‘Just Survive Baby’ The Defense Shows Improvement; Carr And The Offense Stall On The Side Of The Road

Raider Nation, this might be painful to hear but if Josh Rosen has a great game next week, it will be hard to find another win on the schedule outside of Arizona.  I would love to be optimistic but we are averaging 4.5 points a game over the past 2 games and that doesn’t win many, if any, games in the NFL.

In all actuality, it wasn’t an overall bad performance, just a few bad breaks here and there.

In typical fashion, the Raiders offense started off hot, moving the down the field. Yes, it took a fake punt but still, our offense was in position to strike early. Unfortunately, bad playcalling did us in. If you’re in the mindset of using all 4 downs, You have to throw in a play action fake or a jump ball to Cook. Using Doug Martin as a ramming back is idiotic when you have QB like Carr and a jet sweep in condensed space, was beyond unbelievable.

We squandered an easy 3 points and left the momentum hanging in the wind.

Our Defense showed up early, holding the Chargers to three, 3 and outs. Our cornerbacks held their own and Maurice Hurst was a force in the middle.

Unfortunately, our offense stalled once again and we were left only leading 3-0 at the at end of the 1st.

Oakland offense once again was in a groove with Doug Martin leading the way.  Unfortunately, Melvin Gordon beat Kelechi Osemele in pass protection, sacking Carr and forcing a fumble.

Corey Liuget scooped it up and the Chargers were in prime position to score. Our defense stood tall and held Phillip Rivers and their offense to a field goal.

The Chargers would add a touchdown with seconds left in the half.

All didn’t seem lost though and there was some hope heading into the 2nd half.

On their opening position of the 2nd half, the Chargers would march down the field and find the endzone again.

There wasn’t much to write about after LA scored on the 2nd hald opening possession.  Each team would add a field goal and Oakland would lose its 5th straight game, all by 10 plus points.

Let’s get to the glaring needs of this under achieving team.

• We have absolutely no deep threat at all. Brandon Lafell is our best receiver and Jordy Nelson needs to be released.

• Derek Carr was sacked 4 times and hit 9 times. He did his best to get rid of the ball but our pass blocking scheme isn’t holding up.

• Jalen Ricard needs more touches regardless of how effective Martin can be. Richard is a homerun threat but his opportunities have been limited.

• Maurice Hurst and Arden Key are developing right before eyes. Hurst had a sack and Key forced the throw on the Phillips interception.  Gereon Conley is also improving, although he missed a key tackle on the Gordon TD. I will be keeping a close eye on him for the remainder of the season.

• The secondary played one of their best games of the season. Marcus Gilchrist made a great coverage interception. Keenan Allen had less yards and average per catch than all but 1 game this season.

• The run defense wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad either.  Early in the game it was downright swarming.  The offense staying on the field and scoring some points would help.

• Whitehead played a great game, leading the team in tackles.  Lee could be seen holding his own in pass coverage.

With the draft the only thing worth looking forward to, I will be adding a draft special in the coming weeks.

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