What condition the position is in: Assessing Raiders level of need along interior Oline

What kind of shape the Raiders are in at center and guard heading into the offseason.

With free agency a month away, it’s time to check in on the Raiders’ interior offensive line positions to give it a condition of either Strong, Stable, Unstable, Serious, or Critical.

Starters: Jackson Powers-Johnson, Andre James, Jordan Meredith

Backups: Dylan Parham, Will Putnam

Free agents: Cody Whitehair

The offensive line was in flux all last season. With the starters cycling in and out in part to injury and in part to try and find the best combination. Rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson was injured early on, then started at left guard before moving to center for the injured Andre James and then shifting back to left guard due to other injuries and James being healthy again. Parham struggled in his 14 starts while Meredith appeared to show himself to be a better option.

Condition: Unstable

They could probably run it back with JPJ at left guard, James at center, and Meredith at right guard with Parham as a utility reserve. But JPJ is the best center on this team, and if he is to play there, they would have to figure out what to do with James and would also need to upgrade the guard position so as to not have a letdown overall on the interior.

Raiders going with hot hand on offensive line in finale vs Chargers

Antonio Pierce is opting for continuity on the offensive line to finish it out after their best ground game of the season.

Last week in New Orleans the Raiders rode their best ground game of the season to a second straight win. Ameer Abdullah had the first 100-yard game of his career, rushing for 115 yards.

Left guard Jordan Meredith was injured for a second straight game, so the starting lineup went thusly:

LT Kolton MIller
LG Jackson Powers-Johnson
C Andre James
RG Dylan Parham
RT DJ Glaze

Meredith returned the practice this week and is officially Questionable for the game. But Antonio Pierce said he’s making the call now and they’re going with continuity and sticking with the same group that led them to such success against the Saints.

“We’ll stay with the same five guys that were starting last week,” said Pierce.

Early in the season, Powers-Johnson was starting at left guard with James at center, so keeping them in those spots this week isn’t a difficult decision.

It will be interesting to see whether this lineup carries over to next season or if JPJ moves back to center where he earned the Rimington Award and became a high second round pick. Or if they keep him at guard and James at center.

Raiders sticking with Jackson Powers-Johnson at center over Andre James

Even with Andre James returning from injury the Raiders are sticking with rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson to start at center.

Thursday, Andre James returned to practice, which opens the question as to whether he could return to the starting lineup. But despite his return, Raiders head coach is opting to stick with his rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson at the position.

“We’ll stay with the same five,” said Pierce of the plans on the Oline. “Just continuity. Unless something drastic changes today, I don’t see a change in the lineup. They’ve been practicing well the last couple days together and we’ll keep it accordingly.”

Last week was the first game in a while the Raiders had the same starting five offensive linemen for the full game.

That starting five from left to right was LT Kolton Miller, LG Jordan Meredith, C JPJ, RG Dylan Parham, RT DJ Glaze.

This five could be the most promising for combination for the Raiders. It features the Raiders stalwart LT Miller, hopeful Meredith beside him, and rookie draft picks JPJ and Glaze in the mix as well.

Raiders Week 11 inactives vs Dolphins

The list of those who will not suit up for the Raiders Week 11 against the Dolphins.

Game time is coming up in about an hour and a half, which means we now know the list of those Raiders who won’t suit up in Miami to take on the Dolphins. They are as follows as posted on social media by the Raiders:

Nate Hobbs (ankle), Cody Whitehair (ankle), Andre James (ankle), and Harrison Bryant (yes, ankle) were all OUT on the Raiders final injury report.

Hobbs will be replaced at slot cornerback by Darnay Holmes.

Whitehair will be replaced at left guard by Dylan Parham.

James will be replaced at center by Jackson Powers-Johnson.

Bryant will be replaced as the third tight end by Justin Shorter.

Dylan Laube, Trey Taylor, and Zach Carter are all healthy scratches.

The only player who was Questionable on the Raiders injury report was Michael Mayer who came off the Non-Football Injury list on Friday, which signaled that he would be playing in the game.

Raiders vs Dolphins final injury report: Latest updates, news for Week 11

All the latest updates and news on Raiders injury report ahead of a Week 11 game vs. Dolphins.

Friday’s final injury report gave us some clarity on just whose chances of playing on Sunday when the Raiders take on the Dolphins in Miami went up or down.

