Teams Las Vegas Raiders - The Black Hole

It’s above that. Well above that.

They intentionally scored less points than they could have in the pursuit of taking time off the clock.

A league of its own stupidity.
Agteed. Try to run it in on last play instead of kneel down at least. Worst case FG.
 
Apr 1, 2008
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Agteed. Try to run it in on last play instead of kneel down at least. Worst case FG.

I’d agree with it if it was to put you two scores in front. And even then it’s a ridiculously negative tactic.

But to only put you two points up instead of at least five, six with a kick and even seven with a two point conversion, makes absolutely zero sense whichever way you want to slice it.
 
Jul 1, 2014
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I’d agree with it if it was to put you two scores in front. And even then it’s a ridiculously negative tactic.

But to only put you two points up instead of at least five, six with a kick and even seven with a two point conversion, makes absolutely zero sense whichever way you want to slice it.

It actually made a lot of sense.

If you take the touchdown, you're scoring no later than with 65 seconds left on the clock, maybe closer to 70 actually.

The 2 point conversion is semantics imo because even if you make it a 7 point game, dare I say the Dolphins would have gone for 2 had they scored a TD going the length of the field in 1 minute.

They clearly believed that going 40 yards in 20 seconds was more difficult that going 75 in 70 seconds. I agree with that.

The two areas I dont agree with are the two play calls after the field goal. Why are you kicking it into the endzone? Kick it high onto the 5 yard line and try to pin them inside the 20. At the very least you're taking 5 seconds off the clock and theyre not going to get any extra yardage from it. Then the play call on 1st down defensively was ridiculous. Cover 2 in that situation? Only silver (and black) lining was that play call almost definitively takes Marinelli out of the running for DC.
 
Apr 1, 2008
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It actually made a lot of sense.

If you take the touchdown, you're scoring no later than with 65 seconds left on the clock, maybe closer to 70 actually.

The 2 point conversion is semantics imo because even if you make it a 7 point game, dare I say the Dolphins would have gone for 2 had they scored a TD going the length of the field in 1 minute.

They clearly believed that going 40 yards in 20 seconds was more difficult that going 75 in 70 seconds. I agree with that.

The two areas I dont agree with are the two play calls after the field goal. Why are you kicking it into the endzone? Kick it high onto the 5 yard line and try to pin them inside the 20. At the very least you're taking 5 seconds off the clock and theyre not going to get any extra yardage from it. Then the play call on 1st down defensively was ridiculous. Cover 2 in that situation? Only silver (and black) lining was that play call almost definitively takes Marinelli out of the running for DC.

The fact of the matter is if you score, they have to score a TD to win.

The way it was done, all they needed was a FG.
 
Jul 1, 2014
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The fact of the matter is if you score, they have to score a TD to win.

The way it was done, all they needed was a FG.

Regardless of what they needed to score, in order to win the game the Raiders had to decide what was the easier choice - defend 75 yards in 70 seconds or defend 40 yards in 20 seconds? Given that each play goes for 6-8 seconds on average, that's broken down to defending 75 yards in roughly 10 plays or 40 yards in 3 plays.

I maintain the assertion that going 75 yards in 70 seconds is easier than going 40 yards in 20 seconds.
 
Apr 1, 2008
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Regardless of what they needed to score, in order to win the game the Raiders had to decide what was the easier choice - defend 75 yards in 70 seconds or defend 40 yards in 20 seconds? Given that each play goes for 6-8 seconds on average, that's broken down to defending 75 yards in roughly 10 plays or 40 yards in 3 plays.

I maintain the assertion that going 75 yards in 70 seconds is easier than going 40 yards in 20 seconds.

With no timeouts and having to get in the end zone?

If they’re tackled in bounds, then that blows a big chunk off the clock and they lose a play in having to spike the ball.

You’re going to have a very hard time to convince me the decision wasn’t absolute craziness.
 
Jul 1, 2014
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With no timeouts and having to get in the end zone?

