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NFL 2017 Preseason: Week 3 Raiders Recap

After two preseason games, the Oakland Raiders appeared to be solid on offense and very shaky on defense. Even better news for the offense was left tackle Donald Penn ending his holdout and reporting for training camp. As for the defense, Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin were not getting help from a secondary that was torched in consecutive weeks. The third preseason game is the one that most closely resembles a regular season game. The Raiders were at the Dallas Cowboys.

After a touchback, the first play saw Marshawn Lynch carry the ball for 4 yards. Derek Carr then hit Amari Cooper for a 9 yard gain and the game’s first 1st down. However, on 3rd and 4 from the Oakland 44, Carr threw incomplete. The Cowboys took over at their own 26.

Ezekiel Elliott is appealing his 6 game suspension to start the regular season, but nothing prevents from from playing in preseason games. He gained 4, 5 and on 3rd and 1 got the tough yard. A heavy dose of the run saw the Cowboys move down the field just as easily as the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams did. On 1st and 10 from the Oakland 29, the Silver and Black finally stiffened on defense. Das Prescott completed a pass to Elliott for no gain, and then Elliot lost a yard. On 3rd and 11 a completion to Elliot came up well short. Dan Bailey did hit the 42 yard field goal for a 3-0 Cowboys lead.

The Raiders took over at their own 19 and Carr went to work. After hitting Lynch for a 7 yard gain, a 3rd and 1 completion to Cordarelle Patterson gained 3 yards. On 3rd and 8 from the Dallas 48, Carr hit coper for 11 yards. On 1st and 15 from the Dallas 42, Carr found cook for 7 and Jalen Richard for 13 more. On the first play of the second quarter, Carr went to Patterson for a 17 yard touchdown and a 6-3 Raiders lead. Backup kicker Greg Tavecchio missed the extra point as Sebastian Janikowski had the night off.

The Cowboys took over at their own 20 and again moved easily against Oakland’d defense. Prescott hit Jason Witten for 12 yards and a 24 yard defensive pas interference penalty moved the Cowboys to the Oakland 41. Prescott hit Hanna for 13 yards and former Raiders running back gained 18 yards down to the Dallas 10. On the next play Prescott hit Witten of the touchdown and a 10-6 Cowboys lead.

Oakland took over on their own 15. On 3rd and 3, Carr hit Michael Crabtree for 5 yards. However, offensive holding on the next play killed the drive and the Raiders punted. On 3rd and 3 from the Dallas 37, Prescott hit Cole Beasley for 8 yards. However, illegal use of hands on the offense meant 3rd and 13 instead of 1st and 10. On the next play Prescott was sacked for a 12 yard loss. The Raiders took over at their own 40. Carr hit Cook for 11 and the Raiders soon faced 3rd and 9 at the Dallas 48. Al Davis smiled in heaven as Carr went deep to Cooper for the touchdown and the 13-10 Raiders lead with 3:15 left in the half.

The Cowboys soon faced 2nd and 13 at their own 15, but Prescott hit Witten for 28 yards.However, on 3rd and 2 just past midfield, Prescott threw incomplete. With 1:40 left in the half and the Raiders getting it back at their own 12, Carr was done for the night. Backup EJ Manuel came in. On 3rd and 2 from the Oakland 20 with 27 seconds left, fullback Olawale ran around the end for a 56 yard gain. However, offensive facemark instead meant 3rd and 12 from the Oakland 10. Manuel took a knee as the Raiders took the lead into the locker rooms.

The starters were done for the night, and the Raiders had won the first string battle. The backups played like backups as each team punted on their first two possessions of the third quarter. Dallas began their next possession at their own 34. Backup quarterback Rush hit Brice Butler for 18 yards. Alfred Morris gained 17 and then 5 more. On 2nd and 5 from the Oakland 26, Rush was sacked and fumbled. Hamilton knocked the ball out and Lewis picked it up and raced 65 yards for a defensive touchdown. With 5 minutes left in the third quarter, the Raiders had a 20-10 lead. Even though this was now a game of backups, protecting the lead and getting a preseason win would be a psychological lift.

