They're pretty much done with the stadium and damn it looks good:
View: https://twitter.com/AllegiantStadm/status/1281257775402606593
View: https://twitter.com/AllegiantStadm/status/1281257775402606593
Raiders: Cleaning Up Las Vegas
- Thread starter soxhop411
- Start date
Just curious, what is the Corvid 19 situation out in Vegas? Have the Raiders announced what their attendance policy will be this year? I assume at the beginning of the year, the team will play with no fans in attendance. If fans are allowed eventually, will there be a 20 percent capacity? This must be a real gut to the team. At least the fans will be used to attending games with masks on.
Mark Davis has already stated that he thinks it will be no fans. He has also stated that it will either all of the fans or none of the fans this year.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/raiders/mark-davis-says-raiders-likely-to-play-without-fans-at-allegiant-2077153/
Soft opening, grand opening. When they opened the Flamingo, one day it was closed, the next day it was open. End of story.
Mark Davis landed the plane. The Stadium hit the "substantial completion" milestone on Friday, receiving a full occupancy permit from Clark County for the stadium. It came in on time and on budget, with additions funded by massively exceeding the PSL sales projections.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/stadium/after-993-days-of-work-allegiant-stadium-is-mostly-done-2085151/
In other news, the new practice center has a giant pool, which seems very Vegas appropriate:
View: https://twitter.com/mickakers/status/1289369144224174081
And the team completed their first round of COVID tests with only back up RB Davonte Booker testing positive:
View: https://twitter.com/VinnyBonsignore/status/1289670717341016065
https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/stadium/after-993-days-of-work-allegiant-stadium-is-mostly-done-2085151/
In other news, the new practice center has a giant pool, which seems very Vegas appropriate:
View: https://twitter.com/mickakers/status/1289369144224174081
And the team completed their first round of COVID tests with only back up RB Davonte Booker testing positive:
View: https://twitter.com/VinnyBonsignore/status/1289670717341016065
I'm not quite that far down the road, but I'm pretty damn happy with what we have seen so far the first two weeks.
-This is optimal Carr. He is not and never will be a top 5 QB, but he is quite good in this offense, which is well tailored to his skill set. Not many QBs are better at converting short third downs with accurate passes. If they can stay on schedule, they are really dangerous with Carr.
- As long as Jacobs and Waller are healthy this offense is going to be good.
-The offense is focused on Tight Ends & running backs, but I really like this receiver mix. It is a good basketball team, Ruggs is the deep threat, Renfrow is a first down machine, Edwards is going to be a very good big receiver making contested catches, Zay Jones & Agholor are really well suited to be 4th and 5th receivers after being overdrafted by other teams. Those three young guys (Ruggs, Edwards & Renfrow) might be one of the best top three receiving groups in the league in a couple years.
-I don't know how but Tom Cable has done an amazing job as O-line coach the last two years. They spend more than anyone else on the OL, but they have really been paying for the most expensive group of injured linemen in the league. Trent Brown hasn't played in six games, Incognito was amazing last year but has been hurt both games this year and Gabe Jackson has been beat up. But Cable has plugged in cheap and young pieces around the best center in the game and a good young LT and, combined with Carr getting the ball out quick, the results from the line have been pretty impressive.
-The defense is still not good. They need an elite pass rusher (I hear those are hard to find) so badly, but the back end is starting to come together nicely. Maxx Crosby is a nice player, but they really have no-one else that scares opposing QBs rushing the passer.
-Johnathan Abram is going to be a pro bowl Safety, if he doesn't turn into another Bob Sanders injury wise. The two young corners, Damon Arnett and Travon Mullen look like very good young corners, but in the NFL young corners get beat.
-The combination of adding Corry Middleton and moving Lamarcus Joyner back to safety on passing downs has made them so much better against screens and passes to the running backs and Tight Ends this year, but I still worry about what is going to happen when they have to face Mahomes.
- I have been critical of Gruden the last couple years, but I think the concerns that he was strategically behind the league or couldn't adapt to the current generation of players were a bit over stated:
View: https://twitter.com/Raiders/status/1308284575806664705
With decent injury luck this should be a 9-10 win team that will compete for one of the wild card slots and lose nobly in the first playoff weekend.
