Jaguars Gameday Take
Last year, the Jaguars came into Oakland and pushed the Raiders to the limit, but ultimately the Raiders won by three points in overtime, notching one of just four victories on the year.
Last week, in the realm of popular opinion, the Jaguars unseated the Raiders for the title of worst team in the NFL, gaining just two points in an ugly loss to the Chiefs. Now their starting quarterback is out, although some say that backup Chad Henne gives them a better chance.
The Raiders have to win this game. This is a ladder game. Last week, they showed us something we didn't expect. This week, they can do it again by avoiding the classic "letdown" game.
This game is a proving ground. We may not win a lot of games this year, but it's time to start winning the winnable ones, and the Jaguars at home is the most winnable of all this year. GO RAIDERS!
Last week, in the realm of popular opinion, the Jaguars unseated the Raiders for the title of worst team in the NFL, gaining just two points in an ugly loss to the Chiefs. Now their starting quarterback is out, although some say that backup Chad Henne gives them a better chance.
The Raiders have to win this game. This is a ladder game. Last week, they showed us something we didn't expect. This week, they can do it again by avoiding the classic "letdown" game.
This game is a proving ground. We may not win a lot of games this year, but it's time to start winning the winnable ones, and the Jaguars at home is the most winnable of all this year. GO RAIDERS!
posted by Raider Take at 8:09 AM
31 Comments:
has to be a win...it's time to stop the roller coaster and win games that are winnable. stability is needed and consistent efforts are needed. if they come out flat, it will be a disappointment. if they come out with guns a blazin...come on Raiders, do not disappoint.
JONES
Sold out stadium, home opener, winnable game, and good execution for most of Q2-4 last week.
Let's see if TP2 continues his upward trajectory and minimizes his mistakes.
Our D will be challenged with containing MJD and JAX up-tempo offense.
Just a hunch but I think DMC and CWood have stellar games.
Go Raiders!
At the risk of sounding over-dramatic, this might be the most important game of the season. Lose today and the Raiders could go 0-16.
This is also a matchup of the NFL's best and worst uniforms.
How did the league approve that amateurish new Jags helmet? Awful.
3 DB's down...get some grass on that freakin field. Porter is not a starting CB, his effort is lacking, he will not be back next year. Tarver can't blitz on EVERY 3rd down, or else the screen will kill the Defense.
What a Tackle by Woodson.
JONES
who honestly thought field goals would be such a poor spot? if he ain't ready, put in the backup ffs's
JONES
I like how our defense is squaring up and hitting guys hard.
Defense is looking good, sometimes a little too aggressive on the blitzing.
Rookies looking good today. The
Pass Rush is awesome, when was the last time we saw QB's getting harassed like we have seen so far this year?
Offense doing the Wildcat...Pryor wants to go up tempo, but he needs to relax to get it done. Can't be high strung, need to be cool. The RB's need to be used more in this game, screens, flats, handoffs.
Let's see if the halftime adjustments are as good as last weeks.
GO RAIDERS
JONES
Not pretty, that's for sure...but it's looking like a win. In the past, the Defense would fall apart at this point....keep attacking.
JONES
Jack...= GOOD CALL....McFadden looking like his old self, Woodson too.
JONES
If this is a passing league someone forgot to tell the Raiders. Not pretty, but not ugly either. Happy for the win :)
It's a win. Not the progression on offense that I hoped, but the defense looked solid. Woodson made the play of the day with his leaping tackle on MJD.
A win is a win...now on to Donkeyville. Hope the coaches were playing conservative in 2nd half so Donkies didn't see all the 'looks'. Maybe they were looking ahead to next week?
Raiders are going to be very much the UNDERDOGS and it plays into the Raiders hands. It will be a tougher game than what they will be saying all week...let them think they are all that, go in and give them a very hard and physical game and they will be ripe for the picking.
Manning's head will be even FATTER than 'normal' after their win in NY. I really hope he is feeling really good about himself and he considers the Raiders an easy target...preparation starts...NOW.
JONES
AngelicRaider
My man Charles Woodson has got to be the MVP of this defense. LOVE YOU BABY!!!
In a pass happy league, the Raiders are going against the grain very effectively -- don't have the up to minute stats but 99% sure the Raiders are the #1 rushing offense in the league.
The unit that I was most proud of today was our OLine. The lanes opened up, particularly between the center and guard were great demonstrations of each man doing his assignment.
