Tag: Robert Spillane

Raiders vs Giants final injury report: LB Divine Deablo, FB Jakob Johnson both OUT

LB Divine Deablo and LB Luke Masterson OUT. LB Robert Spillane Questionable. Yikes.

The final injury report is out and so too are several Raiders players. Among them is linebacker Divine Deablo (ankle), LB Luke Masterson (concussion), fullback Jakob Johnson (concussion), and tackle Thayer Munford (neck).

As if it the linebacker corps wasn’t already thin, Robert Spillane is officially Questionable with an injured hand.

Last Sunday the Raiders found themselves down to Amari Burney and Curtis Bolton at linebacker. They signed Jaylon Smith this week off the Saints practice squad. It may be too much to ask him to be ready in a matter of days, so they will certainly be hoping at very least Spillane can go.

The Giants will be without former Raiders TE Darren Waller who suffered a hamstring injury last week, making his return to Las Vegas not as he had hoped.

Also OUT for the Giants is QB Tyrod Taylor and K Graham Gano.

Questionable are OL Evan Neal (ankle), OL Andrew Thomas (hamstring), and RB Jashaun Corbin (hamstring).

Raiders vs Giants Thursday injury report: Raiders banged up at linebacker

Raiders vs Giants Thursday injury report: Raiders banged up at linebacker

Today the Raiders made a move to try and fortify their linebacker corps. They signed Jaylon Smith off the Saints practice squad. The hope being that he can get up to speed quickly being that he played in Patrick Graham’s defense back in 2021 for four games.

It’s a stretch, but they have little choice in the matter. Currently they are facing being without Divine Deablo (ankle) and his replacement Luke Masterson (concussion).

In addition, Robert Spillane has an injured hand that kept him out of practice Wednesday and had him limited Thursday.

Giants vs. Raiders: 5 things to know about Week 9

The New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders square off on Sunday afternoon in Week 9, so here are five things fans should know.

The New York Giants (2-5) head west to face the Las Vegas Raiders (3-5) at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada on Sunday, November 5. Kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m. ET to be aired on FOX (Ch. 5 in New York).

Here are five things to know ahead of Sunday’s Week 9 matchup.

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 7 loss to Bears

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 7 loss to Bears

One of the tougher tasks I have occasionally had in the 16 years I’ve been doing this series is finding anything positive in a seemingly complete collapse. This was one of those times.

The hapless Bears jumped to a 14-0 lead in this game and never looked back. The Raiders couldn’t stop the Chicago offense led by undrafted rookie QB Tyson Bagent. Mostly because they couldn’t stop the ground game and found themselves on their heels all game long.

It was so bad that even the final score didn’t accurately reflect the disparity. The final six points was a garbage time score after they were down 30-6. And honestly we all knew once the Raiders went down 21-3 in the third quarter, that was the clincher. After all, the Raiders offense hadn’t broken the 20-point barrier all season, and they were clearly not going to do it on this day.

But, as we typically do, let’s start with the glimmer of good before we go to the myriad of bad.

Ballers

DE Maxx Crosby

The best all-around edge rusher in the NFL is often the exception for the Raiders. Nearly every week he is not just a Baller, but the Top Baller. Even if that isn’t all that difficult to do on this team.

The defense didn’t hold up well most of the game, but every time they did, Crosby was the reason why.

The day began on a high note. The Bears won the toss and made the rare decision to start on offense. Then the Raiders forced a three-and-out, which immediately put them at an advantage. That advantage was created because on second down, Crosby got pressure to set up Bilal Nichols to make a tackle for loss and the Bears couldn’t dig out of it.

Down 7-0 to begin the second quarter, the Bears began driving again, picking up a couple first downs. Then Crosby burst into the backfield, forcing a holding penalty on his man and the Bears once again could not overcome it and punted.

Down 14-3 late in the second quarter, the Bears were threatening again. They moved into Vegas territory at the 47 and would get no further. Crosby flew in for the sack to put them back in their own territory with seconds left and that ended that.

