The Raiders got back in the win column on Sunday, and part of the winning formula this week was sending two rookies to the bench.
The decision to bench wide receiver Dont’e Thornton wasn’t a big surprise considering the fourth-round rookie only has five receptions on the season, but Darien Porter had been playing well in recent weeks and didn’t log a single defensive snap on Sunday.
After playing 66 defensive snaps against the Indianapolis Colts in week 5, Porter was sent to the bench with the return of veteran cornerback Eric Stokes.
With Stokes in the lineup, some expected Porter to replace Kyu Blu Kelly, but Blu Kelly played 60 of the team’s 61 defensive snaps on Sunday and had his best game of the season based on Pro Football Focus analytics.
Porter has only played 99 defensive snaps on the season, but he is currently PFF’s highest-graded cornerback on the Raiders’ roster (69.2). Stokes (64.2) isn’t far behind Porter and Blu Kelly (49.9) is lagging well behind.
According to PFF, Blu Kelly has been targeted in coverage 33 times and given up 24 receptions. He is giving up 16.5 yards per reception, and opposing quarterback have a 122.8 QB rating when targeting him. Quarterbacks aren’t having nearly as much success when targeting Stokes (72.7 rating) and Porter (42.4 rating).
It’s hard to argue the decision to play Blu Kelly considering he played reasonably well and the Raiders won. But Porter has as much upside as any cornerback on the roster and was drafted to be the team’s long-term answer at the position.
Sooner or later, the coaching staff would be wise to get Porter on the field even if everyone is healthy – and especially if someone ahead of him on the depth chart isn’t playing at an above average level.
x: @raidersbeat
Now they trash their own picks
That’s great that Kelly had his best game. He should have, considering he was playing against one of the worst teams in the NFL, with an offensive-minded head coach who got fired the next day, because his #1 pick QB was flailing under him. Maybe Cam Ward never becomes a good NFL QB, but it was obvious he wasn’t accentuate the young man’s strengths.
To me, it’s an example of Carroll not wanting to admit a mistake with one of his guys. You can’t have a competition if one guy isn’t even getting a single snap!
I don’t think that I’ve seen so much Excitement about a win in a long time. Yes… winning “fixes” a multitude of issues BUT everyone seems to forget that they beat the Titans!!! The Worst team in the NFL by far. A decent team would have won by a minimum of 20 points. This does NOT fix the Horse$#!t coaching on this team. The Carroll twins are atrocious!! The Old Man is, Well, to Old and is nothing more than a burned out Cheerleader and Junior is possibly the WORST offensive line Coach of All Time… out of the 326 coaches on payroll there may be 3-4 who are Good at what they do. I’m not sure the correct coach got fired after the game. Just my Humble opinion…
Yep, that pretty much sums it up!
Just win Baby! Al Davis
Commitment To Excellence! Just Win Baby!
Yes I hear everyone’s comments are spot on!! Everyone is finally admitting what I said at the beginning of the season that We Have A Terrible Team!! The Coaching Staff Is Terrible!! The QB is Terrible!! The Front office doesn’t want to spend any money on Real Players when they become available!! Could have gotten very cheap, Mayfield,Darnold,Rogers, Wilson,Cousins, ect. Not to mention the QB’s they passed on in the draft!! Anyone of them would have been a better choice than Geno Smith!! The excitement for the win against the lowly Titans was for not making the Rookie QB look like a Superstar and for not playing down to the level of the opponent like the Raiders often do!! That Was The Victory!!