Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Oct. 13, 2013
Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor and his offense faced their toughest test of season as they went into hostile Arrowhead Stadium to take on the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs. After giving up a touchdown, the Chiefs defense tightened and didn't allow any more scores en route to a Raiders 24-7 loss. Nothing came easy for Pryor from the beginning, but to make things worse, the young quarterback had an exceptionally banged-up offensive line and a Chiefs crowd that set the Guinness Book of World Record for loudest decibel record in an open-air stadium. The record was announced late in the fourth quarter as Pryor's final drive ticked off the final seconds of the game. The crowd proved to be a big factor as Pryor had difficulty getting the play calls out in time and had three delay-of-game penalties. the offensive line also struggled with false start penalties. The Raiders reverted to old habits, finishing with 11 penalties for 68 yards. The Raiders offensive line has been banged up all season but the injury list found a way to continue to grow on Sunday. By the end of the game, the Raiders only had starting left tackle Khalif Barnes playing the position he started the game at. Matt McCants was inserted for starting right tackle Tony Pashos, who has been battling a nagging groin injury. Backup center Andre Gurode, who was in for the injured Stefen Wisniewski, left the game in the first half and did not return. The injury forced starting left guard Mike Brisiel to kick inside to center, putting Lamar Mady at left tackle. The Raiders make-shift offensive line did not prove capable of stopping Tamba Hali and the Chiefs strong pass rush. Smelling weakness along the offensive line, the Chiefs' defense was able to get to Pryor 10 times for sacks. Hali led the defense with 3.5 sacks on Pryor. Pryor's lack of time caused him to force plays which resulted in him throwing three interceptions, including one pick-six, after not having thrown any since the two he threw in week one against the Indianapolis Colts. The Raiders first-year starting quarterback was able to get the Raiders on the scoreboard first when he broke a 0-0 tie in the second quarter by finding wide receiver Denarius Moore on a slant pattern, turning on his speed to beat the defenders and get into the end zone for a 39-yard touchdown reception. Moore beat rookie Marcus Cooper on the play, who's name was called often during the game. But that would be the only score for the Raiders. The Raiders defense played another stellar game, giving up only two touchdowns on just 216 yards of total offense for Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs. After holding the Chargers scoreless in the first half last week, it took until there was just 1:06 remaining in the first half for the Raiders defense to give up a score. The Chiefs first score was set up by a pass interference penalty on rookie corner D.J. Hayden in which he failed to look back for the ball in coverage on a crucial 3rd and 10. Chiefs running back would score on the next play on a halfback draw from the seven-yard line, tying the game 7-7. Overall, the Raiders defense did a good job containing the speedy Charles as he finished with 22 carries for 70 yards but both of the Chiefs' offensive touchdowns. Hayden came back later in the beginning of the third quarter with what looked to be a big play in the game as he came up to hit Chiefs wide receiver Donnie Avery hard and force a fumble in the red zone, with veteran safety Charles Woodson recovering the ball for the Raiders. The Chiefs second offensive touchdown occurred after an interception from Pryor forced a short field for the defense. Pryor threw up a prayer off of his back foot that was intercepted by Chiefs Quinton Demps, giving the ball to Smith and the offense on the Raiders 24-yard line. It was Pryor's first interception in 91 pass attempts. With the short field, Smith was able to orchestrate a five-play drive that culminated in Charles' second touchdown run of the game, giving the Chiefs a lead they would not relinquish. As bad as the offense played, the team still had a chance to tie the score late in the game. But the offense once again couldn't get anything going as Pryor looked for Moore on the same slant but this time the rookie Cooper jumped the route and came away with the interception, Pryor's second of the day. The turnover gave the ball to the Chiefs on the Raiders 29-yard line. Though the Raiders defense was able to keep the Chiefs out of the end zone, the Chiefs still kicked a field goal to make it a two-score game at 17-7 with just over two minutes remaining. With little time and needing a quick score, Pryor looked for tight end Mychal Rivera but was intercepted by safety Husain Abdullah who brought it back 44 yards for the game-sealing touchdown. Down 24-7 with just 1:35 remaining in the game, Pryor tried one last time to get something going. But in what was symbolic of the afternoon's events, the drive ended with Pryor being sacked as time ran out to get put the Raiders at 2-4 on the season and keep the Chiefs undefeated at 6-0. With a struggling offensive line, running back Darren McFadden was once again unable to get anything going, even against a rather porous rush defense. McFadden rushed for 52 yards on 16 carries against a Chiefs defense that ranked 30th against the rush coming into Sunday. Luckily the Raiders are heading into their bye week so hopefully they will be able to get some of their injured offensive lineman back on the field. The Raiders take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at home when they return from their bye week on Oct. 27.