Our Rushing Stats;
at Indy:
33 carries, 171 yards, 5.2 average
vs Jax:
34 carries, 226 yards, 6.6 average
Overall Averages Per game:
33.5 carries, 198.5 yards, 5.8 average
After 2 games, what I've noticed is that the threat of Pryor to run in the read option, has forced the opposing D to not focus solely on our RB.
Jack, great call on DMC and CWood.
The offensive line is becoming a beast! It's not even full strength, with some personnel playing "out of position" to what they normally play. Plus, Gurode and Pashos are new to the team, and learning on the run (excuse the pun). That is a testament to the players' drive to excel and to the coaching.
It seems the offense and defense have found their leaders: Pryor and CWood.
The special teams coverage seemed solid, though there was the missed field goal. Nice punt return in the first quarter to set up the Raider TD.
It was a beautiful afternoon at the o.Co Coliseum, although I'm sure it was pretty warm on the field for the players. The fans were not as loud as I would have thought. Maybe because it was the Jags, after all.
For anyone who needs to see that tackle a few more times!
http://tinyurl.com/mhfdddr
Go Raiders!
Just Beat Denver! InstaSwagger, if so. 2016
AngelicRaider
One of the things I love about this site is after the Raiders win. After the Raiders win everyone shuts their piehole. Lose and everybody knows X's and O's, went to high school with George Blandas nephew, and once played in a Pro-Am with Tim Brown thus making them and their opines some sort of doctrine. If we win everyone shuts their mouth and there is very little praise about what went right. Or hey MEMDF I totally agree with what you liked. RaiderNate what an astute observation about the play calling.
Since we won the battle last week I guess I won't need to check back until Tuesday at which time I hope we are still keeping our mouths shut.
GO RAIDERS!!!!
Maybe it's like NYR said...it's wait and see. Fans are in a holding pattern, not sure to jump on or not...once burned, twice shy? Fans don't want to build up hope again, just to get knocked down...I think this is what we are seeing. Plus, Raider fans aren't used to building up their team... it's unchartered waters.
Give it a couple more games. I would like to hear from all those who ripped this regime, do they still think it's a failure? Or do they see good things happening? I would like to see more posters carrying this site once and a while...and, I would like to see the owner of this site try to spark debate a little more.
Maybe all the trolls have stopped trolling Raider sites because they see that they are no longer trollable? Most Raider sites are trolled by Donkey and Charger fans POSING as Raider fans. We saw that here, they have moved on to other sites and drag them down to a shit level. Could be a combo of things causing a slow down throughout Raider sites?
JONES
Fans are more or less pacified for the moment. The Raiders have quickly demonstrated what we all hoped for; a competitive team. Jones is right; now it’s wait and see, i.e., if they can carry forward with any consistency.
My observation of the last two games is that the Raiders played at or above my expectation against the Colts; then, despite the win, there was a bit of a letdown (regression) against a really bad Jags team.
When capable, it seems like the Raiders (maybe other teams too) often play to the level of competition. That’s my hope this week, as the Broncos look unstoppable. IMO, Raiders will have to play mistake-free while forcing Denver miscues... then, maybe, a slim chance of victory.
Again, I am less concerned about the win as I am seeing meaningful progress at this point. With that said, two games in, I like what I see.
SCAR
Lets see, its a tuesday but I haven't chimed in with my post game take so here goes...
1st up Pryor. No mistakes, no big plays. Some of that was due to Jacksonville's defense taking his read/option away, and much of it imo was from the play calls and the sideline. DA, and Olson have given Pryor free reign to run, but the opposite is true for passing.
The O-line? The Raiders better lock up Sparano long term because if this keeps up, He will be a hot commodity again. Sparano was the 1st team to employ the wildcat in the NFL with the dolphins right? With the wildcat, pistol, and zone read being similar, Sparano is teaching the linemen at a high level thus far.
As for the defense which is the unit I was most high on before the season started because of the nine new starters, I'm not glad to see 1 of the 2 remaining starters go down. Branch will be missed, and yes it is next man up, but Branch was Flying around the field, these 1st two games, so I hope he gets well soon.
Woodson. What other accolades can we heap on this future hall of famer? Wow, just wow. And it wasn't just the one play. He played solidly the whole game, as did the defense as a whole.
The front seven are stout against the run. Please don't be a mirage, because it's sooo nice to see after the porous run defenses for the last, what, 10 years?
