Las Vegas Raiders Thread

golfball37

Even if we only came second in division our road record would give us great chance away at Houston/Indy or Pittsburg/Baltimore/Cincinnati

Itssoeasy

Well lads even though I'm not a raiders fan I'm sure I speak for the majority of fan bases on this forum when I say welcome back to relevance to the Oakland raiders.

heyjude

Great performance and a great win. The O-line did a great job of run/pass blocking and the running backs did an excellent job of reading the blocks and making the most of the gaps. I was especially impressed by Menelik Watson, who despite limited playing time, was a huge upgrade over Austin Howard, who just couldn't handle Vaughan Miller at all. Watson may only have featured on a small percentage of plays, but BIG IF, he can stay healthy then he must have an excellent chance at succeeding Donald Penn at LT, when he retires.

Nice to see Khalil Mack coming on stronger and stronger each week too, now they need to follow up this win against the Texans in Mexico City, following the bye week. The focus will now turn to getting Sean Smith and Stacy McGee fit, while hoping that Mario Edwards Jr and Aldon Smith can also rejoin the party after the bye.

heyjude

Yesterdays' loss by the Chiefs puts the Raiders back on top of the AFC West, at least until tonights game against the Texans. With the Chiefs travelling to Denver next weekend, that means that if the Raiders win tonight they will be a game clear of the Chiefs and Broncos and with those two facing each other next Sunday, they could even come out of next weekend with a 2 game lead over one of their biggest rivals.

But first things first, I hope that the team and especially the huge offensive line can cope with the 7280ft altitude of the Azteca stadium, which when combined with severe air pollution in Mexico City, could play a big part not only in deciding the outcome of the game, but also in how long the players take to recover after the long flight home. I'd expect to see frequent substitution along the defensive front and lots of oxygen masks on the sidelines. The Raiders may have a slight edge over the Texans in dealing with the altitude as they play at least one game in Denver every season, however Denver's Stadium is 5280ft above sea level, a full 2000ft lower than the stadium in Mexico !

No news on Mario Edwards Jr returning from IR or Aldon Smith returning from suspension, though he has filed for reinstatement. It seems as though corner Sean Smith and DT Stacy McGee who both missed the last game are now fit again and should play.

If the effects of playing in Mexico are as severe as some claim, I wonder whether the NFL could have considered allowing the teams to make their entire 53 man roster active, rather than the 46 that are allowed to suit up normally(to allow for extra substitutions). I expect to see every healthy Offensive or Defensive linemen among the 46 actives on both sides.

Finally, another chance to show that 'The Autumn Wind is a Raider.....'

Leslie91

Holy jaysus lads whats happening!!!?

Prefab Sprouter

Well thats a most satisfying result. The team didnt play as well as against Denver but we get a win straight out of the bye, and are now top of the AFC west. A good sign from this team is that we are finding ways of winning games that look out of reach. Its great to see. I dont know whether this team is playoff bound but it sure feels great being relevant at Thanksgiving!!!!

MrKingsley

Just watched the game now. As said above its great that they are finding ways to win.

Has to be said though that the refs helped out bigtime. Firstly with calling hopkins out of bounds in the first q and then it looked to me that the Texans converted on both 3rd and 4th down in the 4th q. Either way wont complain.

Looking at the next two game at home to both the Panthers and Bills a playoff spot could almost be guaranteed before the road divisional games begin

eire4

MrKingsley wrote: »

Just watched the game now. As said above its great that they are finding ways to win.

Has to be said though that the refs helped out bigtime. Firstly with calling hopkins out of bounds in the first q and then it looked to me that the Texans converted on both 3rd and 4th down in the 4th q. Either way wont complain.

Looking at the next two game at home to both the Panthers and Bills a playoff spot could almost be guaranteed before the road divisional games begin

No question the Raiders got a huge break when Hopkins was called out of bounds. He was for sure not out of bounds. All in all a very disjointed unimpressive performance last night by the Raiders it has to be said. But credit Carr for finding away to come back late in the game and find a way to win on a night when things were not really working. That is the sign of a good team for sure.