0 Comments
Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Oct. 7, 2013
Starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor returned to the Raiders roster and his impact on the offense was felt immediately, even with the rarely late 8:35 p.m. PST kickoff time Sunday night. On the Raiders first play from scrimmage, Pryor dropped back and dropped in a perfect ball down the right sideline to wide receiver Rod Streater for a 44-yard touchdown to give the Raiders the early 7-0 lead. Of course, the touchdown wouldn't have been possible without the Raiders defense recording its first interception of the season. On 3rd and 10, Rivers dropped back and attempted to find his receiver Eddie Royal deep down the seam of the field but couldn't connect as Raiders safety Usama Young was able to come down with the interception. Turnovers played a huge part in the Raiders 27-17 victory as the Raiders forced five Chargers turnovers: three interceptions, one fumble recovery for a touchdown, and a muffed punt recovery. Meanwhile, the Raiders had zero turnovers. Pryor's touchdown on his first throw was just the beginning of his hot start. In fact, Pryor would hit on his first 10 pass attempts en route to finishing the first half 13/18 for 141 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. The Raiders second offensive series would see similar results as their first as offensive coordinator Greg Olson continued to call a solid game plan with a 13-play, 89-yard touchdown drive. Pryor, who was 7/7 on the drive, capped the drive off by scrambling to his right and remaining patient enough to find his other wide receiver Denarius Moore in the corner of the end zone for the two-yard touchdown pass to give Oakland the 14-0 lead. The Raiders defense continued to hold while the offense was clicking. In their bend-but-don't-break fashion, the defense was able to hold the Chargers on the goal line after Rivers drove the Chargers offense 79 yards to the Raiders one-yard line. Chargers head coach Mike McCoy elected to go for it on fourth down and called a draw to running back Danny Woodhead but Raiders linebacker Kevin Burnett met him in the hole to stop him dead in his tracks and give the Raiders the ball on the turnover on downs. Though the offense was unable to capitalize and was forced to punt, all the bounces were going the Raiders way at that moment. The usually sure-handed Ryoal muffed Marquette King's punt and Raiders cornerback Chimdi Chekwa was able to recover the fumble to give the Raiders offense the ball back. The Raiders would only advance the ball nine yards but Sebastian Janikowski would knock through the 47-yard field goal to give the Raiders the 17-0 lead, the lead they would hold heading into halftime. But the halftime would give the Chargers a chance to regroup and adjust, which appeared to be beneficial as the Raiders failed to find the same success in the second half while the Chargers found their spark. San Diego was able to force another raiders punt to begin the second half, giving them the ball back and a chance to finally get on the scoreboard. After failing to convert a 3rd-and-one, the Chargers kicker Nick Novak came out for the field goal attempt but Raiders cornerback Tracy Porter broke free to block the attempt. Unfortunately for the Raiders, Chargers tight end Ladarius Green was right there to pick up the ball and advance it for a first down to give the Chargers another chance. Rivers looked as if he had finally gotten the Chargers on the board when he found rookie wide receiver Keenan Allen over Raiders corner D.J. Hayden in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown. The officials reviewed the play and found that Allen's left foot never actually touched the ground until out of bounds, making the pass incomplete. The Raiders would hold on third down, forcing another Novak field-goal attempt which he would make, making the score 17-3. Though the Raiders offense would have their first three-and-out of the game on the next drive, veteran safety Charles Woodson would be able to make history en route to increasing the Raiders lead. On second down, Woodhead took the ball left but was stripped by middle linebacker Nick Roach as the ball was scooped by Woodson who returned it 25 yards for the touchdown. Not only did the touchdown give the Raiders the 24-10 lead, it also put Woodson in the record book as it marked his 13th defensive touchdown, tying fellow safeties Rod Woodson and Darren Sharper for the most in NFL history. Still unable to stay on the field with first downs, Pryor and the offense had to sit and watch as Rivers was able to orchestrate two relatively quick touchdown drives to make it 24-17 with just over 10:00 remaining in the game. When the team needed it most, just up one score, Pryor was able to drive the offense down the field and add to their lead. The biggest play of the drive came on 3rd and 14 when Pryor scrambled out to the right to extend the play and rookie wide receiver Brice Butler did a great job of returning for the ball down the right sideline to haul in the 20 yard reception for the first down. It was Butler's only reception on the night, but one of the most important of the night. Though the offense would gain little more yardage, it was just enough for Janikowski to add to the lead by hitting a huge 50-yard field goal off the A's infield dirt to make it a two-score game. The drive also wound crucial time off the clock, leaving just over four minutes in the game for the Chargers' comeback attempt. As it turned out, the Raiders didn't have to rely on the three extra points as their secondary came up big again while Rivers was trying to manage the comeback. On third and goal from the five-yard line, Rivers looked for Allen again but Hayden was able to make up lost ground to get in front of the pass and haul in his first-career interception in the end zone. After a quick three and out, River had one more chance to make something happen but threw up a prayer and the ball found the hands of Woodson, who slid down to ice the 27-17 victory and improve the Raiders to 2-3. The interception was Woodson's 56th of his career, and the Raiders third of the game, after having none in the first four games. Pryor finished the game with 18/23 for 221 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers. Moore led the Raiders in receiving with five receptions for 86 yards and one touchdown. Rashad Jennings started the game in the place of the injured Darren McFadden and rushed the ball 10 times for 41 yards. Jennings did leave the game with a hamstring injury of his own, forcing fullback Marcel Reece to carry out ball-carrying duties to finish the game. Reece finished with seven carries for 32 yards. The Raiders head out on the road to hostile Arrowhead Stadium to take on the undeafeated Kansas City Chiefs (5-0) next Sunday. Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Sept. 30, 2013 Raiders head coach Dennis Allen, offensive tackle Khalif Barnes and veteran safety Charles Woodson spoke to the media following the team's tough 24-14 loss to the Washington Redskins. Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Sept. 29, 2013 Matt Flynn was handed an opportunity to prove himself on Sunday against the Washington Redskins but was unable to capitalize as the offense failed to produce in a Raiders 24-14 loss. Flynn was awarded the opportunity after starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor was a late scratch after still showing signs from last week's concussion when he met with Dennis Allen and team doctors Saturday night. "It was last night," Allen said on when he decided to go with Flynn as the starter. "We actually were at a point where we were ready to go with Terrelle. We visited with him one more time with the doctors and we just didn't feel good about letting him play. I think, obviously, with all the emphasis on head injuries or brain injuries, we wanted to exercise extreme caution in that situation and that's what we did. I think we did the right thing by Terrelle Pryor in not playing him in this game." With Flynn at the helm, the offense struggled to maintain consistency and failed to move the ball downfield while Flynn finished 21/32 for 227 yards, one touchdown but three turnovers (two fumbles and one interception). According to Allen, much of Flynn's struggles arose from poor vision down field and unaware pocket presence that lead to seven sacks. "Obviously, I don't think he saw the field very good today. I think he was obviously part of some of the sacks that we gave up in the game. It was a tough situation for him to go in to and obviously, with the loss of (Darren) McFadden and (Marcel) Reece, that didn't help him out any. Offesnively, we didn't get it done and that's really the bottom line." To make things tougher for Flynn and the offense, the team lost both starting backs in McFadden (hamstring) and Reece (knee) in the first half. Though Flynn felt as if he was seeing the field fairly well, he agrees that losing his both of the starting backs was difficult. "I don't know, I felt like I was seeing things fairly well," Flynn said. "There were a couple of times on some play-actions where there was a big jump on the line of scrimmage and I had a hard time making sure there were guys open, so I didn't want to force it by making any bad throws. I didn't think I wasn't seeing the field; I just didn't make the plays." "Those two guys are the heart and soul of the offense, that's two great players. I still feel like we ran the ball well after that but that was definitely a big blow for us," Flynn said of the injuries to his two starting backs. The Raiders got off to an early start and quickly took the lead by scoring their first special teams touchdown of the season. After forcing a three and out on Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III and the offense's first two drives, backup running back Rashad Jennings broke through the line and blocked Sav Rocca's punt. Jeremy Stewart recovered the ball in the end zone to give the Raiders the early 7-0 lead. Flynn would get the Raiders lone offensive touchdown in the first quarter with a 10 play, 81-yard scoring drive. Flynn was able to find wide receive Denarius Moore, who made a great catch deep down the right sideline for a gain of 34 down to the Redskins' 21 yard line. Flynn then almost threw an interception after not seeing linebacker Brian Orakpo who dropped back, but luckily the ball fell to the ground harmlessly. Flynn took advantage of the dropped interception by finding his rookie tight end Mychal Rivera in the end zone for a 18-yard touchdown pass to give the Raiders the 14-0 first quarter lead. The touchdown reception was Rivera's first-career touchdown reception. But that would be it in terms of scoring for the Raiders, even with the Raiders defense playing solid and limiting the Redskins offense. The Redskins would score 24 straight points en route to the final 24-14 victory. After struggling to get his own offense going, Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan turned to a no-huddle offense on the following drive that quickly showed production. Griffin III proceeded to drive his offense down to a goal-line situation but failed to get into the end zone as the defense held and forced a 25-yard field goal, bringing the score to 14-3. Having already gotten away with a dropped interception on the previous drive, Flynn would have no such luck on his next possession. On 3rd and 5, Flynn looked for Moore inside but stared him down and had Redskins rookie cornerback David Amerson undercut the route and intercept the ball, returning it all the way into the end zone to cut the lead to 14-10 and giving the Redskins a little momentum. "There's no question, that's what I was saying earlier - we had the momentum in the game and they were able to snatch it away from us a little bit, so yeah, that was a huge play in the game," Allen said of the interception. After that, the Raiders defense would step up and force the Redskins to punt on the next four possessions but with little avail to the offense as their drives would lead to punts as well. The Raiders offense had their best opportunity to get some points on the board in the third quarter when middle linebacker Nick Roach stripped tight end Logan Paulsen and Kevin Burnett recovered to give Flynn and company the ball on the Redskins' 42-yard line. Gaining nine yards on three plays set up a 52-yard field goal try off the infield dirt for Sebastian Janikowski, which he missed wide left. The miss was his third of the young season, the amount he missed in a full season last year (31/34). "Listen, we have to get more comfortable still with that duo. And again, it's a 52-yarder off the dirt, but yeah, any time he misses it's concern. So we have to continue to look at that and see what we can do to fix that." The Raiders offense would struggle to put themselves in a position to score the rest of the game until they reached the Redskins 17-yard line with 3:32 remaining and down 24-10. Down 10, Allen elected to go for it on 4th and inches instead of taking the field goal but Flynn attempted a sneak and fumbled the ball over to the Redskins for the second time of the day. "It was fourth-and-inches. It was fourth-and-inches and we have to be able to make inches," Allen said of his decision to go for it. "We hadn't been moving the ball up and down the field and to get a chance to be down there when you're in scoring position, you can possibly get a touchdown, we have to make inches." From there, the Redskins would be able to pretty much run the clock out and ice the victory putting the Raiders at 1-3 for the season. Raider Nation voiced their displeasure about the offense's ineptness and Flynn acknowledged it's not easy to not hear. "Yea, I mean it's hard not to hear it," Flynn said of the fans expressing their disapproval. "You just try to focus on your job and do what you can, but it's definitely hard not to hear." The Raiders take on the San Diego Chargers at home next week, with a time that is still not set due to the Oakland Athletics playing postseason games at O.Co Coliseum on Friday and Saturday nights. Even with injuries and being just 1-3 after being one-quarter of the way done, Allen expects his team to fight through the difficulties. "Listen, we've faced adversity and we're going to continue to battle. We're going to continue to fight because that's what we do. That's what you do in the NFL and that's what a pro football team is supposed to do and we have to be able to overcome adversity. We have to be able to deal with injuries and we need guys that get an opportunity to come in and step up." Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Sept. 23, 2013 The Oakland Raiders went into Denver Broncos with hope of containing future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, but did not succeed. Manning came into the game the hottest quarterback in the NFL and added to his incredible stats throwing for another 374 yards and three touchdowns on 32/37 throwing. Manning now has 12 touchdowns through the first three games, setting a new record for a quarterback. The Broncos offense clicked from the beginning as Manning orchestrated a touchdown-scoring drive on his first possession, finding wide receiver Eric Decker in the end zone after a fake handoff to Knowshon Moreno to give the Broncos the lead. Meanwhile, while Manning and his offense were clicking, Terrelle Pryor and the Raiders offense were struggling to find a rhythm of their own. In fact, the Raiders did not earn their first first down until their fourth drive of the night. The Raiders had earned just 18 total yards on their first three drives. The Raiders first score of the night came when they were already down 17-0. On 3rd and three, Pryor found wide receiver Denarius Moore who then broke a tackle to break free and scamper 73-yards for the touchdown to make the score 17-7. But the Raiders defense just couldn't stop Manning and the Broncos offense. Manning quickly struck back throwing another touchdown pass just three plays later, finding his new tight end Julius Thomas for a 13-yard touchdown reception, beating linebacker Kevin Burnett who took a bad angle. The score was set up by a 61-yard reception by Eric Decker, who was able to evade Raiders corner Mike Jenkins and safety Brandian Ross for a big catch and run. Despite getting off to a slow start, Pryor finished with respectable numbers, especially for as little as he had to work with. Pryor finished 19/28 for 281 yards and one touchdown, while not turning the ball over for the second-straight game. Pryor was often in a rush to get rid of the ball or scramble because of poor play from the offensive line. Though Pryor was often forced to scramble, Pryor looked poised in the pocket and did a nice job of moving around in the pocket and didn't look to run too quickly. A prime example of this was on the 73-yard touchdown pass to Moore as Pryor had running room for the first down but instead chose to step up and put a ball right on the money to Moore for the bigger gain, which turned into the touchdown. The Raiders were however able to record their first takeaway of the season when defensive end Lamarr Houston sacked and stripped Manning from behind, allowing Jason Hunter to recover the ball. Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson then reached into his bag of tricks as Pryor pitched the ball back to Darren McFadden who then threw a perfect ball to fullback Marcel Reece in the end zone for a touchdown, making the score 30-14. After another touchdown by the Broncos to make the score 37-21, there was a scary moment as Pryor kept the ball but was hit hard in the head and remained on the ground injured momentarily. Pryor would eventually get up and finish the final two plays of the drive, having his fourth and goal throw to Moore fall through his hands to turn the ball over on downs. Pryor would not return to the field for the next drive after heading into the locker room after the big hit, and backup quarterback Matt Flynn replaced him. With a short field following a fumble recovered by Jenkins, Flynn was able to hit Reece down the middle of the field to give the Raiders first and goal. There, Olson appeared to go back to the halfback pass but this time McFadden tucked the ball and ran it in for the touchdown as it appeared the Broncos were prepared for it this time around. The touchdown brought the score to the final of 37-21 as Manning and the Broncos would run the remainder of the clock out to put the Raiders record at 1-2 for the season. The Raiders were unable to get much of a rushing attack as McFadden finished with just nine yards on 12 carries, while Pryor added 36 yards on four carries. Moore led the team in receiving with six receptions for 124 yards and one touchdown. The Raiders return home to host the 0-3 Washington Redskins. Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Sept. 15, 2013 On 2nd and goal, Jones-Drew attempted to take a carry outside but Woodson leaped over a blocker to grab the upper body of Jones-Drew and pull him down as he flew by. "You know, sometimes you have to leave your feet," Woodson said of the tackle. "He was trying to stretch the play outside and it looked like he was slowing down and wasn’t going to be able to get the corner and I just wanted to get to him." The Raiders were able to continue with their new-found ability to pressure the quarterback, adding five sacks today to give them nine total for the year. The Raiders had just 25 sacks all last season. Safety Usama Young, who entered the game due to an ankle injury to Tyvon Branch, recorded 1.5 sacks. "I think it’s just a combination of rush and coverage," Allen said of his pass rush. "I think there’s some times where we do a pretty nice job in coverage and give our guys an opportunity to get to the quarterback. We try to be multiple and send several different guys in different directions and then I think our rush has continued to improve. I think guys have continued to get better at rushing the quarterback." With the Jaguars defense focusing on stopping Pryor, running back Darren McFadden was able to get his game going as he carried the ball 19 times for 129 yards. Though McFadden did have a late-game fumble that came after he busted out for a 27-yard gain on first down. If McFadden can keep it going, it will relieve a lot of the focus that defenses would direct at Pryor. "I think Darren had a good day with the exception of the fumble there at the end of the game; that’s something that