Official Las Vegas Raiders Thread

Strongest/Weakest?
Strongest: DE, WR, Special Teams
Weakest: DI? TE is thin. If one of our top two goes down, we're in trouble.

 

Offense - a final look before the season.

QB
Garropolo (74), Hoyer (28), O'Connell (48)
-AOC posted an 89.5 PFF grade in the preseason. I know it's preseason, but that's incredibly good and better than Jordan Love, who had an excellent preseason.
--Jimmy G will start the season. If he's healthy, I expect him to have an excellent year. If not, AOC will step into the starting lineup.

RB
Jacobs (90), White (36), Abdullah (52), Bolden (38)
Johnson (57)
-White was a PFF 66 last season and a PFF 69 in preseason with heavier carries. He has been mostly disappointing. Really, after Jacobs, there's not much of a run threat at this point. And I don't want a guy who sat out all preseason to step into 25 touches per game. Time for someone to step up.

TE
Mayer (71), Hooper (70), Horsted (36)
-Mayer played only a bit and wasn't impressive in preseason. He has a high floor as a football player and a solid ceiling, too. Rookies often take some time to develop, of course, but the season won't wait for him.
--An early injury could be catastrophic to this unit.

WR
Adams (95), Meyers (78), Renfrow (63), Tucker (64), Wilkerson (34), Carter (71)
-The Raiders have three excellent WRs, and Carter has shown solid ability over a full season. Tucker and Wilkerson are intriguing prospects.
--It's going to be hard to cover all three of our top WRs. All of them are skilled at creating space and/or making catches in traffic.

OL
Miller (92), James (78), Parham (79), Van Roten (58), Eluemunor (84)
Herron (27), Meredith (36), Munford (61)
-Van Roten is the weakest link in the starting lineup, but it's worth noting that Herron, Meredith, and Munford all played well in preseason. Van Roten aside, it's a strong group.
--I think it's fair to say that the Raiders have quickly built a much better line than many of us were envisioning before last season.

 

Facyson to IR - bummer
Jones will be unavailable.
Isaac Rochell back to the active roster

 

This is a big game.

Both these teams have a lot of turnover from last season.
The Raiders have a new QB, a recently-reported top RB, and a top-flight DE who won't be with the team.
On offense, they'll have 4 new starters on offense and 5 new starters on defense.

The Broncos have a new Head Coach, 6 new starters on offense, but only one newcomer on defense.

I don't think McDaniels and Payton have ever faced off as head coaches.

I think the Raiders are in line for a more successful season than the Broncos, but this could be an emotional win for Payton and crew to get the season started.

Broncos 22
Raiders 20

 

Wild opening drive. It ends in 6, and that's the most important thing.

Jacobs looks plodding right now.
Jimmy G looked like he faked a head injury, had to come off, and Hoyer runs a couple plays.
Jimmy G checks back in to throw a beautiful TD pass to Meyers.

Carlson adds the PAT. 7-0 Raiders.

 

Hard to start worse than that for the defense - 14 plays, 86 yards, almost 9 minutes, and a TD. At least they missed the PAT.

 

Solid drive. Jacobs looking a bit better. Adams looks unstoppable.

 

Lots of penalties on the D, but Crosby is beginning to take over.

 

Bad awareness by Meyers to miss a third-down conversion. Booo.

 

Raiders' D looks not so good...or Wilson looks a lot better this year.

 

Same ol' Raiders? Down 13-10 at the half.

 

Turnover by the D becomes...a big penalty against the Raiders. Totally senseless.

 

Denver helping out with two missed kicks so far.

 

Young guy mistakes.

Michael Mayer holding in red zone.
DeAndre Carter illegal formation in red zone.

 

Long, long drive...zero points. INT in the end zone.

 

Trailing 16-10. Time to make a statement, boys.

 

Jakobi Meyers and Davante Adams are having a day.

TD for Meyers.

 

Awful hit and a scary play. Jakobi Meyers walks off with a little help. Let's hope he's okay.

 

Again, let's hope Meyers is okay.

Jimmy G gets it done. Wasn't easy. Wasn't pretty.
He looks cool when the pressure is coming. Loved to see that.
Running game has to step it up.

 

They did. Resilient. Playing a Buffalo team smarting from last night's loss is not a good thing. I would like us to keep it at least competitive and not lay down.