2019 Oakland Raiders Discussion

Mayfield on paper has a better core to work with than Carr and there they are... Doesn't make much sense. I do like his Geico commercials.

 

Tyrell has been a pussycat. Really looking for someone to step up in the passing game. Man, was Zay Jones awful today.

 

Renfrow was sorely missed... Williams is really WR2. Mock drafts have many highly rated wide-outs. Get one and a sideline to sideline linebacker. Stock up on O-Line depth.

 

Thoughts up through KC's second TD:

Gabe Jackson often looked overmatched.
Jacobs was amazing.
Waller was great.
The third and 8 with only one receiver when out of field goal range? Terrible playcall or terrible decision by Carr to give up on the play. Blocking was also awful.

Trevor Davis was horrendous in the return game. Ran into a blocker, fumbled after what would have been a very short return anyway.
Trevor Davis misreads a block and blows the beautiful play call on fourth and 1.
Just a forgettable game from him.

Nevin Lawson gets torched on a crossing route
D came up with two massive stops on third and fourth down.
Kelce feasted, in part because we have no one to match up with him one on one. Then again, no one does. But Morrow looked to miss him in coverage, too.
Lawson drops a sure INT and a possible massive return.
Either Worley or Swearinger missed a coverage on a third down completion to RB.
Crosby did everything right on that long completion over the middle to Kelce.
Whitehead inexcusable on the Mahomes TD run.

Too many blown coverages.

 

BTW, if you add up all the Turnovers, Penalties, and Drops, here are the teams with the most in the league:

Tampa Bay 141 (5-7)
Cleveland 135 (5-7)
Jacksonville 132 (4-8)
Oakland 129 (6-6)

I'd love to add blown coverages in there, too, but I don't know where to find those stats.

 

We're still "In The Hunt" status playoff wise...for what it's worth.

Jackson is not completely healed. He's better than what he's shown.

 

Raiders cut Davis. Activate Lee.

 

Something really interesting has been brewing in Oakland for a few weeks now, and it's little to do with the team's recent struggles. Not nothing but just a little.

Was it strange that Oakland carried three QBs on roster? Yes.
Was it strange that as soon as one went to IR, the Raiders immediately signed another one? Yes.

The Raiders grabbed DeShone Kizer as soon as he hit the waiver wire, giving them his rookie contract. He's a cheap deal for next year, and they'd have a crack at a fifth year option on him as an RFA. Why does any of this matter?

The rumor is that Gruden isn't 100% sold on Carr, and I get it.
So, Gruden grabs one of his guys - Peterman. And someone else - Mayock - grabs his guy: Kizer.

Check this out: https://raiderramble.com/2019/11/28/kizer_role_raiders/
Here's Mayock on Kizer's pro day:

Kizer was GOOD at Notre Dame, throwing for almost 6000 yards and 47 TDs in two seasons. His Junior season saw him throw for 26 TDs and 9 Ints. He also ran for 997 yards in those two seasons, scoring 18 TDs on the ground. That's 7000 yards and 65 TDs in 25 games.

At just 21 years old, he was NOT good in Cleveland, tossing 22 INTs with a 60.5 rating. He did run for 491 yards anf 5 TDs though. And he got only a few shots to throw the ball in Green Bay. He's now had another season to sit behind a solid vet QB. Over the past two seasons, in fact, he's sat behind some of the most accurate QBs in the NFL.

He's only 23, and he was just promoted to the #2 QB on the roster. Look out here.

 

I really like Carr...six freakin' years of an unstable environment. Now he's in his second year under Gruden's system. Was doing well until the last two games where everyone is on him about his play. Carr's best year in 2016, he had two excellent receivers in Crabtree and Cooper. There was stability in the running game with Murray.

Now? Williams who has faded and no #2. Save Renfrow (now out) and our tight end contingent, there is no one there. Gruden for whatever reason does not feed Jacobs enough to start.

Yes, I would love Luck to be in the fold but that is just rumor mongering (or is it?).

Win on out the next four...let the chips fall where they may.

 

We absolutely need a WR. And some wins!

Anyone see video of that Laviska Shenault guy?

 

Plays of the game last week...

It was 7-0, KC, when Trevor Davis ran into his own blocker, fumbled, and gave KC beautiful field position. This wasn't a bigger play only because Reid played the percentages and went for it on fourth down.

Trevor Davis's failure on the fourth and 1 run. I said in the pre-game that we might see a TE or WR run. We did. It was a beautiful play call, the first was there, and Davis didn't read the block. Huge TO. It was 7-0 again at the time, but KC immediately went 60 yards for a TD, making it 14-0.

Down two scores, ball around their own 40 on a 2nd and 8. That's not an awful spot to be in, but immediately down 21. That's rough.



Two inexcusable plays from Davis and a flat out bad read by Carr put Oakland in a 21-point hole. And it was really game over.

 

Game Preview
Tennessee 25
Oakland 22

This is a massive game for Oakland. 7-6 and facing a favorable schedule likely puts them at 9 wins and in the playoffs. At 6-7, they'll have to win out to have a shot.

Oakland Wins
Carr has excellent numbers against the Titans, throwing for at least 249 in all three of his games (all wins!), with 6 TDs and only 1 INT. Tyrell Williams has gone for 6-65-1 and 4-118-1 in two games against Tennessee. This could be their shot at a big hookup game. Williams has averaged 3-36 over his last five, dreadful numbers for a WR1. I like Oakland's ability to pressure the QB more than I like their ability to stop Henry, so here's hoping for a couple of TOs to take the wind out of Tennesses's sails.

Tennessee Wins
The Titans win when they score a lot of points. They have scored at least 23 points in their wins, averaging 32 per game. In their losses, they haven't topped 20 points, and they average just 10 per game. How will they get their points?

Tennessee is a poor special teams group, with a brutally bad kicking game. So, it's going to come from TDs. Tennessee has two major weapons - Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry. Ryan Tannehill, like Carr, is 3-0 in this matchup, though he did his damage with the Dolphins. He have averaged 259 yards passing per game to go along with 6 TDs vs. 1 INT in those three wins. He has also run for 25 yards a game against Oakland. While Henry hasn't done much against Oakland, he's a beast. He has rushed for 2200 yards and 23 scores in his last 28 games. That's good enough for 93 yards from scrimmage per game. This season, he's been even better, with 107 per game. And over his last three, it's a ridiculous 177 yards per game and 5 scores in those three.

 

Long, time-consuming, physical drive. Just what the Raiders can't allow.

 

Oh my! Crosby and Hurst!

 

Touchdown DeAndre Washington! Beautiful.

 

Raiders surrender 128 yards in the first quarter. Yikes.

 

He's such a beast.