That was as close as the Raiders would get. Still within two scores. Unfortunately Crosby can’t do it all by himself and the Bears were able to extend their lead, while the offense not only couldn’t close the gap, but actually made it worse with a late pick-six to turn this one into a laugher.

WR Jakobi Meyers

The Raiders had three scoring drives in the game. The first one featured a heavy dose of Meyers. He caught four consecutive passes for a combined 34 yards to put the Raiders in scoring range.

The second scoring drive featured a catch my Meyers to convert on third-and-three and a four-yard catch on second-and-goal from the ten.

He would later catch the Raiders only touchdown in the game. Even if it was a meaningless one in garbage time.

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Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 5 win over Packers

Raiders Ballers & Busters in win over Packers

It was another nail-biter for the Raiders Monday Night, but this time they came out on top, finishing with a 17-13 win over the visiting Packers.

Just like the Raiders first win of the season, it was a low-scoring affair. This one featured four turnovers, with three of them coming via interceptions by the Raiders.

The Packers struck first with a long drive to go up 3-0 in the first quarter. Come the second quarter, the Raiders put together a hard-fought drive to go ahead 7-3 and added a field goal off their first takeaway to take a 10-3 lead at the half.

The Packers took one back early in the third quarter and took advantage of the short field to tie it up at 10-10. Then they got a huge 77-yard reception from Christian Watson, but couldn’t finish it off and went up 13-10 on a short field goal.

The goal-line stand by the Raiders defense inspired the Raiders offense and they put together their best drive of the game to go up 17-13. And that would prove to be the final score.

DE Maxx Crosby

Earning Defensive Player of the Week was a pretty good sign that Crosby was the Top Baller for the Raiders in this game.

Several drives he stopped almost single-handedly. He got a pressure that led to a run stuff on the first drive that ended a play later with a punt. Early in the second quarter, the Packers had a four-play drive, with Crosby making a run stop for a loss and a pressure that led to a two-yard catch.

Later in the second quarter, with the Raiders just having taken a 10-3 lead, he had another run stop for a loss and another pressure that led to an incompletion to force a three-and-out and give the Raiders another shot at scoring before the half. Then, just for good measure, he got one more pressure on the final play of the second quarter.

The Raiders came back to take the lead on the first play of the fourth quarter. And Crosby set out to keep it. The ensuing Packers drive made it to the Vegas 40-yard-line. Then Crosby broke through for a sack to back them up to the 47. In their attempt to get that yardage back, Jordan Love threw his second interception.

A quick three-and-out for the Raiders offense and Crosby and Co. were back on the field. No problem, Crosby returned the favor, getting pressure on a screen attempt to force an incompletion and laying a hit on Jordan Love that led to another incompletion.

LB Robert Spillane, CB Marcus Peters, CB Amik Robertson

The turnover crew. And for once, that’s a good thing for the Raiders.

Spillane got things started, when he read Jordan Love’s eyes on a pass in the second quarter, picking it off and returning it to the seven-yard-line. The Raiders offense was unable to do anything with it and settled for a field goal to go up 10-3.

Spillane got another one, this time off a pass breakup that was tipped in the air by Peters. It stopped a drive that had moved into Vegas territory as the Packers looked to either pull to within a point or take the lead.

Peters’s big day started before that, however, when he made a touchdown saving tackle off a 77-yard catch by Christian Watson. Peters was called for a horsecollar, but who cares. He gave the Raiders’ defense a chance and they held the line to keep the Packers out of the end zone.

Robertson was the one who gave up that 77-yard catch to Watson, but he got the last laugh when the 5-9 cornerback leapt high above the 6-4 receiver to make the game-sealing interception.

WR Jakobi Meyers

While the Packers made a point to try and take their former teammate Davante Adams out of the game, Meyers was the beneficiary.

On the Raiders’ first scoring drive, he had a ten-yard catch on third and five and the touchdown catch from nine yards out. He would help put them in scoring range again just before the half with an 18-yard sliding grab on third and ten, followed by a 16-yard catch. Unfortunately Daniel Carlson’s 53-yard field goal was blocked.

The team’s final scoring drive was kept alive with an eight-yard catch by Meyers on third and four. After that, the Raiders finally managed to get Adams involved and went for their second touchdown.

