Tag: Las Vegas Raiders

This photo of Tom Brady and Raiders owner Al Davis has the NFL world wondering

Tom Brady and Al Davis were spotted laughing at UFC 246.

A mere appearance from New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady can start a conversation about NFL free agency.

Brady attended UFC 246 in Las Vegas for Conor McGregor’s fight against Cowboy Cerrone. At the match, Brady was spotted chatting with Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis. With Brady scheduled to enter free agency in March, the quarterback’s meeting with Davis appeared notable, at first glance. In truth, the greeting probably wasn’t notable — largely because they aren’t allowed to discuss Brady’s impending free agency, per the NFL’s tampering rules.

So while folks started to freak out on social media about the conversation, it was probably just two NFL influencers exchanging pleasantries.

But if you like a good conspiracy theory, then I’m here for you. Just hours before Davis and Brady met, general manger Mike Mayock was asked about Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, who Mayock said had made improvements in his second season under Jon Gruden.

“My job is to evaluate every position and try and make us better. And if I can, I will, and if I can’t, I won’t,” Mayock told The Athletic.

Las Vegas isn’t not in the market for a quarterback.

What’s more, UFC president Dana White, who spent some time with Brady before the match, took time to hype up the quarterback’s connection with the Raiders. White also admitted: “I have no [expletive] idea what I’m talking about here.”

Even though the moment was probably nothing and White’s opinions have little value, NFL fans — particularly in Oakland and Las Vegas — were excited about seeing Davis and Brady together.

Brady will spend the next few months under the microscope until his decision comes.

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Mike Mayock: Raiders’ move to Las Vegas could attract free agents

The Raiders move to Las Vegas is creating a ‘buzz’ around the NFL, according to general manager Mike Mayock.

In building an NFL contender, any advantage is welcome. Raiders general manager Mike Mayock believes his team’s move to Las Vegas sweetens the pot for potential free agents.

According to The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, Mayock says he hears that NFL players, not to mention their agents, are intrigued regarding Nevada’s tax laws, which don’t collect income tax.

Additionally, Mayock said that Allegiant Stadium, complete with it’s glossy, black exterior and a view of the Las Vegas strip, is an attraction in itself to potential Raiders.

“There is definitely a buzz about our move into Las Vegas,” Mayock said. “Could be one of the big stories of free agency.”

As another advantage, the Raiders have ample space under the salary cap. They’ll certainly look to bolster their young roster with proven NFL players.

While doing so, the Raiders would be wise to continue building a roster with high-character athletes. The new stadium and advantageous tax laws are alluring, but so are the bright lights of the Las Vegas strip. That is a factor that Mayock apparently didn’t mention, but it’s undoubtedly causing a stir of its own around the NFL as the move draws closer.

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Raiders Film Room: 3rd and Renfrow

Raiders Wire takes a deep dive into Hunter Renfrow and why he was a standout on third down.

Hunter Renfrow has been underrated for most of his life. One of the unsung heroes of Clemson’s rise to prominence, you rarely hear his name when it comes to being apart of one of the best teams of the decade. The former walk-on scored the game-winning touchdown for Clemson for their first national championship and was on the roster for the second.

Renfrow went on to have a great senior bowl displaying how tough he is to guard in one on one matchups. His combine was much to desired with his hand size being 7 inches, and this led to him falling all the way down to the fifth round, where the Raiders scooped up the wide receiver prospect.

The fifth-round pick was a pleasant surprise for the Raiders offense and exhibited his value when he injured his ribs week 12. Renfrow finished with 49 catches for 605 yards and four touchdowns. His last two games of the season were his first 100 yard games at any level of football.

Where Renfrow truly shines is on third-down.

35 percent of Renfrow’s catches were third-down conversions where he finished 17th in the league. All four of his touchdowns are on third down with him being a safety valve for the Raiders offense in critical situations.

What makes Renfrow great on third down? I dug into the film and saw a savvy route runner and unexpected playmaker.

Playmaking ability

One area fans did not expect to see from the young slot machine was his ability to create big plays. Renfrow was never asked to do this in college, but in the NFL has displayed he can take a quick slant all the way to the house.

The first time we saw this was against the Houston Texans. It was third and six, and the Raiders come out in 11 personnel with a 2×2 set out of the shotgun. Renfrow will be running a slant route to Carr’s left with Zay Jones running a drag from the slot position.

Renfrew does a great job of stemming from the perfect angle for breaking inside on the slant. He exhibits his quickness at the top of his route to create separation and a good window for Carr. The quarterback hits him right in between the numbers, and Renfrow breaks two tackle on the way to a 65-yard touchdown.

Downfield Threat

Renfrow didn’t win downfield much when he was at Clemson where he was mostly used on underneath routes. During his rookie season, Renfrow was able to win downfield on multiple occasions.

