Tag: Gardner Minshew

Ballers from Raiders preseason Week 1 vs Vikings

The positive standout performances from the Raiders first preseason game.

Welcome to year 17 of Ballers & Busters. The first ever B&B came out in preseason of 2008. So, let’s get it going for 2024, shall we?

There was a lot to like about what we saw from the Raiders first preseason action of 2024. They went on four scoring drives in the first half and held the Vikings to one to take a 20-7 halftime lead.

Things went awry in the second half, but, hey, preseason.

That being said, since the preseason tends to focus a lot on individual performances, let’s get to it.

Keep in mind, there are no Top Ballers or Top Busters for preseason. I pretty much just listed them in order of appearance.

S Tre’von Moehrig

After giving up a 19-yard catch on the second play, Moehrig settled in. He made two run stops on that same drive and had tight coverage for an incompletion on third and two from the four-yard line. The second Vikings drive, Moehrig made what could’ve been a touchdown saving tackle, stopping a run at 16 yards. He finished with a team-leading six tackles, all solo.

CB Jakorian Bennett

With the Vikings in 4th and two from the four, they went for it and Bennett was there to break up the attempt in the end zone to hold the Vikings scoreless on their opening drive and give the Raiders the ball back.

WR Jakobi Meyers

On third and three on the first drive, Meyers got open deep and made a leaping 24-yard grab. The next play he made the catch on a zero route in the left flat, stepped away from a tackler and ran for eight yards. Two plays later, in third and three, Aidan O’Connell looked for him again and he made a 13-yard catch to put the Raiders in Minnesota territory. One play later, they were in field goal range.

CB Jack Jones

The Raiders took a 3-0 lead into the second quarter. In third and eight, the Raiders blitzed, forcing JJ McCarthy to make a quick decision. He thought he had a man open, but Jack Jones undercut the route and picked off the pass, giving the Raiders the ball back. Jones then took his ball and went home (the sideline).

WR Tre Tucker

The offense came in after the turnover, this time with Gardner Minshew at QB. The second play saw Tucker make an adjustment on a pass slightly behind him on a cross, to make the catch for 29 yards. The next drive, he made an even more impressive adjustment. Going deep, he was turned inside, but the pass was headed to his outside shoulder, so he turned away from the pass, relocated it in the air and then laid out to make the catch for 44 yards. The Raiders would score touchdowns on both drives. The second one, Tucker laid a key block for Zamir White to run it in. He added a nice punt return at the end of the half as well.

QB Gardner Minshew

All three Minshew possessions, the Raiders scored. The first two for touchdowns. The first drive featured a 29-yard pass to Tre Tucker and a scramble for seven yards on third and three. The touchdown was on a perfect strike to DJ Turner at the right pylon. The second TD drive he aire out for a 44-yard connection with Tucker and found Cole Fotheringham for 11 yards on third and six. He finished 6/12 for 117 yards and one TD with a passer rating of 112.2.

LB Amari Burney

Burney came to play. The 2023 sixth round pick clearly set out to let everyone know he was still here. His biggest play was late in the third quarter, when he ended a drive by coming up to make a stop at the line for no gain on third and one. That was his third run stuff of the day. The first went for a loss and the other for one yard. His four tackles in the game were tied for second on the team. He even had a QB hit in the game.

P AJ Cole

In the second half, when nothing was working for the Raiders on offense, Cole would come in an remind them that at least he can tilt the field. He had two punts of 60 yards – one that was fair caught at the 14 –, one for 56 yards that went out of bounds at the five, and one that went 43 yards that was fair caught at the 11. Weapon.

Honorable Mention

DE Malcolm Koonce – Had a run stop for no gain and a pressure leading to an incompletion on the first drive.

QB Aidan O’Connell – Went 7/9 for 76 yards on the opening drive, twice converting on third down.

LB Robert Spillane – Put on the pressure that rushed McCarthy into his throw that Jack Jones picked off.

WR DJ Turner – Beat his man and streaked toward the end zone to score the Raiders first touchdown of the day from 20 yards out.

DT TJ Franklin – Blocked a field goal attempt in the second quarter.

S Phalen Sanford – Caught the ball off the Franklin blocked field goal and returned it 42 yards to the Minnesota 40-yard-line.

K Daniel Carlson – Lined up for a 56-yard field goal off the blocked field goal and return and nailed it to give the Raiders a 20-7 lead. Carlson hit two other chipshot field goals in the game.

