Raiders Fire Dennis Allen

Good morning Raider Nation. I'll just be here to do a quick blog post regarding the big news that happened last night. So, after two back-to-back 4-12 seasons and an 0-4 start to the season, the Raiders have fired Dennis Allen. He got the axe via phone call last night from Mark Davis and Reggie McKenzie or either of those two from what I heard.

We should throw a parade and celebrate like we have won a championship, but the Raiders' record right now still stands win-less heading into the bye week. All I can say, thank goodness the Raiders have ended the horrible Dennis Allen experiment. I was a Tom Cable/Hue Jackson guy and I got to be honest I gave DA a chance in his first two seasons and with this kind of start this season, I've had enough. Coach Allen's record speaks for itself, 8-28, first three seasons, three full OTAs and training compared to Hue Jackson's record 8-8, first season, one game away from the division title and the playoffs, no OTAs and limited training camp due to the lockout. Every time I see a Dennis Allen press conference, I just don't see a guy who is not ready to be a head coach. He doesn't motivate the team, doesn't game plan, the only thing he's actually done is limit the boneheaded penalties. He was supposed to come in as a defensive-minded coach, yet the defense has given up a lot of points. He took a top 10 offense, a top 10 rushing attack and he killed it with his hiring of Greg Knapp, implementing the Zone Blocking scheme, and he tried fixing it by hiring Greg Olson to bring back the Gap scheme and it's not working because of Olson's vanilla playcalling.

With the failed Dennis Allen experiment, you have to consider who's to blame for it: Reggie or Mark Davis, it's obviously both. Mark Davis gave Reggie the power to bring in his own guy and after just one season, Reggie fires Hue Jackson, an offensive genius, someone who knew how to motivate a team and gave a rat's @$$ about restoring the franchise to greatness. Yeah the Carson Palmer trade was unforgivable, but Hue had this team competing night in and night out. Anyway, who do I think should take over as interim head coach? It has to be Tony Sparano. Yes his tenure  in Miami was a failure, but he had one thing that Dennis Allen wish he could have, fire, passion, motivation. The tagline for this season was "all in." For the rest of the season, I'm all in for Sparano to be interim coach. Some reports say it would be Greg Olson since he knows more about the organization, I hope not, but if it means getting him to not call anymore soft offensive plays, so be it. Who do I want to see to be the next head coach? I could go on the bandwagon and say Chucky, Jon Gruden, but I would just want him as a HC. As a HC & GM? No because if Gruden was that today, he would've taken Johnny Football with the 5th pick. I would like Gruden only for HC, I would like David Shaw out of Stanford, but it's just wishful thinking. By the time Reggie hits his 4th year, he's got to nail this next head coaching search out of the ballpark. We need a guy who can light a fire under this organization. It takes a leader with a powerful and emotional voice, a fiery personality, and a winning attitude to get a team fired up and I'm hoping we find that kind of head coach. 

Raiders Hammered by Dolphins in London "Home" Game

Alright welcome in to the full recap of the NFL’s annual international series in London between the Raiders and Miami Dolphins where the Dolphins thrash the Raiders 38-14 and both teams are heading into the week 5 bye, but the Raiders are heading into the bye 0-4.

Go to London early to help the team bond and adjust to the time zone; home game at Wembley Stadium, still lose, still get dominated by a team that is equally struggling. London Bridge is falling down and it was falling down hard on the Raiders this game. It was frustrating and embarrassing to watch. They’ve lost ten straight games dating back to the 2013 season with this current coaching staff. Zero adjustments, zero motivation, conservative and predictable playcalling.

The Positives

Derek Carr, 16 of 25 completed passes, 146 passing yards, 1 passing TD, 1 INT. The injury to Carr while he was scrambling for yardage was unfortunate, hopefully he gets well soon. A lot of people are blaming Carr for this trend and calling for Matt McGloin, but everybody has to realize that this supporting cast on offense is that bad with the exception of a few players. This game, Carr put together a solid drive early in the first quarter and then the playbook closed out on him and you can blame Greg Olson on that.