With the 2 home games coming up against Carolina and Buffalo the Raiders for sure have a chance to all but book a playoff spot heading into the seasons final 4 games which with 3 on the road will be a tough stretch for the Raiders.

heyjude

Seeing as the Raiders are by far the most penalised team in the league this season and usually the most penalised team every NFL season irrespective of player personnel or who is coaching the team, I can take the occasional break that we get from the stripes, as we got in the Hopkins decision. But in the middle of the third quarter on a 3rd&7 , DJ Hayden was called for pass interference in the end zone on a pass that was clearly uncatchable and one play later the Texans scored a TD that should have only have been a FG, thereby restoring the 4pts that the Texans lost in the first quarter.

I was a bit surprised at some of the playcalling by Musgrave especially in the first quarter, but that could have been related to the conditions and I'd give him lots of credit for engineering 199yds in receptions for the running backs.

Thankfully we didn't seem to pick up any injuries, now its just a question of how the team(especially the defence) recovers in preparation for the visiting Panthers next Sunday.

ButcherOfNog

I think Musgrave did a great job overall, adjusting to what would work and then forcing that home. 14 unanswered points to win the game.

First half the receivers dropped some 1st down catches, and our D had 2 or 3 clear interceptions that they should have caught as well. Osweiler was poor anytime there was any sort of pressure on him. Was disappointed again by our pass rush, it's just not getting it done at the moment which is exposing the secondary.

ButcherOfNog

But I firmly believe we are playoff bound, and have a chance of winning a game or two as well when we get there

golfball37

ButcherOfNog wrote: »

But I firmly believe we are playoff bound, and have a chance of winning a game or two as well when we get there

Do we dare to dream of Superbowl LI in February? I can just hear Al Michaels -Houston we have a problem. America’s team are being beaten up by America’s most hated team !

Realt Dearg Sec

golfball37 wrote: »

Do we dare to dream of Superbowl LI in February? I can just hear Al Michaels -Houston we have a problem. America’s team are being beaten up by America’s most hated team !

The Cowboys are America's most hated team.

Prefab Sprouter

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

The Cowboys are America's most hated team.

I like them meself. The Patriots and Steelers however.........:mad:

eire4

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

The Cowboys are America's most hated team.

Probably are one of those teams where people either like or loath them to a large extent. I would be on the latter side of that particular fence myself.

eire4

ButcherOfNog wrote: »

But I firmly believe we are playoff bound, and have a chance of winning a game or two as well when we get there

I think that is fair. Currently the defense while showing signs of improvement just is not good enough IMHO to win an AFC title and or superbowl. But the Raiders for sure I think are playoff bound and good enough to deo some damage there and win a game or 2.

eagle eye

The Raiders are certainly on the right trajectory and I think they are going to make the playoffs. I think that's a great achievement and I wouldn't expect any more than that this season. If they win a game in the playoffs that would be great but for me it's all about next year for this team.

They need another good draft next May and they will be ready to be serious Superbowl contenders imo.

The D has to improve a bit and most of the draft picks should be spent on doing that.

eire4

eagle eye wrote: »

The Raiders are certainly on the right trajectory and I think they are going to make the playoffs. I think that's a great achievement and I wouldn't expect any more than that this season. If they win a game in the playoffs that would be great but for me it's all about next year for this team.

They need another good draft next May and they will be ready to be serious Superbowl contenders imo.

The D has to improve a bit and most of the draft picks should be spent on doing that.

I would agree with that except for one thin position. I would still look to draft a running back if a good one was available. Murray is good no doubt about it. But he still for me has not shown that he can ba a top quality RB on a consistent basis. He is way too hot and cold for me still.

eagle eye

eire4 wrote: »

I would agree with that except for one thin position. I would still look to draft a running back if a good one was available. Murray is good no doubt about it. But he still for me has not shown that he can ba a top quality RB on a consistent basis. He is way too hot and cold for me still.

I'd have to new isagree with you on that too. The good news is that there is some serious depth at that position in this draft.

Besides the top two who are Fournette and Cook you have five or six more who look good enough for the NFL, the likes of Gallman, Chubb, Kamara, Samuel and Christian McCaffery all look like serious prospects.

