Raiders notebook: Fresh start for Aldon Smith

OAKLAND - Thirty-seven days after the 49ers released him following his fifth arrest, and a mere 48 hours after the Raiders signed him off the street, Aldon Smith was back in action.

The personally troubled and fantastically talented pass rusher took the field on Oakland’s sixth defensive play and wound up seeing fairly substantial playing time in Sunday’s 33-13 loss to the visiting Cincinnati Bengals. Smith was credited with two tackles and one quarterback hit.

“I felt fresh - yeah, I said the word fresh - but excited,” Smith said in the locker room afterward.

In his first words to the media after signing a one-year contract with the Raiders on Friday, Smith talked about his conditioning, his support network and his reasons for landing in Oakland.

“I had a couple of choices, places I could go,” he said. “I had different offers, some more and some less, some the same. I’ve got a house here. I’ve got a son here. This is my home. I love the Bay Area, the people and I didn’t want to go.”

Raiders fans have been going nuts envisioning a pass rush bookended by Smith and second-year defensive end Khalil Mack. It didn’t really materialize Sunday as Oakland failed to record a sack. That was largely due to the game plan devised by Cincinnati defensive coordinator and former Raiders head coach Hue Jackson, who made it a priority to get the ball out of quarterback Andy Dalton’s hands quickly.

Don’t blame that on Smith, defensive end Justin Tuck said.

“For a guy that had one day of practice, and the fact that he actually got on the football field and knew the defense he was called upon to know, I thought that was the biggest thing,” Tuck said. “Aldon is Aldon. Everyone knows how talented he is. And as he’s getting more acclimated and more comfortable in our defense, I think he’s gonna be a huge asset for us.”

HEAD GAMES

Adam “Pacman” Jones has played the role of villain for much of his NFL career, especially in his first couple seasons with the Tennessee Titans when he ran afoul of the law several times. Raiders fans would now be happy to confirm the reputation.

Midway through the second quarter of a feisty game, a small melee broke out after Jamize Olawale’s long run (which would be negated by a holding call), and the teams were hit with offsetting penalties for unnecessary roughness.

A video that circulated a little later showed what set off the fisticuffs: Wide receiver Amari Cooper lost his helmet and Jones, straddling the Raiders rookie, slammed Cooper’s bare head down onto the helmet.

Afterward, Cooper said he didn’t realize the back of his head was landing on his headgear, and took the high road when asked whether Jones should be punished by the NFL. “I don’t think he should be suspended,” Cooper said. “He’s just physical. I should have been playing physical, too.”

DAY OF THE SNAKE

The Raiders made the 2015 season opener a memorial to Ken Stabler, the former quarterback who died July 8 in Mississippi. His family gathered to ceremonially light the Al Davis torch before the game, and halftime featured several tributes, including a video montage, a snippet of the Lynyrd Skynyrd song “Sweet Home Alabama” and words from Stabler’s old coach, John Madden, and his daughter Alexa.

The cover of game program featured Stabler in action for the Raiders.

EXTRA POINTS

The Raiders lost their season opener for the 12th time in 13 years. The only Oakland head coach to win the opener in that span was Hue Jackson.

Marcel Reece became the first Raiders running back to log two touchdown catches in one game since Tyrone Wheatley did it against the Chargers on Nov. 14, 1999. Reece is now tied for third (with Steve Smith) among Raiders running backs with 11 career receiving touchdowns.

Cooper’s five receptions tied him with Jack Larscheid (1960) for the most by a Raiders rookie in Week 1.