If they’re tackled in bounds, then that blows a big chunk off the clock and they lose a play in having to spike the ball.

You’re going to have a very hard time to convince me the decision wasn’t absolute craziness.

Even with no timeouts. The lack of timeouts meant that giving up 40 yards in the allotted 20 seconds should have been damn near impossible had they played an umbrella styled coverage in the secondary to prevent players getting out of bounds deep.

We saw that they couldn't stop Kansas City when they had 75 seconds to go 75 yards (they did it in 45 seconds) so there's history there to suggest (at the very least) caution to thinking the D could in fact get a stop. I get that it was Mahomes but Fitzpatrick is the ultimate gun slinger and there are few QBs who have the balls to just chuck it up there in the final moments of a game like he does.

What we have seen is that this D no matter the circumstance will consistently find a way to screw it up. This isn't a one off situation. It's why the hiring of thr next DC is easily the biggest task this off season. If they screw it up, Gruden will be gone by end of 2022 and they'll be starting from scratch once again.
 
Apr 1, 2008
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Even with no timeouts. The lack of timeouts meant that giving up 40 yards in the allotted 20 seconds should have been damn near impossible had they played an umbrella styled coverage in the secondary to prevent players getting out of bounds deep.

We saw that they couldn't stop Kansas City when they had 75 seconds to go 75 yards (they did it in 45 seconds) so there's history there to suggest (at the very least) caution to thinking the D could in fact get a stop. I get that it was Mahomes but Fitzpatrick is the ultimate gun slinger and there are few QBs who have the balls to just chuck it up there in the final moments of a game like he does.

What we have seen is that this D no matter the circumstance will consistently find a way to screw it up. This isn't a one off situation. It's why the hiring of thr next DC is easily the biggest task this off season. If they screw it up, Gruden will be gone by end of 2022 and they'll be starting from scratch once again.

I certainly agree with your last paragraph.

There were big wraps on Arnette, but he’s worse than DJ Hayden.

Actually, he’s worse than Joyner.
 
Jul 1, 2014
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I certainly agree with your last paragraph.

There were big wraps on Arnette, but he’s worse than DJ Hayden.

Actually, he’s worse than Joyner.

I disagree re Arnette. He's a rookie who is excelled at Ohio State in press man coverage. I watched like a dozen game tapes of the Buckeyes when he got drafted so I could get a rough opinion of him. The two things that stood out were his press man skills were A1, and he was a good tackler.

Comes to the NFL and they play him mostly in off man and zone rather than press man. I think that is in part because he got burned week 1 of the regular season by Robbie Anderson and they haven't trusted him since. And his tackling has gone to s**t. But all the players tackling levels have gone to s**t despite being able to tackle on their previous teams. It's a systemic issue and when something is systemic I lean toward coaching being the primary problem.

Provided they get the right DC, this D will be ok. Hopefully they make the DC hire very soon after the final game of the year so fans can have something to (hopefully) be positive about.
 
Oct 23, 2006
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I've been so pissed off with the result this week I wasn't going to post.

Chewy, I agree 75 in 70 is 'easier' than 40 in 20 BUT it's easier to defend your end zone than it is to defend half an open field. Having said that;

Still, stupid penalty by Key, stupid play calling to end the game. Gruden needs to stop thinking he's a genius, he's in the bottom third of head coaches and needs a massive overhaul in his thinking to right this ship. He has plenty of time but I suspect soon enough even the loyalist of fans will not have much patience with him.

Draft should be solid defense all the way apart from a guard or two.

And anyone who thinks Carr is the issue needs to reassess that thought. He is tough as nails, has a drive to win, he just needs support.
 
Apr 1, 2008
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The #Raiders had a strong pass blocking performance from their guards against Miami!

Gabe Jackson: 87.7 pass block grade (39 pblk snaps) John Simpson: 85.1 pblk grade (20 snaps) Neither allowed a single pressure

Maybe we could bring Mariota on for third downs/red zone this last game.

Carr to be replaced by Mariota everytime we get to the RZ.
 