P AJ Cole

His first punt was a beauty that went 55 yards and bounced out of bounds at the seven-yard-line. His next punt was fair caught at the ten-yard-line. His third punt went 53 yards with a two-yard return to the 17. His final punt was also stopped at the 17-yard-line, which was the best field position the Packers had off of any of his punts in the game.

RB Josh Jacobs

Jacobs put up 89 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. A good portion of that came on two drives late in the game. He led off a drive late in the third quarter with a 24-yard run that began with a wicked dead leg fake out that left Jaire Alexander reaching at air. He added a six-yard run on the next play and would end up finishing off the drive with a touchdown run from two yards out.

His best play early on wasn’t even with him touching the ball. In fourth and one from the 16-yard-line, the Raiders ran a sweep with DeAndre Carter that was converted because Jacobs laid a big time block. They punched it in for the touchdown two plays later.

Late in the game, when they needed him most, he got the ball on six of seven plays for 29 yards of offense and put the Raiders in scoring range. But Carlson’s 52-yard field goal clanked off the right upright.

He had 63 yards of offense on those two drives alone, first to take the lead, and then to try and run clock and extend it.

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What Raiders teammates, coaches said about Maxx Crosby following his DPOW performance

What Raiders teammates, coaches said about Maxx Crosby following his DPOW performance

Monday Night the Raiders stepped on the big stage and no one shined quite as bright as star edge rusher Maxx Crosby.

The Pro Bowler was in the Packers’ backfield all day disrupting plays both in the run and the pass which led to him having a sack, a QB hit and four tackles for loss.

His performance earned him the Defensive Player of the Week Honors for Week five.

Robert Spillane and Amik Robertson grabbed some of the spotlight for their interceptions in the game. Spillane in particular had two of them. Here is what he had to say about Crosby after the game.

“That dude lives possessed. Everything he does is at full speed. At practice, walk-thru, games…so, I just admire his work ethic and he shows up every time the lights come on, so I’m just glad to be working behind him.”

“Yeah, teams always got to figure out what they want to do with Maxx Crosby. Do they double him? Do they triple him? And he still finds a way to get pressure on the quarterback, so the more that we could do that with four rushers, the better our pass defense will be.”

Robertson had the game-sealing pick in the end zone which preserved the Raiders 17-13 win and made Crosby’s efforts worth it.

“He gives us an opportunity of being able to get our hands on the ball,” he said of Crosby. “Maxx is making it hard on the quarterbacks week in and week out. We got to do our job as far as covering. We cover well, he’ll get home. If he get home, that’s when we get picks. So, it’s like it kind of goes hand-in-hand.”

Despite having a former offensive coordinator as a head coach, the Raiders have yet to score more than 18 points in a game. Monday they got their second win of the season, both games having scored just 17 points.

Josh McDaniels knows how lucky he is and that without Crosby’s efforts, he would be looking at 1-4 right now.

“Consistency. Maxx [Crosby] does it every day with his effort, his work, how much he cares about every little detail relative to the football team, his teammates, his body, practice,” said McDaliels. “And then he gives it everything he has, every single time he’s out there. And he never comes off the field, as you know. So, tremendous leadership. . . then Maxx just creating problems, tackles for loss, sacks and pressures all game.”

Crosby is having a career year so far, which is saying a lot considering some of his great seasons. But he isn’t satisfied.

“More is required,” Crosby said of his performance. “For me I feel like I’ve started off doing pretty well. But, like I said, I take it personal. I do this all year round, I want to be the best, and it’s an every day process. Next week I gotta be even better. I do it for my guys, I do it for all the people in my circle, I do it for the people I love most. I do it for them, not the people that doubt me. People have been doubting me forever, I do it for the people that believe in me. Every time I go out there I take it personal. Try to stay as level-headed as possible and take it one play at a time. I feel like that’s translated onto the field.”

Raiders Week 5 snap counts vs Packers: Defensive heroes go wall-to-wall for the win

Snap counts: Raiders defensive heroes went wall-to-wall for the win

There were a few clear heroes for the Raiders in their Monday Night win over the Green Bay Packers. All of whom were on the defensive side of the ball. And all of whom played every single snap.

