Tag: John Jenkins

Raiders Week 1 snap counts vs Chargers: Who stepped up at defensive end?

Who stepped up at defensive end to replace Malcolm Koonce?

With a new coaching staff comes questions about who will see the most playing time at each position. And, of course, it’s also opponent dependent as well.

There are a few interesting observations with regard to how many snaps each player had in the team’s season opener against the Chargers.

First up is how the receiving corps shook out. And that includes the tight ends.

Despite the prevailing thinking being the Brock Bowers would be basically the team’s third receiver, it was Tre Tucker who had more snaps behind Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers.

Zamir White started at running back, but it was Alexander Mattison who had more snaps as he was more effective.

On defense, Adam Butler had more snaps than John Jenkins. Both got the start as the Raiders often lined up with five defensive linemen.

Malcolm Koonce went down with a knee injury this week and was placed on IR. Leaving the Raiders to find a replacement. Tyree Wilson was lost after just six snaps. And it was practice squad call up Charles Snowden who got the start and led the way, even ahead of Janarius Robinson.

Offense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Cody Whitehair G 60 100% 3 11%
Dylan Parham G 60 100% 3 11%
Thayer Munford T 60 100% 3 11%
Kolton Miller T 60 100% 3 11%
Gardner Minshew II QB 60 100% 0 0%
Andre James C 60 100% 0 0%
Davante Adams WR 58 97% 0 0%
Jakobi Meyers WR 52 87% 0 0%
Tre Tucker WR 47 78% 7 25%
Brock Bowers TE 41 68% 0 0%
Alexander Mattison RB 36 60% 0 0%
Michael Mayer TE 34 57% 0 0%
Zamir White RB 23 38% 0 0%
DJ Turner WR 5 8% 23 82%
Harrison Bryant TE 4 7% 11 39%
Defense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Maxx Crosby DE 57 100% 4 14%
Marcus Epps SS 57 100% 0 0%
Tre’von Moehrig FS 57 100% 0 0%
Nate Hobbs CB 57 100% 0 0%
Robert Spillane LB 57 100% 0 0%
Christian Wilkins DT 54 95% 7 25%
Adam Butler DT 53 93% 0 0%
Jack Jones CB 53 93% 0 0%
Divine Deablo LB 42 74% 0 0%
John Jenkins DT 34 60% 6 21%
Charles Snowden DE 30 53% 21 75%
Jakorian Bennett CB 30 53% 0 0%
Janarius Robinson DE 24 42% 4 14%
Nesta Jade Silvera DT 10 18% 6 21%
Tyree Wilson DE 6 11% 2 7%
Luke Masterson LB 4 7% 25 89%
Isaiah Pola-Mao FS 2 4% 23 82%
Special Teams Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Kana’i Mauga LB 0 0% 25 89%
Christopher Smith SS 0 0% 23 82%
Amari Burney LB 0 0% 21 75%
Amari Gainer LB 0 0% 19 68%
Ameer Abdullah RB 0 0% 14 50%
Tyreik McAllister WR 0 0% 8 29%
Jacob Bobenmoyer LS 0 0% 8 29%
AJ Cole III P 0 0% 8 29%
Sam Webb CB 0 0% 8 29%
Darnay Holmes CB 0 0% 7 25%
Daniel Carlson K 0 0% 6 21%
Andrus Peat G 0 0% 3 11%
Jordan Meredith G 0 0% 3 11%
Delmar Glaze T 0 0% 3 11%
Jonah Laulu DT 0 0% 1 4%

3 Key matchups for Raiders in season opener vs Chargers

Keep an eye on these matchups as they could be the key to who wins this game.

With most season openers, there’s a lot of mystery. Each season brings new breakout players and new challenges. While some players just remain a force to be reckoned with.

Both teams have players who fall into the category of dominance. And in some cases, those players will be going up against players who still have something to prove. Those matchups could be the deciding factor in Sunday’s season opener in Los Angeles between the Raiders and Chargers.

DE Maxx Crosby vs T Joe Alt

Alt is the Chargers’ top rookie this year. They selected him with the fifth overall pick in April’s draft. And right away he will have one of the toughest assignments in the NFL — containing Maxx Crosby.

The Raiders will need Crosby to win that battle, especially with Malcolm Koonce out with a knee injury. This defense lives and dies by its ability to get to the quarterback, so this matchup is a big one.