Prefab Sprouter

Having watched last nights game, I am delighted with the result. But teams like the Steelers and the Pats will feast on our defense in the playoffs. Our defence is opportunistic and while that creates some exciting moments, Brady and Roethlisberger will destroy it in the postseason. Having said that, I dont care about that at the moment. I'm too busy enjoying the fact that we will finally have a winning season for the first time since 2002.

heyjude

Delighted with the result, but they don't half keep you on the edge of your seat. It seems that Raiders 2016 vintage don't do blowout wins, it also seems that they can't win with Matt McGloin at QB, though they weren't helped by a number of second half drops by the receivers.

I was a bit disappointed that they couldn't generate more pressure up the middle against the Panthers 2nd and third choice centers and that they still have a tendency to have an occasional breakdown on defence allowing big plays.

I don't know whether the network commentators have some sources at NFL HQ but I was excited to hear them say that they expected to hear some news about the possible reinstatement of Aldon Smith this week, but I hope that David Amerson makes a quick recovery too as the idea of DJ Hayden at starting corner against Sammy Watkins next week is alarming.

It was also exciting to see Khalil Mack set new landmarks in the game, as he had a sack, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, caught an interception and scored a TD all in the same game, apparently the first player in the league to do that since 2009(when Charles Woodson did it for Green Bay). Mack now has 9 sacks for the season(tied for 6th in the league) and just 3.5 sacks behind Vaughn Miller.

Last nights' win left the Raiders at 9-2, ensuring that they will finish with a winning record for the first time since 2002. They face Buffalo in Oakland next week, have a remaining home game against the Colts and away games against the Chargers, Broncos and Chiefs to come, so 11-12 wins is achievable.

golfball37

Anytime in history we've started 9-2 we've made the AFC championship game at the very least!

ButcherOfNog

We seem almost incapable of losing, and we try really hard sometimes. We looked like we should have been down and out after the 3rd quarter disaster, but came right back full of belief that even when things went against us, we were still going to win.

The defense keeps giving up big plays, but they've won a few games for us as well, when they've needed to stop teams, they have stopped them.

Only team at the moment I'd be worried about meeting would be the Cowboys.

eire4

ButcherOfNog wrote: »

We seem almost incapable of losing, and we try really hard sometimes. We looked like we should have been down and out after the 3rd quarter disaster, but came right back full of belief that even when things went against us, we were still going to win.

The defense keeps giving up big plays, but they've won a few games for us as well, when they've needed to stop teams, they have stopped them.

Only team at the moment I'd be worried about meeting would be the Cowboys.

I would be quite happy to have that kind of worry with the Cowboys as the only way that meeting can happen is in if both teams make the superbowl.

Leslie91

Feckin hell lads................ some comeback last night. Go and win the West now!!.

Prefab Sprouter

Leslie91 wrote: »

Feckin hell lads................ some comeback last night. Go and win the West now!!.

Cheers, Leslie91 it was some game alright!!! This has been a year to saviour already. Tell you what though........getting a result out of Arrowhead this Thursday.......thats going to take some performance.

eire4

Leslie91 wrote: »

Feckin hell lads................ some comeback last night. Go and win the West now!!.

That really was some come back to put it mildly. Once again the Raiders don't just go win a game they have to put you through the wringer first. Unreal.

Now it all comes down to next Thursday night away in Kansas City. If the Raiders win that one the division is done but if Kansas City wins they would have an edge as they would own the tie breaker if the teams finished level. As well as the Raiders have been playing they are going to have to come up with something special on Thursday night to win and lets not forget the Raiders worst performance of the season came in the defeat at home to Kansas City earlier this season.

golfball37

Great year and great to be a member of Raider nation currently. I would say however our West Coast offence style is not suited to play off football and we might be found out. I don't think we have anything to fear really in the AFC however, Kansas excepted.

eire4

golfball37 wrote: »

Great year and great to be a member of Raider nation currently. I would say however our West Coast offence style is not suited to play off football and we might be found out. I don't think we have anything to fear really in the AFC however, Kansas excepted.

Given the AFC West is basically on the line tonight I hate to say I agree with what you said there at the end about not fearing anyone Kansas City excepted. The team clearly still is not the finished article in particular on defense but I think having said that 10-2 shows the team is not a million miles off being a genuine contender to win a super bowl. But tonight given our terrible record against Kansas City just 17-37 since 1990 including our worst loss of this season earlier at home I am not overly optimistic of winning tonight.

Itssoeasy

Lads come on the raiders are the real deal and are a good football team. I know raider nation hasn't had much to be positive about but this season ye do.