AZ54

I agree on his improvement. He is starting to show up at the right spot and on the underneath stuff he closes on the ball very quickly. The drop off from his speed to Rolle's is noticeable such as on Amari Cooper's TD catch. If that was Conte on the deep coverage instead of Rolle we'd have two threads dedicated to blasting his "late as usual" coverage skills.

I agree with this. On a long term basis having Kevin White be productive running all types of routes is a good goal. In the short term having his physical presence out there makes a difference. Even if his route tree is limited you still have to worry about covering him deep. DeSean Jackson did quite well affecting how defenses played when he just ran routes on the outside. Not putting White in that same category of deep threat, but on the other hand White has attributes for making contested catches that Jackson can only dream about. The reason I liked White a little bit better than Cooper in the draft is that he's an excellent run blocker. Not only for running plays but hustling to block for other WRs after they make the catch. It might take him a bit to get used to the game speed of the NFL but this will show up early. If you happen to have seen Marquess Wilson attempting to block someone you already know what we're missing.

First and foremost I have to say that there is something different with this coaching staff. Week to week I keep seeing improvement in the quality of play, both individual and team (i.e. being in the right position). As of right now we have the 7th ranked defense in terms of yards given up per game. That is surprising to me. The offense is way back in the low 20's but has still been productive with Cutler at the helm. Normally when you get new schemes either offense or defense there are learning curves and mistakes but there are also plays that you run that other teams aren't prepared for. Around the 4th game is when the surprise starts to wear off and teams figure out how to match up to what you are doing. I think some of that helped us against the Packers. Our team has had the growing pains with mistakes but despite teams being better prepared for what we do, we are still improving. Next week on the road in KC will give us a good idea where we are headed. Anyway, off to game thoughts. Offense: Cutler - Noticeably limited in his movement and it affected him when he felt pressure and had to move around. Late INT was a good decision followed by a bad throw with a guy right in his face. OTOH a great drive and cool under pressure to go down the field late and win the game. Overall a good game. This offense is limited inside the redone without White and Jeffrey. Nobody is worried about a fade pass to Royal or Wilson. Getting that option back on the field will help in the redzone. Oline: Charles Leno held up. It wasn't perfect, not necessarily good either, but this was not the J'Marcus-Webb-at-LT performance I was expecting. I can only remember one blatant miss where he overstepped Aldon Smith's rush. Consider also that on the first play series we lost our starting C and Slauson moves away from Leno for the rest of the game and is backfilled by Omameh who has been with the team just 4 weeks. I expected having those two guys on the left sdie protecting a QB who can't run was a recipe for disaster like in years past. Didn't happen. We gave up 3 sacks but for the most part Cutler had time to move away from his first read. Run blocking started off strong but faded later in the game. Overall a good effort and I go back to the coaches getting these guys ready to play. Nobody even talks about Kyle Long anymore because nobody is worried about him at RT. He's not perfect but he's good and that says a lot for a guy just 4 games into a position switch. WRs: Marquess Wilson finally showed up. Nothing great but his first consistent performance along with an excellent difficult catch as the sideline on the game winning drive. Hopefully he will build off this going forward. Without Jeffrey the group overall is nothing anyone will fear but they at least did enough to keep the passing game productive. Cam Meredith continues to get some snaps. TE: I still like Bennett and prefer to keep him around long term. He is the stabilizing force in our offense right now either through solid run blocking, pass protection, or as a receiver. Lee had a couple bad penalties and it would be nice to see us start spreading the ball around to guys like Miller. Defense: Overall we held Murray to just 3.1 yards per rush, meanwhile early favorite for "offensive rookie of the year" Amari Cooper was held to just 4 rec for 49 yards with 1 TD by a secondary missing two starters (Ball, and Rolle left the game early). After putting up 300+ yards against Baltimore and Cleveland, Carr had just 196 yards today and looked inaccurate under pressure. Find a Raiders fan who expected that coming into the game. Dline: From where we were the last two seasons to where we are now ... nobody predicted it. We're competitive now and more importantly we have guys making some plays in the backfield. I now know that Eddie Goldman can run faster than I, or Derek Carr, thought possible. Despite missing Ratliff (I don't think Sutton played either), Jenkins continues to flash the potential that had him picked in the 2nd Rd four years ago. We don't know what Ratliff will bring to the table once he gets back on the field but right now I feel pretty good about having Ratliff, Goldman, Jenkins as our starters with Ferguson and Sutton in the rotation. LBs: McPhee is the energizer for this group. He backs up his words with his play on the field and I believe it is impacting other players positively. I didn't notice Houston or Acho on a lot of plays but again the overall performance of the defense was solid and they contributed. SMC is ok. He's not the weak spot anymore as he was in years past. He's also not the strong point of the defense. He was in the right spot in coverage to force a high pass that (just barely) ended up being caught out of bounds and prevented a TD. Jones had his Bostic moment and over-ran one short pass play giving up a TD. Both ILB's support on running plays is improving. CBs: Ball was out and Porter got the start on the outside. Porter played well and we'll be seeing more of him. Fuller is improving. Holding what was a pretty good Raiders passing attack to less than 200 yards was not expected (at least by me) and we have to give these guys credit. Coverage across the board, Fuller included, has improved and is also part of what is leading to some sacks. S: Rolle left the game and we brought in the rookie Jones-Quartey who was cut by the Cardinals. I can't really say what we lost in that switch because the defense looked the same or better with JQ in there. Maybe someone else can comment on how JQ played. ----------------------------------------------- Looking ahead I think we match up well against KC if we can get Jeffrey back on the field. They haven't looked good so far this season but they will be looking to right the ship with a win at home. Their Dline can generate pressure so Oline is a concern. Do we go with Slauson/Omameh or Grasu/Slauson? The Chiefs offense has done: (summary of Chiefs vs. Bengals) Coming into the game, the Chiefs offensive line had surrendered a league-high 14 sacks on the season. On Sunday, they allowed 5 sacks and 9 quarterback hits. Travis Kelce is the real deal and so is Jamaal Charles. Keep Alex Smith nervous and he'll seek out the early dump off routes even when there isn't pressure.

