Las Vegas Raiders Thread

golfball37

Jano can’t come back quick enough either

Prefab Sprouter

Whilst I'm sure the "Marshawn was only looking out for his Cousin" headlines are all very noble and show what a great "guy" he is, I'd much rather see a headline that says "Marshawn rushed for another 100 yard game" or "Another Touchdown from Lynch".......he's become a distraction and I hope I'm wrong, but it doesnt seem to be working out.

SexBobomb

Yeah, I'd rather see Lynch make headlines for wins too. I agree to an extent he's the third or even fourth option target on our offence, but you cant really quantify the mental factor lining up against Marshawn Lynch has on defences. He could draw extra coverage and he also always has the potential to make big plays I'm happy having him and giving him more time. No harm having a bit of edge like the old Raider teams but hands off the refs ha

Prefab Sprouter

The win against the Chiefs gave us a much needed boost but we're still not firing on all cylinders. Our Pass Defense needs improvement, Navarro will help against the run but we are still vulnerable against the pass. Our schedule is nightmarish, we arent back in Oakland till Nov 26th. Before then we have Buffalo and Miami on the East Coast (West Coast Teams dont do so well going East) and then New England in Mexico (We'll have home support but its still not home, and its the Pats with Brady the GOAT) Our season hangs on a knife edge, and whilst we are still in the hunt, we have removed any margin for error for the rest of the season now. and thats worrying.

Prefab Sprouter

Well Sunday night was a chastening experience. Whats become of our team in 12 months

ButcherOfNog

The receivers are dropping a lot of passes that they really should be holding onto.
The secondary, with all the injuries, is actually worse than last year.

Next year will be our year ......

Prefab Sprouter

Norton is gone

Kev8360

It was coming in fairness - no interceptions through 10 games and 31st in 3rd down conversion % is not good if you want to contend.  The offense hasn't helped the defense either with the dropped passes and running game struggles but something had to be done.

eire4

Considering Crabtree getting sent off early on and then Cooper's head injury that was a pretty good performance in the air from the Raiders yesterday and keeps the season alive maybe even on a little bit more then just oxygen given the Chiefs continue to struggle. If the Raiders can beat the New York Giants next week then the game the following week is a battle for the top spot in the division amazingly.

Kev8360

Damn Cordarrelle Patterson is Fast!

Prefab Sprouter

Well that wasnt pretty but I'll take the win nonetheless. At least we are level with the Chiefs now. Roll on next weekend!!

eire4

Prefab Sprouter wrote: »

Well that wasnt pretty but I'll take the win nonetheless. At least we are level with the Chiefs now. Roll on next weekend!!

Plus Cooper should be back on the field and Crabtree will be for sure so having those 2 back and Lynch buoyed by his first 100 yard rushing game as a Raider maybe just maybe the Raiders offense will show up next weekend. Looking at the 4 remaining games if the Raiders beat both the Chiefs and Chargers I think that will be enough to win the division a win as well at home over Dallas would make it a certainty but I think wins over the Chiefs and Chargers would be enough to win the division.

Prefab Sprouter

eire4 wrote: »

Plus Cooper should be back on the field and Crabtree will be for sure so having those 2 back and Lynch buoyed by his first 100 yard rushing game as a Raider maybe just maybe the Raiders offense will show up next weekend. Looking at the 4 remaining games if the Raiders beat both the Chiefs and Chargers I think that will be enough to win the division a win as well at home over Dallas would make it a certainty but I think wins over the Chiefs and Chargers would be enough to win the division.

Agreed. The Chiefs will be up for this game, make no mistake and I dont envisage it to be pretty but at this stage its not about how we win, its about winning whatever way we have to. I still think that we have the potential to beat them but translating potential into actuality is the big challenge.

eire4

Well to say Carr and the Raiders didn't show up yesterday would be quite an understatement and while technically the season is not done it is all for all intents and purposes. Plenty of bad performances all round but at this point some fingers have to be getting pointed in the direction of OC Todd Dowling as under his charge an offense that was right up there with the best in the league has been at best mediocre and quite often it has been dreadful as it was again yesterday when for all the woes up to this point in the season a good performance would have put the Raiders in the box seat to win the division.

