Tag: Raiders news

After missing the final three games of the 2019 season, Josh Jacobs is back after a stellar rookie season. He finished his rookie season with over 1,300 total yards from scrimmage and was second in Rookie of the Year voting. However, he wants to smash his rookie numbers and with some luck, that should be possible.

Luckily for Jacobs, things are set up well for him to have success in Week 1. His entire offensive line is healthy and Jacobs will face a Carolina defense that has struggled to stop the run over the last few seasons.

In his recent “Love, Hate” article, ESPN’s Matthew Berry wrote about how strong of a play Jacobs is this week in fantasy. Take a look at his thoughts on the sophomore running back below:

Jacobs opens with a fantastic RB matchup against Carolina. Last year, the Panthers gave up the most fantasy points to opposing running backs and were league-worst in both yards per carry against AND yards after contract. They also gave up 31 rushing touchdowns — also worst in the NFL. Oh, and all that was WITH Luke Kuechly still in uniform. Viva Las Vegas.

If the Raiders can get and keep a lead, Jacobs should have massive success on the ground. And with Jon Gruden committing to his running back, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Jacobs saw 20 or more touches in this game.

If you drafted Jacobs this season in fantasy football, make sure he is in your lineup. He should finish as one of the most productive backs of the week.

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All of us are anxious to get back to football. That means fans, journalists, analysts, coaches, and players. But not all of us are about to make our NFL debut as a starter. There figure to be three rookie starters for the Raiders when they take the field Sunday. Two of them will be at the wide receiver spot.

I can’t even imagine the nerves I would have in this situation. Not just making my NFL debut, but as a starter, and with a rookie starting across from me. I don’t care who you are, or how ready you think you are, nothing can prepare you for that moment.

Raiders top pick Henry Ruggs III played college ball at Alabama. Football programs don’t get any bigger than that. But he is about to take an NFL field when he’s never even been in an NFL stadium to *watch* a game, let alone suit up for a team.

“Definitely anxious,” Ruggs said Thursday over a video call. “And for me, it will be my first NFL experience because I’ve never been to an NFL game. So, it will kind of be a lot of emotions going through my head at the time when I first get in and probably pregame and things like that.”

The way Ruggs sees it, his nerves will subside after that first play of the game. From there it’s about the proverbial short-term memory NFL players talk about all the time.

“You can’t let anything get too big and can’t get down on yourself too much and dwell on any mistakes because things are going to happen,” Ruggs added. “We’re all professionals. . . it’s just football. Never let anything take you away from just playing football and doing what you know.”

The 12th overall pick will be joined by 81st overall pick, Bryan Edwards, in the starting lineup. Edwards gets the start with the loss of Tyrell Williams to injured reserve.

Ruggs has known pretty much since the day he was drafted that he was to be a day one starter. Edwards likely thought he would have to wait his turn. That turn came up quick with the loss of Williams, so you’d understand if Edwards was as bundle of nerves on Sunday. But if that’s the case, he’s either not admitting it or hasn’t gotten there yet.

“For me, it’s just football.  I’ve been playing football since I was a kid,” Edwards said, echoing Ruggs’s words. “It’s what I came up doing. So, when I get into that mode and you get that first hit out of the way, for me it’s just football, honestly.”

The common feeling is that game day and pregame in Carolina will be the time for nerves. In which case they do have one thing in their favor — no fans.

There will be no fans in the stands at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Just two teams playing each other with some ambient recorded crowd noise could help the rookie duo tune out the distractions and focus on the task at hand. At least their offensive coordinator thinks so.

“Well part of it is they say going to the pro level on gameday, the environment,” said Greg Olson of the usual difficulties of debuting as a starter. “Maybe thankful a little bit this year with no fans in this opener that it’ll look like a scrimmage to them. The biggest hurdle I think is game day and all the distractions that are around later in the week on a gameday. Having to get tickets to your family and friends, dealing with the crowd on the road. I think a lot of those situations they will not have to go through this year. Hopefully, it’ll feel like a scrimmage for those guys. Being prepared for just the enormity of a gameday in the NFL.”

If you’d like to find a potential benefit to both rookies starting is they aren’t alone. They are both in the same boat, so neither will feel like they are the *only* one who may not be completely up to speed in a new offense.

Jon Gruden, Greg Olson, and Ruggs and Edwards have all said they are supremely confident in how they will perform in their first NFL game action Sunday. We’ll see soon enough.

