Las Vegas Raiders Thread

Kev8360

I'll take a win any day in Mile high. Defense did a good job holding Denver to 3pts in the second half. Jakobi Meyers looks like he will be a good WR2 to Davante Adams. Hopefully they can get Hunter Renfrow some opportunities as well

Prefab Sprouter

It certainly looks like we have a really good WR corps this season. Not much showing from the TE's to date and Jacobs looked rusty but I'll take that result every day of the week and twice on Sunday! Defense played well in the second half. So we sit atop the AFC West! Away to Buffalo next week. I'm saying it now, I'm not expecting much from this. They will be furious with the Week 1 result and will be looking to take it out on us. I'll be looking for encouraging signs from the team as opposed to a result.

Kev8360

Yeah I fully expect Josh Allen to rebound after that horror show on Monday night. Really just want to see the Defense be competitive - we tend to struggle with the east coast match ups in the early game slot

InsideEdge

Unfortunately the defense looked like it had stayed in Vegas, no penetration up front and blown coverages in the back field. More surprisingly was the lack of control on the offensive line, which meant the running game never got going and we had nothing after the first drive of the game. The next two games could make or break this season - I can see the likes of Renfrow getting traded before the deadline considering his lack of opportunity.

Prefab Sprouter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121128802#Comment_121128802

I really ant understand why Renfrow is being sidelined, the guy is a fantastic slot receiver and we need all the help we can get, even on offense. There's no real point in stating that the Defense needs to step up, because the quality is not there. There's no easy fix here, we have 1 top player, a few young players with potential and....thats it. We were shown up for the team we really are on Sunday. I hate the Steelers so would love to take them to the cleaners this Sunday but I fear that they will do a job on us!!

Kev8360

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121128802#Comment_121128802

Yeah I am very surprised Hunter Renfrow did not have more looks with Jakobi Meyers out. I was surprised we started as well as we did and then it all fell apart. The offensive line didn't really open up anything for Josh Jacobs. Anyway - its in the can and on to Pittsburgh!

InsideEdge

Another game, another way we find to lose! Whatever about the problems with the defense, I can't understand how the offense is so poor - McDaniels has the players he wants, has the system he wants but we've completely regressed from last season!

Prefab Sprouter

Lads, I watched the game on Sunday night and we were awful. This is a team that seems to have no ideas offensively. Its hard to believe that Josh Jacobs led the league last year in rushing. Even with his holdout, I would expect a better effort from him. The line just never seemed to have any success with run blocking. Jimmy G seems blind to Hunter Renfrow, which means if Myers and Adams are not achieving separation he seems to have no options. Play-calling seems stale and unimaginative. Defensively we made Pittsburgh look good, and I shudder to think what Herbert and the Chargers receiving Corps are going to do against us.

If we go down against the Bolts, I expect that Adams will look for a trade (probably Jacobs and Crosby too) and if that happens then McDaniels is a dead man walking. 

InsideEdge

I don't think the problem is with Jacobs as much as it is with the OLine - looking at his stats, he is getting hit one yard before the line of scrimmage, which means he is tackled before he gets going. Last season Jacobs had the best after tackle yards of any running back but if he gets hit just as the ball is handed off he doesn't stand a chance. The OLine has not improved from last year for some reason.

The Renfrow one really is a puzzle. They gave him a lot of money but haven't given him any meaningful targets this year - that's on both McDaniels play calling and Garoppolo not seeing him. We don't have any deep threat as Tre Tucker also isn't getting targets, even if Garoppolo had the arm to hit him and without a run game it means Adams and Myers are getting over used and smashed up. McDaniels came with a reputation of innovative offensive play calling but I haven't seen much evidence this year.

I also can see Adams looking for a trade, his press conference after the Steelers game seemed to hint at that. Not sure if Crosby and Jacobs would demand a trade but a bad loss this week might see McD lose the locker room, which means he will be in the firing line whatever Mark Davis says. I'll be looking at the Chargers game from behind the couch!

Kev8360

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121168230#Comment_121168230

well Jimmy G is out with concussion and Mad Maxx has a knee injury. I hope our DBs can rise to the challenge or it could be ugly early.

Prefab Sprouter

Ah well. Another Sunday, another loss. Our O-Line was awful. O'Connell had no time to go through his progressions, not surprised he was intercepted. Thought we got out of jail at the end but wasnt to be.