Darren McFadden, 11 carries, 40 rushing yards, 4 reception, 32 receiving yards. I thought D-Mac had a pretty solid all-around game. Like I said, he’s running hard and catching balls in the passing game. Since he was inserted into the starting lineup with MJD out/limited with a hand injury, McFadden’s been playing angry and with a drive even though his stats are not that flashy.

Andre Holmes, 5 receptions, 74 receiving yards, 1 TD. Holmes was pretty much a forgotten man during the preseason after an awful showing, but he did a great job stepping up this game. Rod Streater, out, Denarius Moore, inactive this game, Holmes played a solid game as the #2 WR next to James Jones.

The Negatives

Defense. Welcome back to the negatives defense. Last game, I gave the defense 100% credit for holding on their own against Tom Brady and the Pats, but heading back “home”, they fall flat. Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins offense ran laps around this defense. They had it their way this game. You can say this defense has been riddled by injuries, particularly at the linebacker and secondary positions, but the defensive line has not been producing, not generating any pressure on the quarterback and failing to stop the run countless times. Also, this defense has been inconsistent because like I said they tend to make games competitive when they’re on the road, but at home, they take it easy and the opposing offense just mops the field on them. 

The coaching staff. Man, Dennis Allen, Greg Olson, Jason Tarver are in deep trouble heading into the bye week. Dennis Allen couldn’t get this team motivated. Jason Tarver, what happened to mixing up defensive schemes and using different blitz packages to confuse the offense? But we got to go to the biggest negative on the coaching staff, offensive coordinator, Greg Olson. Greg Olson teased us big time after putting together a great opening drive and then after that: run up the middle, short pass, check down. No creativity, predictable offensive playcalling and once again finally opening up the playbook when the game is well out of reach. It’s inexcusable, you’re three games into the season, Derek Carr has gained immense knowledge of the offensive playbook, and yet Olson still game plans us with soft and predictable playcalling. I assure you, if Hue Jackson was calling plays, Derek Carr would be putting up monster numbers for a rookie, Reece would live up to his “Matchup Nightmare” nickname more, and McFadden would’ve rekindled his 2010-11 form and be one of the most feared running backs in the league. We got the power blocking scheme back, but it’s obvious that with the personnel the Raiders have, they’re more suited to a vertical passing game rather than the West Coast offense. 

Conclusion

A lot of hot seats among the coaching staff heading into the bye week. Dennis Allen had too many chances. It’s understandable this is year 2 in the true rebuilding phase for the McKenzie era, but with the way this team was put together in the offseason and in the draft, this team has a lot of talent and looked like they will compete at all costs. Now this team is 0-4 and we’re not seeing results, we’re not seeing any progress. There are a couple positives here and there, but all the Raiders are getting are moral victories, not a W in the column. The experts have spoken that the Raiders will go 1-15 or 2-14 at best and be picking top 5 again, this team is proving them right and it’s sickening all of us here at the Raider Nation, we deserve better. There has got to be some changes in the coaching staff and there’s got to be change now, we’ve got nothing lose since this season is already lost. Next week is a bye week, so no posts. I’ll see you guys later.

Week 4: London Game RAIDERS vs. Miami Dolphins Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: MIA 38 OAK 14

If this was a way to see how bad the Raiders look internationally, this was the game. Despite the early trip, nothing can go right. This coaching staff is swimming in lava right now. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: MIA 38 OAK 7

#FireDennisAllen #FireGregOlson #FireJasonTarver Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic. Get well soon D.C.

