2019 Oakland Raiders Discussion

How do I post Vines?

At any rate, players who helped their cases:

QUARTERBACK
UP: Most Oakland QBs
Carr tossed a pick, but it was clear that he thought Cooper was coming toward the middle. They'll work it out. Carr was 6-9, 43 yards.
Ponder was 6-8, 59 yards, a TD, and a pick.
McGloin was surgical, 10-11, 104 and a TD.
Cody Fajardo added 1-2, 9 yards.
Overall, they dropped back 30 times, were not sacked once, threw two TDs and two INTs, and accounted for 215 yards. McGloin and Ponder are going to duke it out for the backup spot.
Bubble: Fajardo doesn't have much chance at making the roster.

RUNNING BACK
UP: Latavius Murray: 6-35, a nice 17-yard run.
Down: George Atkinson III - 6 rushes, 6 yards, and he's now expendable in the return game.
Bubble: Michael Dyer (5-11) was outplayed by Tawian Jones (3-15; also a 27-yard KO return)

RECEIVER
UP: Butler with 57 and a TD on 7 targets;
Clive Walford with 2-28;
Andre Holmes getting into the end zone;
Seth Roberts (4-42) and Amari Cooper (3-22) all did well.
Down: WRs seemed to play well. I won't knock anyone.
Bubble: Gabe Holmes had 2-16; he's trying to make it as a fourth(?) TE.

LINE
Bubble: Bergstrom played come Center last night. He's searching for a position.

SPECIAL TEAMS
UP: King with one punt for 50 yards, inside the 20. Elite. Jano drilled a 44-yarder and Tavecchio hit a 39-yarder (and had a Touchback on a kickoff). Trindon Holliday - the little man had a 22-yard punt return.

DEFENSE
Up: Ben Heeney. 8 tackles, a TFL, and a sack.
UP: Khalil mack blew up Greg Robinson on conseuctive plays.
UP: Josh Shirley - huge sack, forced a fumble.
Down: DJ Hayden - scorched on the first play of the game.

 

Crabtree lookin' spry:

 

They moved the rock up and down the field...punting only once? The defense was flying to the ball? Players are happy to be there? Yeah, who were those guys?

Seriously... I think the additions of Del Rio, Tice and Norton will have positive impact. Tice is intense with that sideline teaching session with Feliciano. Yes, it is just the first pre-season game and tougher one looms in Minny but I like how the team is constructed as well as how it is being handled.

Game takes:

Offense:
Murray looked good as expected. Richardson did not look tentative out there, fielded some good runs and was not bad. I like Taiwan Jones back there but get him in open space. Dyer did not do much but he was running behind with the third string. The Son of Atkinson could be back on the practice squad or on special teams.

Quality depth at receivers... The inactivity of Streater can be negligible if Butler can play in the slot with the Coop and Crab Show. I like Durham. He was compared to being a Wes Welker type quick slot receiver but he is a bigger version. Poor man's Eric Decker? He could be a quality possession type pass catcher. Tompkins and Holmes? They could be locks. Josh Harper could be a longshot but he was not targeted much. Tight ends...? Still not sold on Rivera as Walford is twice the blocker that he is. Gabe Holmes is huge, nimble with soft hands.

The offensive line? Here's to health for our road pavers and bodyguards. They held up well. The quarterbacks? Carr, Ponder and McGloin...they could have a ball with this offensive schemes. Musgrave found a nice balance of run and pass with a very good play-calling.

Defense:
Defensive line looks stout. I'd like to see McGee develop along...get key time on downs. Valles? Stash and refine...

Linebackers... Heeney will find a way to play more downs but with the incumbents it may take awhile. Showed good instincts out there. Ray-Ray Armstrong and Moore...will be interesting to see who will play on the starting unit. I've never come across any player with whose first name is said twice [grin].

Secondary... No qualms about the starters except maybe Hayden. Safeties? Asante and Ross look adequate but Dowling could be a sleeper.

Special Teams:
Jano... That's it. King had one punt.