InsideEdge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121183637#Comment_121183637

Yes, the O-Line was terrible, Mack was putting pressure on from both sides of the line and nobody seemed able to block him. We beat ourselves again - Crosby had a strip sack on the Chargers first drive cancelled because one of our defensive backs (Long?) decided to line up on the Chargers side of the ball, that cost us 7 points. Tillery cost us another chunk of yardage with a braindead hit on Herbert when he was off the pitch and then Tillery was ejected. The defense stood up in the second half and played the best I've seen from a Raiders defense in years but the offense couldn't closed the game out. McDaniels play calling has to be a problem here, he didn't help O'Connell with some of the calls, especially the last one that was intercepted - why not give 1st and goal to Jacobs to run up the middle rather than call a pass play with a high level of difficulty? We had basically four downs to get the touchdown, no need to panic!

Kev8360

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121183686#Comment_121183686

Bloody hell its a good thing we got something going in the second half on offense - the way Khalil Mack was going in the first half he could have broken the single season sack record in 1 game! Our O-line was bad no question but I was concerned with Aidan O'Connell's pocket awareness - at least one on those fumbles was down to him not sensing the pass rush. Our play calling in the 1st half didnt help him - plays that took too long to develop.

This is going to be a long year...

InsideEdge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121185919#Comment_121185919

Yep, I agree about O'Connell, he took a while to get to grips with the speed of the game and both fumbles came from holding on to the ball too long. But that's not surprising coming from a minor college into the NFL, no matter how well he played in pre-season. The play calling should have been a lot better for him in the first half. O'Connell got a lot better in the second half, particularly on the last drive until that interception! It is going to be a long season, big game on Monday now.

Prefab Sprouter

Well at least the fans rage against McDaniels has replaced any talk about Derek Carr!!!! O'Connell is going to make mistakes, there's no way around that. As you guys have said, he's a rookie and what can we expect. But he is a promising QB and I like the way he kept stepping up, despite Mack setting up camp in our backfield. I'm really concerned though about REnfrow becoming anonymous and Adams/Crosby demanding a trade before the deadline. Adams is not going to wait around and I dont think McDaniels has the ability to coach this franchise (I hope I'm wrong)

InsideEdge

Well that was a relief I suppose! The defense really stepped up last night and I can't remember the last time we got multiple interceptions in a game, good to see that we weren't hampered by the loss of Bennett and Hobbs. The big worry though is still the offense, we still haven't scored 20 points in a game and the OLine looked really porous. We're still not using our wide receivers/tight ends properly and the running game still hasn't got going. However, playing the Patriots next could(!) kick-start the points scoring.

Kev8360

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121217252#Comment_121217252

I do feel the offense has taken a step back this year in all positions we were better last year. We just cant run the ball and it puts too much pressure on a passing game that feels half baked... not having had a full offseason with Jimmy G and Josh Jacobs to get in sync has had a huge impact on our early season form. The Patriots will be a tough nut to crack - I reckon it will go down to the wire just like last year

InsideEdge

Another game where the defense pulled us out of the mire. The offensive issues keep growing and now Garoppolo could be out for a stretch - do we trust Hoyer or put O'Connell back into the firing line? One positive result of Hoyer coming in was to take the pressure off Jacobs as the Patriots had to keep their safetys deep to defend the deep pass and that gave Jacobs a bit more room to run. McDaniels play-calling during the two minute drill at the end of the first half was awful - no urgency, no belief that we could score a touchdown, no imaginative plays, nothing...

Kev8360

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121244570#Comment_121244570

I don't much trust our O-line so I would guess it will be Hoyer as QB1 with the veteran experience with O'Connell as backup. The way Garoppolo went down and didn't return is worrying. All our wins this year have come against sub .500 teams and not really seeing any improvement on offense to believe we can challenge any of the better teams this year.

