Tag: Kolton Miller

Raiders PFF grades: 5 highest rated Week 15 vs. Falcons

The Raiders almost earned a miracle win on Monday Night Football against the Falcons but came up short. Which players graded the highest?

The Raiders’ losing streak hit double digits after they fell to the Falcons on Monday night, and Las Vegas’ last NFL win is a distant memory.

Despite looking awful for most of the game, the Raiders had a chance at victory on the game’s last play. But quarterback Desmond Ridder, starting in place of an injured Aidan O’Connell, missed the mark on a desperate hail mary pass as time expired.

Still, some players will be happier than others when they watch the game film with teammates and coaches. Linebacker Robert Spillane earned the highest grade on the team this week from Pro Football Focus, earning a solid 86.9 score.

Two other defenders join Spillane as high-scorers this week. Safety Tre’von Moehrig continued his strong season with another standout performance. Combined with Spillane’s fellow linebacker Divine Deablo, these three give Las Vegas hope for a strong middle section of the defense in 2025.

Two offensive linemen complete the list. Offensive tackle Kolton Miller earned the No. 2 spot with an 82.6 score. Guard Jordan Meredith took the No. 5 position with a 72.2 grade. Miller is a veteran while Meredith is a young player and took over as starter midseason. They figure to play a large role next season and performed well according to PFF, but each player committed multiple penalties against the Falcons, including a false start on Miller on the game’s first snap.

Everyone on the roster has to be better, however. Coaches have to perform better as well. If they can, perhaps they’ll earn a win over the season’s final weeks, potentially saving coach Antonio Pierce’s job in the process.

Busters for Raiders Week 13 heartbreaker vs Chiefs

How it started out poorly and then went wrong in the end for the Raiders in their week 13 matchup with the Chiefs.

A valiant effort by the Raiders, but alas they were unable to come away from Arrowhead with a W. This is where I am looking for why that may be.

Busters

S Isaiah Pola-Mao, CB DeCamerion Richardson, CB Jack Jones

Let’s talk about how the Raiders found themselves in a 16-3 hole in the first place.

The second play of the game, Richardson gave up a 14-yard catch. Later Jones was flagged for pass interference to put the Chiefs in field goal range.

The next drive me gave up a catch and missed the tackle for a ten-yard gain. And. few plays later, Pola-Mao gave up the longest catch to that point of 24 yards to put the Chiefs in field goal range.

The first Chiefs’ touchdown, Pola-Mao was out of position to give up a wide open 27-yard catch to the tight end — a new long for the game. That catch put them in scoring range in one play. But it was Jones who would give up the touchdown catch from six yards out.

And on the next drive, Jones it on the double move and Pola-Mao was late getting over to give up *another* 24-yard catch to midfield.

The first drive of the third quarter, Richardson gave up an 11-yard catch to make for an easier field goal to make it a 13-3 Chiefs lead. And then on the next drive, in third and ten, he allowed a 30-yard catch to put them in field goal range again. And there you have that 16-3 lead.

After the Raiders scored two quick touchdowns to take the lead, the Chiefs drove right down to take a back. They did so in part because Jones gave up a a 15-yard catch on second and 20 and on third and five Pola-Mao was late helping again to give up a 19-yard catch to put the Chiefs in first and goal.

LT Kolton Miller, RT DJ Glaze

There were several opportunities for the Raiders to close that 16-3 well before they actually did it. In the second quarter a drive began with a two runs for 28 yards. But it ended three plays later with Glaze giving up a sack.

The first drive of the third quarter began with a 12-yard run and a 25-yard catch and run to put the Raiders in field goal range. But when they went for it on 4th and one, Miller gave up the run stuff for no gain for the turnover on downs.

The next drive, the Raiders got as far as the KC 22-yard line off a crazy Brock Bowers one-handed grab. Then Miller gave up the sack for a 15-yard loss and Daniel Carlson missed the 55-yard field goal attempt wide left.

Miller was called for holding on the next Raiders drive which threatened to spoil a 69-yard return. But this time a long TD pass from O’Connell to Bowers dug them out of it.

After the Chiefs re-took the lead in the fourth quarter, the Raiders picked up a first down, but got no further when Glaze gave up pressure on third and nine, leading to an incompletion and a punt.

