Category: Notes

Raiders Rants: Week Two 2020, Aldon Smith and More

Imagine almost blowing a double-digit lead to the re-tooled Carolina Panthers? That’s exactly what the Raiders almost did last week versus the Carolina Panthers.

They pulled out the Week One win which we will take but they almost lost it due to a second half run. This gives Raiders fans PTSD considering they haven’t been great in the second half under Gruden or JDR.

This week the competition goes up a step versus the New Orleans Saints. NOLA quietly has a conclave of Raiders Nation but this game will be the first one in Las Vegas. It will be sans fans.

A Win in Perspective

Nonetheless, the Saints have been a perennial contender. They looked like that again in Week One. They welcomed Tom Brady to the NFC South with a few interceptions. New Orleans also kept the running game in check in Week One.

However, Tampa bounced back versus the Panthers in Week Two. They got Mike Evans and Leonard Fournette back on track. I tell you that to show you where Carolina, the team the Raiders got their first win against, stacks up in the NFC South.

Anyways, Vegas is still looking to establish themselves. In Week One, the defense left something to be desired with only one sack and zero interceptions versus the Panthers. Tampa Bay made a couple of interceptions and sacks versus Carolina.

Panthers receiver Robbie Anderson went off for triple digit receiving yards and a touchdown versus the Raiders and Buccs. McCaffrey did his thing in Week One with two TDs and more than 100 yards from scrimmage. He did the same in Week two, although he got hurt.

Also for Vegas, Nelson Agholor took some money out of people’s pockets by scoring the Raiders only receiving TD versus the Panthers. Derek Carr took some shots in that game and finished with a pretty consistent stat line.

Carr Driven By Others

Carr will need more help from his young receivers this week versus an established New Orleans secondary and pass rush. Agohlor is the vet of the bunch and should get more looks.

Either way, Vegas will need to lean on Jacobs to control the clock. Jacobs finished just short of the hundred yard mark versus the Panthers but finished three drives for the Raiders. The Raiders offensive line will need to establish Jacobs early to neutralize an aggressive NOLA d-line.

Otherwise, New Orleans thrives in a dome shootout. Their defense likes to take chances and play aggressive with a lead. Shout out to Dennis Allen, the former Raiders coach we all try and forget about.

Still, the Raiders haven’t proven they have the outside talent to keep up in that scenario. The Raiders’ best weapon will be keeping Drew Brees and that offense off the field. They can challenge this Saints defense by keeping the game close and making them play discipline football.

Defensive Keys

On Defense, the Raiders get some help with Michael Thomas expected to miss this game. Raiders LT Kolton Miller played pretty well in Week One. He’ll have an even bigger test versus the Saints edge Cam Jordan.

Regardless, Brees and the Saints have proven they can find receivers. Emmanuel Sanders knows the Raiders well from his extended time in Denver.

Jared Cook was also a Pro Bowler with the Silver and Black. Alvin Kamara can impact the game as a receiver and runner much like McCaffrey in Week One. New Orleans also utilizes the Tay Train, Latavius Murray. Any of them could have a big game versus the Raiders defense with Thomas’ touches.

Keeping that offense in check will be a matter of disrupting Brees and the backfield. The Raiders defensive line has to keep improving. Please get a sack or a pick this week.

BTW, the Raiders are paying their linebackers and safeties a lot of money. Let’s see some turnovers to give the offense an advantage.

Will the Saints March Into Vegas?

The point is, the Raiders face an incredible challenge versus the Saints this week. It’ll take incredible discipline and everything going right to stay competitive.

What the Raiders do have going for them is momentum from a Week One win and the hype for opening a new Stadium and market. A win here could have the Raiders looking like a contender again as they were early last year. A loss could have them stumble to the middle of the pack with only a win over Carolina.

The good news is that it is still early in the season and the Raiders have more non-division opponents after this game. That gives them plenty of time to establish themselves before the games mean a little more in the AFC West.

More from the AFC West

Speaking of which, what if I told you rookie Justin Herbert almost lead the Los Angeles Chargers to a win over the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. That shouldn’t be surprising since the Bolts have been playing the Chiefs tight the past few years.

