It might be the regular season opener before we see Derek Carr and the majority of the Raiders starters again, so here are a few thoughts on the team after three preseason games.
In no particular order…
10 – Kolton Miller, for some reason, took more criticism than he deserved in his second preseason game. He’s going to be under a microscope all year, but every offensive tackle gives up a pressure at one time or another – especially to a player like Clay Matthews.
He’s locked into his role at this point and will definitely take his lumps as a rookie. Maybe just make sure he’s not on an island with these AFC edge rushers any more than he has to be, coaches.
After the first drive, this is how most of Miller's reps looked like.
Still isn't quite strong enough to hold up in run blocking though but he's making nice progress. pic.twitter.com/0NKcE1g7Fw
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) August 25, 2018
9 – Some who have played for Gruden have told stories of how he used to pick a player a guy and yell at him incessantly to send a message to the others listening. That guy for Gruden this year is Connor Cook. Maybe Gruden keeps Cook around just because he can handle the abuse.
8 – Keeping with the quarterback discussion, if Gruden only keeps two quarterbacks, E.J. Manuel should make the team over Cook. Not one thing looked good about what Cook was up to on Friday night.
7 – Doug Martin finally hit the field in a Raiders uniform and he didn’t have a great night, but some of that may have been because he didn’t have a lot of room to run. Green Bay definitely defended the run well on Friday.
6 – Fadol Brown was a monster, but can he play at the same level against a first team offense? Gruden might not have any choice but to keep him around and find out. One position group he could steal a roster spot from is the wide receivers. Marcell Ateman is a popular pick to make the final roster, but there are greater depth needs elsewhere.
Starting to think Ateman could be an odd man out.
5 – Jon Gruden said Donald Penn is not 100 percent and that’s a good thing, actually. The only other explanations for his rough night were that he isn’t transitioning well to right tackle or has finally reached an age where he can’t keep up. Hopefully two weeks is enough time for Penn to take care of his foot and get more comfortable playing on the right side.
One thought on that, though. If his foot is holding him back after 32 weeks, is it going to be that much better after 34 weeks?
4 – Everyone is still waiting for Martavis Bryant to break out, but one thing to consider is this: Pittsburgh is a wide receiver factory. If Bryant didn’t explode in the Steelers offense, maybe that’s a bit concerning.
3 – The Raiders have themselves a middle linebacker.
For the second time in three preseason games, the highest graded #Raiders player was LB Marquel Lee with a 91.2 grade against the Packers. Through games played on Friday, Lee's 92.5 overall grade this preseason ranks first among linebackers that have played 40 or more snaps ☠️
— PFF OAK Raiders (@PFF_Raiders) August 25, 2018
2 – What’s going on with Karl Joseph? He didn’t start on Friday and there’s talk of things staying that way. Joseph was one of the more exciting picks coming out of West Virginia, but now that the NFL doesn’t let players tackle hard, where does Joseph really make his mark?
1 – Fans and media were given packs of silver and black ‘Beast Mode’ Skittles on Friday night. You can now buy those packs of Skittles for $30 a pop on EBay.
That’s a ‘spensive pack o’ candy.
twitter: @raidersbeat
I def think they shouldnt waste roster spots on Breno giacomini, either backup QB, nor vanderdoesn’t. Though Vanderdies could be a IR shelf