As for next week, they seem pretty evenly matched up with the Patriots, but but my expectations are tempered by the fact that they are coming off of the emotional high of Monday night and going all the way across the country to play an early game against a pissed off Belichick & Cam.
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Cross posting from last night's game thread.
Waller is an incredibly inspiring dude, having overcome terrible drug and alcohol addictions to make it all the way back to being a top NFL player at his position. Here is a pretty good story by one of the Raiders' beat writers about Waller and what he has overcome. He's a success for a great deal more than being a good football player:
https://www.espn.com/blog/las-vegas-raiders/post/_/id/24672/raiders-darren-waller-continues-march-for-stardom-continued-sobriety-in-sin-city
Wasn't there a study done wherein west coast teams traveling east for games, especially early games, are at a larger disadvantage than any other road team??
I'm thinking that they could probably dress someone else to look like him and it'll fool opposing defenses just fine.
Really bad record overall, but I think it's been moderately better the last few years.
Short term, yes, but it doesn't appear to be a long term injury:
View: https://twitter.com/TomPelissero/status/1308247608972972032
I think the smart move would be to put Richie on the 3 week IR (NE, But & KC going into the bye) and let it heal. Rookie John Simpson looked pretty good last night, especially run blocking, so they might as well get him some more snaps and let Icognito heal.
They've been terrible in these spots, but won in that set up in week one.
This is a terrible joke. I laughed.
My take on Carr is he can be late 80s Phil Simms. Can win a SB with the right pieces around him.
Yup. Great overall assessment, btw.
If and when the line recovers some health, I'm really looking forward to seeing more deep passes from Carr. Until that time, I'll remain happy that he's excellent at the the short game. He still looks skittish in the pocket at times though. Reminds me of his brother with Houston back in the day.
I guess my biggest concern is the defensive line. Poor pass rush and they don't look too impressive against the run either.
Whatever gripes there are about Gruden, he understands a QB's strengths and weaknesses and is good at exploiting the former and papering over the latter.
Gruden recovered from COVID, apologizes for poor mask wearing
https://raiderswire.usatoday.com/2020/09/22/raiders-hc-jon-gruden-says-he-has-had-covid-19-apologizes-for-not-keeping-mask-up-on-sideline/
https://raiderswire.usatoday.com/2020/09/22/raiders-hc-jon-gruden-says-he-has-had-covid-19-apologizes-for-not-keeping-mask-up-on-sideline/
That was a young, motivated team and I was impressed.
They could make some noise this season, even if they are probably a year or two away.
They could make some noise this season, even if they are probably a year or two away.
Carr has two more years at less than $20M on his deal and then will need an extension. I think the safest assumption is that they won't let Carr walk at age 31, but who knows with Gruden.
He won't force a restructure? The contracts are so weird in the NFL. He is a top 1/4 NFL QB. That is worth a lot more than 20 million a year.
Edit: It is also crazy how young he is. Not NFL young, but has been around so long. If, though, there hasn't been success with him, when should they move on?
Who can you really get that is better than Carr without sucking...Other than Cam (and Brady but he doesn't count) what QBs available last FA period would you take over Carr?
That's my point. Carr is decent...but has done shit with this team. He isn't going to improve going into his 30+ years. He has been the franchise for a few years now...And hasnt led them to anything.
Might as well cut bait.
Abram had the pick but he was really, really bad today. He got turned around on both of Michel's long runs and on the Burkhead receiving TD, plus he whiffed on Harry's catch-and-run. Yikes.
OH NO! Now this place has turned into Raiders' twitter, where it is all arguing about Carr, all the time.