Robert Spillane had a couple interceptions. One of those interceptions came off a tipped pass breakup by Marcus Peters.

Peters had the touchdown saving tackle on the 70-yard catch and run by Christian Watson play and it was a big tackle for loss by Maxx Crosby that helped hold the Packers out of the end zone after that big play and set up what would be the game-winning drive. Crosby also had a drive-killing sack in the game.

And, finally, it was Amik Robertson’s interception at the end that sealed the 17-13 win.

Spillane, Peters, Crosby, and Robertson all started the game and didn’t miss a snap. Also not missing a snap on defense were safeties Tre’von Moehrig and Marcus Epps.

Offense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Dylan Parham G 64 100% 5 21%
Kolton Miller T 64 100% 5 21%
Greg Van Roten G 64 100% 5 21%
Andre James C 64 100% 0 0%
Jimmy Garoppolo QB 64 100% 0 0%
Jakobi Meyers WR 61 95% 0 0%
Davante Adams WR 60 94% 0 0%
Josh Jacobs RB 54 84% 0 0%
Thayer Munford T 50 78% 5 21%
Michael Mayer TE 42 66% 5 21%
Austin Hooper TE 36 56% 0 0%
Hunter Renfrow WR 19 30% 0 0%
DeAndre Carter WR 18 28% 9 38%
Jermaine Eluemunor T 16 25% 3 12%
Ameer Abdullah RB 11 17% 12 50%
Jakob Johnson FB 10 16% 8 33%
Tre Tucker WR 7 11% 2 8%
Defense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Robert Spillane LB 58 100% 4 17%
Amik Robertson CB 58 100% 3 12%
Maxx Crosby DE 58 100% 0 0%
Marcus Epps SS 58 100% 0 0%
Marcus Peters CB 58 100% 0 0%
Tre’von Moehrig FS 58 100% 0 0%
Divine Deablo LB 49 84% 3 12%
Bilal Nichols DT 37 64% 4 17%
Adam Butler DT 34 59% 5 21%
Tyler Hall CB 30 52% 8 33%
John Jenkins DT 26 45% 4 17%
Tyree Wilson DE 24 41% 4 17%
Malcolm Koonce DE 22 38% 16 67%
Roderic Teamer SS 21 36% 18 75%
Jerry Tillery DT 20 34% 3 12%
Isaac Rochell DE 12 21% 4 17%
Byron Young DT 8 14% 0 0%
Luke Masterson LB 7 12% 19 79%
Special Teams Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Isaiah Pola-Mao FS 0 0% 19 79%
Brandon Bolden RB 0 0% 18 75%
Jesper Horsted TE 0 0% 15 62%
Kana’i Mauga LB 0 0% 13 54%
AJ Cole III P 0 0% 9 38%
Daniel Carlson K 0 0% 9 38%
Jacob Bobenmoyer LS 0 0% 9 38%
Zamir White RB 0 0% 8 33%
Jordan Meredith G 0 0% 5 21%
David Long CB 0 0% 2 8%
Justin Herron T 0 0% 2 8%
Troy Pride Jr. CB 0 0% 1 4

Raiders ‘open the floodgates’ of takeaways to grab defensive win over Packers

Raiders ‘open the floodgates’ of takeaways to grab defensive win over Packers

Monday night the Raiders rode a three-game losing streak into Allegiant to face the visiting Packers. And despite scoring just 17 points, they still managed to come away with a 17-13 win.

As you might expect, it was the defense that led the way in this low-scoring affair. In particular, it was their three interceptions.

Two of those interceptions came by way of Robert Spillane. The sixth year linebacker who had all of one interception in his career coming in.

Spillane’s first interception came late in the second quarter. The Raiders offense had just put together a 14-play touchdown drive to go up 7-3. And on the first play for the Packers, Jordan Love dropped back and threw one right to Spillane as if he were invisible. 

I saw a middle linebacker dropping back and reading the quarterback’s eyes and making a play on the ball. I asked Spillane what he saw on the play.

