The Silver and Black Shitshow: Chapter 4 - "Cardinal Sin"

On this latest chapter of the Silver and Black Shitshow, the tanking process has taken a toll on some of the veterans on this roster. After the shellacking last week at the hands of San Dieg-err Los Angeles Chargers, one unnamed veteran has had enough of the Shitshow, expressing: "I gotta get the fuck outta here." Still to this day, we will never know who said that in the locker room. One may suspect that it was Jordy Nelson, who subsequently pulled his best Vontae Davis and retired in the middle of the season. That report turned out to be false information as Nelson is just day-to-day with a hip injury and is still on the active roster.

With this team's worse start since the 2014 NFL Season, it was time to start pointing fingers at the top. Who's more to blame other than the Tank Commander's ego running wild in this deconstruction process? None other than Tommy Boy Mark Davis! Time to face the music Marky D. What you're saying in the interview with Paul Gutierrez is clearly stating the obvious: "everything here is your fault." This was the same guy who gave up 1/5 of his overall net worth to bring the Chuckster out of the Monday Night Football booth, when he hasn't coached in 10 years. Cause clearly the muscles and hot shot looks of Jack Del Rio weren't enough to erase your hard on on the Chuckster. You've brought a lot of damaged goods on this once proud franchise since you stepped in the day your dad died.

On top of that, Davis confirmed that the organization has proposed a lease up until 2020 with the City of Oakland and the Coliseum authority. Because let's be honest, Oakland City leaders are clearly masochists in disguise when it comes to the Raiders because they clearly enjoy the Raiders kicking them while they're down. Mark Davis and his honchos have clearly blasted you guys in public with every opportunity they had and y'all just let it slide. I wouldn't be surprised if Oakland agrees to the lease extension. It would absolutely would show the lack of backbone they have. You all had your chance to file the lawsuit while your cards are faced down. Now that Oakland overplayed their cards, they are now an open book with the Raiders threatening to leave early if they ever think about a lawsuit. But Davis clearly would love to win one last time for Oakland. More like spend a couple more tanking seasons in Oakland and have Vegas inherit a contender. We can see through this ploy Marky D. Angry Oakland fans see through it. The city itself though doesn't.

Unfortunately for Davis, even Las Vegas knows the team they're inheriting in two years, is a shitshow now. They initially refused to air this week's Tank Bowl (UrinatingTree, 2018) against the Arizona Cardinals in their local TV markets. It was hilarious to read while it lasted as they local TVs confirmed they would air the game in Vegas two days prior to this game. The game against the Cardinals was as advertised as a battle of two teams to see which team will step aside to protect their position for the number 1 spot. But there was a different vibe this time around. It wasn't the Shitshow tanking. It was the Raiders doing any thing they can to win this game. Perhaps that was the topic surrounding Derek Carr and Chucky's heated sideline exchange. The Tank Commander wanted to tank, but Checkdown Derek has had enough of the Chuckster's shenanigans and said to him: "Fuck you! I want to win this game!"

The Cardinals gave the Shitshow all they can handle. The defense sacked Checkdown Derek four times. David Johnson looked like the David Johnson of 2015. The legend of Larry Fitzgerald continued to shine in Glendale. Andy Lee pinned the Raiders deep to give the defense  a stop. The Raiders had no timeouts. Just feed David Johnson to run out the clock. However, the Cardinals realized the stakes here and shot themselves in the foot. Josh Rosen was a shitshow himself, completing under 50% of his passes this game and throwing two picks. Speaking of the recipient of those picks, it was about fucking time Gareon Conley and Karl Joseph had some action. Cause clearly Gruden was running out old ass vets to run the show. Marcell Ateman finally showed us what he was made of racking up 50 receiving yards. He was big in the final drive to have Daniel Carlson erase the memories of Sebastian Janikowski missing a game-winning chip shot field goal 8 years ago in the same stadium. Jalen Richard picked up the slack in the running game because nobody clearly wants to see a has-been Doug Martin being the bell cow back. I feel like I was living in the Twilight Zone with the Tank Commander making all the right roster calls and getting these young guys to play instead of washed up veterans. Finally welcome to the NFL in 2018 Jon Gruden! But, I wouldn't be surprised if you trade all those guys too that showed out for screwing up the tank process. The Niners didn't have a game this week. But because of the Raiders winning, they move up to the #1 overall pick for the 2019 draft. Not to mention, the Cowboys and Bears won their games. So those extra 1st round picks they traded for move back more. The Tank Commander may be happy on the outside, but deep inside lies a whole lot of anger that his plans have been foiled at least for this one game. Or the Cardinals just wanted to tank more. That's another perspective to look at.