can’t happen," Allen said. "He knows that. But I thought he was able to run the ball effectively. I believe he had three runs of over 20 yards and that’s the way the running game operates. You’re going to get a lot of two, three, four-yard runs and then you’re going to be able to pop one. That’s what we were able to do today and we had a couple opportunities to get him on the safety and we had some been gainers." Pryor was able to add 50 rushing yards on nine carries, though only threw for 126 yards on 15/24 throwing. But, Pryor did avoid turning the ball over as he did twice in the season-opener last week at Indianapolis. "I think he did protect the ball, which was a positive," Allen said of his young quarterback. "I think, I’ll have to go back and look at the tape as far as exactly how his decision making was, but listen, that’s always going to be a key for us is to make sure we protect the football and make sure we don’t turn the ball over. We only had one in the game and that came at the very end of the game, so our ability to protect the football as the game goes on is critical to our success." Raiders Janikowski missed another field goal Sunday against the Jaguars. Though the Raiders offense was able to move with 340 total yards, they largely struggled to finish the drives with touchdowns and were forced to settle for field goals by Sebastian Janikowski. Though Janikowski had four field goals, he did miss a 35-yard attempt with punter Marquette King holding. The powerful kicker didn't miss a field goal from inside of 50 yards all last season, but has now missed two in the young season with King holding. It all comes down to new chemistry and the Raiders would sure enjoy to have the consistent Janikowski they had last season. The defense did let up at the end by allowing the Jaguars to drive down the field and score a touchdown late in the game. After a failed two-point conversion, the Jaguars attempted an onside kick but wide receiver Rod Streater was able to secure the ball. There, the Raiders attempted to run the clock out but had to punt the ball back to the Jaguars, who ran out of time in their comeback attempt. The Raiders held the Jaguars to just 248 total yards, 99 of which came on their final two drives in the final three minutes. Allen will need to have his defense playing as well as possible as they head to Denver to take on Peyton Manning and the Broncos on Monday Night Football next week. Pryor and company are well aware, and is ready to focus on his next week's matchup instead of celebrating his first career victory as a starting quarterback. When asked if he took anything away from earning his first career victory as a starting quarterback, Pryor kept it simple: "No. I’m ready to go play Denver." Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Aug. 30, 2013
The Raiders entered their fourth preseason game with many question marks still in their starting lineup, a rare occasions for teams about to head into the regular season. Still, there was a game to play and the Raiders came up short falling to 1-3 in the preseason as they fell to the Seattle Seahawks 22-6 in their final attempt before the regular season begins. There's no doubt that one of the biggest competitions and story lines heading into the game was the starting quarterback situation. With Matt Flynn out with tendinitis, Pryor got the start and played the whole first half. Pryor was able to show what he brings to the starting lineup right from the beginning as he used his athleticism early and often. After going three and out on his first drive, Pryor was able to get the ball moving on his second drive with some well-timed throws and his ability to run. One of the more telling plays demonstrating what Pryor brings to the offense was a plan in which he scrambled to the right, forcing the linebackers up to prevent the scramble giving the young quarterback a passing lane to find Rod Streater for the first down. Pryor showed his athleticism later on a third down by making a ridiculous move on a defender on a 3rd and 7 rush that left the defender motionless and unable to get a hand on him as Pryor was able to turn nothing into a 25-yard gain for the first down. Unfortunately for Pryor, the drive ended with a sack that halted the drive and forced a 45-yard field goal that Justin Medlock nailed to make the score 10-3 with the Seahawks on top. On Pryor's next drive, he was unable to make the necessary throw on his first attempt as he let his pass for Jacoby Ford go late and Seahawks cornerback Walter Thurmond intercepted the under-thrown ball. Overall, Pryor was able to show what he brings to the offense by making the defense accountable but finished just 3/8 passing for 31 yards and one interception, including three rushes for 48 yards. Granted, it should be noted that the Raiders offensive receiving corps should be held accountable for about three drops. Since the starting quarterback position may come down to this game, it's only right we look at both quarterback's lines throughout the preseason. Flynn finished with a 70 percent completion rate for 180 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Meanwhile, Pryor has provided 53 percent completion rate for 221 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions to go along with 138 rushing yards. Pryor might not have done enough to grab the starting job by the horns, but it's certainly something Allen is going to have to think about heading into the season opener. Another question mark coming into the game was how the Raiders would replace starting left tackle Jared Veldheer. Head coach Dennis Allen turned to rookie Menelik Watson for Thursday's game, a second-round draft pick that hasn't played at all during the preseason after limited practice during training camp due to a calf injury. Watson looked strong during his half of play using his athleticism to stay in front of his defender any not surrendering and clear-cut sacks. Watson did give up one sack but it was on a play in which Pryor held onto the ball excessively long and tried rolling to his left, though Watson was unable to hold his block and Pryor was sacked for the loss. Watson had a solid game, especially given he has had little time practicing and no game time in the preseason. Defensive tackle Pat Sims was also out for much of training camp and made his preseason debut on Thursday. Sims made his presence felt from the start while applying pressure on the quarterback and penetrating the backfield allowing the linebackers to make tackles. The Raiders were able to stop the Seahawks rushing attack and limit the team to just 53 rushing yards. The Raiders will need Sims to continue his strong play after his presence seemed to give the defensive line an added boost and allow pressure to be applied to the opposing quarterback, something the Raiders have been lacking throughout preseason. Down 16-6 heading into the half, the Raiders were unable to mount a comeback with rookie quarterbacks Matt McGloin and Tyler Wilson. The good news was the coaching staff was able to get more film on fourth-round draft pick Tyler Wilson, who has seen limited playing time during the preseason after a solid offseason workout regimen. Though it was only two drives in the fourth quarter, Wilson finished the game 8/12 for 65 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions. Wilson was able to show off his strong arm on a couple of passes including a laser of a throw to wide receiver Juron Criner for a first down on 3rd and 5. General manager Reggie McKenzie and the Raiders front office have some tough decisions to make as the roster has to be cut down to 53 by 3:00 p.m. PST on Aug. 31. Originally published on Silver & Black Report on Aug. 24, 2013