HC Antonio Pierce

Aidan O’Connell took the blame for the errant snap on the final play. And, yeah, it was his fault. He was clapping to hurry things up and right guard Dylan Parham took that to mean he wanted the ball snapped, so he tapped Jackson Powers-Johnson’s leg to get him to snap it. But here’s my bigger issue — they never should’ve been in that situation in the first place.

There was too much to lose and not enough to gain from calling that play. He shouldn’t have been in shotgun. He probably shouldn’t have been running a play at all. They were in field goal range with 11 seconds left. That should be the game winner. And instead the team was a panicky, discombobulated mess.

Even if there hadn’t been a botched snap, there would’ve been an illegal shift penalty that wiped out whatever they did and backed them up because they weren’t set when the ball was snapped. They simply have to be more poised in crucial moments like that. Or they shouldn’t be put in that position in a hostile environment like that.

We should be talking about *another* huge come-from-behind, improbable victory in KC. But instead we’re talking about a massive missed opportunity.

See the Ballers.

Busters for Raiders Week 12 loss to Broncos

Those whose performances were most responsible for the Raiders failing to pull out the win over the Broncos.

We move on to the performances that most led to the Raiders losing to the Broncos on Sunday.

Busters

CB DeCamerion Richardson

It seemed whenever the Broncos needed a big play, they looked to whoever Richardson was guarding. Their second score of the game was set up when Richardson gave up a 24-yard catch. Their third score was thanks for Richardson not playing the ball and being called for a pass interference.

The fourth quarter was led out by another Broncos field goal that was made possible when Richardson gave up an 18-yard catch on third and ten. The next drive, Richardson gave up the touchdown catch to make it a 26-16 game. The Raiders couldn’t catch up after that.

QB Gardner Minshew

Minshew had some nice throws in this game. But in the end, the bad plays far outweighed the good.

He fumbled the first snap of the game, with was not a good sign. That first drive would end with him throwing off target for Brock Bowers on third and three. That was followed by a three-and-out on their second possession.

Three straight scoring drives in the second quarter made things very interesting. And had it continued, Minshew would surely have been a Baller for this one. But as often happens, come the third, the good feeling disipated.

Four possessions in the third for the Raiders went like this — three-and-out with a batted pass at the line on third down, Minshew running into a sack and then getting picked off leading to a Broncos TD, a five-play possession ending with Minshew throwing incomplete for a well covered Brock Bowers, and a three-and-out ending on a low pass into the turf.

It was a six-point Bronocs lead by the time the Raiders got the ball in the fourth quarter. They would score two more times, but couldn’t get more than a field goal, which wasn’t enough. Then Minshew was tackled on a roll out, breaking his collarbone and was lost for the season. Just to be clear, I am not blaming him for breaking his collarbone. Just detailing that it happened.

LT Kolton Miller, RT DJ Glaze

A holding penalty on Glaze stalled the Raiders second scoring drive after driving to the 11-yard line.

The Raiders still carried a 13-9 lead into the third quarter. But on their second possession, both Miller and Glaze gave up pressure from each side that caused Minshew’s pass to sail and get intercepted. The Broncos got the ball at the Vegas 18-yard line and scored the TD two plays later to take a 16-13 lead.

Late in the game, with it still a one-score game at 26-19, the Raiders got the ball. Minshew was knocked out of the game and two plays after Desmond Ridder came in, Miller gave up a strip sack, the Broncos recovered, and added a field goal to put the game away.

See the Ballers

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 11 loss to Dolphins

Singling out the individual performances for the Raiders week 11 vs the Dolphins.

Despite the lopsided score, things weren’t all bad on Sunday for the Raiders. And when you’re in the midst of a six-game losing streak, it’s important to try and find the little positives to suggest things won’t always be this way.

So, as always, let’s start there.

Ballers

TE Brock Bowers

Bowers set single game records for catches by a rookie tight end (13) in a game while going over 100 yards (126) for the first time in his young career. He just seems to get better and better all the time. Which is saying a lot considering he was already on pace for some record numbers on the season.

His first catch of this game went for 14 yards to put the Raiders in first and goal at the ten and they added a field goal on their opening drive. The second scoring drive, he had three catches for 38 yards, including an 11-yard catch on third and ten to the 18 and they added another field goal to make it a 10-6 game at the half.

