Tag: Daniel Carlson

Raiders 2023 Team Captains includes newcomers Robert Spillane, Marcus Epps

Raiders announce 9 Team Captains including Josh Jacobs, Robert Spillane, Marcus Epps

Today the Raiders named nine team captains. Four on offense, three one defense, and two on special teams.

Those captains are as follows:

Offense

QB Jimmy Garoppolo
RB Josh Jacobs
WR Davante Adams
LT Kolton Miller

Defense

DE Maxx Crosby
LB Robert Spillane
S Marcus Epps

Special teams

K Daniel Carlson
P AJ Cole

Of note among the captains is Josh Jacobs who just took the practice field for the first time this week after sitting out all of camp until he received a new one-year deal in lieu of signing the franchise tag.

Also of note is Robert Spillane and Marcus Epps who signed with the team this offseason. They were chosen over returning starters at those positions Divine Deablo and Tre’von Moehrig.

Third year starting cornerback Nate Hobbs may have also been a fine choice as a captain. But no players who were captains last season were stripped of that status this year.

Ballers & Busters: Raiders preseason Week 3 vs Cowboys

Raiders Ballers & Buster for their preseason finale vs Cowboys

One more chance for many hopefuls on this Raiders training camp roster to show what they can do, both for the Raiders coaches as well as the rest of the league.

How did they do in this final exhibition? Let’s take a look

Ballers

WR Kristian Wilkerson

With one, and possibly two, receiver spots up for grabs on the Raiders roster, Wilkerson set out to prove he was worthy of it. And he put his best foot forward, catching 10 passes for 122 yards. No other Raiders receiver came with seven catches of his total and only one receiver came within 100 yards of his receiving total.

K Daniel Carlson

Went three for three in the game, including a 62-yarder and a 50-yarder. That 62-yarder was an upright splitter which looked like it would’ve been good from 70 yards. What a weapon.

RB Damien Williams

He doesn’t just have a great first name, he was breaking off big yards in chunks. He had two of the top four longest plays by the Raiders in this game and the only two runs that went for over ten yards. He had the Raiders’ only touchdown in the game on a 24-yard burst. Then he had a 20-yard run to lead out the third quarter that led to a field goal. He finished with 54 yards and a TD on six carries (nine yards per carry).

G Jordan Meredith

On both of those long Williams runs, Meredith laid a key block. His only mistake in the game was being flagged for holding.

DT Nesta Jade Silvera

Early in the second quarter, he had a run stuff for one yard on third and two. A few plays later he made the stop on a three-yard run. His best play may have come on a 16-yard catch in which he raced into the secondary to make the tackle. His five combined tackles led all Raiders defensive linemen. He added a QB hit as well.

Honorable Mention

QB Aidan O’Connell — Another efficient day for the rookie. Though he was unable to throw any touchdowns, he didn’t turn the ball over either.

WR Cam Sims — Had another fantastic grab in this one. This time reaching up high to pluck a 22-yard grab up the left sideline. The skills he has shown as a jump ball target are valuable.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

6 Raiders make NFLPA Players’ Top 5 at their position

NFLPA puts out their list of Top 5 at each position and 6 Raiders make the cut

This year, along with the NFLPA putting out their first ever Players’ 1st Team All Pro, they did something unique. Instead of doing a first and second team the way the AP does, they asked players at each position to give their top five.

Once they tallied up the scores, they put out a top five at each position. The Raiders saw six players make the top five at their position. Those positions are Running back, Fullback, Wide receiver, Edge rusher, Kicker, and Punter.

RB 1. Josh Jacobs (All Pro)
FB 4. Jakob Johnson
WR 2. Davante Adams (All Pro)
ED 3. Maxx Crosby
K 2. Daniel Carlson
P 3. AJ Cole

It’s notable that even though Adams was named number two behind Justin Jefferson that it was Adams who was named first team All Pro. So, these top fives don’t line up like a simple first team, second team, third team type of thing.

Raiders players who may have made the list in years past, but whose 2022 seasons were upended by injuries include TE Darren Waller and LB Denzel Perryman. Should they return to health and to form, they could push to make the team next season.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby7y715wxzbczy player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

Raiders WR Davante Adams, RB Josh Jacobs named NFLPA Players’ 1st Team All Pro

NFLPA Players’ inaugural 1st Team All Pro featured WR Davante Adams and RB Josh Jacobs with one notable Raiders snub

For years, the most prestigious All Pro teams have been voted on by members of the media. The recognized being the AP All Pro team.

This year the NFL Players Association decided they were going to put together their own All Pro first team. And their process is to let the players themselves vote on the best at their respective positions.

