Alright welcome in to a preseason special of the full recap between the Raiders and the Packers. Charles Woodson, James Jones, and C.J. Wilson return to Lambeau Field to face their former teammates and it seemed that the Packers didn't seem to miss them at all as they beat the Raiders 21-31.
First off it's great to be back covering some football. I mean I too am in preseason mode, there's a random thick grey bar hanging around in the Q1 section of the Q-by-Q reaction and the halftime posts are still a tad late to beat the start of the 2nd half. You know me, I like to get these things done on the blog in real time, so this was a great way to shake off some cob webs. As for the game itself, the first team, great opening drive, but later in the game, they got outplayed not just by the first stringers, but also the second stringers. Not counting the 2nd team or 3rd team snaps, the way I saw the first team offense against Green Bay's second team defense, it looks like they're not ready to face what's ahead of them in the tough schedule.
The Positives
Maurice Jones-Drew, 3 carries, 45 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD. Highlight of the night for the Raiders was MJD's 40 yard rushing TD to the house on a 3rd down conversion. He made a lot of tacklers whiff and it caused him to go down hill on the open field. He's shown so far in the preseason that he's still Maurice Jones-Drew and he's still deadly if you underestimate his size or allow him to be so open in the backfield.
Khalil Mack, 4 solo tackles, 1 assist tackle, 1 INT. The Big Mack Attack has showcased what he's got against a top-tier team. Yes, he's been a disappointment the last two preseason games as a lot was expected of him to make a Von Miller or Clay Matthews-esque impact right now. Understandably, he's still a rookie, adjusting to the pro level style, but this game should be a barometer for the Mack Daddy to see where he's at because he placed his stamp on why he's the 5th overall pick in this year's draft this game.
Brice Butler 3 receptions, 60 receiving yards, 2 receiving TD. Literally, Brice Butler is a dark horse to overthrow Greg Little and Juron Criner off to be that 5th receiver on the depth chart and make the final 53 man roster. His chemistry with McGloin is great and they've done this last preseason when they were still rookies, the trust was there even if it is against 2nd and 3rd team players. Don't sleep on Butler because he shows his stuff late in the preseason to convince coaches to keep him on the team.
The Negatives
Penalties. To be completely frank, it is not worth talking negatives about the Raiders unless you bring up penalties. Even though Green Bay committed more penalties, the Raiders committed penalties that hurt them the most. On first team, you had a chance to get them off on their opening drive on 3rd down and then you had two great defensive stops on 3rd down and you just kill them with idiotic extracurricular penalties. Sometimes when players get into their heads, they just got to know when to let it go (Frozen reference). I see Antonio Smith jawing at somebody even though C-Wood was trying to calm him down, Kaelin Burnett jawing at another player and then tapping his helmet hard. You can't do that when you successfully executed on all 3 downs on defense and DA has got to be livid about that.
1st team passing game. Embarrassing that the Raiders' 1st team offense were getting beat by the Packers' 2nd team defense every time in the passing game. I honestly don't know what's going on, you could blame it on Schaub getting the ball out too late or the O-line clamping down, but the receivers were dropping catchable balls and they weren't trying to fight for the ball against the defensive man in front of them or trying to outmaneuver them in their routs. I sincerely hate the media saying that this team doesn't have a go to guy, the receivers have talent, they just have to find a way to get rid of the man in front of them and burn them for a big, explosive play.
Conclusion
Overall, the first team didn't leave a lasting impression during the 3rd game of the preseason. The question for DA is do you keep playing the first team or give them a rest for the final preseason game to get ready for week 1 against the Jets? Most likely they'll pull them out because usually the fourth preseason game is for remaining 2nd string and 3rd string players on the roster to scratch and claw their way in. However, the last preseason game is another good test, getting the defending champion Seahawks at home because they're going to see them again up in Seattle going up against the deafening 12th man. I won't cover that game, but I will post my regular season preview for the Raiders after. Be sure to check out my collaborations with my good friend Stillmattic on his blog: http://bleachzealot.blogspot.com we're just about to wrap up our Bleach Kombat fight night posts collab. I've been working with him on his blog since the end of the NBA regular season in April. If you guys are also into Bleach or Anime/Manga in general, my friend bust his @$$ to provide you with some entertaining content and some of his own in depth perspective on Bleach. He's more dedicated to his blog than me if you ask. Other than that, I'll see you guys again for Week 1 against the Jets. I'm out.
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