Continue to the Busters…

Raiders HC Antonio Pierce target date for naming starting QB coming up soon

Antonio Pierce has set his target date for naming Raiders starting QB

After months of offseason practices, training camp practices, and now one preseason game, we could be days away from the Raiders *finally* naming a starting quarterback.

We have been watching both quarterbacks perform throughout the offseason and training camp, and didn’t come away from that thinking either quarterback had separated himself from the other. That has been Antonio Pierce’s evaluation as well, it would seem.

Saturday’s preseason opener, it was Aidan O’Connell who got the start, but only because one of them had to be the starter. And both quarterbacks played fairly well.

“I thought both guys were efficient,” Pierce said in his Sunday morning press conference. “There were some opportunities that Minshew made down the field that were really good. But I thought both quarterbacks…obviously when it’s a clean pocket you can see what this offense can be with both guys. But I thought they really did a good job with operations. We did have one delay of game with Gardner that we need to clean up. But I thought Aidan did a really good job when being backed up into the red zone and Gardner in the two-minute drill. Everything that we wanted to get out of preseason [Week] one, we got.”

Pierce wouldn’t say who would be taking the field first in next Saturday’s preseason game against the Cowboys, but that after that game, he hopes to have his decision on who will be the team’s opening day starter.

“The goal will be to hopefully make a decision after this game this Saturday,” Pierce said. “We got to get ready to play football and I think we got enough film. We’ll have two games to evaluate both quarterbacks to see how they’ll play.”

So, this time next week, we could have our answer on who will start versus the Chargers in the season opener on September 8 in Los Angeles.

Raiders vs Vikings preseason Week 1 recap: Raiders give up 20-7 halftime lead to fall 24-23

Raiders give up 20-7 halftime lead to fall 24-23 to Vikings in preseason opener

If you consider the most important football in a preseason game happens in the early going, the Raiders won this one. Even though technically, in the end, the final score didn’t reflect that.

The Raiders didn’t sit any of their starters who were available to play in the game. All expected starters were in for the first quarter before giving way to the second teamers in the second quarter.

The Vikings got the ball first and drove inside the ten. Then on 4th and two, they went for it and the Raiders made the stop to take over at their own four-yard-line.

Aidan O’Connell came in at quarterback to start the game for the Raiders, and he led them right down the first for the score. The offense went 83 yards on 15 plays with O’Connell completing seven of nine passes; three to Jakobi Meyers and two to rookie TE Brock Bowers.

On third and goal, left tackle Andrus Peat was beaten to give up the sack on O’Connell and the Raiders settled for a field goal.

An interception on the ensuing Vikings drive early in the second, brought in Gardner Minshew. The veteran led the Raiders 76 yards for the touchdown, finishing it off with a nice looking connection with DJ Turner for the score and a 10-0 Raiders lead.

A 48-yard run by Vikings RB K Nwangu would make the score 10-7.

Minshew came back out and connected with Tre Tucker on a deep ball, with Tucker laying out for a brilliant 44-yard grab. Zamir White finished off the drive with a walk-in touchdown run up the middle to take a 17-7 lead.

The Vikings would drive into field goal range, but the attempt was blocked by TJ Franklin and caught in the air by Phalen Sanford who returned it 42 yards to the Minnesota 40. The Raiders used the field position to add another field goal before the half to make it a 20-7 lead.

Things completely fell apart for the Raiders in the second half. On both sides of the ball. Anthony Brown came in at quarterback and didn’t get his first completion until the third possession.

Meanwhile the Raiders defense was getting torched. First with rookie MJ Devonshire biting on a double move to give up a deep TD pass up the left side, then with fellow rookie safety Trey Taylor peeking into the backfield to give up a wide open 33-yard touchdown.

And just like that, the Raiders 20-7 lead was a 21-20 deficit.

Late in the third, the Raiders got a huge punt by AJ Cole and a stop by the defense to give them solid field position. First down runs by Anthony Brown and Sincere McCormick put them in scoring range. But on third and goal from the one, McCormick was stuffed for a three-yard loss and the Raiders settled for a field goal and a 23-21 lead.

Carter Bradley entered at QB midway through the fourth quarter. Antonio Pierce was just trying to run clock, having Bradley hand it off on his first six plays with no first downs.

Eventually the Vikings were able to mount enough offense in the final seconds to get into field goal range and hit a 38-yard field goal to get the 24-23 win.