I mostly agree with this but if the offer is really good I think he's gone. Reasoning is that Forte is still a stud but Pace's job is to project what he will be for the next 1, 2, or 3 years and then the stud player becomes more of a player that needs to split snaps. If that good offer doesn't come through, he's a core player for our offense and keeping him around this season is good too. We're not going to the playoffs, even if we did get there by some miracle we're not going far. If Pace has already decided he is not going to hand out big money to a 30yr old RB then the decision is done and it's just a question of the timing for when Forte leaves. Odd that the entire league knows Forte is up for auction yet we gave him 25 snaps today and his backups got little work. Not sure what to make of that. You already know my thoughts on any rookie QB we might draft next year: No matter who it is he should be sitting behind Cutler for his first year.

With Allen gone now I really want to keep Willie around. I think he'll round into form later in the season and if he goes we are down to just 3 OLB. Unless we trade Young for a OLB/player who fits the scheme better.

Jenkins has really impressed in the last two games, far beyond what I was expecting. McPhee has been what was advertised in the offseason and I like his versatility. He's not flashy but he is a jack-of-all-trades on the defensive front.

I like the historical perspective and appreciate Adam taking the time to post it here.

For this from a guy driving a Cadillac of an offense: 19/24 for 126 yards. 1 TD I didn't see the game but will admit Vick's stats are better than Clausen did against Seattle, but he also wasn't going against Seattle's defense. FWIW our defense is ranked 11th in yards given up per game which is better than Baltimore. Of course we're also dead last in points given up per game.