The Raiders took the field for their third preseason game and found themselves in a similar situation to last week, falling behind 17-0 in the first quarter. To say the game started off ugly would be an understatement. The offense was unable to move the ball, the defense couldn’t stop Jay Cutler and the bears, and even Sebastian Janikowski missed a field goal from inside 50 yards. Named-starting quarterback Matt Flynn had his worst game of the offseason by far, throwing two interceptions while completing three out of six attempts, for just 19 yards for a 17.4 rating. Flynn’s first interception came on the Raiders second drive on 3rd and nine when Flynn looked for wide receiver Denarius Moore to the right, but miscommunication resulted with Moore continuing running downfield instead of breaking back towards the ball. “They brought some pressure and we just kind of weren’t on the same page right there with what was happening,” Flynn said of the miscommunication.”I was trying to get it out quick and that’s something we have to clean up. That’s something that we’ve got to be better with.” The Bears quickly capitalized with Cutler finding his running back Matt Forte out on the right. Forte made Raiders linebacker Kevin Burnett miss and he scampered 32 yards for the touchdown to give the Bears the 10-0 lead. Following the Bears score, wide receiver Jacoby Ford made his presence back on the field felt as he returned his first kickoff attempt back 62 yards much to the fans’ delight. Flynn and the offense were unable to get a first down, forcing a 49-yard field attempt from Janikowski from off the dirt which he missed wide right for a rare miss. Flynn’s second interception came with the team already down 24-0 early in the second quarter. On 3rd and 8, Flynn dropped back and looked for Ford across the middle but threw it behind his intended receiver and was intercepted by Bears cornerback Isaiah Frey. Head coach Dennis Allen knows his team needs to make better decisions if his team plans on being a better team this year. “Listen, we can’t make those mistakes, especially against a good football team and expect to win the ball game. We have to protect the football,” Allen said. Fans in attendance serenaded him with boos and chants for Pryor as Flynn ran off of the field after his second turnover of the game. Flynn understands the fans’ sentiment and attributes it to their passion and knows they just want to win. “That’s the game. That’s football,” Flynn said of the crowd’s reaction. “That’s what’s going to happen when you have passionate fans and fans expect a certain level of performance and we obviously didn’t meet that today.” Fans got their wish as Pryor entered with the Raiders first-team offense on the next drive. Pryor struggled on the first drive, throwing a ball high on a pass to Rod Streater that should have been picked off but Streater was able to jar it loose to stop the interception, resulting in a punt. Following a field goal from the Bears to put the Raiders 27-0 with just 1:00 remaining. Just as Pryor had done against the Cowboys in week one, the young quarterback led the team down the field to get the team on the scoreboard. In a similar throw to the one that almost resulted in an interception before, Pryor was able to put a nice touch on the ball this time and find rookie tight end Mychal Rivera for 26 yards. After an incomplete pass, Janikowski put the team on the field with a 58-yard field goal from off the dirt to make the score 27-3 heading into halftime. With the first-team offense still out there, Pryor was able to finally get the team in the end zone on their first drive of the second half. The drive included a play in which Pryor displayed his athleticism by eluding numerous Bears defenders looking for a sack and eventually finding Rod Streater down the sideline for a gain of 19 on a “jump pass” for a first down. Unfortunately, Streater was slow to get up and did not return to the field after leaving with a concussion. Pryor proceeded to demonstrate his athleticism once again by escaping the pressure and scampering 25 yards for a rushing touchdown that gave the Raiders their first touchdown. After the second-team defense was able to recover a botched snap on the Bears’ 34-yard line, Pryor was unable to get the ball into the end zone but the team did settle for a field goal that gave made the Bears’ lead 27-13. Pryor was able to get the team back into the end zone on his next drive, once again on a short field after the cornerback Joselio Hanson intercepted Bears quarterback Josh McCown. On 3rd and 16, Pryor found rookie tight end Nick Kasa for a 19-yard touchdown reception. The touchdown was the first of Kasa’s career. The night would be over for Pryor after scoring 20 points on his five drives and bring the Raiders back to a manageable score being down 27-20. Pryor isn’t thinking about any quarterback competition, he just wants to focus on the team improving. “I’m not even looking to start,” Pryor said. “I’m not not looking to start, but I’m not looking to get into who’s going to start. I just want this team… we have a lot of things to fix offensively, defensively. We’ll fix it together, we’ll get it down. Right now, I’m leaning on my teammates and my teammates are leaning on me. Me and Matt are leaning on each other and everyone’s helping each other, and that’s how a great team starts to elapse and I think we have a great team here.” Pryor finished the game 7/9 throwing the ball for 93 yards and one touchdown to go along with four rushes for 37 yards and a 146.8 passer rating and giving Matt McGloin a chance to win the game. Down 34-20, McGloin was able to drive the team down the field getting to the Bears’ five-yard line. After the Bears stopped Jeremy Stewart short of the first down, McGloin found a wide-open Jamize Olawale for the touchdown on first down. Allen then decided to go for the two-point conversion, but wide receiver Travionte Session wasn’t able to hold onto the ball on the quick