Official Las Vegas Raiders Thread

Wow. Taylor with three TDs after doing nothing in this game. Damn.

 

Brutal loss.

We're now looking at about a 4-13 season. Much better pick, at least.

 

Another belt to a** defeat.

 

Too many turnovers.
Special teams mistakes.
And no pressure on the QB.

 

Germaine Pratt cut.

 

Duval...

 

Update on moves
OUT Pratt LB
IN Jon Rhattigan LB
Rhattigan has a lot of experience, with 53 games over the past five seasons. 1024 of his 1044 snaps have come on special teams.


Practice Squad Moves
IN Brad Robbins P
OUT Jeff Driskel QB (he was born about five miles from where I live)
IN Jamin Davis LB
Davis is an interesting guy. From 2021-203, he averaged 90 tackles, 7 TFL, 3 QB Hits, and had 7 sacks.

Update on Practice/Injuries (Wed)
Bowers and Cole didn't practice. This isn't good. Obviously, we need our All-Pro TE and Punter

Stokes had a light practice. Not necessarily bad.
Everyone else was full. That's good news.

 

Dominant drive stalls out. FG good. Raiders up 3-0.

 

Absolute garbage on O since then. Two drives doing nothing.

Not sure about this Chip Kelly playcalling. Long stretch runs with slow development aren't great for Jeanty.
Geno Smith now under serious pressure because he can't complete a pass.
O-line looking bad.

 

Some awful playcalling after White with a sack and FF (Wilson recovers). So, on third down, they hit Mayer for the TD. Love to see that.

 

Man. The defense is fired up today.

 

Just win, baby.

 

That is a problem since Kelly was good in college but his schemes have trouble translating to the pro level.

 

It would be great to get a W here.

Chiefs: 64% chance to win.

Raiders elevated Shedrick Jackson from the practice squad. Bowers, Meyers, Bachman, and Shorter were all limited at times during the week. Bowers, Meyers, and Bachman all finished on light practice. Bowers is doubtful, while the others are questionable. Chance for someone to step up.

KC are 13-point favorites. I have to say that that seems like a good line for the Raiders. The Chiefs have beaten the Giants, Ravens, and Lions by 13+. Those teams are a combined 7-11. The Raiders have lost two games by 13+.

I think this one is going to be closer.

Chiefs 27
Raiders 20

 

Defense looks awful. Hobbled Kelce didn't have anyone within 10 yards of him.

 

Raiders look horrendous and ill-prepared for this game.

 

So, I had the Raiders entering the BYE with 2-3 wins. Here we are at 2-5.

Jaguars - toss up
@Denver - loss
Dallas - toss up
Cleveland - win
@Chargers - loss

So, the Raiders are at 4 or 5 wins approaching the home stretch.

Denver - loss
@Eagles - loss
@Texans - loss
Giants - toss up
Chiefs - loss

Let's call it 5-12.

 

I want to look at what we have shown vs. what we're missing. The first number is the projected overall rating. The second is their performance this season.


QB
Smith 90 > 77
AOC 62*IR > DNP
-Smith has sucked, and our backup hasn't been available.

RB
JEANTY 80 > 73
-Jeanty hasn't been able to get the job done consistently. I confess it's not really his issue.

WR
Meyers 83 > 77
Tucker 74 > 81
Cooper 70 > DNP
-Meyers and Tucker have switched places, and Cooper quit. Not a great look for your top 3 WR.

TE
Bowers 88 > 70
-Injuries have made Bowers an only okay TE.

OL
Miller 89 > 82
-Our best offensive lineman has been amazing when available, but he has now missed multiple games.

So, we're basically playing with a missing or inferior version of our best player at every offensive role. This line has to get its s*** straightened out ASAP.

 

Projections vs. (Current Overall Rating)

QB
Smith 90 (77)
AOC 62*IR(DNP)
Pickett 48(INC)
-Smith is actually playing worse than AOC did last year. He was supposed to be a settling presence and an upgrade. The problem is obvious: too many turnovers.

RB
JEANTY 80(76)
Mostert 55(??)
White 52(??)
Laube 50(??)
-A tale of one option. Jeanty has broken 15 tackles, averages more than twice as many Yards after Contact than before, and he has a 115.8 PRWT. Mostert has zero broken tackles and 40% of his yards came on one play. White hasn't averaged 3 yards per carry since 2023, and his PRWT is sub 70. Laube's six career rushes have gone for 5 yards.

WR
Meyers 83(77)
Tucker 74(81)
Cooper 70(OUT)
BECH 58(58?)
THORNTON 42(42?)
-PFF doesn't have stats on Bech and Thornton available, but Bech has a 51.2 PRWT, which is horrendous. But Thornton somehow tops him. 8.1 PRWT, with 2 drops, 2 INTs, and only 5 catches on 19 targets. Ouch.

TE
Bowers 88(70)
Mayer 61(61?)
Thomas 24(24?)
-PFF doesn't have stats on Mayer and Thomas, but they're both right around 90 PRWT. Neither of them is a receiving first TE, and they've been asked to block a lot with that inept line.

OL
Miller 89(82)
Parham 71(78)
Glaze 79(76)
JPJ 77(72)
Meredith 76(77)
Cappa 71(15)
GRANT 48(DNP)
ROGERS 48(DNP)
Munford 44(DNP)
Putnam 14(INC)
-The o-line is a mess. These numbers are all driven by availability. Miller was having a great season. JPJ and Parham are only slightly above average. In fact, the Raiders have four OL all clustered right around a 60 grade at PFF. Not good. Here's the problem. Outside Miller, no one can pass block. No one.

DI
Butler 70(68)
Laulu 55(62)
Booker 45(57)
HEMINGWAY 45(38)
PEGUES 43(34)
Fotu 27(51)
-One DI has a PFF grade above 60. That's Tonka Hemingway with 63.9 on 23 snaps. They can't generate any pass rush. It's bad up front.

DE
Crosby 78(86)
Koonce 73(62)
Wilson 67(63)
Snowden 60(51)
-Koonce and Wilson have been disappointing. Both have been very average at putting pressure on QBs.

LB
Pratt 77(GONE)
Roberts 62(71)
White 48(65)
Adams 29(71)
Eichenberg 28(39)
LINDENBERG 14(DNP)
-Adams has had a fine season. Roberts has been adequate. White has made some splashy plays, and he's been on the field a lot. But only Adams has posted a respectable PFF grade. Their biggest issue is either missed tackles or just allowing tons of receptions. They have allowed 75% completions to their targets.

CB
Porter 71(58)
Stokes 66(77)
Richardson 56(INC)
Holmes 53(54)
Kelly 23(70)
-Porter has the highest PFF grade of the bunch, and Stokes has been solid. Kelly has the splashy plays. Kelly and Holmes have allowed opposing targets a 110+ Passer Rating. Porter and Stokes have been WAY better.

S
Chinn 81(84)
Pola-Mao 70(59)
Smith 32(23)
Harper 23(?)
Johnson 22*IR-R
-Pola-Mao: 31 targets, 5 TDs.

 

I think Smith continues to hurt the team, but he played better than he has in the past. One issue I'm seeing with him is his legs. He's hurt. Ankle, shin, or foot. Something is wrong. He can't and won't really run.

The big loser was the defense. They couldn't get off the field. Couldn't get pressure. And they sure couldn't tackle. I couldn't believe how many missed tackles there were.