Still, Herbert looked good. He took chances that kept drives going. He showed his toughness and leadership on scrambles. Their running game also continued to look good as well as their receivers. The Chargers could quietly have the best QB not named Mahomes if Herbert keeps developing.

One Final Shoutout

Also, shoutout to Aldon Smith. The former Raider who only played a half a season before receiving an extended ban returned to the field for the Cowboys. He lit up the Rams in Week One with a sack, TFL and several more tackles.

Smith came back to reality in Week Two but just seeing him return to the field after battling alcoholism, D.V. allegations, weed and a bunch more stuff is great. I’ve been rooting for him since Day One so I had to shoutout his success one-time.

Anyways, I’m ready for some football and I think Vegas is too.

Lessons from the collapse to the Chiefs

What did we learn from the Raiders collapse versus the Chiefs in a 28-10 loss despite the Raiders early loss?

First, the Chiefs are again the class of the AFC West still. Oakland looked like they could be sneaky good when they were up 10-0 early versus their rivals. Then, the Chiefs turned it on for a quarter and that was it. They coasted their way to the win.

Second, the Raiders are better than Denver but not by much. Sometimes, when something like that 10-0 lead seems too good to be true it probably is. Even if the Raiders aren’t as bad as some thought they were that doesn’t mean they’re as good as the elite Chiefs.

Last, maybe the AFC West isn’t as good as any of us hoped. The Raiders have played a third of their division schedule already and split the results. On one hand, they’re better than Denver but the Broncos at least kept it close. The Chargers on the other hand lost thanks to some kicking yet again. They own the same record as Oakland after a loss in Week Two. To be determined.

Either way, the Raiders got to find a way to build around that 10-0 start and forget the rest. Their pass rush and secondary looked closer to last year than the week before. Carr too.

The schedule is too tough. Oakland needs wins fast or it might get ugly. There’s no one that’s gonna save the Raiders. The guys on the trade block are mostly expensive DBs. Sure, Ramsey might help but he ain’t playing defensive end. Oakland already has too much invested in the secondary. You got Joyner’s fat contract. Conley, Mullen, Abram and Joseph are all high picks. Riley, Worley and Harris are supposed to be good vets. Don’t forget the wasted pick on Obi. Oakland can’t afford trading a high pick or paying a big contract for a DB. They need more pass rush and it’s not clear that is out there on the trading block.

The point is, the Raiders got outclassed by the Chiefs. It won’t be the last time they’re overmatched. I think the game was a reality check for the Raiders after they bullied a sorry Broncos team. Oakland won’t be home for a while which means they got to find a way to put that collapse behind them and Just Win Baby!

Raiders Offensive Notes: Derek Carr, Amari Cooper, & Latavius Murray

 

Derek Carr

According to ESPN, quarterback Derek Carr averages 7.4 yards per pass. This puts him in the bottom-five of the leauge.

However, Pro Football Focus has him third in the league with an 83 percent adjusted completion percentage.

Carr also has a chance to become the second QB in Oakland history to throw for at least 900 yards, per ESPN also. Rich Gannon was the first to do it during his 2002 Super Bowl and league MVP run.

Can Carr maintain his accuracy and increase his yards per completion? Will he continue with the dink and dunk?

“I’m going to do what’s best for the team in those situations. Obviously, you want to push the ball down the field.” Carr said. “As long as we’re staying explosive, I think that that’s the main thing that we want.”

Latavius Murray

Latavius Murray has gotten only 43 percent of Oakland’s rushes due to the success of rookies DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard. However, Murray is doing more with less, according to ESPN.

Murray got 57 yards on 8 carries versus the Falcons. He is averaging 5.3 yards per carry in two games.

“Regardless of when I go in there and how many times I go in there, I just got to do what I got to do when I’m in there.” Murray said.

Overall, the runner is catching the ball better and doing everything better. Hence, PFF has him graded as the best tailback. Murray is also top-five in yards after contact.

“This year I’m just making sure I use my size to my advantage, breaking tackles, trying to run through guys,” Murray said. “I guess when that ball is in my hands, whoever is on the other side of the ball became the victim of Angry Tay.”