This may or may not be a better way of coming up with an All Pro team, but it’s certainly an interesting perspective.

On this team there are two wide receivers and one running back. Raiders WR Davante Adams made the first team along with Vikings WR Justin Jefferson. While Raiders RB Josh Jacobs made it at running back.

Adams led the NFL in receiving touchdowns (14) and was third in receiving yards (1516). While Jacobs led the NFL in rushing (1653) while adding 12 touchdowns, making him an easy choice.

Getting the snub was K Daniel Carlson who was previously named AP All Pro first team as well as PFWA All NFL. Seahawks’ Jason Myers was named to NFLPA First Team All Pro over Carlson.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby7y715wxzbczy player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

Raiders have 2 named to PFWA All-NFL Team, 4 to All-AFC Team

Davante Adams, Maxx Crosby make PFWA All-AFC Team, left off All-NFL team

As a member of the Pro Football Writers of America, I get a vote on their season-ending awards. So, I take particular interest in these awards.

Today the PFWA released their All-NFL, All-AFC, and All NFC teams based on the votes of all PFWA members. A few Raiders players showed up in the results.

Making the All-NFL team was RB Josh Jacobs and K Daniel Carlson. Both also made the All-AFC teams along with WR Davante Adams and DE Maxx Crosby.

For what it’s worth, all four received All-NFL votes from me.

Here are all the full PFWA teams.

2022 PFWA ALL-NFL TEAM
Offense
QB – Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
RB – Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns*; Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders
WR – Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins; Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
TE – Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
C – Jason Kelce, Philadelphia Eagles*
G – Joel Bitonio, Cleveland Browns#; Zack Martin, Dallas Cowboys*
T – Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles; Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers*
Defense
DE – Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers*; Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns#
DT – Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs; Quinnen Williams, New York Jets
OLB – Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys*; Haason Reddick, Philadelphia Eagles
MLB – Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers
CB – Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, New York Jets (r); Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos
S – Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Steelers; Talanoa Hufanga, San Francisco 49ers
Special Teams
PK – Daniel Carlson, Las Vegas Raiders
P – Tommy Townsend, Kansas City Chiefs
KR – Keisean Nixon, Green Bay Packers
PR – Marcus Jones, New England Patriots
ST – Jeremy Reaves, Washington Commanders

(r) – rookie
* – repeat selection from 2021
# – consecutive selections from 2020-22

2022 PFWA ALL-AFC TEAM
Offense
QB – Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
RB – Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns&; Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders
WR – Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders; Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins#
TE – Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
C – Creed Humphrey, Kansas City Chiefs*
G – Joel Bitonio, Cleveland Browns#; Joe Thuney, Kansas City Chiefs
T – Terron Armstead, Miami Dolphins; Laremy Tunsil, Houston Texans
Defense
DE – Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders*; Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns#
DT – Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs#; Quinnen Williams, New York Jets
OLB – Matthew Judon, New England Patriots*; Alex Highsmith, Pittsburgh Steelers/Matt Milano, Buffalo Bills (tie)
MLB – Roquan Smith, Baltimore Ravens
CB – Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, New York Jets (r); Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos
S – Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Steelers; Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers
Special Teams
PK – Daniel Carlson, Las Vegas Raiders
P – Tommy Townsend, Kansas City Chiefs
KR – Nyheim Hines, Buffalo Bills
PR – Marcus Jones, New England Patriots
ST – Justin Hardee, New York Jets

(r) – rookie
* – repeat selection from 2021
# – consecutive selections from 2020-22
& – consecutive selections from 2019-22

2022 PFWA ALL-NFC TEAM
Offense
QB – Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
RB – Saquon Barkley, New York Giants; Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
WR – A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles; Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
TE – George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers*
C – Jason Kelce, Philadelphia Eagles*
G – Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta Falcons; Zack Martin, Dallas Cowboys*
T – Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles; Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers#
Defense
DE – Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers*; Brian Burns, Carolina Panthers
DT – Dexter Lawrence, New York Giants; Javon Hargrave, Philadelphia Eagles/Daron Payne, Washington Commanders (tie)
OLB – Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys*; Haason Reddick, Philadelphia Eagles
MLB – Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers
CB – Jaire Alexander, Green Bay Packers; Darius Slay, Philadelphia Eagles
S – C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles; Talanoa Hufanga, San Francisco 49ers
Special Teams
PK – Jason Myers, Seattle Seahawks
P – Johnny Hekker, Carolina Panthers
KR – Keisean Nixon, Green Bay Packers
PR – Kalif Raymond, Detroit Lions
ST – Jeremy Reaves, Washington Commanders

(r) – rookie
* – repeat selection from 2021
# – consecutive selections from 2020-22

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby7y715wxzbczy player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

3 Raiders named AP First Team All-Pro

Davante Adams, Josh Jacobs, and Daniel Carlson are AP First Team All-Pro. Maxx Crosby snubbed.