Prefab Sprouter

Well as only we know, the Raiders can still win and keep their fans depressed at the same time!!! In one sense, I'm hoping that these wins, where we stumble to victory against teams that are playing as bad as us will help to fix the problems so that we are better prepared when the better teams face us. And funnily enogh, our schedule does not look as bad PROVIDED we can fix those issues. I'll preface this by saying that THIS PROBABLY WONT HAPPEN!!! So Chicago is a winnable, especially if Fields is out (if he is back he wont be 100%). Detroit in Detroit is a loss. Giants at Vegas is winnable, So is Jets in Vegas. Miami at Miami is a loss. And so is the Chiefs. So is the Vikings. Chargers at home is winnable. KC at Arrowhead is a loss. But the Colts is winnable and so is the Broncos at home. So we MIGHT crawl to 9 wins, which would better than I thought we would do. Of course what will actually happen is that we implode and only win 1 more game and that would be Denver at home!!!! It all depends on the Defense being competitive which they seem to be now, and the Offense being better. McDaniels needs to stop calling the plays. End of.

Kev8360

Yep it’s a strange feeling to be .500 after a tough start on paper and still have no confidence how the season will turn out. :)

Prefab Sprouter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121254416#Comment_121254416

I never thought I'd see the day when I'd envy the Detroit Lions, Lads!!!

eire4

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121254416#Comment_121254416

Thats what 2 decades of mostly losing does to you. Hard to be optimistic with such unconvincing wins and the recent history of the Raiders.

InsideEdge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121255237#Comment_121255237

When did the Lions become a well run team? Is this a product of climate change, like the floods in Middleton! I've no confidence in the Raiders getting to 9 wins with the way the offense is playing and with McDaniels play-calling. Unfortunately, I can't see McDaniels letting someone else take over the play-calling duties, he doesn't seem to have learnt anything from his time at the Broncos. And we're not even bad enough to get a high-end draft pick, even though there's 4 or 5 quarter-back prospects coming out.

Prefab Sprouter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121257728#Comment_121257728

Well they are 5 and 1 sitting atop their division, and they currently rank 3rd in total Offense with 383 yards per game in total offense. https://www.covers.com/sport/football/nfl/statistics/team-offense/2023-2024

They currently lie 7th in total Defense. So yeah I'd call that being well run so far this season!! https://www.covers.com/sport/football/nfl/statistics/team-defense/2023-2024

Climate Change is real!!

InsideEdge

Well that was a whole new level of awful! The defense regressed to what it's been for the last number of years and the offense was the worst it's been this season. I didn't see the point of starting Hoyer, you know what you get with him and it was a good chance for AOC to get to grips with playing in the NFL. McDaniels play calling is downright terrible - go for it on fourth down and then when it's fourth and goal you opt to kick a field-goal after wasting about 6 minutes game time, what was that about?

And as for the tackling, jesus it's the worst I've seen since playing rugby in school against Mount Temple, embarrassing. How how Marcus Peters wasn't kicked off the pitch by his fellow defenders I don't know - Moehrig and Crosby were the only ones that put any sort of effort in. And it's a sore Lions team next, away from home...

Prefab Sprouter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121273270#Comment_121273270

That Marcus Peters tackle sums it up, really. I have zero confidence in McDaniels. He has to go. I dont like admitting that but we are awful under him. That offense should be way better than it is. And starting Hoyer was ridiculous. Did he even take a shot downfield at any stage. All short passes and out to the sidelines. No effort to stretch what was, coming into yesterday, a weak Bears Defense. If McDaniels has lost the dressing room (and I suspect he has now) next Monday will be a long game for us.

Kev8360

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121273343#Comment_121273343

The only positive thing about that game was it was the early game and I didn't stay up 'til midnight to watch that dross! I agree we should be playing Aidan O Connell now - no point in starting Hoyer.

Prefab Sprouter

Well I stayed up last night to watch the game (I was off today from work so it was workable) and what a waste of time. We never looked comfortable offensively and although the Defense held up its end of the bargain (First 3 Detroit drives were for field goals) we were awful offensively. Even when Detroit turned over the ball in its own red zone, Jimmy G threw an interception with the next play, thereby nullifying all the good work done by Crosby et al. I dunno lads, where do you even start....from the owner to the Roster everything is broken.

Kev8360

yep defensively the gameplan seemed to work and kept the game close but the offense was so bad... davante adams and hunter renfrow both dropped some very catchable passes.

The o-line did not hold up well against the lions pass rush it always seemed like Jimmy G was being taken off his spot in the pocket so timing on routes was all over the place. Whatever is wrong with the offense I dont think it is easily fixable.