Patriots 2014 Opponents, 5 First Impressions Of the Oakland Raiders
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Derek Carr has been a bright spot in the otherwise dim start for the Oakland Raiders. (USAToday photo)[/caption]
The New England Patriots return to Foxboro for the first time since August 22 and take on the Oakland Raiders in their 2014 home opener. After laying a stinker in Miami, the Patriots played much better overall in Minnesota on Sunday, dominating the Vikings and winning 30-7.
The defense registered four turnovers and sacked Matt Cassel six times while Chandler Jones blocked a field goal attempt and returned it for a touchdown. Stevan Ridley ran for 101 yards and Julian Edelman shined in both the passing and return games.
Oakland lost their home opener 30-14 to the Houston Texans in an ugly game for both the offense and defense. The Raiders have a lot of veteran players and are the oldest team (27.02 average age) in the league. The 0-2 start is not the way the coaches, players and front office envisioned. They travel to New England then to London in a “home” game against the Miami Dolphins. Needless to say, if things don’t improve changes may be upcoming.
I spoke at length with good buddy Brian Mejia who covers the Raiders for the National Gridiron Network so Here are Five First Impressions of the Oakland Raiders:
This Team Is Fragile And Could Come Apart: After hanging with the Jets and losing a close game 19-14 in their opener, a home opener against Houston was looked upon as a chance to take a step forward against a mediocre opponent.
Everything went wrong; the Texans dominated the line of scrimmage and ran the ball very well controlling the game where QB Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t have to throw the ball in the second half. Veteran Charles Woodson spared few words in describing the woes of the Raiders on defense. “We’re not very good,” Woodson said. “We’re not very good and they executed. It’s as simple as you can be.”
“We suck. Today that's as blunt as I could put it. For whatever reason, defensively we just won't stop people, especially early in games. Every first drive a team is able to go and get points.” If these things continue to spiral there could be changes coming quickly for the Raiders.
One thing to monitor this week is if the Patriots get off to a quick start and jump out to a big lead, will the Raiders get rattled and fold?
Dennis Allen On In Thin Ice?: Having gone 4-12 for his first two seasons at the helm doesn’t put one in good stead with the ownership anywhere, but then getting off to a bad 0-2 start and being booed loudly at home can’t be a good sign for Head Coach Dennis Allen.
The team he’s been saddled with isn’t a good one; no one is stating the Raiders should be counted against the better teams in the NFL but still, given the veteran leadership out there, they should be playing better.
Owner Mark Davis is said to be very frustrated at the team’s years of ineptitude and is ready to clean house. Allen’s domino would undoubtedly be the first to fall and former Dolphins Head Coach Tony Sparano would probably get the call to take over. Defensive Coordinator Jason Tarver could be another casualty in the near future.
The Defense is Being Gashed: Despite having some very good players on the defense, it has been gashed for two weeks in a row. After giving up 212 yards on the ground to the Jets in Week 1, the Raiders gave up 188 more to the Texans, led by Arian Foster’s 134 to lead the way. That’s an average of 200 yards per game.
The pass defense has fared little better, opposing QBs are completing 78.7 percent of their passes against the Raiders secondary and have a combined QB rating of 110.9 thru the first two games going 37-47 for 360 yards with three TDs and only 1 INT.
The defense was on the field for over 38 and a half minutes on Sunday and allowed 9-15 third downs. Something will have to change and soon if they are to salvage anything for this season. The team seems to lack speed overall and it has been apparent.
On a team with LaMarr Woodley, Justin Tuck, Antonio Smith and Woodson, having only 2 sacks (none by the above) and only one interception is a tough way to start the season.
One bright spot has been rookie LB Khalil Mack who made a strong showing against the Texans, batting down a pass at the line and laying a big hit on Ryan Fitzpatrick on a blitz forcing an incomplete pass.
Derek Carr is the Future: While much of the Raiders need fixing, Carr is playing well, especially for a rookie QB saddled with a poor running game and a porous defense but Carr has been a bright spot, albeit still prone to rookie mistakes.
Carr finished the Texans game 27-42 for 263 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He also ran for 58 yards including a 41 yard scramble which leaves him the Raiders leading rusher after two games.
Right after his scamper he stared down a receiver and got picked off which is a familiar rookie miscue. His other pick came late in the game when he was crunched by J.J. Watt as he was releasing the ball. But Carr took the blame for all of the offensive miscues and then some, showing some solid leadership on a team sorely in need of a boost.
He also mixed some nice throws on Sunday, including a nice back shoulder throw to James Jones for 26 yards down the sideline that should have set up Oakland deep inside Houston territory, but Jones fumbled it away…twice. Jones fumbled got it back and fumbled it again.
He does have the confidence of the offensive line, "I love his attitude," center Stefen Wisniewski told the Fresno Bee. "He's positive, he's in command and you never see any doubt in his face. He's going to be a good one someday. Hopefully that day starts next week."
Running Game Absent: The Raiders offense could really use a shot-in-the-arm from the running game which has been largely MIA for the first two weeks of the season. As mentioned above, Carr with 57 yards scrambling out of the pocket is their leading rusher. Carr’s gaudy 11.4 yard average buoys the team average up to a respectable 4.1 yards per carry but what of the rest?
Darren McFadden has carried 16 times for 52 yards for a 3.3 yard per carry average. Maurice Jones-Drew who has been hampered with a bad hand has carried the ball only nine times for 11 yards thus far. Taking Carr out of the equation, Oakland RBs are averaging 2.5 yards per carry. That isn’t going to get it done.
Lativus Murray could see a boost in carries this week as Allen tries to shake things up. Murray ran well this summer and is averaging a nice 24.3 yards per attempt in the kick return game.
They’ll need a better job from the running game on Sunday if they want to keep the game competitive against the Patriots. Having a rookie QB at the helm on the road and being one-dimensional is not a recipe for success.
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