“They had two tight ends that were off the ball. It’s one of their play action looks,” said Spillane. “I wasn’t really over anticipating run, so when they went to play action, I just held my location and the receiver ended up running behind me and the quarterback threw me the ball.”

Spillane returned the ball to the seven-yard-line where the offense went three-and-out and kicked the field goal to go up 10-3. So, not the best use of the field position the turnover gave the offense.

Meanwhile, the Packers would take advantage of an interception by mounting a touchdown drive of their own to tie it up 10-10 midway through the third quarter. 

As it happens, the score that put the Packers ahead was actually the best defensive stand of the game for the Raiders. 

Christian Watson broke wide open for a 70-yard completion, at the end of which, Marcus Peters was flagged for a horsecollar tackle as he kept Watson from reaching the end zone. All told, it put the Packers in first and goal from the three-yard-line.

That’s when the Raiders defense stepped up big time.

The first play was crucial, as Maxx Crosby came flying in to tackle AJ Dillon for a two-yard loss on the play. And the Packers got no closer.

“Marcus [Peters] made a great play, even though he got a penalty,” said Maxx Crosby. “If he doesn’t get him down right there it’s a touchdown and that changes the outcome. Marcus made a vet move, he found a way to get him to the ground and we got a stop. We got a [tackle for loss] first play, another run stop, and then an incompletion. That’s what it’s all about. Playing complimentary football, not freaking out when they make a big play.”

The Raiders interior duo of Bilal Nichols and John Jenkins made the stuff on second down and what initially looked like a sure seven points for the Packers ended up just three points. 

The offense seemed to get a lift out of the big stop, because they took the ball and had their best drive of the game, going 75 yards to take a 17-13 lead.

Thanks to two more takeaways, that would be the final score.

The first was a Jordan Love pass for Watson that Marcus Peters played perfectly. He stayed in Watson’s pocket and swiped down on the ball, tipping it in the air where the suddenly opportunistic Spillane was there to cradle it for his second interception of the day.

Josh Jacobs said he and the offense took notice of Spillane’s focus in this game.

“Oh yeah, we was talking about him on the sideline, that boy looks like he’s cerebral,” said Jacobs. “That boy was locked in, he was everywhere. He was making plays when they needed to be made and he was saving us from a lot of things too, shout out to him.”

For the rest of the game, neither team was able break through. Daniel Carlson missed a 52-yard field goal off the right upright on a play where they very likely should have gone for it on 4th and two for the win instead of playing scared of a Packers touchdown.

The Packers got the ball back with 1:56 left to play and good field position off the miss. And from the 35-yard-line with 51 seconds left, they shot their shot. Jordan Love dropped back and launched one for the end zone for Watson who was being covered by usual reserve cornerback Amik Robertson who was starting due to Nate Hobbs’s injury absence.

Amik stayed with Watson, turning to find the ball at the perfect time and putting the game away with a masterful interception.

“One of the best interceptions that I’ve ever seen in my life,” Spillane said of Robertson’s game ending grab. “50 yards down the field. To be able to contort his body, high point the football and end the game like that? What an outstanding play by a player who’s just been gnawing at the bit to get on the field. So I’m excited for him.”

The key to making the play, as Robertson put it, was watching Watson’s eyes.

“I was taught to not really panic,” said Robertson. “I trust my ball skills. I knew what kind of ball skills I have. When I saw his eyes get big, I didn’t panic, I just turned my head and the ball was there. So I snagged it.”

Robertson said he knew being that he was the smallest guy on the field, that the Packers were going to test him and that he “was going to be the reason” they won or lost. He added that when that time came he didn’t just want the pass breakup, “I wanted the ball.”

That’s pretty close to calling your own shot.

One guy who knows a thing or two about interceptions in this league is Marcus Peters. He had this to say about Robertson.

“He a gamer, man. That’s all I gotta say,” said Peters. “He a gamer. Y’all know me. You can go watch these highlights, Amik be gaming. I’ve been a fan of him. I’ve been watching him since I wasn’t here. Amik is a gamer, man. We got playmakers on this defense and we just got to put it together.”

That third interception ended this game, and the Raiders defense thinks this will beget more to come.