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Last season, Josh Jacobs quickly established himself as the Raiders’ feature back. Despite never having that role at Alabama, he took to being a workhorse quite well, putting up 1,150 yards and seven touchdowns in 13 games while averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Even still, there was something missing – a complementary back.

Jacobs proved he can carry the load for the Raiders, but he shouldn’t have to do it alone. That’s a recipe for wearing him out and perhaps losing him to injury just as they did last season.

The team drafted Lynn Bowden Jr in the third round in the hopes that he could catch on fast enough to offer some relief for Jacobs, but in their eyes they lost faith the former college wide receiver and quarterback was going to successfully make the transition to running back at the NFL level. So, they traded him to the Dolphins.

With Bowden out, the competition would be between veterans Theo Riddick and Devontae Booker. And come the roster cutdown to 53 players, it was Booker who made the squad.

For Booker’s part, he had more time to learn the playbook, having been signed in May, while Riddick wasn’t signed until midway through camp. The thing is, though, neither guy had an offseason of practices, so being a quick study was key.

“I just think really just me picking up the playbook as quick as I can,” Booker said Wednesday over zoom conference call. “Coach Gruden’s playbook, it’s kind of hard to grasp for new players and stuff, and it’s a lot. But I came in here prepared from Day 1 and just was focused on getting that done and just translate it onto the field and help me play fast, and I guess that’s what they see.”

It’s possible that was the primary reason. In an offseason with no practices and no preseason, teams must rely on game film much more than they would otherwise. Hence the reason the decision came down to two veterans for the job.

“Difficult without the preseason games. They did not get any live action making the evaluation even more difficult,” Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson said of Riddick and Booker. “Theo Riddick came available and he came in and did some things that opened some eyes amongst the coaching staff. He brought in even more competition at that position, again that made it a little bit easier to make the trade of Lynn Bowden. The running back room is still very competitive. Obviously Josh is the lead dog in that room, but we like what the other guys bring to the table.”

Riddick was brought back to the practice squad, which this season has 16 players, six of whom are allowed to be vested veterans like Riddick. Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t offer anything the team doesn’t feel they already have in Jalen Richard. The 5-11, 219-pound Booker, however, does.

“We liked his size, and we liked the way he hit the hole,” Offensive coordinator Greg Olson said of Booker. We thought he had a little bit more power. We felt like that when we evaluated him in the first place to bring him in here but we like the size and the power that he brings to the position, it gives you a bit of a one-two punch behind Josh and we’ve got obviously Jalen and Theo are more of the third down wide receiver type backs. But we liked the combination of the four of those guys.”

Booker’s body of work suggests a complementary role is where he belongs. He started six games as a rookie in 2016 and averaged just 3.5 yards per carry. Since then, his carries have gone down, and his yards per carry has gone up.

In the past two seasons, Booker has carried the ball just 36 times, but averaged 5.3 yards per carry. If they could get that from him on 3-4 carries a game, that could help out quite a bit. But make no mistake, Jacobs is still the straw that stirs the drink for the Raiders’ offense.

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In this episode of the Raiders Wire podcast, Ryan and Marcus review some of the moves the team made over the last few weeks, including the trade of Lynn Bowden Jr.

Then, the two preview the Week 1 matchup with the Panthers from a fantasy and gambling perspective. Listen as the two talk about the spread, point total, fantasy plays and much more!

You can listen to the full episode below:

Enjoy the show with the player at the top of the page and make sure to subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.

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In just four days the Raiders will kick off the 2020 season against the Carolina Panthers. It will be the second season in a row new Raiders linebacker Cory Littleton will face the Panthers in the season opener. And if this time goes anything like last time, it could be a very good day for him and the Raiders.

Littleton was a member of the Los Angeles Rams at this time last year. He came out and immediately began putting the NFL on notice and eventually earned a big contract last offseason.

Corey Littleton played Carolina Week 1 of 2019. He finished his day with a stat line of 14 tackles, 2 PBUs, 1 INT, 1 FF/FR. He also held Christian McCaffrey to 19 yards when he was in man coverage against the back per PFF. pic.twitter.com/MrKeeHLV0V

— BD Williams (@BDWilliams18) September 10, 2020

Littleton’s 14 combined tackles that day were a career-high. It was also the only time in his 4-year career he had two pass breakups while also putting up double-digit tackles. And it was the only time in his career he had two forced turnovers in one game. And to contain Christian McCaffrey like that is just what the Raiders need from him.