Raiders, Dolphins injury report

TE Harrison Bryant injury update

After returning to practice Thursday, Bryant (ankle) was missing again on Friday and has been officially ruled OUT for Sunday’s game.

TE Michael Mayer update

Mayer is coming off the Non-Football Illness list. Antonio Pierce said he’s trending toward playing, but wanted to be careful with him. He’s officially Questionable and with Bryant OUT, they could certainly use Mayer in this one.

C Andre James injury update

James (ankle) has officially been ruled OUT. Jackson Powers-Johnson has been named the starting center for week 11,

CB Nate Hobbs injury update

Hobbs was carted off the field in Cincinnati just before the bye with an ankle injury. He has officially been ruled OUT. Raiders figure to start Darnay Holmes in his place.

G Cody Whitehair injury update

Whitehair also went down with an ankle injury in Cincinnati. He has been officially ruled OUT for the game. He will be replaced by former starting right guard Dylan Parham who was the team’s starting left guard the previous two seasons.

Raiders vs Dolphins injury report: Latest updates, news for Week 11

All the latest updates and news on Raiders injury report ahead of a Week 11 game vs. Dolphins.

Thursday’s injury report gave us some clarity on just whose chances of playing on Sunday when the Raiders take on the Dolphins in Miami went up or down.

Raiders, Dolphins injury report

TE Harrison Barnes injury update

Barnes (ankle) returned to practice Thursday, which means the Raiders could have all three of their top tight ends for Sunday’s game.

C Andre James injury update

James (ankle) was still missing as expected. Jackson Powers-Johnson has been named the starting center for week 11,

CB Nate Hobbs injury update

Hobbs was carted off the field in Cincinnati just before the bye with an ankle injury. He missed practice again. Should he be unable to go this week, the Raiders could play either rookie DeCamerion Richardson or Darnay Holmes in his place.

G Cody Whitehair injury update

Whitehair also went down with an ankle injury in Cincinnati. He was replaced by Dylan Parham who was the team’s starting left guard the previous two seasons.

Raiders 2024 midseason Busters

Those who have had the roughest time in an ugly season for the Raiders.

Now that we’ve separated the positive performers aka the Ballers, let’s move on to those whose performances led most directly to the Raiders’ 2-7 record and their five-game losing streak.

Busters

HC Antonio Pierce, OC Luke Getsy

A head coach who preaches not riding the emotional rollercoaster but who lets every loss cause him to make unwise public statements and every week not commit to his starting quarterback. And who always seems to make the wrong decision on 4th down.

We knew these were going to be issues of his coming into the season, which is why he surrounded himself with former head coaches on his staff. But their influence has not been able to curb his worst tendencies. The team is falling apart at the seams on both sides of the ball and all we hear is the same old lines about execution and taking care of the ball.

Days before Getsy was fired, he clapped back at a question about the team’s inability to keep up the offensive success past the first scripted drive. His response was that there is no such thing as a scripted drive, even though that’s a very commonly known concept. And the Raiders have been terrible at sustaining anything past the first drive.

It seems like after that first drive, his game plan seems to consist of simply trying to do what the defense least expects. Even though the reason defense wouldn’t expect it is because it’s just a bad idea. For instance, he will call for runs when the pass has been working, and vice versa. And it has cause many drives to stall either at the doorstep of scoring range or in goal-to-go situations. And this team can ill afford to miss opportunities like that.

The previously successful run game has been an unmitigated disaster in the zone blocking scheme he implemented and the offense as a whole has looked completely lost.

LT Kolton Miller

Three times this season Kolton Miller was the Top Buster with four times a Buster overall. He just hasn’t been himself. He has given up six sacks this season, which puts him on pace for 11 sacks which would be by far his most sacks allowed since his rookie season.

QB Gardner Minshew

Speaking of guys having their worst seasons…Minshew has thrown more interceptions (8) than touchdowns (6) this seasons. There’s also been several instances where he panicked at the first sign of pressure and just bounced around inside the pocket until he was sacked.

RB Zamir White

Nothing has gone well on the ground for the Raiders. However, Alexander Mattison for outplayed White which is saying a lot. And it’s the reason Mattison ended up taking his job.

In his first season as the named starter, he has averaged just 2.9 yards per carry and has two fumbles. Despite being a strong back, he hasn’t had success in short yardage, often going down at first contact. He also has just six catches on the season.