“It’s contagious,” said Robertson. “Spillane had two picks. Congrats to him. At the end of the day, stuff like that’s contagious. We feel like if one guy gets one, the next guy’s gonna get one.”

“We’re just opening the floodgates and now we got to keep continuing to build on assaulting that pocket and finding ways to get the ball out,” said Spillane.

“In this game it’s about getting at bats or shots at goal or whatever way you want to put it,” Crosby said of the turnovers. “Eventually they come and they come in bunches. Today we got three of them. Super excited about it. You got to give a big shout out to Spillane, he got two picks. Then Amik closing the door at the end, so the guys are working their ass off and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Crosby said the words “It wasn’t pretty” following the game, but I would have to disagree with him a bit there. Even if the Raiders offense remains inconsistent at best, those three interceptions along with that defensive stop deserve more credit for prettying things up on this night.

Raiders 2023 Team Captains includes newcomers Robert Spillane, Marcus Epps

Raiders announce 9 Team Captains including Josh Jacobs, Robert Spillane, Marcus Epps

Today the Raiders named nine team captains. Four on offense, three one defense, and two on special teams.

Those captains are as follows:

Offense

QB Jimmy Garoppolo
RB Josh Jacobs
WR Davante Adams
LT Kolton Miller

Defense

DE Maxx Crosby
LB Robert Spillane
S Marcus Epps

Special teams

K Daniel Carlson
P AJ Cole

Of note among the captains is Josh Jacobs who just took the practice field for the first time this week after sitting out all of camp until he received a new one-year deal in lieu of signing the franchise tag.

Also of note is Robert Spillane and Marcus Epps who signed with the team this offseason. They were chosen over returning starters at those positions Divine Deablo and Tre’von Moehrig.

Third year starting cornerback Nate Hobbs may have also been a fine choice as a captain. But no players who were captains last season were stripped of that status this year.

Raiders LB Robert Spillane racking up interceptions in camp, says it’s all about ‘trust’

Robert Spillane has had three times as many interceptions the past week in Raiders camp as he has his entire career. He has an idea of why the D has been ball hawking of late.

I think it’s fair to say Robert Spillane isn’t known for forcing turnovers. As much as he has been preaching the defensive mindset of taking the ball away, the veteran linebacker has done it just once in his five-year career.

It’s great to preach about forcing turnovers. That’s a mindset every defender should have. It’s another to put it into practice. Doing so moves it from an idea to a reality.

A week ago, Spillane did that. He had his first pick. It was one of seven interceptions for the Raiders over two days, but it was the only one not by a defensive back.

It sent the message that Spillane isn’t just expecting the secondary to do the work of getting their hands on passes and getting the ball back to the offense.

No one was happier about that than his position coach Antonio Pierce who sees Spillane as an extension of him on the field and in the huddle.

“It’s good when you just do your job. Sometimes you just do your job and you’re Johnny on the spot. And that’s what he’s done,” Pierce said of Spillane. “He’s come to work every day prepared, studies. If there’s a mistake from the day before, it doesn’t happen the next day and those are just examples of it.”

Friday Spillane had his second shot at facing the 49ers offense in joint practices, and the result was his second and third interceptions of camp.

Spillane’s picks were two of a total six interceptions overall, and one of two in 11-in-11 drills. The other pick in team sessions was by Marcus Peters. Which mean the Raiders had four interceptions combined in 11-on-11s over two days of practices against the 49ers — two by Peters.

The key to this? Trust.

“You trust the guys around you, you’re able to go make plays,” said Spillane. “And without that trust, you can’t play outside the box. You need to just play standard football. But good defenses all trust each other. I know my guys are going to set the edge here, I know my safeties are behind me. Give me an opportunity to play fast and go eat. It’s our job to clean you up. I get safeties behind me ‘Rob, go fly around. We’ll make you right.’ So, it’s that three levels of trust throughout a defense.”

If that trust holds up, the Raiders may be able to get their hands on a few balls a season after finishing tied for the fewest interceptions (6) in the league last season.

Seems ironic, really, for a guys who has one interception and hasn’t had any the past two seasons.