I enjoyed listening to Millen and Brown. I do not know the name of the female broadcaster but she did OK. Brown seems to think that every player who made a good play on the field was from Notre Dame. They were a departure from the staid and clinical trio of Papa, Plunkett and Flores...no offense to those fine gents.

Lines of the night:
Millen: "The thing with McGloin is that he goes out there and believes he's a Hall of Fame quarterback."
Millen: "Raider rule...if the opposing player goes to the sideline, he is not to be heard from again."

Complaint:
KTLA Channel 5 had it own pre-game show so I wasn't able to see the Raider doc honoring the late Ken "The Snake" Stabler. Boo! Boo! Boo!

 

That's awesome. Even as Millen floundered in the FO, I've liked him. He's from Whitehall, which is about a half hour drive from where I grew up. My dad was at a keg party somewhere in the 70s when the police showed up. My dad was a football player who'd hit it off pretty well with Millen. They ended up grabbing the keg and dashing off through the woods, escaping the police and finishing the keg. It's a kind of great story.

I've been watching Tim Brown since the 80s.

I didn't get to hear them work together, but it sounds like I'd enjoy it.

 

Yes, they were a fun duo to listen to. That is a cool story about your father and Millen. He seems like a down to earth guy...no BS...no pretense. If you get a chance to see "A Football Life" about him, you would like it too.

 

Oh my... THAT is bad. He is probably a terrible driver too. Yeeesh.

 

Holy crap. Awful.

 

Embarrassing is the word I'd choose. You, me, pound, puffy, JSM, trd and someone's grandmother would have seen that hole.

 

It looks like he's "supposed" to work right - where the hole is supposed to be, but it gets stuffed up and someone inside on D doesn't fill the hole, so there's that giant hole. Now, in the other sense, of course he's "supposed" to go to the hole. He's at fault, and the problem is that he didn't read what was going on.

 

True, he stuck out the play but you're right that he should have seen it then changed course lickety split. He's no Barry Sanders but any other running back would have done something different or at least sought out another angle.

The other hyped wide-out besides our own Amari Cooper...Kevin White injured [left shin fracture] and could be out for the season. Not good to hear something like that. I really am not sure how many wins we'll get but I truly believe this group will be a handful and won't get rolled easily. Minnesota has my UCLA Bruin boys Barr and Kendricks. Looking forward to seeing them.

 

^So I surf the 'net today... That schnitz is all over the place. Aaahhh, the influence of social media... I'd love to be a fly on the wall during the film sessions for the running backs.

 

I told you guys he suuuuuucks. Routinely halted Colts drives my himself last year. He has no vision. I have no idea how he put up solid rookie numbers. Dude tricked the NFL into giving him 20 million dollars.

 

Raiders' Future Looking Bright
I combed a few sites and read a few mags yesterday, looking for interesting tidbits on the Raiders:

Yahoo's Top 5 Fantasy Rookies, by Position
Amari Cooper #1 WR
Clive Walford #2 TE

Overall, top 20 Rookies (Fantasy)
Amari Cooper #3

Yahoo's 2nd Year Players Poised for Breakout
Derek Carr, QB
Latavius Murray, RB

Cooper and Walford were also named the #1 Dynasty Picks at their position from the last draft.

 

Look what Oakland has done in the last three drafts.

2013
DJ Hayden, CB
Sio Moore, LB
Latavius Murray, RB
Mychal Rivera, TE
-Four Starters

2014
Khalil Mack, LB
Derek Carr, QB
Gabe Jackson, OL
Justin Ellis, DL
McGill/Carrie, DB (One will start, at least)
-Five Starters

2015
Amari Cooper, WR
Mario Edwards, DL
Clive Walford, TE
(Feliciano, OG)
(Heeney, LB)
Three+ Starters

That's twelve starters picked up in the past three drafts, and they've also added a few potential longterm acquisitions in Free Agency this year: Roy Helu, 3rd Down Back; Rodney Hudson, Center.

 

No more signing THE fastest guy at the combine... No more absurd contracts to whoever was the last MVP of the Super Bowl. No more signing of middling players as reclamation projects then comparing them to past Raider greats.

 

Andre Holmes out 3-4 weeks with fractured hand.