From the Dallas 15, Morris gained 16 yards with 15 more tacked on for unnecessary roughness. On 3rd and 12 from the Dallas 44, Rush threw incomplete, but roughing the passer meant 15 more yards and a gift first down. The fourth quarter began with the Cowboys facing 4th and 5 from the Oakland 36. Since this is the preseason, Jason Garrett decided to go for it rather than punt or kick a field goal. Rush threw incomplete, but another defensive pass interference penalty meant 6 more yards and another first down. On 3rd and 2 from the Oakland 22, Rush hit Nwachukwu for 8, Swaim for 7, and Hillman for the 7 yard touchdown. The Cowboys were within 20-17 with 12 1/2 minutes left in regulation.

Manuel was completely ineffective, and third string quarterback Connor Cook played the rest of the way. On 4th and 1 from the Oakland 34, Jack Del Rio decided to gamble. Again, this is the preseason. Cook took the quarterback sneak and gained 2 yards. Yet it was all for naught after that. On 3rd and 11 from the Oakland 35, Cook was sacked and fumbled for an 8 yard loss. Oakland was lucky to punt the ball away. Yet another defensive personal foul for a facemark had the Cowboys starting midway through the fourth quarter at the Oakland 47.

Forget that these are backups who may never play an NFL regular season game. The play was undisciplined, and the penalties were killers. On 2nd and 7 from the Oakland 44, Rush went deep to Lenoir for the touchdown. Just like that, the 20-10 lead was gone and the Raiders trailed by 4 points.

The Raiders soon faced 3rd and 1 at their own 34. Cook hit Mickens for 6 yards and George Atkinson III gained 9 more. The Raiders were in business 2nd and 1 just shy of midfield. Then once again, they were quickly out of business. Mickens lost 3 yards and Cook was sacked for an 8 yard loss on 3rd and 4.

With 3:12 to play and the Cowboys facing 3rd and 5 at their own 34, the Oakland defense could not get a stop. Third string quarterback Kellen Moore was in, and he hit Jones for 11 yards and a key first down. Just before the 2 minute warning, The Cowboys faced 3rd and 8 at their own 47. This was the last chance for the defense to get a stop. Moore went deep incomplete at the 2 minute warning. The Raiders would get the ball back with one timeout at their own 10 with 1:45 to play. Connor Cook had his chance to be a hero.

Cook hit Brent for 7 and Zamora for 9 more to the Oakland 38 as the clock ticked down. On 3rd and 8 with 1:19 to play, Cook hit Mickens for 11 just past midfield. An incompletion stopped the clock with 30 seconds left. A mind-numbing 4 yard completion forced the Raiders to take their last timeout with 25 seconds left. On 3rd and 6 from the Dallas 45, Cook went deep to Johnny Holton for a 37 yard gain. Cook raced to the line and spiked the ball to stop the clock. With 7 seconds left, the Raiders had 2nd and goal at the 8. Cook quickly fired incomplete, and 4 seconds remained on 3rd and goal. On the game’s final play, Cook fired incomplete again. He had moved the Raiders 82 yards, but they needed to go 90.

Another loss has the Raiders at 0-3 in the preseason. However, there were more positives than negatives in this game for the Raiders. The first string had the team leading at the half, and the defense played much better than in the previous two games. However, this team lives and dies with Derek Carr. He went 13 of 17 for 144 yard and 2 touchdowns. Yet the defense still has much room for improvement. Prescott ripped them in going 11 of 14 for 113 yards and one touchdown. Rush was nearly perfect in going 12 of 23 for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns. The game featured no interceptions by either team. The Raiders offense is clearly ready to start the season and the defense clearly is not. Whether the issue is Ken Norton Jr.’s scheme or not remains to be seen. On Thursday, August 31, the Raiders host the Seattle Seahawks in their fourth and final preseason game. 24-20 Cowboys

eric

NFL 2017 Preseason: Week 2 Raiders Recap

The Raiders looked listless in their preseason opener, a 20-10 loss at the Arizona Cardinals. However, their entire starting offense took the night off. Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin did not play a single snap on defense. This week the starters would get some action at home against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Rams got the ball first and started at their own 15. On 3rd and 1 Todd Gurley initially appeared stopped, but with a second effort easily got the first down. Another Gurley carry saw a pile of players advance over 10 yards past the point of contact. Jared Goff’s first three passes each went for at least 10 yards. These were not backups. This was the starting Oakland defense getting sliced and diced. From the Oakland 23, a play action pass to Cooper Kupp went for one of the easiest touchdowns the NFL will ever see. The 85 yard drive that made it 7-0 Rams ended without any defender within a country mile of Kupp.

The ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Raiders the ball at their own 40. Derek Carr and the rest of the offensive starters began their first series of the preseason. Marshawn Lynch is controversial in his behavior, but he does his job on the field. His first carry went for 6 yards. Carr’s first pass went to Jared Cook, a dump-off in the flat that went for 16 yards. A defensive personal foul had the Raiders at the Rams 19. Operating out of the shotgun for the entire drive, Carr threw a perfect seam pass that split two defenders. Lee Smith bobbled it but hauled it in for the tying 7-7 touchdown. Another defensive personal foul was assessed on the kickoff.

On the next Rams drive after a touchback, Goff got drilled for a sack by Khalil Mack. On 3rd and 15, a dump-off pass came up short of the first down. The Raiders took over at their own 30. While Carr came back in, Lynch was done for the night. A completion to Amari Cooper set up 3rd and inches. Fullback Olawale banged ahead for the first down, but an illegal shift nullified the play. On 3rd and 6, Carr fired over the middle and was intercepted by Tremaine Johnson. Last year Carr threw 28 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.

The Rams took over at the Oakland 41. A pair of Goff completions had the Rams at the Oakland 19. On 3rd and 2 from the Oakland 11, Goff fired to Kupp for 1st and goal at the 2. Gurley banged in up the middle for a 14-7 Rams lead. 2 touchdowns on 3 drives continued the questions of what was wrong with Oakland on defense. Defensive Coordinator Ken Norton Jr. has to find some answers quickly. Bad things normally happen when an offensive lineman fields the ensuing kickoff, but an 18 yard return that had everyone amused had the Raiders starting at their own 35.

Deandre Washington ran a couple times, gained a first down, and saw the first quarter ended. After a deep ball to start the second quarter was well defended, Carr got called for delay of game. On 3rd and 10, Carr went deep to Cooper into triple coverage. The ball was again perfectly thrown and Cooper came down with it for a 31 yard gain to the Oakland 23. A completion to Smith meant 1st and 10 to the 13. Carr fired to Michael Crabtreeat the 10, and Crabtree raced to the corner and got past the pylon for the touchdown and a 14-14 game. 2 touchdowns showed that the Raiders high octane offense was in full swing. The issue was their defense. The Rams began their next drive at their own 25 as Goff stayed in the game. He was already 8 of 10. Gurley was done for the night.

On 3rd and 5, Goff fired a 12 yard completion over the middle. On 3rd and 2 from the Oakland 45, Goff fired to newly acquired Sammy Watkins over the middle for a 5 yard gain. On 3rd and 5 from the 35, Goff again went over the middle to Kuff for 7 yards and another first down. The Raiders secondary had no answers. Goff went deep to the end zone and should have had his third touchdown. Watkins had a step on Sean Smith, who was arrested earlier this week. However, the ball bounced off of Watkins’s shoulder pad incomplete. On 3rd and 10, a short pass followed by terrible tackling meant another first down at the Oakland 18 as Goff was now 15 of 18. On 3rd and 12 from the 20, the Rams burned their 2nd timeout. A lateral West Coast Offense dink and dunk pass went nowhere as Greg Zuerlein came in for the short field goal. From 33 yards out, Zuerline was good to make it 17-14 Rams with 2:49 left in the half.

Carr was done for the night after playing nearly the entire first half. EJ Manuel came in at quarterback, followed by Marquette King coming in for his first punt. With only one minute left in the half and the Rams pinned very deep, Goff did not finish the half. His night ended with him 16 of 20 for 160 yards. Backup Sean Mannion handed off a couple times. With backups now playing the entire second half, it became a true preseason game. The level of play as expected dropped off severely on both sides. Despite a scoreless third quarter, the Rams had 30 minutes of possession after three quarters to only 15 minutes for the Raiders. Consecutive false starts to start the fourth quarter had the Raiders facing 3rd and 24. They did not convert.