The best defense for Carr leading the Raiders to limited success (but of course their only success in the last 18 years) is this
Raiders' defensive DVOA finishes during Derek Carr years:
24th
16th
26th
30th
31st
31st
Go ahead and look for QBs that won 12 games in a season with the 26th or lower best defense. The list is short. Then you get comparison stats like this:
No QB in NFL history has dealt with such complete shit defensive support for so long. But he has also had three straight season of leading an offense that scored fewer than 20 points a game (only Elway and Archie Manning have done that). He has the most fourth quarter comeback wins of any QB in their first six seasons. And it is really hard to look back in NFL history and find a QB that has had the timing and luck to stay the starter through two complete tear down rebuilds. So who fucking knows? Is Carr a very good QB who is a victim of context, or does he create the context that makes the Raiders an average team at best?
Yesterday captured the Derek Carr experience well. Very good numbers, (75% comp, 119 rating, 8+ YPA, no picks), occasional breathtaking throws, excellent end of half drives, all coupled with some astoundingly bad pocket presence, a fumbling habit and the feeling that he left some plays on the field while he was busy checking down to backs and receivers (perfectly placed check downs that enabled excellent YAC opportunities) and at least one 3 & out at the very worst time.
My opinion is that he's a top 8-12 QB who could win you a championship with the right coach on the right team. It is hard to see Gruden & Mayock building a roster around him good enough to overcome the delta between him & Mahomes. On his current contract, I think you have to keep him. The rumors around the Raiders are that he is Gruden's guy, but does not necessarily have the full support of ownership, hence wasting $8M in cap room on Marcus Mariotta, who is not healthy and apparently looked awful in camp.
All of that said, the Raiders won a pointless game in Arizona in 2018 that resulted in them not getting a shot at Kyler Murray. I can't really stop wondering if that was a a very bad turning point in Raider's franchise history.
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The delta can only be made up by a transcendent defensive player not on the roster yet. The antidote to Mahomes is him on his back. Crosby is a really good player with a ceiling. Ferrell was over drafted pretty badly. They need one more massive star on the front 7 and continual DB depth.
Chucky beat Saints and Chiefs! Hot damn, a lot of people were talking some shit when he got hired but it looks good so far.
Paging GFer... You get to talk some smack after this one, should you so choose. That was a big win.
I'm one of them. I thought the contract and responsibilities they gave someone who had been out of the game for so long was ridiculous, but he is starting to really turn things around. He won the Mack trade after taking a ton of shit because as good as Mack is, you are starting to the fruits of acquiring all those picks. The team has a lot of young players on both sides of the ball and played a very good game today. Even Henry Ruggs, who they really reached for taking him over some of the other wideouts on the board, made a huge play today and looked really dangerous as a deep threat.
We need one or two more pieces on defense and we really can become an elite team. Another linebacker and an elite nose tackle to command doubles. Averaging 30 points a game through 5, we can score. Only going to get better on offense as the young skill players grow.
Yeah, yesterday was one of the better sports days I have had in a while.
There was quite a bit to like from the Raiders yesterday:
- they looked better prepared and focused. It has been the exact opposite for 13 of the 14 games they have played against Andy Reid Chiefs teams before today. Credit to Gruden & the staff for this one.
- The way they exploited their own tendencies and the Chief's expectations was masterful. Honey Badger and other Chief's players talked abou Carr (&Gruden's) tendencies to focus on short passes to the TEs and RBs and to be predictable formation wise when throwing deep last year. Yesterday they threw at least three deep passes over the heads of flat footed safeties driving on the short routes: The long touchdown to Ruggs on 3rd & 2, the TD to Agholor and the 42 yard completion to Renfrow.
-they bullied the Chiefs yesterday. These two third downs, one by the Raiders offense and one blown up by the Raiders often terrible defense tell the story:
View: https://twitter.com/BaldyNFL/status/1315471543988883457
View: https://twitter.com/Raiders/status/1315375175295135744
-Carr played great even though he's been so poor in Arrowhead throughout his career. Some of that has to do with the fact that all of his other Arrowhead games have been in December, and he's a great warm weather QB. Carr's been really good all year, but yesterday he was excellent. He's top 5 in DAKOTA, QBR & DVOA among QB's so far, and it is almost funny how much the PFF graders clown themselves "grading" Carr poorly.