Gardner Minshew 6/12, 117 yards, 1 TD, 112.2 rating

Aidan O’Connell 7/9, 76 yards, 101.9 rating

Zamir White 6 rushes, 23 yards (3.8 ypc), 1 TD

Sincer McCrormick, 8 rushes, 30 yards (3.8 ypc)

Tre Tucker 2 catches, 73 yards

Jakobi Meyers 3 catches, 45 yards

Brock Bowers 2 catches, 25 yards

Tre’von Moehrig 6 tackles (6 solo)

WATCH: Raiders WR Tre Tucker with incredible diving grab

WATCH: Raiders WR Tre Tucker with incredible diving grab

We had heard all offseason about the progress Tre Tucker had made this offseason. But we didn’t see a whole lot of it in camp. On the Raiders third drive of their preseason opener in Minnesota, we saw it. And…wow.

With the Raiders at their own 25, up 10-7, Tre Tucker went deep. Gardner Minshew launched it and Tucker went and got it.

As impressive as the full extension for Tucker was his adjustment with the ball in the air. He turned away and took his eyes off the ball, then relocated it in the air, laid out and made the grab 44 yards down the field.

Six plays later, the Raiders were in the end zone again on a Zamir White run up the middle to take a 17-7 lead.

Tucker has two catches in the game for 73 yards to lead the Raiders. Minshew is five of eight for 114 yards and a touchdown.

WATCH: Gardner Minshew drives Raiders for touchdown on pretty throw to DJ Turner

WATCH: Gardner Minshew drives Raiders for touchdown on pretty throw to DJ Turner

Aidan O’Connell got the ball first and put on a show, leading the Raiders 83 yards down the field on 15 plays. But it would end with a field goal after a sack on third-and-goal.

The plan was for Gardner Minshew to play the second quarter. And when Jack Jones picked off Vikings QB JJ McCarthy, Minshew day began.

Minshew had a tough act to follow after O’Connell completed seven of nine passes for 76 yards.

The veteran Minshew had a long completion to Tre Tucker to get things started. Then he followed up a high incompletion for Kristian Wilkerson by tucking it and running for the first down.

Then he finished it off with a gorgeous pass to DJ Turner for the score.

Turner has been…turning some heads in camp and he showed why right there.

As for the QB competition, those two drives still put them pretty much neck-and-neck. Good to see it because of both playing well.

Raiders preseason Week 1 vs Vikings: What to watch for

What to watch for in Raiders preseason opener in Minnesota

It’s game day. For the first time in over seven months, the Raiders take the field for a game. This first outing is their preseason opener in Minnesota.

The game will air on NFL Network at 1pm Pacific (3pm local, 4pm ET). You can see all the details of how to watch here.

For that, here are a few things to watch for.

Quarterback competition

This is the number one reason to tune in by a wide margin. Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell will each get a quarter of play. Antonio Pierce has not revealed who will take the field first, but the order will be flipped next week when the face the Cowboys in Las Vegas.

What does matter here is we could get to see one QB against Vikings starters and the other against backups and fringe players. As in most cases the expected starters play very little in the first preseason matchup, if at all.

This competition has been raging on through training camp and to anyone watching, Minshew has a clear lead between the two, if only a slight one. It’s not decisive, which is why O’Connell still has a chance to come charging back in the competition with his play in preseason and the remaining practices before the season begins.

Rookie standouts

Raiders fans are no doubt excited to get to see 13th overall pick Brock Bowers take the field for the first time. There are obviously high hopes for the decorated tight end out of Georgia and Napa California native. 

The rest of the class has some guys hoping to continue their fine play from the camp in the preseason. Including Round three tackle DJ Glaze, Round four cornerback Decamerion Richardson, Round five linebacker Tommy Eichenberg, Round six running back Dylan Laube, round seven CB MJ Devonshire, and undrafted receiver Ramel Keyton.

Kick returns

This year the kick returner job is far more exciting due to the new kickoff rules.For that reason, it will be very interesting to see how the Raiders handle it and specifically *who* handles it. The previously mentioned Dylan Laube figures to find a role there, but others have gotten work there as well, including Ameer Abdullah and even cornerback Jack Jones.

As far as how Daniel Carlson changes his kicking strategy, I would be surprised if he reveals much about that in this game. Best to keep it status quo before the games count. Gotta keep Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers guessing until the season opener.

Next men up

Often times the entrenched starters won’t play in the preseason opener. But some will not play for other reasons. Left tackle Kolton Miller is on the PUP list, as is rookie left guard Jackson Powers-Johnson. Davante Adams was absent the last week of camp because he was home in Las Vegas awaiting the birth of his child.