Against the Cincinnati Bengals, Renfrow’s number was called on this third and six early in the second quarter. The Raiders offense is in an 11 personnel 3×1 bunch set out of the shotgun. Renfrow is the inside receiver on the bunch and will be running a delayed corner against the Bengals man to man coverage.

The former Clemson Tiger does a fantastic job on the delayed route allowing the other receivers to cross before he stems, causing confusion between the defensive backs. Once he stems out, he immediately wins and has separation from William Jackson. Carr throws a little off, but Renfrow shows off his tracking skills and can find the football with a terrific catch for the first down.

While this next play didn’t work out, it still displays Renfrow’s ability to get open on third down. Against the Broncos Week 17, the Raiders are facing a third and one on their first drive of the game.

Raiders are in a 2×2 set with Renfrow to the left of Carr. Renfrow will be running an out and up and wins easily on the outside with plenty of room for completion. Carr puts too much air into the throw, and Renfrow can’t find a way to get under it.

Mental Processing Versus Zone

The best area Renfrow adds to the Raiders offense is his ability to find the holes in the zone defense. Teams ran zone coverages against the Raiders 80 percent of the time according to sports info solutions the last six weeks. Renfrow missed three of those games, and his presence was felt against the zone right away.

This play against the Chargers in the ultimate example of how Renfrow uses his football intelligence. The Raiders are in a 3×1 set running the Ohio concept with Renfrow running the out route from the slot position. The Chargers are in cover 2, which will allow the boundary corner to play the underneath routes that come his way.

After the snap, Renfrow recognizes the zone coverage, and when he runs his out route turns his body towards Carr to give him an open window. This way, Carr can put the pass right on him instead of leading him right into the corner who is coming back down to his zone. This adjustment by Renfrow allows for the Raiders to earn first down on third and five.

It’s crazy to think about, but Renfrow has a chance to be a star player in the slot. He even displayed the ability to possibly play outside the numbers with his route running and ability to get open on double moves.

The chemistry between him a Carr is healthy, and you can tell by the way they connect on the field the quarterback trust him on third down. Renfrow got better as the season went along, and his year two might be a more substantial jump than many will be expecting.

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Three landing spots in the 2020 NFL Draft for Collin Johnson

Johnson’s size and athleticism are what make him a desirable target for many NFL teams. Here are three spots for him in the 2020 NFL draft.

Forgoing the 2019 NFL Draft, Longhorns wide receiver Collin Johnson came back for his senior season. It did not fully go to plan, as he spent most of the year injured. However, when he did play, he put up mega numbers for the Longhorns, competing with Devin Duvernay for the title of the best receiver on the team.

Finishing his Texas career strongly, he had over 100 receiving yards in his final two regular-season games against TCU and Kansas State, while he hauled in 62 yards on three catches in the bowl game against Utah. What makes him so dangerous is his size, coming in at 6 feet 6 inches and 220 pounds.

His size and athleticism are what makes Johnson a desirable target for many NFL teams. While he is not going to walk in and be the star/main receiver for many teams, what he will be is a bigger guy who will be a matchup nightmare for a team’s second or third best corner.

Here are three landing spots for Collin Johnson in the 2020 NFL Draft:

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Raiders get breather with strength of schedule among NFL’s easiest in 2020

Raiders get breather with strength of schedule among NFL’s easiest in 2020

Last season the NFL did the Raiders no favors. Not with regard to their opponents so much as how the schedule was arranged. With a seven-week span without a game in Oakland all in the first half of the season. But it wasn’t just the rough road trips, the Raiders also had the NFL’s toughest schedule with a .539 opponent winning percentage.

This season they get a bit of a break, at least from an opponent perspective. Their opponents have a 127-129 record, putting them under .500 (.496). That’s the league’s 21st schedule in terms of strength of opponent based on 2019 records.

See the Raiders 2019 opponents home and away here

Both the Chiefs (.500) and Broncos (.512) have tougher schedules and the Chargers (.492) are just one game behind.

Here is the strength of schedules across the NFL:

1. New England Patriots: 137-118-1 (.537)

2. New York Jets: 136-119-1 (.533)

3. Miami Dolphins: 135-120-1 (.529)

4. San Francisco 49ers: 134-120-2 (.528)

T5. Buffalo Bills: 134-121-1 (.525)

T5. Detroit Lions: 134-121-1 (.525)

T5. Atlanta Falcons: 134-121-1 (.525)

T8. Arizona Cardinals: 132-123-1 (.518)

T8. Houston Texans: 132-123-1 (.518)

T10. Los Angeles Rams: 131-123-2 (.516)

T10. Minnesota Vikings: 131-123-2 (.516)

12. Denver Broncos: 131-125 (.512)

T13. Seattle Seahawks: 129-125-2 (.508)

T13. Chicago Bears: 129-125-2 (.508)