Are you sure about that because that would change everything on WR screens? We've had Jeffrey catch many passes behind the LOS and on some occasions we've been flagged for WRs blocking too early downfield. Not just us but I see it every now and then among any team running WR screens. Is it behind the LOS for the pass, or is it if the pass is backwards in which case if it's dropped it's a fumble? Or is it that if the pass is behind the LOS players are allowed to block behind the LOS? Green Bay's WRs are clearly stepping up field to block. http://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/2015-n...rd-pass,-fumble Article 2a and 2e appear to say it is interference Acts that are pass interference include, but are not limited to: a) Contact by a player who is not playing the ball that restricts the opponent’s opportunity to make the catch. Playing through the back of an opponent in an attempt to make a play on the ball. c) Grabbing an opponent’s arm(s) in such a manner that restricts his opportunity to catch a pass. d) Extending an arm across the body of an opponent, thus restricting his ability to catch a pass, and regardless of whether the player committing such act is playing the ball. e) Cutting off the path of an opponent by making contact with him, without playing the ball. Note 1: When the ball is in the air, eligible offensive and defensive receivers have the same right to the path of the ball and are subject to the same restrictions. Article 4 says it is illegal too: ARTICLE 4. OTHER PROHIBITED ACTS BY THE OFFENSE Blocking more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage by an offensive player prior to a pass being thrown is offensive pass interference. See 8-3-1 for exception for an ineligible offensive player. Note: It is also pass interference by the offense to block a defender beyond the line while the pass is in the air, if the block occurs in the vicinity of the player to whom the pass is thrown. See 8-3-1-Note for exception for ineligible players. I don't know these rules all that well. Point me in the right direction for the downfield blocking that is allowed when a forward pass is behind the LOS.

Pick plays are a little different. WRs will run two route, one over and one underneath each other, with the intention of forcing one of the DBs to reroute or take a longer route to his man. That leaves one of the WRs open. In Green Bay's play they line up two and sometimes three WRs on one side. Cobb steps back from his slot position and runs out wide behind the other WRs. The DB covering him has to run behind the other DBs to meet him at on the other side. Those WRs just step forward to the DB covering them and block. If they just stand there while the ball is in the air no issues. After it was run a couple times KCs DBs recognized it and were trying to get off the blocks before the ball was caught. It is well designed for a play that just needs to gain a couple yards and a TD, it just needs to be executed within the rules.

They are positive plays but they are also blocking while the ball is in the air. I'm not doubting his ability to throw accurately, nor his ability to read a defense. I'm just asking for defenders to get a fair chance to come off their coverage while the ball is in the air so they can attempt a tackle.

You recovered nicely by spelling Hooman....

With John Fox running the show you can bet Cutler will be doubtful right up to game time. I expect him to play but if it were me calling the shots I'd keep Oakland happy thinking it's Clausen starting. Heck I'd even start a rumor that Fales was getting more snaps with the starters in practice.

Is his name Benson?

As long as the Packers WRs are allowed to block DBs while the ball is in the air Rodgers should be graded lower. Watch their goal line plays and it's always a guy running behind the others while they step up and block. Creates a natural screen from the DB in man coverage but even if the other DBs see it and react off their man they are blocked while the ball is in the air. They got flagged for it once but should have been flagged a couple other times as well. I expect some savvy opponents will highlight this to the league before they play GB.

I agree, the plan and these changes are just some focus on the future. At this point we've done nothing more than get rid of some guys who couldn't play well (Vereen, Bostic), or couldn't play well enough in the scheme (Jared Allen). Seattle did this very early on when their new GM came in. I think at one point they had looked at something like 150 players in their first season. IMO, it is still important for us to remain competitive so we get better evaluations of players. Keep rolling with Clausen as QB and you might not know what you have in some of these WRs, or backup TEs, or even RBs. Jared Allen was a leader in the locker room so that hurts things but this places McPhee squarely in that role and I don't mind that, along with Ratliff. The other two guys leaving sends a message to the rest of the team about performance and knowing your job. I don't mind that message either. Now if a guy like Forte is traded that's a big gap in leadership and competitiveness. If we move in that direction I hope we'd see some good things from Langford first to indicate we got stability at this position going forward. Everyone knows Jacquizz Rodgers, although he has done well enough, is not the main guy for the future.

