do.” Saturday’s game continued the tinkering he did during training camp by trying all sorts of kicks, ranging from line drives to bouncers. The goal is to land the ball within the 20-yard zone in a way that gives his coverage teammates ample time to run up the field to make tackles.
Outside of the kickers and return men, no one on either team can move until the kick lands or is caught in the landing zone. The key is to avoid letting a returner catch the ball out of the air in full stride. It will take time for all kickers to find that sweet spot, so expect the preseason to be filled with hits and misses as they smooth things out.
That was the case on the kick Carlson left at the 21-yard-line to set Minnesota up at its 40. Carlson said he was working on a specific kick. “Now’s the time to kind of figure out, can I do this consistently?” he said.
“Because, yeah, you don’t want to do that in a regular-season game and give them the ball at the 40, ever. But, hey, is kicking it deep worth it? That first one went to the 30. Is that a good result, or is that not worth the risk of kicking it that deep?” The Carlson kicks that ended up being returned were brought back to the 31, 24, 22 and 26.
“It’s a little bit of a feel thing,” Carlson said. “Not as much kick it long and high anymore.” Young wideouts shine Tre Tucker and DJ Turner have been standouts during training camp.
They built on that momentum with strong performances against the Vikings. Tucker finished with two catches for 73 yards, including a 44-yard reception from Minshew. Turner, a special teams mainstay last year, is making a compelling case for more time on offense.
He took advantage of single coverage by the Vikings to haul in a 20-yard touchdown throw from Minshew. “As soon as I looked at Gardner, he looked at me, and it was like, ‘OK, this is gonna be the one,’” Turner said. “It was a cool experience.
” At the snap of the ball, it came down to the basics. “Just beat the guy off the line and ran to daylight,” Turner said. Missing in action As expected, Raiders star receiver Davante Adams did not make the trip to Minnesota while remaining in Las Vegas with his wife for the birth of their son.
In addition, wide receivers Keelan Doss, Jeff Foreman and Tulu Griffin; offensive tackle Kolton Miller; guard Jackson Powers-Johnson; cornerbacks Cornell Armstrong and Brandon Facyson; and linebacker Tommy Eichenberg all sat out Saturday’s game. Eichenberg, the rookie from Ohio State, was a bit of a surprise. “He’s got some stuff he’s dealing with back home,” Pierce said, indicating an injury of some sort.
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