DT John Jenkins vs RB Gus Edwards/JK Dobbins

The Chargers figure to run the ball a lot under Greg Roman. They haven’t named a single starter at running back, so either it’s a mystery or a true dual role. In either case, the man who will played the most outsized role in trying to contain the run will be Jenkins.

Jenkins is the team’s nose tackle. Stopping the run is his primary job. Whether he makes the actual tackle on a given play is not the most important detail. His job will be to be in his gap and not get overpowered to either make the stop or force whoever is running the ball to re-direct somewhere else.

T Thayer Munford vs DE Khalil Mack

Munford will face the former Raiders All Pro edge rusher the majority of the time in his debut as Raiders starter. Mack absolutely demolished the Raiders in their first matchup last season. He lit up former RT Jermaine Eluemunor and got Kolton Miller a couple times as well to put up SIX (6) sacks against them.

Mack has had some of his best games against the team that drafted him and then opted to trade him rather than give him a new contract. He will be rearing to go for this one and facing a new starter in Munford who has a lot to prove to keep his job.

Other matchups to watch:

TE Brock Bowers vs S Derwin James

WR Davante Adams vs Asante Samuel Jr

Adam Butler return highly underrated Raiders offseason move

Don’t sleep on the importance of the return of Adam Butler to the Raiders.

Few free agent additions this offseason were bigger than the Raiders landing Christian Wilkins. The big interior defensive lineman was considered the top free agent at his position and one of the top free agents at any position. With that news dominating the headlines, the other moves the Raiders made on the defensive line got little attention. But one in particular should be noted.

Adam Butler hitting free agency didn’t have teams falling over themselves to get him. But it was important to the Raiders. During minicamp this past week, I asked Raiders defensive line coach Rob Leonard what Butler’s return meant to the defensive line room.

“Everything,” Leonard replied. “Everything. In terms of creating a standard, him and 98 [Maxx Crosby]. This is one of the groups that makes this special is building a team. Not just a group of talent. So, their traits, their personalities all play off each other. They balance each other really well which creates infectious energy and is a lot of fun.”

There was a clear chemistry between Butler and Crosby last season. It really started to show up on the field in the final few games, but according to Crosby that chemistry began the moment Butler joined the team last offseason.

“I feel like we had that connection right away,” Crosby said of Butler. “It started in the offseason. He got here last April I believe and from that day on we’ve been locked in. From week one to 18 it’s improved and improved, but usually it takes a lot more time. And a guy like him, he’s a thinker. When you’re out on the field with him, he’s calling out whether we’re sliding and calling out protections. And when you have a guy like that on the field, he’s nothing but an asset. And he plays hard and he’s a very underrated rusher. He can win his one-on-ones as well. I love Adam. Me and Adam have had a great connection, he’s a Texas guy as well, he went to Duncanville, so our teams played each other in High School. He’s a little older than me, but I’ve known about him for a long time. So, when he got here it was awesome, it’s been special ever since.”

Butler may have flown under the radar for the Raiders last season, but he didn’t come out of nowhere. The former undrafted free agent out Vanderbilt appeared in 104 games over six NFL seasons, including playoffs. His first four seasons were with the Patriots where saw around 45% of the snaps and put up 17 sacks, 23 tackles for loss, and 26 QB hits.

Those are very good numbers for a rotational interior defensive lineman. So, it should be no surprise he was a key part of the Raiders defensive line rotation last season. And while it was Bilal Nichols who got the start each week, Butler would come in and outplayed the starter at every turn.

Stat Bilal Nichols Adam Butler
Starts 17 0
Snaps 615 527
Tackles 48 28
Sacks 1.5 5
QB hits 2 9
TFL 4 8

So, you can see why the Raiders were perfectly fine letting Nichols walk while making Butler a priority to return.

Along with Wilkins, John Jenkins, and second year tackle Byron Young in the mix, the Raiders have a very good looking interior rotation.

Report: Raiders bring back DT John Jenkins on one-year deal

DT John Jenkins reportedly staying with Raiders

With free agency nearly a week old, the Raiders free agents have had plenty of opportunity to see what kind of market was out there for them. And some are opting to now return to the team.

Today it was about bringing back two of the reasonably productive interior defensive linemen from last season. Earlier today it was Adam Butler who re-signed. And no John Jenkins is re-joining him according to ESPN’s Amber Wilson.