I still don't know entirely what we have in our secondary. Its too soon to tell for me especially after losing Branch, but so far so good
SCAR
Just accept the fact that we don't have our guy at QB, follow the team and don't worry about the nice variety of opinions here. In 2016, like I've always said, there will be a significant victory, be it Conference champs or in the big show. THAT BEING SAID, with all the salary cap that's available, safe to say that Oak is no better than mediocre. And, hey if that's cool with you, well, it's a free country! I expect six wins this year and solid play in all games. Anything more is definitely pushing it. I hope I am wrong, but Denver will probably crush the boys at home. As long as it's not clowny, we good. Again, being wrong would be surprisingly nice for once.
...but yes, with this salary cap room, if there is a commit to excel (for once), a nice 4 year run as winners is the LEAST we should expect from this corporation.
Pryor's read-option is causing defenses trouble.
In Indy, the Colts didn't completely commit to Pryor and focused more on DMac. Pryor ran wild.
Vs. JAX, the defenders were clearly instructed to stay with Pryor and DMac torched them.
The indecision or freezing of the defenders is what sets up the read-option.
2 games is an extremely small sample size and the Raiders will be hard pressed to keep up the current rushing output BUT ...
I like how the OLine has performed. I like the diversity of the rushing attack (Pryor, DMac, Jennings, and Reece all had big chunk pickups). I also like the mentality being demonstrated about running the ball and the commitment to running the ball.
Defenses will naturally gameplan to take away the Raiders rushing attack but Pryor can be the wildcard in terms of busting off big running plays when things breakdown AND it sets up the receivers for more 1x1 coverage.
One aspect of the gameplan that I would like to see incorporated is a few more vertical routes to stretch the field and keep the safeties honest.
Our blocking, tackling, and pass rush have all exceeded my expectations going into the season.
"Just accept the fact that we don't have our guy at QB"
Nope. Way to premature in my book. Won't accept it until Pryor is given a chance to demonstrate continued growth, improvements, and gets enough game experience and reps.
A reasonable (read as NOT ignorant) assessment won't take place on Pryor until the completion of the 2103 season.
I have been exceedingly pleased with Terrelle Pryor as our starter. He seems to be the leader that the offense needed. He can make things happen. I was not on the Pryor bandwagon before the start of the regular season. He has really opened my eyes.
I think it seemed like a "let down" Sunday because it was a very workman like victory: carry water and chop wood, hi ho hi ho, it's off to work we go. It didn't have the Terrelle magic of extending plays, just escaping harm's way to make a great play. These are the games you have to win, though (against the Jags). The boring ones. But right now, no Raider victory is boring in my book. I also think the coaches have been sandbagging the Broncos by not pulling out all the stops offensively and defensively the last two weeks, but especially against the Jags. They knew that 'vanilla' would win it. I think things will get extremely creative this Monday night, especially with the forgotten men: Reese and Ford. Remember that Jacoby is a Bronco killer.
I don't expect victory this week but I don't completely discount the possibility either. Limit big plays, run the ball, ball control, keep Manning off the field, win the turnover battle, excel on special teams--a few lucky breaks, and yeah it could happen. But for once in a long, long time, I am not going into a Monday night game dreading a national shamefest by my team. We seem to know how to tackle now, how to play hard and tough and disciplined for 60 mins, and how not to dig a huge hole with stupid penalties and dumb mistakes.
This is a game to continue laying the foundation for future success, to improve, to learn, to grow together as a team and build upon what has already been accomplished so far.
GO RAIDERS!!
I was really happy with Pryor on Sunday. The passing game was not great, but it did not have to be. No INTs, he "managed" the game and did not give it away. Pryor will have to pass more on Monday so that will be a good test for him.
For the Raiders to win on Monday night Peyton will have to have a let-down game. If Peyton is on his game there is no way the Raiders win. I agree with Sactown, I'm just hoping for a non-clown car loss.
SCAR
I grew up in Oakland/Alameda but am settled in the South, so I have been watching the option-read in college for some time now.
It works. Eventually though the defense blocks all the lanes by sending in a safety. At that point, it is up to the oc to call a pass play even in a "typical" option read formation or qb if he has the ability to audible to throw out to the wr's that are getting one on one coverage.
With Sparano in Olsen's ear, with the abilities that Pryor has, Pryor will be given an opportunity to succeed...
Postgame takes are up.
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