15. Green Bay Packers: 128-126-2 (.504)

T16. Indianapolis Colts: 128-127-1 (.502)

T16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 128-127-1 (.502)

T18. Carolina Panthers: 127-127-2 (.500)

T18. Kansas City Chiefs: 128-128 (.500)

20. Tennessee Titans: 127-128-1 (.498)

21. Las Vegas Raiders: 127-129 (.496)

22. Jacksonville Jaguars: 126-129-1 (.494)

23. Los Angeles Chargers: 126-130 (.492)

24. New Orleans Saints: 125-130-1 (.490)

25. Philadelphia Eagles: 124-131-1 (.486)

26. New York Giants: 123-132-1 (.482)

27. Cincinnati Bengals: 122-134 (.477)

28. Washington Redskins: 118-136-2 (.465)

29. Cleveland Browns: 118-138 (.461)

30. Dallas Cowboys: 117-138-1 (.459)

31. Pittsburgh Steelers: 117-139 (.457)

32. Baltimore Ravens: 112-144 (.438)

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NFL fines Broncos cornerback Isaac Yiadom, 3 Raiders players

Broncos cornerback Isaac Yiadom was fined by the NFL after being penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct against the Raiders in Week 17.

Near the end of the Broncos’ 16-15 win over the Raiders in Week 17, a brawl broke out between the AFC West rivals. The league punished four players involved in the incident last week.

Denver cornerback Isaac Yiadom received a $14,037 unsportsmanlike conduct fine, according to The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala. That’s 2.324% of the $603,750 he earned during the 2019 season (salary via Spotrac.com).

In addition to Yiadom, three other players faced repercussions.

Raiders guard Josh Mauro and safety Erik Harris were fined $10,527 and $28,075, respectively, for unnecessary roughness. Oakland cornerback Nevin Lawson received the biggest punishment: a one-game suspension without pay to begin the 2020 season.

Lawson was suspended after using his helmet as a weapon in the brawl.

Yiadom (6-1, 190 pounds) was selected by the Broncos in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft out of Boston College. He hasn’t quite lived up to his draft status over the last two years, totaling just one interception and seven pass breakups in 29 games.

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NFL fans had lots of jokes on what the Raiders’ sweet new stadium looks like

The Raiders’ new stadium is looking SHARP. And also like a gigantic Roomba.

The Oakland Raiders will soon become the Las Vegas Raiders, as they will make the move to Sin City once this season is over, which still could end with a trip the playoffs if five things go their way in Week 17.

The team’s new stadium in Las Vegas is nearing completion and it looks like it is going to be monstrous upgrade from Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, which isn’t hard to do because the Coliseum is easily the dumpiest of all the stadiums in the NFL.

A new video showed the outside of the stadium looking almost done and I think it looks pretty darn awesome:

Other NFL fans had jokes about the look of the stadium:

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Latest look at Raiders’ Las Vegas stadium, which Saints will visit in 2020

The New Orleans Saints will play the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in 2020. A viral video showed how construction is progressing.

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The New Orleans Saints will hit the road in 2020, and help ring in the then-Las Vegas Raiders’ inaugural season at Allegiant Stadium. That venue is still under construction, but is progressing well towards its Aug. 2020 opening date, and The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the NFL is considering it to host the 2020 season’s first Sunday night game.

That means there’s a scenario where the Saints and the Raiders headline the NFL’s Week 1 schedule next year. While the reigning Super Bowl champions traditionally host the first game of the next year (and the Saints are very much contending for that championship), the NFL has shown a willingness to go in other directions when it benefits them. For example, they scheduled a game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers to open up the league’s 100th season in 2019, putting the Super Bowl-champion New England Patriots on Sunday night.

Next season, there’s the added factor of Los Angeles opening the new SoFi Stadium, which will house both the Rams and Chargers. The Review-Journal report adds that a Rams home game is being considered for Thursday night in Week 1, which would boot the Super Bowl champions (whoever they are, and hopefully the Saints) into another time slot.

So the Saints and Raiders could kick off on Sunday night in early Sept. 2020, even in the event that the Saints win Super Bowl LIV in Miami. While it would be disappointing for the Saints to lose that prestigious opening-night game in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for Week 1, it’s tough to complain about the idea of opening the 2020 season in Las Vegas at a shining-new venue against a fringe playoff team. With NFL superstars like Drew Brees, Michael Thomas, and Alvin Kamara and one of the league’s best-traveling fanbases involved, this would be a tantalizing draw for the NFL.

As for Allegiant Stadium itself: it’s a $1.8 billion project that will host 65,000 seats and host both the Raiders and the UNLV Rebels. A recent viral video shared a street-side view of the under-progress stadium, along with its glossy black exterior. Yeah, it’s easy to picture the Saints playing here (and leaving with a win):

 

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