Prefab Sprouter

eire4 wrote: »

Well to say Carr and the Raiders didn't show up yesterday would be quite an understatement and while technically the season is not done it is all for all intents and purposes. Plenty of bad performances all round but at this point some fingers have to be getting pointed in the direction of OC Todd Dowling as under his charge an offense that was right up there with the best in the league has been at best mediocre and quite often it has been dreadful as it was again yesterday when for all the woes up to this point in the season a good performance would have put the Raiders in the box seat to win the division.

Apparently Eire, the only reason Downing has not been fired is that they have no-one to replace him. His days are numbered though, and rightly so.

eire4

Prefab Sprouter wrote: »

Apparently Eire, the only reason Downing has not been fired is that they have no-one to replace him. His days are numbered though, and rightly so.

That would make sense. Probably stuck with him till the end of the season then before he gets booted. As bad as all the pass drops by Cooper and Crabtree have been as average as Lynch has been as not as his consistent best as Carr has been the OC Dowling for me is the reason this offense has been a shadow of itself this season and why the team will likely end up with a losing record which is a joke given the talent available.

Prefab Sprouter

So another season ends. Disappointment being the order of the day and the possibility of Gruden rejoining us. Will it be a marriage made in heaven or like the second coming of Art Shell and the Bed and Breakfast Offense?

Kev8360

Some good and not so good appointments announced for Gruden's Coaching Staff - I like the co-ordinator hires but Tom Cable as OL Coach ?? seems like a play to keep Marshawn Lynch but Derek Carr better get his insurance in order as he'll be running for his life.

Prefab Sprouter

Kev8360 wrote: »

Some good and not so good appointments announced for Gruden's Coaching Staff - I like the co-ordinator hires but Tom Cable as OL Coach ?? seems like a play to keep Marshawn Lynch but Derek Carr better get his insurance in order as he'll be running for his life.

Agreed Kev, That appointment is a real head scratcher.

Kev8360

surprised that Marquette King has been released. good punter but maybe not a Gruden grinder?

eire4

Kev8360 wrote: »

surprised that Marquette King has been released. good punter but maybe not a Gruden grinder?

That is a surprise. Would have thought that was one of the areas the team didn't need to address this off season. Certainly that is not a decision been made based on lack of on field performance because King has been a good reliable performer during his time with the Raiders.

heyjude

For the first time in years the team goes into the draft with experienced playcallers on both offence and defence and so they should at last be able to get the most out of whatever players they pick over the next few days. Going into last season with Todd Dowling and KNJ as coordinators, was a recipe for disaster.

Having a settled QB puts the team in a strong position going into the draft and they have filled most of the gaps in free agency, though the quality of the signings may be debatable.

Hopefully there is a huge run on QBs early on, pushing the top players in other positions down the board. Not too many players excite me except for Barkley, Chubb and Fitzpatrick, so with Barkley and Chubb almost certain to be gone by 10, I hope they pick Micah Fitzpatrick.

The mock drafts have had the Raiders picking linebacker Edmunds or Smith, but Edmunds is very young and his football instincts have been questioned, while Smith struggles to get off blocks on run plays and might be a liability in the run game(though excellent against the pass and outside runs). Mike Mayock has the Raiders taking OT Mike McGlinchy, but I have heard some questions about how good he is(and whether he struggles against speed rushers) and whether he benefited from playing alongside Quenton Nelson. The 2018 draft class isn't very strong for offensive tackles in any case, so hopefully they don't overreach and end up with someone that is no better than the 2 tackles they picked last year.