Stepping up for those three will be three veterans: Andrus Peat (LT), Cody Whitehair (LG), and Kristian Wilkerson (WR).

Other game coverage:

How to watch Raiders preseason Week 2 vs Vikings

5 Raiders battles to watch on offense in preseason opener in Minnesota

5 Raiders battles to watch on offense in preseason opener in Minnesota

9 players who opened some eyes at Raiders camp

Raiders preseason opener will be ‘very telling’ in QB competition

Breaking down Raiders first unofficial depth chart of preseason

Winners from Raiders training camp scrimmage

Former Jaguars QB Nick Foles retiring from NFL

Former Jaguars QB Nick Foles retiring from NFL

Former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles announced his retirement from the NFL on Thursday, ending his pro football career after 11 years.

One of those seasons was spent in Jacksonville after the MVP of Super Bowl LII signed a contract including what was then the largest amount of guaranteed money paid to one player in franchise history.

Foles intends to rejoin the Philadelphia Eagles, the team he shockingly led to a championship, before officially filing his retirement in September.

The Jaguars handed Foles a four-year, $88 million contract, including $50.1 million guaranteed in 2019, hoping he could lead the franchise to its first Super Bowl victory as he had done for Philadelphia two seasons prior.

But a collarbone injury suffered on his second drive with Jacksonville, during its Week 1 matchup with Kansas City, threw a haymaker into the team’s plans.

Foles went five-of-eight passing for 75 yards before going down with the injury on a touchdown pass to wide receiver DJ Chark.

He reassumed the role of starter in Week 11, but on a short leash following the emergence of rookie sensation Gardner Minshew, who threw for 2,285 yards with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions in Foles’ near-nine-game absence.

Having committed four turnovers in three games after returning, including three in his third, Foles was benched in favor of Minshew in Week 13 and never threw another pass for Jacksonville.

Foles finished his brief Jaguars stint with a 65.8% completion rate, 736 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Jacksonville traded Foles to Chicago the following March for a 2020 fourth-round NFL draft pick, resulting in an $18.75 million dead salary cap hit for that year.

A 2012 third-round pick by Philadelphia out of Arizona, Foles first rose to prominence with the Eagles by taking over as starter in each of his first two seasons because of injuries to Michael Vick.

Foles peaked as a regular-season passer in 2013, when he tossed 27 touchdown passes compared to two interceptions in 13 games, including 10 starts. He tied the NFL record with seven touchdown passes in a 49-20 win over the Oakland Raiders. His 2,891 passing yards that year are his career high.

But Philadelphia coach Chip Kelly traded Foles to St. Louis after his 2014 season ended on injured reserve, beginning his long game of musical chairs around the NFL.

Foles started 11 games for the Rams in 2015 but was benched twice for poor performance. After the Rams drafted Jared Goff first overall in 2016, Foles asked for his release. He went on to spend that season as a backup with Kansas City.

Foles rejoined the Eagles in 2017 as former first-round pick Carson Wentz’s backup under head coach Doug Pederson.

A Week 14 knee injury to Wentz promoted Foles to the starting role for the Eagles, who had the best record in the NFC at the time. He went 5-1 as the starter in that stretch, throwing for 1,508 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions and hauling in the legendary “Philly Special” touchdown pass against New England in the Super Bowl.

Foles started for the Eagles to begin the 2018 season until Wentz was cleared to play in Week 3. Foles did not attempt another pass until Week 15, when Wentz was sidelined with a year-ending back injury.

He guided the Eagles on a three-game winning streak to end the campaign, with Philadelphia advancing to the NFC divisional round before a 20-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

Including the postseason, Foles passed for 1,880 yards with 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2018.

Foles declined a $20 million option from Philadelphia the following offseason, leading him to hit free agency and sign his megadeal with the Jaguars.

After his time in Jacksonville, Foles spent two seasons with Chicago and one with the Jaguars’ AFC South rival Indianapolis Colts. He appeared in 13 games, including one against the Jaguars with the Bears, and made 10 starts in that stretch.

Over 11 seasons with six teams, Foles completed 62.4% of his passes (1,302 of 2,087) for 14,227 yards with 82 touchdowns and 47 interceptions. He also rushed 151 times for 407 yards and six scores.