Raiders vs. Cardinals Quick Notes

Alright, the Raiders open up their 2016 preseason campaign with a win on the road, beating the Arizona Cardinals 31-10.

Great way to start off with a win on the road against a team that's contending for a Super Bowl. Even though, the first stringers barely see action in the first preseason game, I liked what I saw from our 2nd and 3rd stringers.

The Good

I liked what I saw from George Atkinson III. GAIII rushed for 2 long ruching  TDs to help power a Raiders victory. He's continuing to put in the work and he deserves a shot at the roster after being stashed on the practice squad for the last two seasons.

DeAndre Washington was as good as advertised. He got a lot of reps when the 2nd string came on and showed off his speed and elusivness, freezing out a Cardinals defender after a catch and run out of the backfield.

Turnovers stood out. The Raiders should see more of this with a revamped secondary. Nate Allen and Neiko Thorpe made some nice INT grabs. Special teams had a turnover too to help set up the Mcgloin to Walford TD.

Special teams did a good job smothering the Cardinals and placing them in bad field position to start. Johnny Holton and Marvin Hall had a pair of good returns to set up some solid field position for the offense.

The Bad

The execution of the first string offense was not there. Aside from a pair of nice catches from Michael Crabtree, everything else didn't stand out. Kelechi Osemele got penalized. The interior O-line didn't do a good job opening up holes for Murray. AC/DC execution was way off. Coop should know by now he's not playing college ball no more. Drag that other foot inbounds!

Luckily, Mario Edwards Jr.'s injury is not related to the his neck, but rather his leg. I'm hearing it's a hamstring issue. Not too serious, but an MRI will tell all.

The penalties need to be cleaned up. Kicking team going off sides and offensive PIs were epidemic. Defense couldn't get off the field because of PIs or unnecessary roughness call.

Other Notes

Surprisingly, Karl Joseph saw some reps on first string defense tonight. I thought the Raiders were going to hold him out until his ACL was fully recovered. But, he got a glimpse of NFL action along with the revamped secondary of Reggie Nelson, David Amerson, and Sean Smith.

Conclusion

Greal win, but of course there is a lot of things that need to be corrected such as penalties and offensive execution. But, it's a confidence builder. They'll look to polish up some things next week against Green Bay. I'll be making an announcement soon in regards to how I'll cover the games differently (will also account for the NBA). I'll see you guys later.

Raiders Come Up Short vs. Cardinals on Sunday Night

Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' Sunday Night preseason matchup vs. the Arizona Cardinals where the Raiders had control for the majority of the first half, but the Cardinals came back to beat the Raiders 30-23.

Time to get my feet wet for the first full recap of the season for me. The Raiders had a chance to showcase what they can do on national television and the way it ended, it was 50-50. The 1st team defense looked great out there and I'll get to them in a second. However, there were jitters on the offense. In fact, both offenses struggled. It isn't until the 1st string was taken out that both managed to find the end zone. Although the last Cardinals possession was a back breaker, as an NFL fan, those were some "never say never" type plays by Arizona's Ifeanyi Momah. But going back, the 1st team offense had some great looks to cash in and they did nothing but squander some opportunities.

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Defense (1st team). Let's take a look at the good first, Khalil Mack is a beast. Enough said. When teams run on his side, no chance in hell they'll get a big gain. Just the shear idea of Mack converting from OLB to DE is making the D-line a lot better because he's generating that pressure, putting the Tackles on ice, and he's drawing a lot of double and triple teams to give other D-linemen a shot. Dan Williams was able to get pressure, Denico Autry, heck even Mario Edwards, Jr. was able to get a sack with the first team and Edwards' stock may be rising with the way he played the last two preseason games. The linebackers were solid; Lofton and Smith were able to get nice tackles, especially when the Cardinals were calling screen passes. The shaky secondary did not suck, although the Cardinals called some big plays for big yardages, which made my heart drop just a little, the secondary held its own to negate most of them. For the most part, the first team defense were at its best tonight and maybe the world got to see up close why Mack was ranked #49 on the NFL's top 100 list of 2015.

