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.
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