The Raiders may be able to trade back a few spots for anyone wanting to get ahead of Miami, but I wouldn't be happy if they dropped further than 15/16, as some draft gurus have claimed that the top notch talent only extends as far as about the top 20 spots. If they do drop back I'd be intrigued by Harold Landry, who some claim is the best pure pass rusher in the draft class.

So I'm hoping that Gruden can resist the temptation to grab some new offensive toys at the top of the draft. If they stay at 10, then I'd love if they took Fitzpatrick in the first, maybe DT Maurice Hurst or LB Leighton Vander Esch in round 2. Then best player available, but they need to draft a punter with one of their 11 picks(perhaps with one of their 4 sixth round picks). I'd be disappointed if Reggie McKenzie drafts his son Kahlil, as I feel that he would be reluctant to cut him even if he fails to impress and it doesn't say much when McKenzie Jr went through college as a defensive tackle and in the pre-draft process was being worked out by several teams as an offensive lineman instead!!!

heyjude

heyjude wrote:

Hopefully there is a huge run on QBs early on, pushing the top players in other positions down the board. Not too many players excite me except for Barkley, Chubb and Fitzpatrick, so with Barkley and Chubb almost certain to be gone by 10, I hope they pick Micah Fitzpatrick.

Very very disappointed with how it turned out, Fitzpatrick was there as was Derwin James. I hope I'm wrong but I have a feeling that when the media do redrafts of the 2018 draft in 2-3 years time, the Raiders will take Fitzpatrick or James

heyjude wrote:

The 2018 draft class isn't very strong for offensive tackles in any case, so hopefully they don't overreach and end up with someone that is no better than the 2 tackles they picked last year.

And so it turned out. Miller isn't dominant, apparently has problems anchoring and perhaps of greater concern, he has missed several games in college through injury. A big issue given the durability of the teams' first two picks last year

heyjude wrote:

The Raiders may be able to trade back a few spots for anyone wanting to get ahead of Miami, but I wouldn't be happy if they dropped further than 15/16, as some draft gurus have claimed that the top notch talent only extends as far as about the top 20 spots. If they do drop back I'd be intrigued by Harold Landry, who some claim is the best pure pass rusher in the draft class.

The trade back cost them Fitzpatrick, they could still have picked James or Vander Esch. But an even big bigger head scratcher was them trading a 3rd round pick to Pittsburgh for wide receiver Matavius Bryant. Bryant has several suspensions for failing drug tests and would likely be suspended for a year or more if he fails another, he is also going into the final year of his rookie contract so if he plays well he will seek a big contract just as the team faces paying Amari Cooper and if they can't afford a new contract, he leaves, meaning the trade is just a one year rental(surely they could have found a similar player in the draft, benefitted from the rookie contract for 4 years and not had the same threat of a long term suspension).

heyjude wrote:

So I'm hoping that Gruden can resist the temptation to grab some new offensive toys at the top of the draft. If they stay at 10, then I'd love if they took Fitzpatrick in the first, maybe DT Maurice Hurst or LB Leighton Vander Esch in round 2

Miller and Bryant are Gruden's new toys, hopefully that satisfies him and they upgrade the D now. Fingers crossed that Hurst is still available. I'm not sure what to make of all the speculation about them taking a running back, they already have Marshawn Lynch, Doug Martin, D. Washington, J. Richard and last years 7th round pick Elijah Hood(who attracted a lot of fan attention last summer, but didn't see much/any game time). The talk about how we need a back for when Lynch leaves again doesn't make sense, when we need upgrades in other positions now. So if we do take a running back, he better be really special.

Shedite27

Just realized I'm free in San Francisco the day of the Oakland Raiders first home game. Won't be able to go to the game, but is it possible (or worth) heading over to walk around the tailgaiting for the afternoon without a ticket? Any advice on where/how to do it would be appreciated

Silver-Tiger

Call it in here.

What is going to happen with Mack?