Matt McGloin, 11-15 passes, 114 passing yards, 1 pass TD. Never sleep on Matt McGloin, just three preseasons in, he is threatening to take Ponder's spot as the QB2. He had a good showing in the first preseason game vs. the Rams, an off night against the Vikings, but he flat out outperformed Christian Ponder this game. Though Ponder made a couple of nice throws, he just couldn't put together a solid drive. Not to mention, he was sacked a couple times. When McGloin was put in with the 2nd-3rd stringers, he was "as cool  as the other side of the pillow (RIP Stuart Scott)" and lead the Raiders to a game tying drive. In all likelihood, though Ponder is Musgrave's boy, McGloin is going to get that QB2 spot and will probably keep that spot for good.

Seth Roberts, 3 receptions, 52 receiving yards. The wide receiver spot is definitely going to be a headache for the coaches because outside of Crabtree and Cooper, the rest of the receiver spot is up for grabs. Roberts follows another hidden gem that Reggie McKenzie uncovered from the undrafted free agent list and he has shined through the preseason. After this game, Roberts becomes the new dark horse to make the roster as roster cuts loom.

(-)

Running game. The running game as a whole was awful, but from a first string point of view, the Tay Train was nowhere to be found. Latavius Murray only managed to get just a mere 1 yard on 7 carries. The Cardinals' run defense did a good job containing him, there was nothing that the Raiders can do, so we had to re-live the old days of the running game being out of the playbook and resorting to pass like a million times. Reece was implemented, couldn't get anything. Trent Richardson had a nice run, but he's still not convincing to have a breakout year and in all likelihood make the team. The running game disappeared and it's not a good sign if the Raiders are going to go up against really good run defenses.

Derek Carr. Despite 200+ yards passing, I'm not going to let the stats fool me. Derek Carr did not have an outstanding game tonight. He flashed at times, but he's overthrown a lot of his passes this game. Notably, there were two occasions he overthrew Amari Cooper and he overthrew the fade route to Michael Crabtree to get a potential a TD. But the true back breaker of the game is that Pick 6 in the 3rd quarter. I'm sure Carr will learn from that, but just throw the ball away in that situation.

Conclusion

If I could evaluate this game, it's a mixed reception in terms of the Raiders' performance. If I'm Jack Del Rio and Ken Norton, Jr., I gotta be happy with the way the defense played for the most part before the 2nd and 3rd stringers came in. They shut down the Cardinals offense and had Carson Palmer rattled for the majority the game. If I'm Bill Musgrave, the offense has a lot of work to do before they can talk about being a potent offense. The rhythm, timing, and communication just wasn't there. Anyway, this is a taste of what is to come for the 2015 season. I'll see you guys in two weeks when the Raiders take on the Bengals on opening day. I will have a season preview before that though, so stay tuned. I'll see you guys later.

SNF: RAIDERS vs. Arizona Cardinals Preseason Week 3 Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: AZ 30 OAK 23

Well, whenever Matt McGloin's in the game with the 2nd-3rd stringers, it's usually entertaining. He was able to lead the Raiders for a tie, unfortunately they couldn't hold on. But evaluating the first stringers, the defense looked great, the offense was not all that great despite putting some decent drives, they couldn't convert those into TDs. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: AZ 10 OAK 15

This quarter ended with a sigh. Not a very good way for Derek Carr to end his night, throwing a pick 6 to the house. Despite the good stats, Carr had a so-so night and that pick was just all bad. That also had a domino effect, I'd put in the 2nd string defense right about now. Mack had a good outing, now would be great to take him out.

Q2:

Score: AZ 3 OAK 15

I really like what I'm seeing from the defense so far. The D-line is putting some heat on most of Carson Palmer's passes, Nate Allen showing off his ballhawk skills, and Khalil Mack putting the Cardinals' O-line on roller skates! Getting after Palmer and notching two sacks at the end of the half. The offense made some strides, but there's a lot more work to do to turn those field goals into touchdowns. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: AZ 0 OAK 6

Good opportunity to get my feet wet before the regular season. So far, the defense is doing fine, but the offense is off to a really slow start. The Cardinals surprised a little bit on the first play with a bubble screen to Larry Fitzgerald and though their O is dominating the TOP, the defense is holding out on its own, which should please Del Rio. The offense started off ugly, though the catch by Mychal Rivera jump started the offense, then they went no huddle to pick it up. However, those quick 3 and outs have blown some opportunites to give the defense a rest and lead to some missed opportunities to put more points on the board.