Q2:

Score: MIA 24 OAK 7

A good drive in the 1st quarter and now the Raiders have turned back to the Raiders we know and love. Giving up big plays, not pressuring the quarterback, soft, conservative playcalling on offense. This is getting ridiculous. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: MIA 3 OAK 7

Derek Carr put together a solid opening drive. Could've gotten more on the 2nd drive, but bad personnel Greg Olson put in for that 3rd down. Defense, here we go again giving up one big play after another. They stopped the Dolphins on the first drive, but they are threatening again.

RAIDERS vs. Dolphins Halftime Post

Score: MIA 24 OAK 7

Alright welcome in to the halftime post of the Raiders-Dolphins game in London where the Dolphins are rolling over the Raiders 24-7 after the Raiders drew first blood on the opening drive.

The Positives

Derek Carr, 12 of 19 completed passes, 106 passing yards, 1 passing TD. Like I said before Derek Carr put together a solid opening drive in the first quarter. Now ever since that drive, the playcalling and the supporting cast is not doing its job. Carr may have been sacked, got flagged for intentional grounding, but it's just bad pass protection from the O-line. I've said it last game and I'll say it again, Carr is doing everything right, but the playcalling and the supporting cast is not giving him help.

Darren McFadden, 7 carries, 27 rushing yards. I'm not sure why Greg Olson stopped handing the ball to McFadden after he was getting off to a tremendous start. DMC is running hard, finding holes paved by the O-line, almost had a touchdown in the opening drive. Stats don't say otherwise, but he's running hard the last few games.


The Negatives

Defense. For the third consecutive time of the season, the defense makes the negatives list. 24 unanswered points in the 2nd quarter. The Dolphins' offensive coordinator served under Chip Kelly's coaching staff? Hmmm, no wonder the defense is getting destroyed just like last season when the Eagles flew over the Raiders. I don't get it, they play hard when it's a road game, but at home, the just play like complete trash. Even though they're on the road in London, it's a "home" game and they're not showing up.

Greg Olson playcalling. It's obvious Greg Olson has got to go along with Dennis Allen. He gave us a tease opening up the playbook for Carr with that deep ball to James Jones and after the opening drive, he just starts watering down the playcalling. Greg, it's three games into the season, you know Carr is more accustomed to the playbook, but you still water it down with constant run up the middle and short pass plays. No creativity, very predictable unlike the Dolphins' offense where they surprised the defense with double reverses, bubble screens, etc.

Bottom Line

If this coaching staff wants to have a job, particularly Dennis Allen, Greg Olson, and Jason Tarver, they need to make ADJUSTMENTS! The 2nd half, Dolphins have the ball since they deferred, it gets much harder considering they're riding all this momentum.

Raiders Squander Upset vs. Patriots

Alright welcome in to the full recap of the game between the Raiders and the Patriots where the Patriots preserve a victory in their home opener, beating the Raiders 9-16 and securing victory #201 for Bill Belichick.

A lot of us, a lot of us expected this game to be a squash game for the Patriots. After the home opening flop the Raiders had against the Texans, there were no heads hanging high heading into Foxborough. With the way this game played, the Raiders surprised all of us by gritting and grinding the whole game, being competitive, but it wasn’t enough. The last drive definitely hurt. You can’t completely lash out on Gabe Jackson for that penalty because he rarely commits those kind of boneheaded holding penalties and this is actually his first rookie mistake, but still McFadden had that punched in for the TD and that holding call hurts, but there’s a lot of missed opportunities that the Raiders didn’t catch aside from the final drive.

The Positives

Derek Carr, 21 completed passes of 34 attempts, 174 passing yards, 1 INT. That drive killing interception from Vince Wilfork is not D.C.’s fault. Denarius Moore took his eye off the ball as a defender was coming at him. D.C., despite not throwing a TD this game, this game was showing why he is not your average NFL rookie. He was playing game manager for the most part of the game, calling audibles, changing up the offensive play calling, not afraid to use his arm downfield, you can’t completely fault D.C. for the Raiders being 0-3, he’s doing everything right, yet the supporting cast and Greg Olson’s play calling are doing everything wrong for him.