The Associated Press put out their 2022 All Pro first team today. Making the team was three standout Raiders — RB Josh Jacobs, WR Davante Adams, and K Daniel Carlson.

Jacobs led the league in rushing (1653) by a pretty safe margin. He also scored 12 touchdowns.

Adams led the league in receiving touchdowns (14) and was third in receiving yards (1516).

Carlson set a new NFL record with 11 made field goals from 50 yards or more and was tied for second in the league with 34 made field goals.

Maxx Crosby was not only snubbed from the first team, but he didn’t make second team either.

You can see the full All Pro first and second teams here:

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby7y715wxzbczy player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 18 vs Chiefs

The final single game Ballers & Busters for Raiders this season is a doozy.

After the Raiders scored 34 points on the 49ers stout defense and took them to OT in Week 17, there was some expectation going into the season finale that they might play a competitive game against the rival Chiefs.

They did not.

This one got out of hand quick, turning into a three-score game by half time. Welp, at least we can’t say they blew a big lead this time, right?

Ballers

WR Davante Adams

The first third-down conversion of the game for the Raiders offense was a pretty over-the-shoulder grab by Adams for 13 yards. It set them up in scoring range on the first drive. Had Stidham’s pass to Adams at the goal line been a little lower, Adams would have scored a touchdown. But instead, they opened with a field goal.

Adams caught a 22-yard pass and forced a pass interference late in the second quarter to put the Raiders in KC territory. But a 24-yard catch by Adams was wiped away on a penalty on the Oline, and two plays later, the Raiders turned the ball over, so they would get no score out of the promising drive.

Even with the missed opportunities, Adams still led the team with 73 yards receiving, putting him over 1500 receiving yards on the season.

Daniel Carlson

He trotted out and nailed a 54-yard field goal to end the first drive and scored all the points the Raiders had in the game. Which was six points.

AJ Cole

Kick squad was doing their thing. Cole only had two punts, but they were good ones. The first one went 63 yards and was downed at the two. The other went 59 yards with a five-yard return for a 58.5-yard net for the game.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 17 vs 49ers

Plenty of Ballers in this game, but more Busters led to another late collapse.

It was the first game of the post-Derek Carr era in Las Vegas. And not only did the offense not skip a beat, it looked better than it had all season long. Meanwhile the banged up defense look as bad as it had at any point this season.

Thus how the two teams went into overtime tied at 34 and the Raiders ultimately lost 37-34.

Ballers

QB Jarrett Stidham, WR Davante Adams

Stidham was perfect to start this game, driving the Raiders down the field for a touchdown on the opening drive while going three-for-three for 58 yards and a 24-yard touchdown pass to Darren Waller.

The second drive, Stidham got Adams involved. His first pass went to Adams who broke wide open for a 27-yard gain. A few plays later, Adams forced a pass interference to give the Raiders a first and goal at the five-yard-line. They would get to the one and settle for a field goal to go up 10-7.

Just before the half was up, the two had their first gorgeous connection. Stidham put it up along the left side of the end zone for Adams who caught it over a defender and tapped his toes for the touchdown to give the Raiders a 17-14 lead at the half.

A couple minutes into the third quarter, they connected again. Again it was for a touchdown. This time Stidham rolled out left and kept his eyes downfield with defenders closing in. All the while Adams was working to break open. Just as Stidham reached the left sideline and was about to get nailed, Adams got behind the defense and Stidham threw it to him for a 60-yard touchdown. Adams later said Stidham congratulated him on the sideline with blood in his teeth. Instant respect.

The 24-14 lead would disappear in the fourth quarter and become a 27-24 deficit. Then a 34-27 deficit with two minutes left. Then Stidham went back to work, first finding Mack Hollins for 21 yards, then throwing one up for Adams who made a spectacular adjustment and diving catch for 45 yards. A couple plays later, the Raiders tied it up at 34.

In the overtime period, Stidham dropped back and was hit as he threw, causing the ball to flutter and was picked off and returned to put the 49ers in position for the game-winner.

Stidham finished with 365 yards and three touchdowns. That’s the most passing yards by a Raiders quarterback since week 11 of the 2021 season. And matches Derek Carr’s highest TD total of any game in the past four years.

Adams had seven catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns. His second best game of the season.

CB Tyler Hall

The Top Baller from last week in Pittsburgh, Hall is showing up with some big time plays of late. He had two pass breakups in the fourth quarter that helped end drives. The first was on a deep ball near the goal line. The second was at the goal line on a pass that wasn’t even to his man. He just read Purdy’s eyes and came off his man to knock down a would-be touchdown pass to George Kittle. Hall also didn’t give up a catch on 26 snaps.