RAIDERS vs. Cardinals Halftime Post

Score: AZ 3 OAK 15

Welcome in to a special halftime post of the Raiders' 3rd preseason matchup with the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Night Football where the Raiders lead 3-15 heading into the locker room.

(+)

Defense. The defense is making some noise in prime time for this game and they are firing on all cylinders, from the D-line to the linebackers, to the secondary. Nate Allen had some pretty good INTs. On his first INT, I thought he had that inbounds and it was a good challenge by Jack Del Rio to give the Raiders offense some good field position in their opening drive. Malcolm Smith made some nice tackles, Dan Williams and Denico Autry made some pretty nice pushes to generate pressure. But the main story here is Khalil Mack, 2 sacks against Carson Palmer. He is literally beating the Cardinals O-line like a bush. He has owned Jared Veldheer so far this game.

(-)


Running Game. The rest of the offense are starting to pick it up, but the running game is not getting anything going. Latavius Murray, only 1 yard and lost a lot of yardage, Marcel Reece and Trent Richardson can get nothing. The Cardinals' run defense is pretty solid and credit to them for containing the Raiders' game. Based on observation, that right side of the O-line is getting exposed and Donald Penn looks like he's showing his age, constituting why some run plays blew up in front of the Raiders offense.

Bottom Line

Luckily for the Raiders offense, they get the ball back since they implemented their defense first. The first stringers get one more chance for another look to put together a solid drive capping off with a touchdown before they put the 2nd stringers in. The defense, hopefully they keep playing like this throughout whole game. I'm loving it so far. Let's see what happens.

Raiders Fall to NFC West-Leading Cardinals

Alright welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders-Cardinals game where the Raiders' struggles continue and couldn't find a way to upset the Cardinals as former Raiders, Carson Palmer, Jared Veldheer, and Tommy Kelly come back in a Cardinal uniform and beat the Raiders 24-13.

0-6, the Jaguars got their first win of the season today, 0-11 against NFC opponents, you can't ask for an even more embarrassing start as the Raiders become the only winless team this season. I wasn't into this game at all. The only bright spots, Woodson's interception and Derek Carr's throw to Brice Butler to put the Raiders in the red zone woke me up, but I couldn't find any way to get into this game after those highlights.

The Positives

Charles Woodson, 7 tackles, 1 INT. Charles Woodson is like fine wine, he gets better when he ages. He had a injury scare during the early 2nd half when he made tried to make a play against Arizona's run play, but other than that, as bad as the defense has been this season, Woodson has been one of the constants this season on the defensive side. It's sad to see him that he's one of the only Raiders on defense making plays, especially when his great career is winding down to an end.

Khalil Mack, 11 tackles. Mack still has yet to get a sack in his rookie career, but this was his best game yet as the Raiders' 5th overall pick. Mack was disciplined and to quote Madden in an old Madden game, Mack "stayed at home and wait for the runner to come at him." The Cardinals tried to pull off an misdirection play on an end-around to a receiver and Mack didn't bite and manage to tackle the receiver for a loss. Mack played a great all-around game, he even got his cleat tangled to Carson Palmer's cleat, I got a slight chuckle out of that. Like I said with Woodson, as bad as the defense was, Mack is also a bright spot on that side of the ball and that's what you expect out of the 5th overall pick.

The Negatives 

The offense. 4 TDs against a good Chargers team, but this game, they only managed a whopping 1 TD and they couldn't gain any momentum after putting together a solid drive that resulted in a Darren McFadden TD. Derek Carr was getting pressured, the running game was being stuffed, and receivers were dropping passes. You don't like it when the offense follows up with a dud after a spectacular showing last game.