The 34-year-old comes back on a one-year, $3.25 million deal per the report.

His 61 combined tackles last season led all Raiders interior defenders, showing that he still has something to offer. Making this a good value signing for the team.

The big ticket addition for the Raiders this offseason was former Dolphins DT Christian Wilkins. Jenkins figures to rotate with Adam Butler at the other defensive tackle spot with several former Raiders draft picks like Byron Young, Matthew Butler, and Nesta Jade Silvera competing for snaps as well.

What Condition the Position is in: Assessing Raiders level of need at DT ahead of free agency

What Condition Raiders Position is in: Defensive tackle

With free agency under a month away, it’s time to check in on the Raiders’ defensive tackle position to give it a condition of either Strong, Stable, Unstable, Serious, or Critical.

Starters: Jerry Tillery, ?
Backups: Byron Young, Nesta Jade Silvera, Marquan McCall
Free Agents: Bilal Nichols, Adam Butler, John Jenkins

The past two drafts the Raiders have used four draft picks on the defensive tackle position and have little to show for it. They got no starters out of it and one of the four (Young) was on the active roster all of last season. Veterans Bilal Nichols and John Jenkins started every game last season with Jerry Tillery appearing in all 17 games, starting six.

Condition: Critical

Three of the four interior defensive lineman who were regular parts in the rotation last season are set to be free agents. Only Tillery remains and he wasn’t even a regular starter due to his deficiencies against the run. Adam Butler played well enough to earn a return. If they bring him back, they would still need to add one more talented interior lineman. If they don’t, they would need a couple.

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 18 win over Broncos

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 18 win over Broncos

For the fourth straight season, the Raiders complete the sweep of the Broncos. That’s right, the Las Vegas Raiders have never lost to the Broncos.

327-pound John Jenkins rumbles 44 yards with fumble for Raiders TD

The Raiders got a pair of defensive toichdowns in less than a half-minute by players with the initials JJ

This would be adding insult to infamy.

On a Thursday night the Los Angeles Chargers were putting on one of the worst performances in franchise history, they got to watch 327-pound Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle John Jenkins pick up a fumble at the end of the third quarter and run — yes, run — 44 yards for a touchdown.

If you thought the score that made it 56-7 was humiliating, it got worse.

Easton Stick went to throw a swing pass on the next drive and it connected with Jack Jones … of Las Vegas.

He could have waltzed the 15 yards it took to get to the end zone.

Las Vegas 63, Los Angeles Chargers 7.

The last two scores came in 29 seconds.

It was the most points the Raiders, who were shut out Sunday by the Minnesota Vikings, had scored.

It was the most points the Chargers have allowed.

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 10 win over Jets

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 10 win over Jets

The way this one played out was pretty much exactly as everyone expected. In the lead up to the game, I basically kept thinking to myself ‘first to 16 wins’. That’s because ain’t nobody was gonna be scoring more than one touchdown and if either team did, that would be the deciding factor.

That team was the Raiders, who beat the Jets 16-12.

Ballers

LB Robert Spillane

Even if you remove his late game clutch interception, Spillane might still have been the best player in this contest. And that’s saying a lot.

Spillane was on a mission. At least four times in this game, plays he made were the deciding factor in stopping a Jets’ drive.

Come the second quarter, the Jets had scored on their first three possessions to go up 9-3. Thanks to Spillane, they wouldn’t score again until the fourth quarter.

Their next three possessions ended with Spillane making the play. A run stuff for no gain on third and two, a sack on second and two, and forcing a hold on third and 21 then making the stop on third and 22.

Then with the Jets within four at 16-12 and driving late in the fourth quarter, he stepped in front of the Zach Wilson pass for his third interception of the season. This one with a cast on his right hand. Unbelievable.

TE Michael Mayer

It was a back-and-forth game with the Raiders failing to take the lead once in the first three quarters. That ended on the first play of the fourth quarter when Aidan O’Connell escaped pressure and put a ball up high where only Mayer could get it and Mayer leapt in the air, plucking it from over the top of the defender to the go-ahead score.

It was Mayer’s first touchdown as a pro and it was a beauty. And in a game like this, it proved to be enough to get the W.