slant. The Raiders had one more chance in the last two minutes but McGloin was unable to get the job done. After being sacked to make it 4th and 24, McGloin was forced to throw up a prayer that was intercepted by the Bears, allowing them to take a knee in the victory formation and end the game with the Bears victorious 34-26. Allen admits that Flynn did not play well and liked what he saw from Pryor, but believes he needs to take a harder look at his quarterbacks’ production before making any decision on the starting quarterback position. “I think obviously we have to take a look at it. I think when you look at it I don’t think Matt played well in this game. Obviously, I thought Terrelle came in and gave us a spark. I thought he played well in the game. I think that’s something that we have to go and look at it. I’m not going to make any decision on anything, obviously, tonight. I want to get a chance to go back and look at the tape and see how things went. But it was obvious that Terrelle gave us a little bit of spark tonight.” Meanwhile, Flynn is taking the job a day at a time and just taking care of what he can control such as his personal improvement. “I’m not sure. I’m going to go out there and keep busting my tail everyday and learn from the mistakes I’ve made and just play the best ball I can. Preseason game number three is not going to affect me in the long run. It’s not going to change the way I prepare or the way I believe in myself.” The game also marked the first game action that rookie cornerback D.J. Hayden saw after missing contact for much of preseason after coming back from an offseason surgery to remove scar tissue in his abdomen. [caption id="attachment_11460" align="alignleft" width="403"]<a href="http://www.sbreport.net/wp-content/hayden3.jpg"><img alt="Rookie cornerback D.J. Hayden got his first game action against the Bears on Friday " src="http://www.sbreport.net/wp-content/hayden3.jpg" width="403" height="268" /></a> Rookie cornerback D.J. Hayden got his first game action against the Bears on Friday[/caption] Hayden was rusty from the beginning giving up two consecutive passses for 38 yards, but then made a great play just a couple of plays later. Cutler looked to find the receiver Hayden was covering but the young corner was able to get his hands in there and bat the ball away, with defensive end Jason Hunter almost securing the interception. “He made a couple plays. He was rusty. There’s no question about it, he was rusty,” Allen said of his young corner. “It’s his first game experience since November of last year so I’m sure we’ll go back and look at the tape and see that there were some positives in there as well as a lot of things that we have to get corrected.” The Raiders head to Seattle to take on the Seahawks for their fourth and final preseason game next Thursday. Originally published on SBReport.net on Aug. 16, 2013
The Raiders entered the game Friday with many injuries at crucial positions and it showed during their 28-20 loss in New Orleans against the Saints. One of the biggest injuries was losing starting left tackle Jared Veldheer who was under the knife on Friday instead of with his teammates at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, undergoing sugery to repair his partially torn tricep. With Veldheer absent, head coach Dennis Allen inserted Alex Barron as the starting left tackle. Barron struggled from the beginning, unable to stay in front of Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan. Jordan was able to use his quickness on multiple occasions to get into the backfield and pressure starting quarterback Matt Flynn. But Barron wasn't the only member of the offensive line to disappoint. The Saints often went untouched as they got into the backfield to sack Flynn five times in the first half alone. Flynn was largely unable to get the offense going in the first half while playing under duress with Saints defenders in his face for much of his time on the field. In fact, the starting offense was unable to get on the scoreboard until the final drive of the first half, which coincidentally began with Flynn being sacked by Saints defensive end Will Smith. Smith was untouched on his way to the backfield. After throwing behind his rookie tight end Mychal Rivera, Flynn was finally able to drive the ball downfield on 3rd and 15 and find Brice Butler for a nice 24-yard gain for the first down. Flynn seemed to find a rhythm after that. Flynn completed another nice throw, this time to Denarius Moore after standing strong in the pocket and making the throw while absorbing the hit. On 1st and ten, Flynn found Moore again with a perfectly placed ball that was dropped in over the defender in the end zone for the 18-yard touchdown pass with just 31 seconds remaining in the first half. Flynn's first touchdown pass of the preseason made the score 23-7 heading into halftime, with the Raiders defense unable to stop Drew Brees and the Saints' potent offense. The Raiders were also missing three of their starting four defensive lineman, as defensive tackles Vance Walker and Pat Sims, along with defensive end Lamarr Houston all missed the game due to injury. The absence of the Raiders defensive linemen certainly showed, as Brees had all day to locate an open receiver as the Raiders struggled to find a pass rush. Brees and the offense repeatedly attacked former Saint and current Raiders cornerback Tracy Porter. The Saints' first touchdown came after wide receiver Nick Toon was able to beat Porter deep and haul in a 56-yard reception. Saints running back Mark Ingram punched in the touchdown from two-yards out. Porter left the game with an apparent groin injury. It is too early for a timetable for his return. With largely any resistance, Brees finished the first half 14/18 for 202 yards and one touchdown while giving the Saints their 23-7 lead. It was the Raiders' second-team defense that was able to make a game out of the contest. Second-year defensive end Jack Crawford got it started by taking over the first series of the half. On the very first play, Crawford got into the backfield to sack Saints backup quarterback Seneca Wallace for the eight-yard sack. Then, on 3rd and 14, Crawford got into the backfield again and forced an errant throw on the screen attempt to force the Saints to punt the ball. On the Saints next drive, Crawford found himself in a fortuitous position once again as he recovered a fumble punched out by defensive back Brandian Ross. Ross also had a nice day with his forced fumble and also making a nice play when coming in on a blitz but adjusting and tackling Saints running back Traveris Cadet for a six-yard loss. The young defensive end duo of David Bass and Ryan Robinson were able to hook up on a play when Bass got back into the backfield to strip Wallace of the ball which Robinson recovered in the end zone for the