It seems like the Chargers and Raiders used the same game plan to frustrate Mahomes & Reid- rush 4 (or 3 & a spy) and focus on sticking to Chief's receivers as the plays break down. The Chiefs offensive line is not playing as well this year, Max Crosby wrecked Mitchell Schwartz repeatedly yesterday and the interior is genuinely bad, so there might a blueprint that better defenses than the Raiders' can exploit going forward.
The Raiders are in a good spot to complete for the Wild Card. They are going to lose a tie breaker to the second place AFC East team, but they play both Cleveland and Indy, so they will have a chance to get one of the WC spots. They teams they have played are a combined 16-7, so 3-2 at this point is pretty good, with several games against bad teams remaining. They should get healthy (getting Richie Incognito, Bryan Edwards and multiple defenders back) coming out of the bye and I have to say I haven't felt better about this team since 2016.
4-3 with the gauntlet of the schedule behind us.
Not pretty today but Jacobs and the offensive line chewed up the Browns.
Not pretty today but Jacobs and the offensive line chewed up the Browns.
That was a nice win. That was the first time the Raiders have held an opponent to single digit points since....... week two of the 2013 season. It was the first time Derek Carr has ever faced an opponent who scored less than 10 points (the Raiders have given up more than 20 in 82 of his 101 starts).
So, with a nice assist from old man winter, the Raiders defense played well. They actually played Lamarcus Joyner at his natural position (safety) and blitzed much more yesterday. Carr got the job done on a day where no pass longer than 20 yards was reliable and the run game smashed what had been a pretty good against the run. Overall, a really nice road win in shitty weather by a dome team from the desert.
So, with a nice assist from old man winter, the Raiders defense played well. They actually played Lamarcus Joyner at his natural position (safety) and blitzed much more yesterday. Carr got the job done on a day where no pass longer than 20 yards was reliable and the run game smashed what had been a pretty good against the run. Overall, a really nice road win in shitty weather by a dome team from the desert.
The Raiders played like garbage and beat the Broncos by 25. That is a very nice feeling.
The defense has played well since Brady & Co torched them four weeks ago. They dominated Drew Lock & the Broncos, with five turnovers and nearly a couple more. They seem to be blitzing more and the secondary has gotten healthy and started playing much more dime personnel on passing downs, which has been a big improvement.
The offense has three straight weeks (all wins) of more than 150 yards rushing and fewer than 200 passing yards. It should have been much more, if not for awful drops on deep passes by Henry Ruggs and Darren Waller and a dropped TD by Nelson Agholor. It also worth noting that the two starting tackles (Koloton Miller and Trent Brown) have been out for all three of these games, so they have been much more careful throwing the ball the last three weeks. Back up left tackle Brandon Parker has been a horrible pass blocker in the past, but he is a road grader in the run game and that probably explains some of the focus recently, especially since the interior offensive line has been healthy.
Next week is a big showdown with KC. Andy Reid is impossible to beat coming off of a bye and the Chiefs will be hungry for revenge after the first game, so I wouldn't bet on the Raiders. But, if they keep putting up points like they have the last couple weeks and the defensive improvement is real, they might have a chance.
The defense has played well since Brady & Co torched them four weeks ago. They dominated Drew Lock & the Broncos, with five turnovers and nearly a couple more. They seem to be blitzing more and the secondary has gotten healthy and started playing much more dime personnel on passing downs, which has been a big improvement.
The offense has three straight weeks (all wins) of more than 150 yards rushing and fewer than 200 passing yards. It should have been much more, if not for awful drops on deep passes by Henry Ruggs and Darren Waller and a dropped TD by Nelson Agholor. It also worth noting that the two starting tackles (Koloton Miller and Trent Brown) have been out for all three of these games, so they have been much more careful throwing the ball the last three weeks. Back up left tackle Brandon Parker has been a horrible pass blocker in the past, but he is a road grader in the run game and that probably explains some of the focus recently, especially since the interior offensive line has been healthy.
Next week is a big showdown with KC. Andy Reid is impossible to beat coming off of a bye and the Chiefs will be hungry for revenge after the first game, so I wouldn't bet on the Raiders. But, if they keep putting up points like they have the last couple weeks and the defensive improvement is real, they might have a chance.