Las Vegas Raiders: New Raiders coach Josh McDaniels acknowledged Friday that his first offensive playcall of Thursday night's Hall of Fame Game, an attempted deep pass, was an "ode" to the late Cliff Branch, a long-ball threat throughout his career who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. "That was a staple," McDaniels said after saluting with his right hand. "Cliff was a fast guy and, obviously, made a bunch of big plays in his career, big important plays in big important games ... I know Mr. Davis, both Mr. Davises, are big fans of the long ball so, yes, that was an ode to the Raiders, Cliff Branch and the way that Mr. Davis, both of them, enjoy that type of play. We tried to, didn't go off exactly the way that we hoped that it would, but it ended up in our favor regardless." Jarrett Stidham targeted Tyron Johnson down the left sideline with the pass but was hit as he released the ball, which instead fluttered down into the waiting arms of receiver Keelan Cole for a 31-yard catch-and-run pickup. -- Paul Gutierrez
Comments