C Andre James

Three times this season, James was a Buster. He was injured in Week eight which had rookie Jackson-Powers Johnson move over to center from left guard, and the difference was obvious. JPJ had his best game of the season and was named a Baller. Something James has not accomplished this season.

DT John Jenkins

Jenkins has done almost nothing this season. Unless you consider getting routinely pushed up field on the block as doing something. The Raiders run defense has been abhorrent this season and the door is often opened when he gets sent backward. He had 61 tackles last season and he won’t come close to that this season on his current pace. He also has yet to record a tackle for loss and has just two QB hits.

T Thayer Munford, T DJ Glaze

Between the two of them, they have five times been Busters over the first nine games. Munford started the season and held up well in the season opener. But the next week he was the Top Buster on a team that otherwise had a great game. He was injured the following week and Glaze stepped in.

In his six starts this season, Glaze has been a Buster three times, including two of the past three games.

Munford came in last week as the team’s third string left tackle and absolutely lit up, including Trey Hendrickson putting up three sacks on him. He has given up five sacks this season despite playing in just two full games.

See the Ballers

Will Dylan Parham, Robert Spillane play today for Raiders vs Bengals?

Raiders inactives for their Week nine game against the Bengals

The inactives are out ahead of the Raiders Week nine game against the Bengals and two key names are not among them.

Both RG Dylan Parham and LB Robert Spillane are active for today’s game, which means both are expected to start.

Parham has missed the past two weeks with a foot injury. He was replaced at right guard by Jordan Meredith. Parham should step back into his starting role today.

Spillane had injured his knee last Sunday and missed the entire week of practices. Head coach Antonio Pierce said he would be a game time decision. He’s apparently been cleared and should start at his usual middle linebacker spot where he’s missed just one play all season.

Among the inactives is starting center Andre James who was ruled OUT on the team’s final injury report. He will be replaced at center by rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson.

Raiders vs Bengals final injury report: Latest updates, news for Week 9

All the latest updates and news on TEAMA’s injury report ahead of a Week X game vs. TEAMB.

The final injury report for the Raiders and Bengals for their Week 9 matchup is out. With it, the Raiders have one player OUT and three others whose status is Questionable.

Raiders, Bengals injury report

Andre James injury update

James has been ruled OUT with an ankle injury. He will be replaced at center by Jackson Powers-Johnson.

Dylan Parham injury update

Parham is Questionable to miss his third straight game with a foot injury. Jordan Meredith has replaced him at right guard in each of the past two games.

Robert Spillane injury update

Spillane is Questionable with a knee injury with Antonio Pierce saying he will be a game time decision. If he can’t go, Tommy Eichenberg would most likely start at middle linebacker.

Zamir White injury update

White returned to practice Friday after missing Thursday’s practice. He is officially Questionable. Alexander Mattison is expected to get the bulk of the carries regardless, but the team has said they would like to get White going if he’s healthy.

Raiders rookie gets first start at center Week 9 vs Bengals

With Andre James OUT with a knee injury, rookie second round pick and Rimington Award winner Jackson Powers-Johnson will make it first start at center.

When the Raiders take the field Sunday in Cincinnati, they will have a new starting center. Regular center Andre James has been ruled OUT with an ankle injury, which means Jackson Powers-Johnson will be moving over from left guard to center.

“We’ve had Jackson there the last couple days we’ll leave him there and let guys kind of stay put,” Pierce said of the center position. “We’ve been shuffling the Oline quite a bit now due to injuries, so we do the best we can to keep some continuity there and let the guys that’s practiced throughout the week play where they’ve been practicing.”

Powers-Johnson was selected by the Raiders with the 44th overall pick in the second round of this year’s draft out of Oregon.

This past season for the Ducks, JPJ won the Rimington Award as the nation’s top center. But the Raiders needed him to play guard initially, being that they had James in place at center.

Currently the Raiders have several linemen with center experience, including the two linemen who could be starting at each guard spot on Sunday — Cody Whitehair and Dylan Parham. However, Whitehair’s days at center are long past, and the bulk of Parham’s experience is at guard.

JPJ stepped in at center for the final 16 snaps in last Sunday’s game against the Chiefs when James sustained the ankle injury and the team is sticking with him at least for this week and perhaps longer, depending on James’s injury recovery timeline and how well JPJ holds his own at the position.