PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : RAIDERS : Ismail Sidelined With Bad Back

Wide receiver/kick returner Rocket Ismail did not practice for the second consecutive day Friday because of a back injury and is not expected to be activated for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns at the Coliseum.

Special teams captain Elvis Patterson, who has been sidelined because of a quadriceps injury, is also not expected to play. Offensive tackle Bruce Wilkerson, who missed last week’s game because of a knee injury, and running back Nick Bell, who has been sidelined because of a hamstring injury, should play along with linebacker Joe Kelly, who has a leg injury.

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Without much fanfare, the Raiders’ youth movement has begun. In their first two games, the Raiders have given considerable playing time to several young players who have less than three years of NFL experience. They include: wide receivers Daryl Hobbs and James Jett; defensive backs Patrick Bates and James Trapp; linebackers Mike Jones and Greg Biekert; running back Tyrone Montgomery and tight end Andrew Glover. The Raiders look even younger when you throw in starters Derrick Hoskins, Nolan Harrison, Greg Robinson and Chester McGlockton, who average 23 years in age, along with Bell, who recently turned 25, and Ismail, who is 23.

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Cleveland wide receiver Michael Jackson, after playing under the name Michael Dyson, in honor of his father, to begin the season, has changed his name back. Jackson, who has eight catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns, was a college teammate of the Raiders’ Hoskins at Southern Mississippi. . . . Pepper Johnson will return to the Coliseum for the first time since he said that the Raiders played like a bunch of ducks after they defeated the New York Giants, 13-10, last October. This time, Johnson will play linebacker for Cleveland after being released by the Giants before the season. . . . The Raiders have converted an NFL-best 18 of 32 third downs and their defense has permitted a league low of 20 points. Last season, the Raiders were last in the takeaway-giveaway turnover department, but after two games they are second in the league with plus four. The Browns, who have not given up a turnover, lead the league with a plus seven.