Sebastian Janikowski, 3 field goals. Putting Sebass in my positives here is such a rarity. He’s been the most consistent player for the Raiders since I was still learning my first words. Credit where credit is due, Marquette King definitely improved his hold on the ball and Sebass is turning back to the Sebass we know and love. Pretty much Janikowski’s field goals kept us in the game.

Defense. This is probably the only game so far where I’m satisfied with the way the defense performed. The defense showed some flashes, getting hits on Brady, Tuck, C.J. Wilson, and Antonio Smith managed to get sacks on him. The defense pretty much kept the Raiders alive for the most part of the game, allowing that 1 TD from Brady to Gronkowski. 3^rd down defense is still an issue, but the defense did its part by not allowing any big runs, any big plays, and prevented this game from being a blowout.

The Negatives

Missed red zone opportunities. Shoulda, woulda, coulda, this game would’ve been 21-16 in favor of the Raiders. The Raiders offense did a good job on controlling the clock, but they couldn’t cash in for touchdowns when they were in the red zone. If you want to take the crowd out of it early, and you want to have the opposing defense on the ropes, you gotta score touchdowns and the Raiders couldn’t take advantage of that.

Conclusion

There are no moral victories, you are what your record shows and the Raiders are 0-3. The Raiders give up a home game to go to London to take on the Dolphins. This game against the Patriots prolonged the losing streak in the East Coast. I’m not a psychic to see how the Raiders will adjust to the long jet lag heading over to London. The Dolphins, whenever they play the Raiders, they’ve always played tough. After this game, many questions will be asked is it time to fire Dennis Allen? The good news is, the Raiders made this competitive, the bad news is, Dennis Allen’s life support as head coach has been extended because they didn’t get blown out. If the Raiders fall flat next week, for sure the Raiders will leave Allen and the coaching staff off the plane heading back to the U.S. I’ll see you guys next week for the London game.

 

 

Week 3 Tuck Rule, Never Forget: RAIDERS @ New England Patriots Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: OAK 9 NE 16

That holding call on Gabe Jackson hurts. Some will argue the Denarius Moore taking his eye off the ball was the play that hurt, but McFadden was already in and Jackson decided to hold a defender a little more. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: OAK 9 NE 10

Leave it to the kicking game to cut the lead within one, but the Raiders NEED touchdowns! Patriots are threatening right now, hopefully the defense can hold them here. Highlight of this quarter: Khalil Mack hitting Brady.

Q2:

Score: OAK 3 NE 10

Raiders get a break from that botched snap. I hope that Brady to Gronk TD is not a sign of bad things to come. The Raiders dominated in the time of possession, but mismanagement of time and stalled drives are killing them right now. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: OAK 3 NE 0

Still uneasy about this game, but I like how the Raiders are controlling the clock on offense, keeping Brady and Co off the field and take the crowd out. However, they can't always depend on Sebass to bail them out stalled drive after stalled drive, especially against a team like the Pats. Gotta put touchdown points on the board.

RAIDERS @ Patriots Halftime Post

Score: OAK 3 NE 10

Alright welcome in to the halftime post of the Raiders-Patriots game where the Patriots have a one touchdown lead against the Raiders.

The Positives

Derek Carr, 13 completed passes of 18 attempts, 76 passing yards. I don't know, that's the only positive I can think about. D.C. right now is playing game manager. He's controlling the clock, making great decisions, especially on 3rd down. Carr is holding on hid own, but he needs more help from his supporting cast and he needs more aggressive playcalling from Greg Olson. Carr's already three games in, he is accustomed to the playbook by now, but I don't know, coaching staff is still playing safe with him.


The Negatives

Timeout management. Two timeout in one offensive drive, a timeout when the Patriots are in the red zone. You talk about poor clock management, poor clock awareness, and the lack of processing a play call as quickly as possible. It doesn't matter if you have the ball or not, saving timeouts are critical and the Raiders burned their timeouts as quickly as possible in that first half.