Penalties. We're partying like it's 2011 when the Raiders lead the league in penalties and actually broke the record as the most penalized team in the history of the NFL. Don't get me wrong, there were a couple of penalties that were questionable, there were a lot of questionable PI and illegal contact calls. I was especially livid on that roughing the passer call on Sio Moore, I thought that shouldn't have been a penalty and it costed the Raiders a solid 3 & out on defense, Penalties definitely killed us, but the offense's lackluster showing ultimately put the game away for the Raiders.

Conclusion

So, the Raiders can't beat the Jets, they're 1-6, can't beat the Texans, can't beat the Patriots, can't beat the Dolphins, despite the fact they went to London early, can't beat the Chargers, they just loss to the Chiefs today, now they didn't beat the Cardinals? It is frustrating because looking at the rest of the schedule, you don't know what teams can the Raiders beat. Next week, the Raiders take on the Browns in Cleveland, they lost to the Jaguars, but the Browns are still a tough team, especially when they're playing at home. It's no longer of getting that first win, it's a matter of what team can the Raiders beat as the schedule gets rougher. Any given Sunday, but as a Raider fan, it feels like that phrase doesn't apply to us because even we can make the bad teams look good. We'll see what happens next week, I'll see you guys for that game.

Week 7: NFC West Showdown 1 RAIDERS vs. Arizona Cardinals Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: ARZ 24 OAK 13

There were a couple of questionable penalties this 2nd half against the Raiders, but can't do anything about it. So many injuries continue to pile up on the defensive side of the ball. Carson Palmer, Matt Shaughnessy (didn't play), Jared Veldheer, and Tommy Kelly served the Raiders some justice in Oakland this game after being released by Reggie McKenzie in a 3 year span. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: ARZ 21 OAK 13

After the first TD, the Raiders continue to miss out on tying the game and perhaps taking the lead. It's a good game so far, but as a Raider fan, the team has had a lackluster performance. That last Cardinal TD definitely hurts.

Q2:

Score: ARZ 14 OAK 10

T.J. Carrie got a lucky break on that punt. The Raiders fought back after being down 14-0. A rough start for Derek Carr and the offense early on, but they managed to put together a good drive to cut deficit and half and with an interception by Woodson, the offense had a chance to tie it up, but got 3 instead from Jano. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: ARZ 7 OAK 0

The Raiders offense got off to a slow start, we gotta give credit to the Cardinals' stout defense for not allowing a big play from Derek Carr because Carr tried launching one deep ball to James Jones and they covered it well. The defense, aside from the 2nd drive TD, they did decent this quarter, stopping the offense on a 4th and 3.

RAIDERS vs. Cardinals Halftime Post

Score: ARZ 14 OAK 10

Alright welcome in to the halftime post of the Raiders' non-conference showdown against the Arizona Cardinals where the Cardinals lead the Raiders 14-10 going into the half

The Positives

The offense. The offense was anemic to start and credit where credit is due, the Cardinals defense played a big part in that, but they kept hanging in there and waited for that one big play to come. That big play came in when Carr through a 55 yard bomb to Brice Butler and that set up a Darren McFadden rushing TD.

Charles Woodson, 2 tackles, 1 INT, 22 yard return. The Raiders couldn't capitalize on his key interception, but that play that Woodson was huge to bring up some momentum back to the Raiders side. Who knows? Carson Palmer might respond back with an offensive drive that would've put the Cardinals up 21 to 7 and that interception allowed the Raiders to cut the deficit to a 4 point lead.

The Negatives

Andre Holmes. I have full faith that Holmes will get it going in the 2nd half. You can thank Patrick Peterson for Holmes lack of impact because the Cardinals' best corner has done a good job covering him.

Offensive line. Another rarity in the negatives because the O-line has done so well trying to protect Carr. Here in this game so far, they're letting Carr be under pressure and they allowed a sack and that's the impact of the Cardinals' stout front seven.

James Jones, 1 reception, 6 yards. They're paying attention to Andre Holmes specifically, but Jones just couldn't ways to make them pay for not accounting for him. He's been the reliable receiver to throw to for Derek Carr and so far, he's been non-existent and with the exception of Brice Butler, it's hurting the receiving corps.

Bottom Line

The Cardinals get the ball back in the 2nd half, I think the Raiders are doing a good job defensively, though they allowed two big time touchdowns. They're not letting Carson Palmer get what he wants. If there's a good time for the offense to get it going, it's gotta be in the 2nd half. We'll see what happens.