Teams Las Vegas Raiders - The Black Hole

[Chewy316]

I have one question.

Is Cooper 100%?

I'm expecting amazing things.

100% for sure, and you should be expecting a super star season from #89. 90 catches, 1400 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns is pretty much the expectation for the young man. He's been catching practically everything all off-season.

 

[andana]

Cooper played with a foot injury last year. I expect a lot more caught balls this season.

 

[Chewy316]

Cooper played with a foot injury last year. I expect a lot more caught balls this season.

And a quad injury. Got whacked in the third quarter against the Steelers and had to play through that for a few weeks as well. He had a very impressive season given his injury issues.

 

[andana]

Cooper has been going up against Smith at training and beating him. Smith doing better against Roberts.
Edwards sitting out practice. Feliciano doing some good stuff, probable starter

 

[manureid]

Cooper has been going up against Smith at training and beating him. Smith doing better against Roberts.
Edwards sitting out practice. Feliciano doing some good stuff, probable starter

Hoping this is a sign that Cooper is just too good, even for a really good corner. We need Smith shutting down the oppositions top receiver.

 

[andana]

I was a bit worried when I heard Smith was getting beaten but I hope its just that Cooper is that good. Was also told that Hayden has been doing ok to good. That would be a real bonus better late than never.

 

[Chewy316]

Cooper has been going up against Smith at training and beating him. Smith doing better against Roberts.
Edwards sitting out practice. Feliciano doing some good stuff, probable starter

There's zero chance Feliciano starts. He's the swing interior lineman, nothing more. He's not going to unseat Osemele, Hudson or Gabe Jackson. Those three positions are the biggest sure thing going into this season.

 

[Chewy316]

Hoping this is a sign that Cooper is just too good, even for a really good corner. We need Smith shutting down the oppositions top receiver.

It's been pretty even all camp. The D as a whole was dominating camp for the most part but the offense has pushed back these last few days which is a good sign. Usually it takes a while for the offense to get in sync anyways hence the D always looks better early.

I was a bit worried when I heard Smith was getting beaten but I hope its just that Cooper is that good. Was also told that Hayden has been doing ok to good. That would be a real bonus better late than never.

Cooper is that good. Going to be a star in this league.
Hayden had a great camp last year. I'm optimistic he will be good this year, because I've supported the guy ever since he got drafted. His talent is undeniable but he just doesn't seem to put it all together. He's getting 100% of the slot corner snaps with the starters in camp, Carrie hasn't had a snap there. So the staff is definitely giving Hayden a great chance to make that position his own this year.

 

[exe ex machina]

For all "Green Bay's Way", they only won two super bowls in the span of 30 years, book-ending those 30 years.

Al when he did it his way, won 3 in a fistful of years, and was constantly in the AFC Championship games.

Green Bay has a weak division too. Whereas the AFC West is historically one of the top 3 divisions in the league.

Al > Wolf > Thompson > Reggie

 

[Chewy316]

For all "Green Bay's Way", they only won two super bowls in the span of 30 years, book-ending those 30 years.

Al when he did it his way, won 3 in a fistful of years, and was constantly in the AFC Championship games.

Green Bay has a weak division too. Whereas the AFC West is historically one of the top 3 divisions in the league.

Al > Wolf > Thompson > Reggie

What ruined Mr. Davis was the salary cap and the propensity to overspend in FA trying to accelerate the process to get back to winning again in the mid 2000s.
Green Bay's model is effective because they rarely bottom out. If they have a 5-11 year (or thereabouts), you know they'll be reversing that record within 2 years at the most. Sustained success is extremely hard to achieve in the NFL with the salary cap and what not, but the Packers have done a great job of that in the 'modern NFL' so to speak.

 

[exe ex machina]

What ruined Mr. Davis was the salary cap and the propensity to overspend in FA trying to accelerate the process to get back to winning again in the mid 2000s.
Green Bay's model is effective because they rarely bottom out. If they have a 5-11 year (or thereabouts), you know they'll be reversing that record within 2 years at the most. Sustained success is extremely hard to achieve in the NFL with the salary cap and what not, but the Packers have done a great job of that in the 'modern NFL' so to speak.

Belichick > Packers

Belichick follows the Davis way

 

[manureid]

Belichick > Packers

Belichick follows the Davis way

Does not really make big splashes in FA though which Davis tried to do late on in his life.

 

[exe ex machina]

Does not really make big splashes in FA though which Davis tried to do late on in his life.

Hes had his big FA signings over the years

 

[Chewy316]

Update on Vegas:
Even though the Bali Hai site is the preferred site for a stadium, the Fertitta Bros are still negotiating with the Raiders to purchase a minority share in the team, REGARDLESS of the final location of the stadium.

 

[andana]

Mark has to retain a certain % of the team.

I hope he is being cautious dealing with these Vegas people.

 

[exe ex machina]

re-watching the game....will add impressions as i go along.

1. ben heeney is a liability at MLB. he can't cover, he often can't sniff out the run, caught out of position.
2. Corey Toomer has won a spot on the 53 with a great effort on STs. Same too Holton - who also managed to get open as a receiver on a couple of snaps.
3. Connor Cook was the best QB from both teams.