Unfortunately for Vereen this was an easy decision when you consider who the guy we just signed. If Vereen can't make plays on special teams, and if he can't make plays as a safety, we might as well go get a safety who can at least make tackles on special teams. It's not hard to find players who can leave Jimmy Graham open.

Keep an eye on Cardale Jones. All the zone read stuff clouds the picture but he's improved from last year and shows some good work at times under pressure. Strong arm but can put some touch on the ball and at times throws his receiver open. He doesn't read the defense much more than 1 read most plays but the fact he can run doesn't hurt. He's also not Andrew Luck. http://draftbreakdown.com/video/cardale-jo...inia-tech-2015/

I'm watching film on Goff as it comes in on DraftBreakdown http://draftbreakdown.com/video/jared-goff-vs-texas-2015/ I don't like what I see in this game against Texas. Goff has a really bad habit of throwing off his back foot when he's under pressure. He also bends his knee on that back leg when he does this taking even more off the ball. Equally bad is the way he opens often his hips when throwing (see Colin Kaepernik) even when he's not under pressure and he does not have anything close to Kaep's arm strength. He's not terribly accurate in this game even on some easy throws, often putting the ball behind his WR/RB or having it drop low (not enough velocity) to where the receiver has to lose momentum to make the catch. Most of that likely from the poor mechanics. Is this stuff correctable? Mechanics can sometimes be improved. OTHO, the tendency to fade back under pressure and not step into the throw? Sometimes players can grow out of it, but what are you willing to gamble on that when game speed in the NFL is much faster than college? Top 5 pick? Top 10 pick? Late 1st Rd pick? 2nd Rd pick? Most of what he does in this game are easy out patterns, underneath stuff so as usual in a spread offense the comp % looks good. To his credit that is often what is given to him by the defense. I don't see bad decisions, even under pressure when he throws the ball away, and when he's using better mechanics he has decent arm strength but it doesn't appear to be anything special. He's going to get drafted early but IMO this is not Andrew Luck, not Mariota, not even David Carr. Maybe Teddy Bridgewater is the better comparison. Based on this game that fits better where I think he'll go in the draft but I'll keep watching as they add games. Maybe this was just a bad week. He looked better against SDSU but then again level of competition has to be considered.

Special teams help has arrived (I hope): http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1...5e-953dbe779037

I realize that but I'm still not impressed by him when he's on the field. With young players if they are going to develop into a consistent performer there are usually a game or two where you see some big contributions. From there we look to see consistency. I can't recall that game from Wilson. He has had some catches but in traffic, or fighting for the contested catch I don't recall many. The kind of plays that give a QB confidence to throw into tight windows need to start showing up. I hope he proves me wrong this week.

A 6'8" guard. I have to think veterans like McPhee, Ratliff, and maybe Jenkins after what we saw in Seattle, are going to get under his pads and get some push up the middle on pass rushes. We'll see how this goes. At least one Raider fan wasn't too enamored with Webb's performance in Week 2. http://justblogbaby.com/2015/09/21/oakland...kdown-awards/2/ Or week 3 (he uses PFF stats) http://justblogbaby.com/2015/09/28/oakland...kdown-awards/3/

You've hit 3 or 4 threads with posts promoting, wishing, begging, for the team to find a trade partner for Cutler. I don't recall if you were for Mariota, I certainly was, but there weren't many here that were. We have to play out the season now and then evaluate our options at QB.

I don't want to trade Bennett at all. Keep him around he'll still be a very good TE in 2 to 3 years. Regarding Wilson he can get moved back to bench as far as I'm concerned. After seeing him round off that route against the Cardinals leading the Peterson interception, and then the fact he hasn't done anything last year or this year tells me he won't develop. Bellamy has outplayed Wilson and I'd like to start seeing Meredith get some more looks. Meredith is young and needs a lot of development but might as well see if he'll be one to count on next year or not.