With 12 1/2 minutes left in regulation, third string quarterback Connor Cook came in for the Raiders. On 3rd and 10 from the Oakland 35, Cook completed a pass to midfield. On 3rd and 3 from the Rams 43, Cook threw another pass for a first down to the biblically named Pharaoh Brown. The 11 play, 65 yard, 6 minute drive saw Cook throw a perfect 17 yard fade to the end zone for a touchdown to Johnnie Holton. With 6 1/2 minutes to play, the Raiders led 21-17. Now it was up to the backup defense.

With 4 1/2 minutes left and the Rams facing 3rd and 7 at their own 44, Mannion rifled a completion for an 8 yard gain. with 2:45 to play and the Rams facing 2nd and 15, defensive holding gave the Rams new life at midfield. At the 2 minute warning the Rams were at the Oakland 39. On 4rd and 9 with 90 seconds to play, the Rams took their first timeout. One stop by the Raiders defense would preserve the win. Instead, Mannion fired a completion followed by missed tackles for a 20 yard gain. The receiver fumbled the ball but retained possession. Mannion then fired to the end zone to Josh Reynolds. The defender never even turned around to look for the ball as the Rams took the lead with 1:11 to play.

The Raiders took over at their own 22. With 27 seconds left on 4th and 10 from the Oakland 35, Cook got sacked. The Raiders fell to 0-2 in the preseason. Forget the score. What matters is how the players looked. The starting offense looked fine. Carr is ready. Mack is still a monster on defense. However, the secondary it still the weak link of this team. Whether the issue is players or scheme, it needs to be fixed if the Raiders want to have a snowball’s chance of being competitive. Jack Del Rio knows defense, but plenty of work needs to be done on that side of the ball. Next week, the Raiders are at the Dallas Cowboys in the key third preseason game. 24-21 Rams

eric

NFL 2017 Preseason: Week 1 Raiders Recap

The offseason is one step closer to being over. While the preseason is not real football, it is still better than any other sport.

The Silver and Black are back. The Oakland Raiders played their first preseason game at the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona lost the Hall of Fame Game 20-18 to the Dallas cowboys, but the Cardinals jumped to a 15-0 lead in that game and looked super.

Sebastian Janikowski kicked the ball 6 yards deep in the end zone and it was returned to the Arizona 30. Carson Palmer did start for the Cardinals, as did David Johnson. Johnson only gained 2 yards on his first carry, but on the next play defensive pass interference in the secondary had the Cardinals at their own 40. Johnson then ran another 10 yards to midfield. On 2nd and 7, a play-action fake had Palmer throwing a bomb to a wide open receiver. The ball was incomplete at the 5 yard line, but there were no defenders in sight. Palmer hit the third down conversion as the Cardinals continued to steamroll over the Raiders defense.

On 3rd and 4 from the Oakland 15, Palmer threw incomplete. Phil Dawson made the 33 yard field goal, but the Raiders were called on defense for an illegal formation. These are the types of penalties that have plagued the Raiders for decades. Bruce Arians took the points off the board for 1st and goal at the 10. On 3rd and goal from the 12, Palmer threw a strike to Brit golden for the touchdown. The Cardinals held the ball for over 6 1/2 minutes on their 14 play, 70 yard drive. Their offense has looked very impressive in successive weeks. The Raiders defense looked awful, and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. will take the fall if the defense plays like this during the regular season.

After a touchback, the Raiders took over without their key starters playing a single snap. Derek Carr, Marshawn Lynch Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree and the starting offensive line all had the night off. Left tackle Donald Penn is still in a contract holdout. So gauging the Raiders offense would be impossible without seeing the first string. None of them played.

EJ Manuel got the start for the Raiders, and the backup quarterback did complete several passes to get the Raiders to a 3rd and 4 at the Arizona 34. A miserable play call known as the West Coast offense had Emanuel completing a 2 yard pass.  On 4th and 2, Jack Del Rio opted for a 51 yard field goal. Seabass hit a knuckleball that was way wide and way short as the Raiders remained scoreless.