In the third quarter, with the Raiders in third and nine from the Miami 23, he went in motion, Gardner Minshew saw single coverage, threw it to him in the flat, and Bowers did the rest. He shot out of a cannon for the end zone, breaking a tackle and scoring to make it a five-point game at 17-12.

After falling behind 24-12 in the fourth quarter, Bowers went to work again, making three first down catches, including a third down conversion, fourth down conversion and the final catch that put them in first and goal at the ten. Three plays later, they were in the end zone to bring it back to a one score game at 24-19. Things got out of hand after that.

LT Kolton Miller

His primary job is protecting Gardner Minshew’s blindside and he did that flawlessly in this game. No pressures or penalties on his part and I saw no instances where his man made a run stop either. Just a nice clean game for Miller which he needed in a rough season.

DT Adam Butler, DT John Jenkins

Jenkins had two run stuffs on the Dolphins’ first drive; one for a loss and the other on first and goal from the five, forcing them to have to end up going for it on fourth and goal to get the touchdown.

The first actual stop by the Raiders defense was made by Butler. The Dolphins drove to first and goal. On the Dolphins’ second drive, they were once again in first and goal. Butler got containment and Jenkins made the stop for one yard. Two plays later, Butler made the sack on third down to force the Dolphins to settle for a field goal.

The next full drive, the Dolphins were in first and goal yet again and Jenkins beat his man at the line to draw a holding penalty.

Butler would add two more tackles for loss in the game in the fourth quarter. He finished with five combined tackles, two for a loss, a sack, and a QB hit. Jenkins had four combined tackles, two for a loss.

DE Charles Snowden

Snowden got into the backfield to make a tackle for loss on the second play of the game. It was a preview of the kind of day he was going to have.

The next full drive came in the third quarter, and he forced an incompletion in coverage and on another play got pressure that led to a tackle for loss. He added a pass breakup later.

Honorable Mention

LB Robert Spillane — Led the team with 11 tackles, four of which were on runs of three yards or less.

WR Jakobi Meyers — Had key third down plays on each of the Raiders first two scoring drives. His 20 yards on one run led the Raiders in rushing.

Continue to the Busters…

Raiders PFF grades: 5 highest rated Week 11 vs. Dolphins

The Raiders lost their sixth straight game on Sunday against the Dolphins. Which players had a good day despite the defeat?

The Raiders lost again on Sunday, this time against the Dolphins. Despite the defeat, many NFL observers were talking about Las Vegas’ rookie sensation, tight end Brock Bowers.

But Bowers’ 13 catches for 126 yards and touchdown weren’t enough to top this week’s list of top-rated players from Pro Football Focus. That honor goes to linebacker Robert Spillane. He recorded 11 total tackles, including five solo stops. They added up to an 81.5 grade from PFF. Bowers has to settle for the No. 2 spot with an 80.7 score.

Offensive tackle Kolton Miller and defensive linemen Charles Snowden and John Jenkins fill out this week’s list.

Bowers didn’t earn the Raiders top grade this week but as this season crosses the midway point, it’s clear that he’s not a future superstar; he’s a superstar right now. New offensive coordinator Scott Turner used Bowers as his primary weapon on Sunday in Miami and will likely continue to do so, so look for Bowers to be on this list most weeks, if not every week for the rest of the campaign.

Raiders to field 6th different starting OL of the season Week 11 vs Dolphins

When the Raiders take the field against the Dolphins week 11, they will have their sixth different starting offensive line combination.

Sunday when the Raiders take the field on offense against the Dolphins in Miami, the offensive line will be almost completely unrecognizable from the one that took the field at the start of the season. Heck, it won’t even resemble the one that took the field for their last game.

Injuries along with poor play from the initial starters has completely transformed the Raiders offensive line. This week they will field their whopping sixth different starting offensive line combination this season.

From left to right, the starting five will be LT Kolton Miller, LG Dylan Parham, C Jackson Powers-Johnson, RG Jordan Meredith, and RT DJ Glaze.

The only position on the line with the same starter from the season opener is left tackle Kolton Miller.