Blackhorse Slim

Can't see Mack getting traded - if they even consider it at all, Raiders will ask for too much, defensive players are not worth as much as they used to be in an offensive league. There is no real info coming from either side, although lots of speculation and "unnamed sources".

I suspect that once the Rams come to an arrangement with Donald, both the Raiders and Mack will use this as a reference point, and a deal with Mack will be completed relatively quickly. We might, at most, see Mack miss one game before he signs a big contract.

The Raiders defense looks in pretty good shape even without Mack, but it's hard to say for sure until the real games begin.

ButcherOfNog

Shedite27 wrote: »

Just realized I'm free in San Francisco the day of the Oakland Raiders first home game. Won't be able to go to the game, but is it possible (or worth) heading over to walk around the tailgaiting for the afternoon without a ticket? Any advice on where/how to do it would be appreciated

You could get the BART over to the stadium, it has a stop right at it. I was there in 2013, but had a hire car so parked in the car parks, there were no ticket checks till entering the actual stadium, but that could have changed.

MrKingsley

I really can’t understand what they are doing with Mack. I would’ve thought that whichever team signs Donald or Mack first will pay less. On a D that has a hopeless secondary getting pressure on the qb is the only way to slow them down.

Get the goddamn deal done. Teams wait years to get a player of Mack’s ability and here we are messing him around and the coach won’t even give him a call.

I fear for the raiders this year. I hope I’m wrong but it could be car crash stuff

heyjude

I don't think what is happening with Mack is all the Raiders fault, clearly Mack realises that he will get more once Aaron Donald has signed his new deal(which he has now), so why would Mack sign first and let Donald piggy back on his deal ? I also wouldn't completely dismiss the secondary, as Conley(if he can stay fit) looks very promising on one side and Worley, Rogers-Cromartie and rookie Nick Nelson offer solid options on the other side. The D line looks to have been massively upgraded with rookies PJ Hall, Arden Key, Maurice Hurst and former practice squad player Fadol Brown getting great pressure in pre-season, so much so that Mario Edwards Jr could be cut or traded.

I agree that Mack is a generational player for the Raiders and the best player drafted by them since Charles Woodson, but contract negotiations are handled by the GM Reggie Mckenzie, so I don't blame Gruden from taking a back seat, but now I'm sure that he's anxious for something to get done.

Nobody expects much from this years Raiders, a recent article on NFL.com asked their experts for their tips for the Superbowl, offensive and defensive rookie of the year, offensive and defensive player of the year, coach of the year and comeback player of the year. There were about 24 'experts' and the only Raider to even be mentioned (by one person)in any category was Khalil Mack as Defensive Player of the Year. In addition they are rated =15th most likely to win the Superbowl(33/1) with the bookies, the over/under on wins is 8, Carr is 40/1 to be league MVP and Key is the lowest priced Raider to be defensive rookie of the year at 50/1(with Hurst at 66/1).

Tomorrow could see some very tough cuts, hopefully they will just carry 2 QBs with Connor Cook possibly being cut, hopefully Chris Warren III is kept possibly at the expense of D. Washington who could go on injured reserve. The team will probably keep 5 or 6 wide receivers with Seth Roberts under pressure, while on the o-line as elsewhere the penalty count in pre-season could be decisive in deciding who is kept and who ends up on the practice squad or the street. Eddy Vanderdoes still isn't fit and so may go on IR, Edwards Jr could be cut or traded, there will be tough choices over Calhoun and Cowser on the D-line and about Nicholas Morrow at LB. Will Reggie Nelson be kept at safety ? and are they happy with the safeties they have or will they bring in someone from the waiver wire. For all the talk about Gruden and the team getting older, its possible that all draftees could make the team with Akeem Victor the most likely to miss out. In addition, when he is fit they will probably have a rookie kicker plus possibly Chris Warren at RB too.

golfball37

Mack traded to Chicago