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Las Vegas Raiders G Gabe Jackson has been selected as the Silver and Black's 2020 Ed Block Courage Award recipient. The Ed Block Courage Award is presented to the player who exemplifies a commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. Additionally, the award recognizes a player's efforts on and off the field, as well as their ability to overcome great adversity. The recipient is selected by a vote of his teammates.
Jackson has played in 99 NFL regular season contests and joins center Rodney Hudson as only two starting offensive linemen that have played in all 15 games for the Raiders so far this season. He has been entrenched as a starter at left, then right guard since his rookie year in 2014 and has overcome numerous injuries during his seven years with the Raiders
 
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I think we should give up on selecting DBs in the 1st round from now on.

Let's actually put our DBs in advantageous positions where the scheme matches their talent (ie press man) as opposed to playing them as cover 2 zone corners which they never did in college.

Gus Bradley would be a good get but he's already worked for Gruden in Tampa.

I'd actually like to see Gruden go outside his 'coaching tree' for a change to see what other ideas/voices are around the NFL.

They worked together over a decade ago, and Bradley's cover 3 scheme is far different that the Tampa 2 he ran at the Bucs with Monte Kiffin as DC.

All signs at this point from who I've spoken to suggest Bradley is going to be the guy. A few things they like about him are as follows:
1 - impressed with the development of the DBs in Seattle.
2 - impressed with the development of Bosa and Ingram in LA.
3 - schematically Bradley has always caused major issues for some of the top offences in the league over the last decade (Manning in the 2014 Super Bowl, Pat Mahomes over multiple years in LA).
4 - Gruden still has faith in Johnathan Abram and is intrigued by the idea of playing him more in the box in a similar style to the way Bradley has used Derwin James in LA.

The scheme isn't perfect (requires pressure with the front 4 only), but it is a significant upgrade on Guenther.

Not a fan of Raheem Morris or Joe Brady (the other main two candidates). Morris will piss off to be a HC within 12 months if he gets the D to be good, not to mention he gave up play calling duties to Ulbrich in Atlanta when he became interim HC. Brady would be the ultimate nepotistic hire - only connection to Gruden is that he worked for Jay Gruden as DC in Washington for a few years, and he's Marinelli's son in law.

Might be some criticism of Marinelli staying as D-Line coach (which was confirmed by Gruden today), but he's still a very good positional coach, and we saw once Guenther was sacked that the line play improved a fair bit. Needs more talent, but the D as a whole will be in a much better spot next year.
 
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Raiders signed TE Nick Bowers, K Dominik Eberle, DB Rashaan Gaulden, DE Gerri Green, OL Jaryd Jones-Smith, OL Erik Magnuson, LB James Onwualu, DT Niles Scott, T Kamaal Seymour, DB Kemah Siverand and LB Javin White to reserve/future contracts.
It's a low-wattage list. All 11 players will spend the offseason on the 90-man roster but have a hard time cracking the 53 next summer.
SOURCE: Jerry McDonald on Twitter
Jan 5, 2021, 6:01 PM ET
 
Oct 23, 2006
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Littleton did well under Barry in LA but I don't like the 'Marinelli's' son-in-law' connection.

Thanks for the analysis, Chewy.

Moving towards FA, I don't think we'll have the dollars but I'd be throwing everything at signing Leonard Williams. Totally sure up the front 4.
 
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Littleton did well under Barry in LA but I don't like the 'Marinelli's' son-in-law' connection.

Thanks for the analysis, Chewy.

Moving towards FA, I don't think we'll have the dollars but I'd be throwing everything at signing Leonard Williams. Totally sure up the front 4.

We'll have the dollars.

Mariota, Tyrell Williams, Trent Brown and a few others will be on the chopping block. Could free up around 50M in cap space.

Re Joe Barry, the last time he was involved in a 43 D was in 2008. Even when he was DC for Washington, he ran a 34 base.

So just because Gruden has said he wants a 43 base doesn't mean he's married to it by any means. Especially if you play a 34 single gap base.
 
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