Cody Whitehair started the season at left guard — he’s OUT for this game. Andre James started the season at center — he’s OUT for this game.
Dylan Parham started the season at right guard — he got injured and then supplanted as the starter by Jordan Meredith.
Thayer Munford started the season at right tackle — he got injured and then supplanted as the starter by rookie DJ Glaze.

Here is what the starting lineup has looked like for each game this season:

Week LT LG C RG RT
1 Miller Whitehair James Parham Munford
2 Miller Peat James Parham Munford
3 Miller Whitehair James Parham Munford
4 Miller P-Johnson James Parham Glaze
5 Miller P-Johnson James Parham Glaze
6 Miller P-Johnson James Parham Glaze
7 Miller P-Johnson James Meredith Glaze
8 Miller P-Johnson James Meredith Glaze
9 Miller Whitehair P-Johnson Meredith Glaze
11 Miller Parham P-Johnson Meredith Glaze

“At the end of the day, it’s kind of been like our whole season. Next man up, right? Next man up,” head coach Antonio Pierce said of the shuffling line.

“You just hate that we keep changing all these pieces along the offensive line, because at some point, you’d like just to have five guys there, continuity, chemistry. That’s really the glue to our team, when you can have that. So something we’re working on consistently.”

On one hand, it’s hard to gain any consistency of play without continuity. On the other hand, finding the best five is important and at least two of these guys was replaced by someone who outplayed them.

It’s very possible this lineup is the best five the Raiders have. Parham moves back to left guard where he had played the past two seasons and Andre James didn’t do much to keep Rimington Award Winner Powers-Johnson from getting his shot to take the job. And thus far, JPJ has looked the part.

As for depth, the Raiders may need to dig into their practice squad for that.

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

Kolton Miller injury vs Bengals: Latest news on Raiders LT

Raiders LT Kolton Miller is dealing with an ankle injury. Here are the latest updates.

Early in the second quarter, Kolton Miller went down with an injury. He left the game and was replaced at left tackle by Andrus Peat.

Kolton Miller injury update

He was quickly diagnosed with an ankle injury and was Questionable to return.

UPDATE: Early in the third quarter he was downgraded to OUT.

Left tackle depth chart

Andrus Peat is the primary backup at left tackle. He came in when Miller left. The team also has former starting right tackle Thayer Munford who can play either side should  the Raiders end up having to dig deeper into the depth chart.

Raiders vs Chiefs injury report: Latest updates, news for Week 8

All the latest updates and news on Raidrers injury report ahead of a Week 8 game vs. Chiefs.

Thursday’s injury report brought mainly bad news for the Raiders. Not only was tight end Harrison Bryant still missing from practice with his elbow injury, but Jakobi Meyers was back to missing practice after returning on Wednesday, suggesting perhaps a setback in his hopeful return this week.

Jakobi Meyers injury update

Meyers has missed the last two games for the Raiders, and with Davante Adams also traded away, the Raiders were without their two starting outside receivers. Tre Tucker will start again on the outside with DJ Turner in the slot, but if Meyers can’t go, he will once again be replaced by committee.

Harrison Bryant injury update

Barnes left last Sunday’s game with an elbow injury and didn’t return. He was replaced by John Samuel Shenker. Brock Bowers is the unquestioned starter, but Bryant was showing up well as a number two option. Justin Shorter was on roster as well and would step into the third TE job is Bryant can’t go.

Maxx Crosby injury update

Crosby missed practice Thursday after practicing FULL on Wednesday. While that seems a bit strange, we will wait and see what Friday looks like because Crosby has missed multiple practices each week the past three weeks and still played.

Kolton Miller injury update

Miller returned to practice Thursday as expected. He has been dealing with an elbow injury but it hasn’t caused him to miss any games.

Raiders Week 8 injury report vs Chiefs: 3 missing from practice

The first injury report of the week sees a couple starting offensive linemen and the number two tight end sidelined.

While Jakobi Meyers returned to practice Wednesday, there were a few Raiders players who weren’t on the field. They were tight end Harrison Bryant (elbow), T Kolton Miller, and G Dylan Parham.

Bryant injured his elbow in Sunday’s game against the Rams. John Samuel Shenker took his reps on offense.

Kolton Miller has begun each week missing practice, but has played each week.

Dylan Parham missed Sunday’s game against the Rams. Jordan Meredith took his place in the lineup.