touchdown. While the second-team defense was able to hold the Saints, Terrelle Pryor and the second-team offense failed to capitalize. In fact, Pryor's only scoring drive occurred on a series that went -7 yards and ended with an Eddy Carmona field goal. The field goal cut the Saints lead to just one score at 23-17. Before Carmona's field goal, Pryor made a poor decision trying to force the ball into the end zone after a bad snap, nearly having the ball intercepted. Pryor finished 1/5 for nine yards, to go along with four rushes for 15 yards. With the Saints threatening with the ball on the Raiders goal line, Robinson made another play by stuffing the rushing attempt and forcing the turnover on downs, giving the Raiders new life. The life was short-lived as a couple of plays later fullback Jamize Olawale was tackled in the end zone for the safety. The Raiders defense was able to stand, limiting the Saints to just a field goal and giving the Raiders a chance. Down 28-20, un-drafted rookie Matt McGloin had one more chance to tie the game. After finding Greg Jenkins and Conner Vernon for a couple of first downs, the McGloin encountered a 3rd and one. While running the two-minute warning, McGloin snapped the ball too quickly as his team wasn't set and they were called for an "illegal shift" penalty. But the damage wasn't done there. On the next play, the offensive line was called for a false start. But the damage still wasn't done. After a near fumble, McGloin had to heave up a prayer on 4th and 18 that was intercepted to end the game. The Raiders return back home and will host the Chicago Bears at O.Co Coliseum next Friday for their third preseason game. Originally published on SBReport.net on Aug. 9, 2013
The Raiders hosted the Dallas Cowboys as they took the field at O.Co Coliseum for their first preseason game of the 2013 campaign. After winning the coin toss and electing to receive, the Raiders were quickly put in their first tough position of the season after Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee got in untouched to sack and forced the fumble on Matt Flynn on the fourth play of the drive. Much to the pleasure of head coach Dennis Allen, his defense responded by forcing the Cowboys to go three and out and limit them to just three points. After a holding call on the Cowboys, defensive end Jack Crawford got his hand up to knock a screen pass down followed by rookie linebacker Sio Moore recording his first sack. The defense then held Miles Austin short of the first-down line on third down to force the field goal attempt. Moore said it helped to just get on the field and play football to get his nervousness out. “Man, it just helped being able to play, to tell you the honest truth. Mike Jenkins came up to me before the game and was just like ‘Alignment. Know your assignment and the rest will happen as it come.’ I was just excited to be out there with guy.” On his second drive of the game, Flynn drove the offense down the field with a 12-play, 49-yard drive that culminated in a 51-yard field goal from Sebastian Janikowski to tie the game at 3-3. Romo and the Cowboys’ offense was able to move the ball downfield their next attempt, driving to the Raiders eight-yard line but was once again limited to a field goal attempt. This time, safety Tyvon Branch got behind the line and blocked Dan Bailey’s attempt. The block was recovered by middle linebacker Nick Roach and returned to the Raiders 19 yard line. Flynn finished his part of the game 4-5 for 37 yards and the one fumble. Pryor came into the game for the Raiders first series of the second quarter and quickly made his presence felt as he used his athleticism to rush the ball for 13 yards. Pryor showed off his running ability on three occasions, finishing with a total of 31 yards. Pryor’s first drive included three third-down conversions and got the offense all the way to the Cowboys’ six-yard line. Pryor then failed to get the play called in time and was forced to burn a timeout. The timeout preceded an ill-advised throw in which the young quarterback threw it into triple coverage and Cowboys safety J.J. Wilcox came down with the interception. “I looked at the pictures and I could have easily ran it in, but I got greedy,” Pryor said of his interception. After replacing Romo on the next drive, veteran Kyle Orton drove down the field 80 yards on 10 plays that culminated in a perfect touchdown pass to Cole Beasley who beat Raiders cornerback Joselio Hanson. Pryor’s second chance to get the Raiders back on the board came with just 36 seconds left before halftime. After driving the team down to the Cowboys’ 22-yard line with a couple of nice passes, Pryor built on his experience from the interception and threw the ball away twice instead of trying to force the pass. The Raiders were able to come away with another field goal to take the score to 10-6 heading into halftime. “At the end of the day, God has given me a chance to play this game and he’s given me an opportunity to learn, and I learned right there,” Pryor said of his interception the drive before. “As long as you can take one or two things out, and I learned one thing for sure, don’t turn the ball over there, don’t force anything and don’t be greedy. I’ll never do that again and that will never happen to me again.” The Raiders lone touchdown came in the third quarter with undrafted-rookie Matt McGloin airing out a well-thrown 30-yard touchdown reception to rookie wide receiver Brice Butler who made a beautiful diving catch. “I knew Matt [McGloin] was coming to me. In practice, every time I do it with him he throws it to me,” Butler said of his touchdown reception. “I was running down the field, I could see the ball in the air. I’m running and I was like ‘my legs aren’t giving me what I need right now’ so I just dove and I just caught it. And after that I didn’t know what to do with myself, I just started running.” The touchdown gave the Raiders a 16-10 lead, but the Raiders would have to fight back late in the game to retake the lead after another Dallas touchdown gave the Cowboys a 17-16 lead. With rookie quarterback Tyler Wilson struggling, the Raiders punted the ball away but the Cowboys’ receiver muffed Marquette King’s punt and the Raiders recovered on the Dallas nine-yard line. Though Wilson was unable to get the ball in the endzone, Eddy Carmona gave the Raiders the lead again with a field goal to put his team up 19-17. The Cowboys had one more chance late in the game but Dallas quarterback Alex Tanney was unable to advance the ball and his fourth and 10 attempt was dropped by his receiver, giving the ball back to the Raiders and allowing Wilson to take a knee three times in a row to seal the Raiders victory. The Raiders return to camp on Sunday and head to New Orleans for their next game, taking place on Aug. 17, 2013. |
Archives
May 2014
Categories
All
|