DE Maxx Crosby

This game started poorly for the Raiders, with a 41-yard catch and run that put them in scoring range. It would go no further thanks to Crosby. He flew in for what should be credited as a sack. And when I say that, I think a rule change is in order, which states that if you have the player wrapped up and he is flagged for intentional grounding, that should be a sack. For the purposes of the game, it was the same. The Jets lost ten yards and a down and couldn’t make it back up, settling for a field goal.

It was big plays on each drive that put the Jets in scoring range. Their third one came off of an interception and moved them into first and goal at the three. A touchdown here may have been devastating in a game this close. So, Crosby wrecked it. He forced a holding penalty that backed them up to the 13. Then was in on the run stop on second and goal and the Jets would settle for a third field goal.

DT Jerry Tillery, DT John Jenkins, DT Adam Butler

Jenkins had a run stuff on the Jets’ first drive. Tillery upended the second drive when he forced a holding penalty. Butler ended the third drive on third and goal when he batted the ball down at the line.

The next possession, Jenkins had another run stuff for no gain. Then the drive after that, he got one of his big mitts on a pass to bat it at the line. Come the third quarter, Butler had a tackle for loss on a three-and-out.

The first drive of the fourth quarter ended with Tillery getting all the way out to the left boundary to help Divine Deablo lead Zach Wilson out of bounds to end the drive. And on the Spillane interception, it was Tillery who got around his man to get pressure in Wilson’s face and force the throw.

RB Josh Jacobs

His two fumbles in the game really had me thinking whether he deserved to be on this list. In the end I decided that because his hard running was such a key factor in the Raiders scoring 16 points in the first place, he deserved more credit than blame.

His first fumble came on the tail end of a 40-yard burst and it bounced out of bounds. The run put the Raiders at the 13-yard-line. The next play he ran for five yards to the eight. Two plays later, they scored the touchdown.

In the early going, yards were tough to come by for Jacobs against a stout Jets defensive front. Even so, his running was a major factor in several scoring drives. Their second scoring drive came near the end of the second quarter and featured runs of six yards and eight yards — both of which the Raiders made the first down on the next play.

The third scoring drive saw Jacobs convert a third and two and a fourth and one along with the longest play of the drive that went for 12 yards on a catch in the left flat. That drive tied the game at 9-9.

Just prior to his lost fumble late in the fourth, Jacobs showed he is still a strong runner late in games, when broke several tackles and carried defenders the final five yards of a seven-yard first down run. He also had a nine-yard run and converted on third and one on that drive.

Jacobs finished with 116 yards rushing — his first time going over 100 yards this season — and added two catches for 11 yards.

K Daniel Carlson

The Jets have the man once known at ‘Greg the Leg’ and ‘Legatron’. And the Raiders have the best in the game today in Carlson. Both kickers were doing work in this one, with Carlson splitting them from 40, 41, and 54 yards.

Honorable Mention

WR DeAndre Carter — Had a 32-yard kick return to the Jets 45 that helped lead to the game-tying field goal. Later had a 15-yard run on fourth and one.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 9 win vs Giants

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 9 win vs Giants

You won’t see many more lopsided victories than the Raiders had over the Giants Sunday. It was made all the more amazing when compared to how they looked over the first eight games of this season.

They stopped the Giants with a three-and-out to start things off and then drove for a touchdown. The next three Giants drives were a turnover on downs, consecutive sacks to put them in third and 27 and a punt, and a three and out.

Then midway through the second quarter, the Raiders drove for another touchdown, intercepted the ball, scored a third touchdown, intercepted the ball again, added a field goal at the end of the first half, and another one to begin the third to go up 27-0.

It was enough to make your head spin. At least if you were the Giants.

Ballers

HC Antonio Pierce

He brought the Raiders ready to play and itching to get him a big win in his debut of the post-Josh McDaniels era. The players came out pumped and the Giants got caught under the wheels of that bus.

The offense scored over 20 points for the first time this season, Josh Jacobs had a season-high rushing yards, and the defense had eight sacks, two turnovers off interceptions, and four others on downs. Then they sparked up cigars afterward to celebrate being out from under Josh McDaniels’s thumb and finally having fun again.

DE Maxx Crosby

Crosby came into the game outside the top ten in sacks. And left tied for second with TJ Watt. And even with three sacks in the game, he was still more valuable than his sack total.

The first Giants possession saw them line up in fourth and one to go for it. Then Maxx got the right guard to jump and they had to punt instead. The next drive saw the Giants again go for it on fourth and one. This time Crosby led the way in making the stop at the line for no gain.