3rd down defense. It has been a problem all season long, even if the season is still young. The Patriots converted 5-8 of their 3rd down conversion against the defense. Short offensive drives is one thing to gas out a defense, but the defense not getting themselves off the field on 3rd downs is another. No surprise there, they did a good job early on, but they're slowly reverting back to letting teams convert on 3rd down plays.

Bottom Line

What can I say? The Raiders just need to avoid letting this Patriot team open it up. The Patriots have the ball in the 2nd half since they deferred in the coin toss. Like I said, I'm still uneasy, but if this game is still like this, the outcome is going to be less hurtful. We'll see what happens.

Raiders Fall Flat in Home Opener vs. Texans

Alright, welcome in to the full recap between the Raiders-Texans game where the Raiders squander an opportunity to tack on a win as they get beat down by the Texans 30-14.

"Wow." That's all I could say when I was witnessing this game. It was pathetic, it was embarrassing; it's hard to express this frustration without any profanity, but I'm sorry this game was just absolute shit. It feels like I'm just saying this now even though I've seen this movie over and over and over again as lifelong fan where game day, you're pumped up, ready to see the Silver & Black kick some ass and then they perform like this, all of a sudden that feeling turns into melancholy. It's frustrating.

The Positives

Darren McFadden, 12 carries, 37 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD. Maurice Jones-Drew out, Latavius Murray didn't see too many snaps, for McFadden I thought he played a decent all-around game. The stats don't say otherwise, but if you watched the game, he converted on 3rd downs when needed, he blocked for Derek Carr. He pretty much kept JJ Watt in check from terrorizing Carr. The outcome would've been much worse if it weren't for McFadden laying down those key blocks when needed.

James Jones, 9 reception, 112 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD, 1 fumble lost. I was really mad about that fumble James Jones made. He was in Houston territory before he muffed it again. He made that mistake and redeemed himself just enough to remove himself off my negative list. He was Carr's go to guy this game. The other receivers were just terrible. D. Mo didn't do anything, Streater, nothing. We signed Jones in the offseason and his acquisition is paying dividends, just at the wrong time when the game is well out of reach. On a little note, if you have Jones on your fantasy team, he's a late round value pick or a good waiver wire pick up as always. I started him today and he gave me solid points when needed as a WR3. Other than that, aside from the wild fumble, Jones had a decent game.

The Negatives

Turnovers. 4 turnovers and all of them turnovers were momentum-killing. Derek Carr, had a good run to put the Raiders in Houston territory, then threw it to Kareem Jackson for an INT, bad throw, the aforementioned James Jones fumbles, definitely that play is going to be on "C'mon man!" tomorrow night, and the Mychal Rivera fumble, it was awful to watch. The turnovers pretty much summed up how bad the game went down.

Defense. Once again, no pressure on Fitzpatrick, the secondary giving up big plays on critical 3rd down plays, it was the same old story as last week, just that the points were piled up more. Nick Roach's absence, the absolutely thin secondary is definitely piling up early on for this defense. The defense wasn't pathetic last week, but man were they absolute trash this game.

Conclusion

Next week, who do we have next? *checks schedule* Crap the Patriots at Foxborough, in Gilette Stadium. Their game today vs. the Vikings showed before this game and whenever you think the Patriots are down, they find ways to bounce back in convincing fashion. It's always tough to go down there to face Brady, Belichick, Wilfork, not to mention, the Raiders are riding a 16 game losing streak in the East Coast. After that, it is the London game against the Dolphins. If the Raiders go 0-4 heading into their week 5 bye week, I can guarantee, Dennis Allen is going to be packing his bags and head out the door, if not maybe earlier considering how this game went down. I'll see you guys next week for the Patriots game.

Oh and by the way, if you guys like the Dennis Allen meme I put up at the end of the fourth quarter section, here's the link: http://memegenerator.net/instance/54337643