Jon Gruden has been saying he’s going to shake things up to try and add a spark to the Raiders after their two big losses the past two weeks. Apparently, that goes for the practice squad as well.

The team had three new faces on the scout team today. First up, they had tight end Eric Saubert signed away by the Bears. They replaced him with third-year tight end Cole Wick.

They also added rookie CB Jordan Brown and brought back WR De’Mornay Pierson-El who had spent part of the offseason with the team.

Brown was a 7th round pick by the Bengals. He played on Gruden’s North squad in the Senior Bowl.

In corresponding moves, they released linebacker Quentin Poling and offensive lineman Kyle Kalis from the practice squad.

At this point in the season teams are jockeying to add players they would like to re-sign to reserve/future contracts come January.

[vertical-gallery id=58364]

[lawrence-newsletter]

The timetable for Hunter Renfrow’s return from his rib injury is becoming more clear. Two weeks ago when he broke his rib, it was unclear if he might need to be placed on injured reserve. He did not, which would suggest the team expected him to be back on the field this season.

As of last week, Gruden would only say he would not play in Kansas City but that he was week-to-week after that. This week Gruden is pushing his return a couple more weeks at least.

“We’re very hopeful that he could return, maybe for the last game or two,” Gruden said of Renfrow. “We’re going to keep him where he is on the active roster. We’re going to try to do without him for another game or two and hopefully get him back maybe for the Chargers game. That’s our wish list, hope list right now for Hunter. We miss him.”

The Raiders face the Chargers in LA week 16. It’s possible that Renfrow’s return could also be dependent upon the Raiders playoff hopes. If they are still in it, Renfrow could help. If not, it seems less likely they would try and rush him back. For now, they will remain optimistic they could have him for a possible playoff run.

[vertical-gallery id=58646]

[lawrence-newsletter]

I’m sure this has got to have happened at some point, but if so it’s got to be incredibly rare. Sunday the Titans come to Oakland with each quarterback having the same undefeated record against the opposing team.

Raiders QB Derek Carr is 3-0 against the Titans in his career. Titans QB Ryan Tannehill is 3-0 against the Raiders.

That’s kinda crazy.

How is this possible? Well, all of Tannehill’s wins over the Raiders came as the starting quarterback for the Dolphins. Carr has won each of his meetings with the Titans, but they all came with Marcus Mariota at quarterback. While all of Tannehill’s wins came against a Carr-led Raiders team.

Mariota started the season for the Titans but was benched week six in favor of Tannehill. The Titans were 2-4 at that point. They’ve gone 5-1 since Tannehill stepped in as the starter. And since these teams are facing off against players and not uniforms, it would seem Tannehill’s record vs the Raiders with Carr at QB and his record this season since taking over as the starter would probably be the ones that carry the most significance.

Regardless, something’s got to give. One of these QBs’ undefeated records will go down Sunday.

[vertical-gallery id=58469]

[lawrence-newsletter]

One of the best things about Derek Carr throughout his career is his ability to complete a high percentage of his passes and not turn the ball over. The same is playing out this season as he has a completion percentage of 70.6 percent and has thrown only eight interceptions in 12 games.

However, Carr’s willingness to protect the ball rather than taking shots down the field might actually be hurting the Raiders’ offense. In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, the site discussed some of the reasons for the Raiders’ recent regression on offense. One of their biggest concerns was Carr’s average depth per target:

Speaking of regression, the Raiders came into the season with similar question marks at receiver, and despite breakout seasons from tight end Darren Waller and rookie wideout Hunter Renfrow, the lack of depth may be catching up. Oakland quarterback Derek Carr has not pushed the ball downfield nearly enough, especially during the blowout losses over the last two weeks where his average depth of target is only 6.4, third-lowest in the league during that time. Carr has all of the necessary big-time throws in his arsenal, but either his conservatism or perhaps a lack of downfield playmakers has hindered Oakland’s ability to create big plays in the passing game.

The lack of consistent receivers has certainly hurt Carr’s willingness to throw down the field, but their franchise quarterback needs to keep defenses honest. Opposing defensive coordinators know that Oakland wants to throw the ball short, and they are now able to take that away.

Over the next four weeks, the success of the Raiders’ offense might rely on Carr being able to throw the ball down the field with accuracy to create big plays. If that doesn’t happen, expect the team’s struggles on offense to continue.

[vertical-gallery id=58646]

[lawrence-newsletter]

The 2019 NFL draft has produced a ton of young talent, but the debate as to who has been the best player in their rookie season has come down to just two players; 49ers’ defensive end Nick Bosa and Raiders’ running back Josh Jacobs.