The third drive ended with Crosby chasing down Daniel Jones for the sack. Jones attempted to get away from Crosby and tore his ACL.

Already up 27-0 in the third quarter, Crosby saw to it they didn’t close that gap. He got pressure on first down and got his second sack on third down to force another three-and-out. That series pretty much slammed the door on the Giants’ chances of coming back. But just for good measure, he would add one more sack early in the fourth quarter.

Even with the Raiders defense finally stepping up to match his energy, he still led the way for this team. And had cigars ready for the whole team after the game.

CB Amik Robertson

With the Raiders up 14-0 in the second quarter, the Giants knew they needed to make a big play. QB Tommy DeVito launched one for the end zone and Robertson flew over, got up in the air and picked it off, much like he did to win the game against the Packers a few weeks ago. He would get up and return this one to th 40-yard-line and the Raiders would capitalize on the turnover with their third touchdown of the day.

Early in the fourth quarter, he made a hard hit on a catch to knock the ball out on fourth down. And a bit later he added a forced fumble to his stat line just for good measure. Have yourself a game, Amik.

RB Josh Jacobs

Set the tone early and kept it going. He had 31 yards on on four runs on the opening touchdown drive, 33 yards and the touchdown run from two yards out on the second scoring drive, and scored again from two yards out on the next drive.

He already had a season-high 85 yards rushing by half time and the Raiders led 24-0. He surpassed 100 yards for a moment before a loss on a run put him back at 98 yards.

DT Bilal Nichols, DT John Jenkins

The 34-year-old was playing like he was ten years younger, showing rare pass rush and sideline-to-sideline run stopping abilities for a 327-pounder. He got pressure on the second play of the game to force an incompletion and the Giants started the game with a three-and-out.

The second Giants drive saw them line up in third and three and Nichols made the run stop short of the sticks. Then on fourth and one, he teamed up with Crosby and Jenkins to stop the tush push for no gain.

The first possession of the second quarter saw Jenkins race down the line to make a tackle for loss in the left flat, leading to another three-and-out.

Pressure was coming from all over the Raiders line, but Nichols was doing some nice complementary football with Crosby in this one. On consecutive plays in the fourth quarter Nichols had a pressure that led to a Crosby sack and then Crosby had pressure that led to a Nichols sack. That’s how it’s supposed to be done.

QB Aidan O’Connell

The rookie scored on the opening drive while delivering a strike on a slant to Jakobi Meyers that went for 25 yards.

The next scoring drive, he reminded us that Hunter Renfrow is on this team with consecutive connections to the shifty slot receiver for 19 yards and 13 yards to put the Raiders in first and goal. They scored the TD on the next play.

Following the Amik Robertson interception, O’Connell threw deep on the first play for a gorgeous 50-yard hookup with speedster Tre Turner to put the Raiders in first and goal at the ten. They scored three plays later.

He opened the second half by completing passes on four third downs, converting the first three and putting them in field goal range with the fourth one to make it a 27-0 game.

The rookie didn’t have massive numbers, but he delivered some strikes, ran the offense perfectly, and didn’t turn the ball over. Not much more you can ask of him than that.

LT Kolton Miller, LG Dylan Parham, C Andre James, RG Greg Van Roten, RT Jermaine Eluemunor

The entire Oline played every snap, didn’t give up a single sack, and opened holes for Josh Jacobs to hit 100 yards and two touchdowns.

On the second TD drive, Eluemunor and Van Roten made key blocks on a 15-yard Jacobs run and Eluemunor laid a key block on the touchdown run. Miller, Parham, and Van Roten got out left to make key blocks on a 15-yard catch in the left flat by DeAndre Carter to get things going in the third quarter.

Honorable Mention

WR Jakobi Meyers — Scored the Raiders first TD on a sweep and made some nice blocks in the game as well.

RB Ameer Abdullah — Did some great dirty work on offense and special teams.

WR Tre Tucker — Made an incredible diving 50-yard grab that set up the Raiders’ second touchdown of the game.

Busters

None

This was about as flawless a performance as you’ll see on both sides of the ball. The Raiders were up 24-0 by half time and were up 27-0 midway through the third before the Giants got on the board for the first time. Hard to find blame for anything when one team scores that much and gives up nothing.