Amari Cooper

After a great rookie year, it appears Amari Cooper is taking the next step, according to The Mercury News.

He has 11 receptions for 208 yards, with an average of 18.9 yards per catch.

Head coach Del Rio said:

“There’s a benefit in the experience he gained. I think we know more about him now in terms of the toughness he brings, and I think he understands more in detail about how to take care of himself and how demanding a season is for an NFL player.”

Check out offensive notes here.

 

 

 

 

 

Oakland Raiders Notes: Cory James, Karl Joseph, & Ken Norton Jr.

Cory James

The Raiders will play rookie Corey James more on Sunday versus Tennessee, according to CSN Bay Area.

Starter Ben Heeney put up mixed results, but head coach Jack Del Rio said his backup Cowser is a ball magnent.

“It took some time to grow on me since OTAs and everything, but I think I’m getting more and more comfortable with it,” James said. “…I’m still learning, still working to get more comfortable with recognizing formations and things like that, but I still need work there. Playing and knowing the plays, I am pretty comfortable with that.”

As for how much James will play versus the Titans, Del Rio said there was no benefit to declaring the team’s plans.

Karl Joseph

Speaking of rookies getting more plenty time, first-round draft pick Karl Joseph should make his NFL debut.

Del Rio said he is impressed with Joseph’s attitude and overall work ethic via the Raiders.com

“I think the health issue is really kind of behind him now.” Del Rio said. “I feel good about that. I feel good about the way he’s preparing. Now we just look forward to all of us going out and playing well on Sunday.”

Ken Norton Jr.

Defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. took some of the blame for the Raiders’ poor defensive outings in two games, via SF Gate.

“ I’m accountable for it. We have to work harder, work better and we expect to come out of this.” Norton said.

The defensive coordinator said he still believes the team can turn it around.

“Again, no one said it was going to be easy. You’re going to have adverse times and those adverse times really reveal us, reveal who you are, and I think that the team has come together, come close.” Norton said. “You can tell the guys really care. No one wants to play as bad as we’ve played.”

Check out offensive notes for the week here.

Oakland Raiders at New Orleans Saints: First Half Notes

The Oakland Raiders took on the New Orleans Saints for the first game of the season. The Saints lead 17-10 at home.

DEFENSE:

  • Bruce Irvin sacked and forced a fumble on Drew Brees which ends first drive. Leads to first points of the season off of Sebastian Janikowski kick.
  • Mark Ingrim gets 12 and 20-yard gains for Saints on the second series. Saints held to a field goal, which ties game at three all.
  • Tim Hightower gets run going again later in first. Willie Snead tears apart Raiders. Snead Catches a deep ball that puts them in the red zone. He then catches short fourth and goal touchdown pass to make game 10-10.
  • Saints go up 17-10 in second quarter thanks to Brandin  Cooks touchdown pass. He beat D.J. Hayden in coverage. Sean Smith also gave up the crucial play that put Saints inside the red zone. Michael Thomas catches a pass, then registers some yards after the catch.
  • D.J. Hayden gets defensive holding call that negates Bruce Irvin sack. Luckily, Raiders defense forces punt with a little more than a minute left in first half.

OFFENSE:

  • Latavius Murray gets the Raiders first touchdown of the year via an 11-yard run thanks to an Amari Cooper sprawling catch which put Raiders at the five-yard-line. It was Cooper’s second catch on the drive. Oakland goes up 10-3.
  • Jalen Richard made his first appearance with a catch in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Taiwan Jones loses eight yards on a carry later in the first half.
  • Derek Carr shows his scrambling ability in second quarter. Makes first down run and leaps for extra yards. However, this drive did not lead to points.
  • Menelik Watson goes down during Raiders final drive with about a minute left in the second quarter. He walks off the field on his own, but it looked like an ankle injury.
  • Cooper catches the final pass of the half via a hitch route.

Oakland must try to stop the run on defense. Hightower and Ingrim were having their way. On offense, look for Oakland to continue establishing the run. Hopefully, Watson’s injury is not serious. Backup right tackle Austin Howard got hurt last week, so he is inactive.