Sep 18, 2022; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Nick Foles and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson interact after the game at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

Raiders training camp Day 7 report: Aidan O’Connell responds

Raiders training camp Day 7 report: Aidan O’Connell responds

Things are really starting to heat of in recent days in Raiders training camp. The first few days, it was the status quo, which is to say the defense dominated and the offense showed little signs of competing with them. The past couple practices we have seen the winds change a little bit.

Wednesday was the first practice where the offense was able to make some noise. Most of it was made by Gardner Minshew.

Minshew had shown he was beginning to run the offense efficiently and had earned equal time with the first team between him and O’Connell. That continued on Friday after a day off. But this time, It was O’Connell to answered the bell and started putting things together for the first time this camp.

O’Connell got the ball first in team sessions and was dealing right away. He completed a deep ball to Jakobi Meyers and followed that up with a pass over the middle to Meyers. Then he found Tre Tucker with a perfect ball on an out to the left sideline. Credit to Tucker as well for making the catch and tapping his toes inbounds. O’Connell finished off the drive with a dart to Brock Bowers at the goal line and he crossed into the end zone.

Later, O’Connell kept it going while working with the second team. He found DJ Turner on a back shoulder pass up the sideline and then Alex Bachman laid out to make a great catch for the touchdown.

It’s great not only to see the offense putting things together against this defense, but it’s also good to see him respond to the day the guy with whom he is competing for a job.

After all, Antonio Pierce said he’s waiting for one of them to step up and say “I’m the guy” and if Minshew continued to put things together and O’Connell didn’t fight back, that could have given Pierce the answer he was looking for.

As it stands now, it looks like there’s still a heated competition. The difference is that it’s not just because both are struggling.

Raiders training camp Day 6 report: Gardner Minshew gets 1st team reps, offense has best day

Raiders training camp Day 6 report: Gardner Minshew gets 1st team reps, offense has best day

Just to be clear, the Raiders defense is still lightyears ahead of the offense. That being said, the offense had its best day Wednesday, which was a welcome sight considering how poorly its looked this offseason and through the first five practices.

Tuesday’s practice ended with Gardner Minshew having the only decent looking drive of the day. It would appear that spike in the offensive play earned him some run with the first team on Thursday and there may have been some momentum that carried over.

It wasn’t a complete changeout from Aidan O’Connell to Minshew. The two quarterbacks switched off from session to session. But prior to today, O’Connell was consistently getting the majority of the first team reps.

Minshew didn’t light up the joint, but he looked probably the most poised and in control of the offense we’ve seen from him. He made some nice throws in rhythm from the pocket and outside of it. That is some improvement to be sure.

Even though the players on defense want their offense to be formidable, that doesn’t mean they are celebrating any of the small victories the offense had on the day.

“Of course you want your offensive guys to win, but when you’re out there, it’s all about winning your side, so that’s kind of my approach and my mentality,” said Tre’von Moehrig.

“For defense that’s how we talk. We want to win everything we [can]. But at the same it is good to see the offense do their thing because we all are Raiders.”

Moehrig seemed to have a good day personally. He had one play where he jumped on a route by Brock Bowers on a pass form O’Connell and swatted it down for an incompletion.

O’Connell wasn’t without some wins of his own. He had probably the best pass of the day on a deep route by DJ Turner.

It’s passes like that which continue to make O’Connell intriguing because you don’t Minshew make many throws like that. But O’Connell will need to do a lot more than the occasional eye-popping throw if he wants to hold of Minshew.

The Raiders have Thursday off and are back on Friday. It will be interesting how today’s performance effects the reps when they return on Friday.

How to buy Los Angeles Chargers vs. Las Vegas Raiders NFL Week 1 tickets

Tickets are now available for the #Chargers home opener against the #Raiders. Get yours before they’re gone:

The Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers will kickoff their respective regular seasons with a Week 1 matchup on Sept. 8, 2024, at 4:05 p.m. at SoFi Stadium.

This opener features two teams from the same division, the AFC West, who have shaken things up this offseason.

Even though the season does not begin until September, only limited tickets remain for this first game in Los Angeles.

SHOP: Los Angeles Chargers vs. Las Vegas Raiders tickets

In terms of the Raiders, big offseason moves in the trenches were made such as the addition of Christian Wilkins. But is either Aiden O’Connell or Gardner Minshew really the answer at quarterback?

On the flip side, the Chargers do still have Justin Herbert under center. However, the true hope rests with new head coach Jim Harbaugh. Can he can the Bolts’ future?

Will the Raiders or Chargers take this divisional battle? Tickets for this contest start as low as $200.

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