 

[Chewy316]

re-watching the game....will add impressions as i go along.

1. ben heeney is a liability at MLB. he can't cover, he often can't sniff out the run, caught out of position.
2. Corey Toomer has won a spot on the 53 with a great effort on STs. Same too Holton - who also managed to get open as a receiver on a couple of snaps.
3. Connor Cook was the best QB from both teams.

Mate, the starters on D played what, 6-7 snaps? To say that Heeney is a liability based on that is ridiculous. Same goes RE: Toomer. He made 2 good plays on special teams. If that continues through the pre-season, then there's a chance he gets a spot.
Connor Cook looked good, better than I expected. Think McGloin looked better though, but the gap wasn't as much as I expected for sure. With the starters on offense they were working on the go routes, it was nothing more than a glorified scrimmage.

Players who stood out to me:
Corey James. Had a bit more twitch and wiggle in the passing game than I expected.
Dexter McDonald (#23). Great work in coverage. Hope he gets a few snaps with the 2nd team next week.
James Cowser. Clearly has talent and I'll be shocked if he doesn't make the final 53.
George Atkinson. Showed more speed than last pre-season. Made the most of the extra reps he had due to Richard being out with injury.
DeAndre Washington. He's going to be a solid #2 back.
Shilique Calhoun. Not sure why the 'experts' said he wasn't getting off blocks. He had quite a few near sacks. When he's with the 1s, those near sacks will become sacks.

 

[exe ex machina]

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Carr's a good guy

Cook's a fuucking campaigner

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

I would have probably thrown the water in his face to be honest

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

This dude, who is the starting QB in the NFL, took time out of his day to get some guy out of the shot, and a ****ing scrub 3rd string QB a cup of water

Seriously Cook should be cut

 

[exe ex machina]

This dude, who is the starting QB in the NFL, took time out of his day to get some guy out of the shot, and a ******* scrub 3rd string QB a cup of water

Seriously Cook should be cut

Lol.
Good on Cook.
He was in a conversation, happens all the time.
You don't know anyway, Cook could've waved his hand or said something like "nah thanks".
But if he left him hanging, even better.

 

[exe ex machina]

 

[exe ex machina]

This dude, who is the starting QB in the NFL, took time out of his day to get some guy out of the shot, and a ******* scrub 3rd string QB a cup of water

Seriously Cook should be cut

Connor Cook locked in during solid Raiders’ debut
Posted on August 13, 2016 by Jimmy Durkin

Connor Cook was solid during his NFL debut for the Raiders on Friday night. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Connor Cook was locked onto his task.

The Raiders’ third-string quarterback made his NFL debut in Friday’s 31-10 exhibition win over the Arizona Cardinals. Oakland’s fourth-round pick, Cook completed 7 of 11 passes for 71 yards, numbers that would’ve been even better if an offensive pass interference call hadn’t wiped out a long completion to K.J. Brent.

“I thought it was good,” Cook said of his debut. “Coach (Bill) Musgrave was calling a lot of quick-game stuff so I could get the ball out of my hands fairly quick. Guys were open. It wasn’t like there was super, super tight coverage, and guys were making plays after the catch.”

The Raiders took a solid approach toward getting their rookie’s feet wet at the NFL level. Starter Derek Carr played the first two series, backup Matt McGloin played through the first series of the second half, and Cook handled the rest.

He battled through the natural nerves and at one point was so focused on a sideline discussion with quarterbacks coach Todd Downing that he didn’t notice Carr trying to deliver him a cup of water.

“I’m just here to serve,” Carr joked of his water boy duties. “If I’m not in, I’m going to do what I can to help us.”

The Raiders led 17-10 when Cook entered and they scored on his first possession and two of the five he guided (with running back George Atkinson III doing the damage both times).

Cook started quickly, hitting Marvin Hall for a short 4-yard completion on his first pass attempt.

“It was just a relief being able to get out there and your first pass is a completion,” Cook said.

The next play was a short pass out of the backfield to DeAndre Washington that the fellow rookie took 32 yards downfield. Atkinson followed with his electric 53-yard touchdown run.

“I was finally able to go out there and compete against someone other than the Raiders,” Cook said. “To finally get out there and be in a game situation where you could score some points and go on a long drive and go up against an opponent, it’s a lot better.”

Coach Jack Del Rio was happy with Cook’s debut.

“I thought Connor played good for us at quarterback, especially for his first live action as an NFL quarterback,” Del Rio said.

Cook said he had butterflies before the game, something that’s always been the case for him.

“Oh for sure,” Cook said. “Ever since I was at Michigan State, every time I played in a game, I was always nervous. Same today, even though I wasn’t starting and I didn’t really play the whole game. There’s always butterflies, especially when you’re playing against the top guys in the world.”

Carr said he was working to help mentally prepare Cook for his debut.

“I was telling him everything that I thought I would want someone to tell me before my first game,” Carr said. “Right before he went in, just give him a little, ‘Hey man, take a deep breath. See the safety, see the flat, just start going through things slowly in your head.’ I thought he went out there and did a great and handled himself great.”

 

[Dixie Flatline]

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