The Cardinals took over at their own 41 and Palmer was done for the night. Drew Stanton came in at quarterback. From the Oakland 45, a bomb by Stanton to the end zone was incomplete, but the receiver did beat the double coverage. Andre Ellington took a draw play 15 yards on the next play. The Raiders caught a break when a helmet on a football forced a fumble that the Raiders recovered. Oakland took over at their own 22.

On 3rd and 4 from their 28, Manuel found Cordarelle Patterson for 17 yards. Jalen Richard gained 5 and 4, but on 3rd and 1 from the Arizona 46, Richard got stuffed. Del Rio decided to go for it. On 4th and 1, Richard got stopped again. Arizona took over and soon faced 3rd and 5 at the Oakland 44. Stanton hit Ross for 10 and Golden for 26. A shot to the end zone should have been intercepted but the defender just dropped it. On 3rd and goal at the 7, the pocket collapsed on Stanton. He rolled to his right and found Niklas for the touchdown. Stanton had all the time in the world in staking the Cardinals to a 14-0 lead.

The Raiders took over at their own 13 when Mickens hesitated and tried to run the kickoff back from 7 yards deep in the end zone. Mickens even fumbled but got it back. After picking up one first down, Manuel threw incomplete twice and then was sacked. The Cardinals got it back at their own 36 and continued moving the Cardinals with ease. On 3rd and 3 from Arizona 43, Stanton hit Jeremy Ross for 11 yards. On 3rd and 7 from the Oakland 28, Stanton hit Ellington for 13 yards. On 3rd and 5 from the Oakland 10, Stanton threw incomplete. The defense finally held as Dawson hit the 28 yard field goal to make it 17-0 Cardinals.

The Raiders got it back at their own 19 with only 1:05 left in the half. Manuel hit Mickens for 14, Clive Walford for 30 more, and Mickens for another 6 yards to the Arizona 25. Only 2 seconds remained in the half. Tavecchio came in for a 43 yard field goal try rather than Seabass. Tavecchio was good as the Raiders trailed 17-3 at halftime.

The second half was pure garbage time as both teams brought in their third string quarterbacks. The Raiders had Connor Cook and the Cardinals went with Blaine Gabbert. After an exchange of punts, the Raiders faced 3rd and 12 at their own 35. Cook did hit Crockett for a 29 yard gain. Mickens took an end around 24 yards. Defensive pass interference set up Crockett for a one yard touchdown run as the Raiders were within 17-10.

The Cardinals looked awful under Gabbert, punting on 4th and 19 from their own 5 and giving the Raiders the ball at their own 39. On 3rd and 5 from the Arizona 41, Cook hit Johnny Holton for 7 yards. On 3rd and 10 from the Arizona 34, Cook hit Mickens for 11 yards. Yes Cook was playing against a third string defense, but he looked good. On 2nd and 8 from the Arizona 21 and looking for the tying score, a short pass to Holmes was fumbled away.

Gabbert from the Arizona 31 turned into game manager mode, as runs and short passes led to a 13 play drive that ate 6:45 off the clock. A pass Gabbert threw under pressure was perfectly thrown and the receiver just dropped it in the end zone. With 13 minutes left in regulation, Dawson hit a 43 yard field goal to put Arizona by 10.

The Raiders moved from their own 26 to the Arizona 43 before the drive broke down. The Cardinals moved from their 22 to the Oakland 28. A backup kicker missed a 46 yard field goal. From the Oakland 36, a pair of completions meant 1st and 10 at the Oakland 46. Cook then threw 4 straight incompletions. Arizona ran out the clock.

Although Arizona “only” won by 10, the Oakland defense looked dreadful. All 3 Arizona quarterbacks led scoring drives, and the top 2 Arizona quarterbacks moved the ball easily. Grading the Oakland offense is tougher because the starters did not play. If Oakland is to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender, the defense has to get much better in a hurry. They were awful, but one big mitigating factor can be said in defense of the defense. Although most of the starters played, Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin did not. 20-10 Cardinals

2017 Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday

https://www.commdiginews.com/sports/pro-football-hall-of-fame-2017-induction-ceremony-recap-92321/