Both players have been among the best at their respective positions, but it’s Jacobs, who is currently Pro Football Focus’ top-ranked rookie through 13 weeks. Take a look at PFF’s reasoning behind Jacobs’ overall grade this season:

After two of his worst performances at the NFL level in Weeks 11 and 12, Jacobs bounced back in Week 13, reclaiming his spot as the top rookie in the NFL and second highest-graded running back overall at 88.3. The elusive Jacobs has been producing missed tackles like a charm — his 61 broken tackles are eight more than anyone else and helped pave the way to his 25 rushes of 10 or more yards (fifth-most). Jacobs has been an absolute unit rushing at or between the guards, as he is PFF’s highest-graded running back on those attempts and has racked up the fourth-most yards after contact per attempts, at 3.6. In a Gruden offense that advocates a zone rushing attack, Jacobs has far from disappointed, ranking second in PFF grade in those run concepts.

Despite the Raiders falling behind early in their last two games, Jacobs has still found ways to produce. And with a must-win game against the Titans this week, look for the Raiders to lean on their rookie running back to help move the ball on offense.

The Jacobs selection at pick No. 24 was a highly-debated one, but it’s clear that he is the heart and soul of the Raiders’ offense. He is the most consistent player on their offense week in and week out. Look for their star running back to have a big game in Week 14.

[vertical-gallery id=58646]

[lawrence-newsletter]

It’s fair to say that Clelin Ferrell’s rookie season hasn’t been as dynamic as many had hoped. Through 13 weeks, the former Clemson defensive end has only 31 tackles and 3.5 tackles for a loss. However, the raw stats don’t quite tell the whole story.

According to Pro Football Focus, Ferrell has actually been a significantly better player in the second half of the season as he has recorded two straight games of at least a 70 grade. In Week 13, he actually had the best game of his career as he was dominant against the run. Take a look at what the site had to say about his performance against the Chiefs:

Ferrell provided his second consecutive 70.0-plus graded performance in Week 13 thanks to a productive showing against the run. Across 23 run-defense snaps, Ferrell secured both of his tackling attempts, one of which was made behind the line of scrimmage. He wasn’t perfect — he failed to record a single pressure across 14 pass-rush snaps — but he still ended the game with a PFF grade of 71.9, the best mark of his career so far.

While Ferrell could still improve as a pass rusher, he’s becoming one of the team’s best run defenders. It’s not exactly the reason the Raiders selected him at No. 4 overall, but he is finding ways to help out despite not being able to create a ton of pressure on the quarterback.

However, the team and fans should be encouraged with Ferrell’s play over the last few weeks. If he can continue this positive momentum into the final month of the season, that would ease a lot of concerns about their defensive ends going forward.

[vertical-gallery id=58646]

[lawrence-newsletter]

It must be a game at Arrowhead because it was ugly on the Raiders side of the ball. The Raiders were never really in this game. They had two turnovers in the first eight minutes, three turnovers in the first half, were behind 21-0 at the half and 31-0 by the end of the third quarter.

The first score for the Raiders came on the first play of the 4th quarter and their touchdown was deep into garbage time. Then, of course, the point after attempt was blocked and returned for a 2-point score to give us the final of 40-9. To say the Raiders didn’t show up would be excusing their on-field implosion.

A few guys came to play, so let’s recognize them before moving on to the refuse.

Top Baller: RB Josh Jacobs

The Raiders got the ball first and for a brief moment, it looked like they had a good game plan that would give them a fighting chance against the Chiefs. That plan was to give the ball to Jacobs early and often. The rookie back broke off a 12-yard run on the second play. Then he had an 8-yard run two plays later and another 8-yard run to give him 28 yards on four carries. They went away from him and turned the ball over, ending the drive before they could cross their own 40-yard-line.

The next Raiders possession started with three-straight runs from Jacobs for 15, 7, and 5 yards, giving him 55 yards on 7 runs. That’s significant because that gave him 1000 yards on the season, making him the first Raiders running back to surpass the mark in four seasons. And, of course, he’s the only Raiders rookie to ever do it. But again they went away from him, thus stalling the drive.

Late in the first half, with the Raiders down 14-0, Jacobs would pick up four yards on third and two. Can you guess what happened then? Yup. They went away from him. Two plays later, Derek Carr would throw his second interception, this one returned for a touchdown.

The next play Jacobs got the left edge and took off for 35 yards. That run put him over 100 yards before halftime. Unfortunately with the Chiefs going up 24-0 after the first drive of the second half, Jacobs got the ball just three more times the rest of the game. Not his fault. He should have been the workhorse. But he still managed 6.1 yards per carry to finish with 104 yards rushing.

[lawrence-newsletter]