TE Foster Moreau, TE Darren Waller

Moreau rebounded from a rough game in Pittsburgh to be a reliable target and blocker in this one. Waller looked to be back to his old self as well.

The first play of the game went to Moreau on a swing pass that went for 20 yards. The final play of that drive, Stidham again rolled right, this time dropping one in for Waller who had gotten behind the defense for the touchdown.

Waller’s stat line was interesting. He had three catches for 72 yards. That’s an average of 24 yards per catch. But in actually, his three catches all literally went for exactly 24 yards each.

Moreau’s second catch came in the fourth quarter. Stidham threw for him with the defender’s back turned and Moreau reached over the defender’s back and pulled the pass in for 21 yards. Two plays later, he caught one over the middle for 14 yards to set up a long field goal to tie the game at 27-27.

The 49ers answered with a touchdown to go up 34-27. Then it was Waller getting open in the end zone to force a pass interference that put them in first and goal at the one and another game-tying score.

K Daniel Carlson

Without Carlson’s big leg, this game doesn’t get to overtime. He came in and split the uprights on a 57-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. What a weapon he is.

Honorable Mention

CB Amik Robertson — Climbing the ladder to take a ball away from George Kittle is no small thing. That’s what Robertson did to give the Raiders their only takeaway of the game.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 14 vs Rams

We look at the Ballers & Busters for Raiders in their Thursday Night loss to the Rams

Coming off a full team win over the Chargers last week, the Raiders came in feeling pretty good about themselves against a banged up Rams team that had lost six straight. And the old collapsing Raiders showed up.

A 13-3 halftime lead gave way to a scoreless third quarter and a late comeback win by Baker Mayfield and the Rams. And thus both teams’ streaks came to an end on Thursday night in Los Angeles.

Ballers

DE Maxx Crosby, DE Chandler Jones

Jones answered the question as to whether his three-sack game last week was a one-off. It wasn’t. He had another big week as did Crosby. Though Crosby usually does.

Crosby ended the Rams’ first possession with a tackle for loss on an end around on third-and-one for a three-and-out.

Leading 13-3 in the second quarter, Crosby had another tackle for loss and on the next play closed off the outside, leading to another tackle for loss. Two plays later, the Rams were at the Vegas 23-yard-line where Chandler Jones punched the ball out of Cam Akers’s hands and then recovered the fumble himself.

The Raiders held the Rams scoreless in the third thanks in large part to Crosby and Jones getting pressure from both sides to force an incompletion and the the two of them teaming up for a sack.

On the two drives to win the game for the Rams, Crosby looked to be held several times, but none were called. Jones was held at least once that was called and had a QB hit on an incompletion. And the two of them again teamed up for a sack.

Can’t blame these two for the collapse. They were playing their hearts out all the way to the bitter end.

K Daniel Carlson

After scoring a touchdown on their opening drive, the rest of the way for the Raiders it was Carlson. He connected on a 52-yard field goal and two others. You just wanted to see probably a TD instead of a field goal on at least one of them. Or perhaps one more field goal, but that’s not on Carlson. He did his job.

P AJ Cole

Speaking of players you’d like to have seen less of…AJ Cole. No offense to him. He knows no one wants to see him take the field. But we did see him. And he showed he’s a weapon. He had two punts downed inside the 20, including a 64-yarder that was downed at the two-yard-line prior to the final drive by the Rams. Literally nothing more he could have done to try and keep the Rams from driving for the win than to force them to go 98 yards to do it.

WR Davante Adams

Adams made one of the most unreal catches on the opening drive. First pass of the game, with Jalen Ramsey all over him. Ramsey literally holding one of his arms down and putting his other hand over Adams’ eyes, Adams still made a ridiculous one-handed grab for 32 yards. That set up the TD on the opening drive.

Later, he caught a 35-yard pass in which he waited to the last instant to snatch the pass to Ramsey was unable to bat it away. That one should’ve set up another score, if not for Derek Carr throwing an interception in the end zone.

Adams even laid a couple nice blocks in the game. Too bad he was abandoned in the second half.

WR Mack Hollins

Hollins did most of his damage on the ground, taking three end-arounds for a total of 40 yards. He also had a couple of catches in which he found the soft spot in the zone and sat in it nicely.

LT Kolton Miller, LG Dylan Parham

The left side of the Raiders line was secure in this one. Miller didn’t allow much in the way of pressure while Parham did work in the run game. He even twice forced his man to be flagged for illegal hands to the face to try and keep from being blocked.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2