“My man can do anything. He runs that offense,” Littleton said of McCaffrey this week. “Don’t know where they’re going to necessarily put him and he’s always a factor in whatever type of play they’re going on. We just got to key him. Do your best to shut him down in the run game and pass game, and make the other team use their other star players that they do have, force
them to make some big plays that day.”

To be fair, even though Littleton played McCaffrey well, the Rams as a team didn’t contain him. He still put up 128 yards rushing with two touchdowns and 81 yards receiving. But the Rams did pull out the 30-27 win.

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The NFL is gearing up for Week 1 of the 2020 season. With game week beginning, the odds are out for each game. For the Raiders, that’s prepping for a trip to Carolina, which is where they will kick off at 10 a.m. Pacific time (1 p.m. ET) on Sunday.

This first game the Raiders are favored by most betting sites by three points over the Panthers. Though a couple of sites, including BetMGM, have them as 3.5-point favorites.

It’s a rebuilding year for the Panthers. They fired longtime head coach Ron Rivera and let the former No. 1 pick in quarterback Cam Newton go, as well.

It’s Matt Rhule’s job now and his new signal-caller is Teddy Bridgewater who is trying to revive his career after a devastating leg injury threatened to end it and he’s been a backup for the past few years.

While the Panthers’ rebuild is just beginning, the Raiders are entering the third year of theirs, making for few question marks. With no games played this season, that’s enough to set the line where it is.

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It wasn’t that long ago when Derek Carr was a legitimate MVP candidate. After leading the Raiders to a 12-3 record, Carr received MVP votes after throwing 28 touchdowns to just six interceptions.

But since that season, Carr’s production has taken a step backward. But to his credit, he had an impressive 2019 season, setting career-highs in completion percentage, passing yards and passer rating. So what are the odds that he is able to improve on those numbers and become an MVP candidate once again?

In a recent piece by Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report, he named seven darkhorse MVP candidates heading into the season. Carr made the list as the Raiders have suddenly built an offense around him that should allow him to thrive. Take a look at Knox’s thoughts on Carr entering the season:

Carr, 29, had very good numbers in his second season under Gruden—4,054 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 100.8 rating—and there’s little reason to think they won’t be better.

Las Vegas added Henry Ruggs III, Bryan Edwards and Nelson Agholor to a young offense that already included rising stars Josh Jacobs, Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow. On paper, this is the best supporting cast of Carr’s career, and it’s not a stretch to think he’ll use it to reenter the MVP discussion.

If Carr can continue to improve on the numbers we saw last season, the Raiders will have a great chance of making the playoffs. If that happens, Carr will certainly earn a few MVP votes. It’s not inconceivable that in 2020, Carr has a career year in his third season under Jon Gruden.

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The Raiders are relying on a lot of young players on defense this season including the likes of Maxx Crosby, Clelin Ferrell and Johnathan Abram. But no defender may be more important to the team that cornerback Trayvon Mullen.

After a solid rookie season, Mullen developed into the team’s top cornerback and the Raiders felt comfortable enough with his performance to trade away Gareon Conley and allow Daryl Worley to hit free agency. Now, Mullen is the unquestioned No. 1 cornerback on the team and is poised for a big season in Vegas.

In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, Mullen was named one of the league’s biggest breakout candidates entering the season. Take a look at their thoughts on the former Clemson defensive back below:

Mullen had one of the more underappreciated rookie seasons of 2019. Don’t get me wrong, the 10 penalties he accumulated after being named the starter in Week 8 were a knock on him (tied for most in NFL), but he performed extremely well in press coverage as a first-year player.  On 118 coverage snaps in press, Mullen allowed only three first downs and a 42.4 passer rating when targeted. His length comes in handy and also helps him win at the catch point (eight pass breakups in starts from Week 8 on, tied for fifth). Mullen is an extremely physical player, but as I alluded to, that cost him last year. If Mullen knows his limits in 2020, he is bound to break out. But that’s a big “if.”

If the Raiders are serious about making a push for the playoffs this season, their defense is going to have to improve. One way that will be possible is if Mullen can become one of the league’s better cornerbacks. That’s a tough ask for a second-year defender, but he certainly has the talent to emerge as a star in the NFL. Look for Mullen to have a big year in Paul Guenther’s defense, assuming he can cut back on the penalties.

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