Colts Gash Raiders

Final Score: IND 44 LV 27 [L] (7-6)

There's something extra sour when losing to a team with Philip Rivers under center. The Colts dominate the Raiders on the ground and through the air in a 44-27 rout. This loss puts a little dent on the Raiders' playoff hopes.

This is the repercussions from last week's ugly. You struggle against the worst team in the NFL, what more with a playoff contender coming to town? Although, the Raiders play up to par against playoff contenders throughout this season. It looked that way when the Raiders took the lead 14-10 in the 2nd quarter. Then a 41-yard bomb to T.Y. Hilton from Philip Rivers pretty much sucked all the momentum away. It wasn't until the 4th quarter where this game really got away from the Raiders.

The run defense got exposed last week after giving up 104 yards to a "no-name" in Ty Johnson. With the Colts' strong running game behind the trio of Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines, and Jordan Wilkins, it was going to be a tall task to stop them on the ground. And this game proved it. Taylor got the majority of the carries and gashed the defense with 120 rushing yards and 2 TDs on 20 carries. Hines added 58 yards on the ground with 7 carries. The Colts were able to dominate the time of possession early on. They also got a pair of TDs through the air as T.Y. Hilton got 5 receptions for 86 yards and 2 TDs. The last TD, Johnathan Abram got burned big time. That is something he's going to need to work on to be an effective Safety for the Raiders.

The passing game was the only thing that was working for the Raiders, but they had a mixed performance overall. Josh Jacobs is not clearly 100% for the running game to be effective. So, all eyes were on Derek Carr. He got off to a good start, finding Foster Moreau wide open for 47 yards for the Raiders' first score. Then he dished out another dime TD to Nelson Agholor to briefly give the Raiders their first lead and it was their only lead that game. Carr finished with 31 passes of 45 attempts with 2 TDs, 1 Rush TD to add at the end of the game. But, the 2 picks were costly. The first INT, it was an impressive play from Kenny Moore, outjumping Darren Waller with a one-handed grab. The 2nd pick pretty much sealed the game as Carr threw a pick 6. You can make the argument that the 2nd INT was not his fault as the ball ricochet off Jalen Richard's hands. But, that pretty much signaled game over. The Raiders racked up another score after, but it didn't matter anyways.

We've been here before if last year was any indication. The Raiders were in the hunt at 6-4 and they just either ran into the better teams or embarrassed by teams they were supposed to beat. Standing at 7-6, there's no room for error. Miami is still a threat. There's heavy implications there, but that's not until Week 16. The Raiders are gonna come off a short week to take on the Chargers in a divisional matchup. The last time these two teams met, the Raiders were able to get away as the would-be Chargers go-ahead TD was waived off. Regardless, they're gonna be a handful. Justin Herbert has been a standout rookie QB for them. Playoffs is not out of the question. But, these last few games after the Sunday Nighter against KC, I have not been impressed. Suspect play on defense. Inconsistency on offense. It's not looking good these last few weeks. I'll see you guys on Thursday.

Update: Raiders Fire Paul Guenther - So, they finally pulled the plug after two and a half seasons. Guenther was going to get canned eventually with the way this defense has performed during his tenure. Let's be honest, the defensive talent is leaps and bounds away from where they needed to be. And Guenther's defensive schemes didn't mask it well. It also begs the question that maybe the Raiders need to abandon the 4-3 scheme completely. You think about all the Raiders DCs, they've ran the 4-3, but it's the same stuff, different year, different coordinator. Run defense is trash. The pass rush is always one or two steps behind. Linebackers and defensive backs look lost. It's always the same stuff every year even if they think they have the talent to take the next step. But nonetheless, the writing was already on the wall for Paul Guenther. We gave him the benefit of a doubt in his first year since the Raiders traded Khalil Mack and were crying for more pass rush. But since then, no improvement whatsoever. Whether it's the talent or the scheme, something has to change. And with Rod Marinelli taking over, by all accounts, I still have zero expectations that this defense is going to get better from here on out. 

Raiders Bounce Back with Win vs. Colts

Final: OAK 31 IND 24 (2-2)

I said it last week, this matchup against the Colts has "bounceback win" marked. After a 14-34 shellacking in Minnesota, the Raiders rebounded with a 31-24 road win over the Indianapolis Colts. We gotta give credit to Jon Gruden for adding some tweaks on what has been mundane playcalling in the past two weeks. He mixed it up with two Tight End sets with Darren Waller and Foster Moreau. There was great balance in the distribution of the football. Chucky claimed he wanted Josh Jacobs involved more, particularly in the passing game. Jacobs had more involvement earlier today. Especially since the Colts were missing their stud LB Darius Leonard, that opened up opportunity for Jacobs to rack up yards: 79 yards on 17 carries and 29 yards on 2 receptions. Derek Carr had a nice bounceback game. The stats are not eye opening as Carr passed for 189 yards and 2 TDs. But, Carr overall played okay sans the 1 fumble lost. The O-line kept him clean for the most part. We got to see Trevor Davis in action. The Raiders acquired him from Green Bay in exchange for a sixth round pick. They used him sparingly in a Percy Harvin-esque role, but he made the most out of it. Davis took an end around 74 yards to the house to put the Raiders up 14-0.

Overall, the scoreboard is a bit misleading. The Raiders dominated time of possession and controlled the momentum the majority of the game with a few hiccups here and there. As mentioned, the Carr turned the ball over to set up Brissett's TD to Jack Doyle to cut it to 14-7. After Erik Harris' pick 6 to pretty much seal the game, they inexplicably gave up a sideline 48 yard TD to Eric Ebron. But luckily, the Raider offense managed to drive and get a few first downs to seal the game overall. This was the matchup that the Raiders had to take advantage of and they got the job done. On side notes, Carr had a precautionary X-Rays on his leg from what I heard after the game. Hopefully, there's no issue and he's okay. He actually took a hit from ex-teammate Denico Autry. Vontaze Burfict could be facing suspension after a hit on defenseless receiver penalty. Those kinds of penalties are ticky tacky since defenders can't stop their momentum. But as I said, Burfict is marked man and a walking 15-yard penalty due to his reputation as a dirty player. He'll be a big loss for Guenther's unit.

The Raiders move ahead after their cross country trip and they'll be traveling to London next week for a "home game" against the Chicago Bears. Now, this game we've had circled since the schedule came out. It's been a year since Chucky shocked Raider Nation by sending Khalil Mack to Chicago and so far, that trade has been lopsided in favor of the Bears. Mack was the missing piece for Chicago to resurrect the "Monsters of the Midway." After an opening night dud to Green Bay, they've picked it up. It's going to be quite a matchup in the trenches with the Raiders' revamped O-line and the Bears' stellar D-line. That defense will be hard to pick apart for sure. I'll see you guys next week after that game.

Raiders Beat Colts, But Carr Injured

Raider Nation, I'm sure you have the same sentiments as I do. Truly, this was the worst Christmas gift we could ask for. The Raiders took care of business against Andrew Luck and the Colts in a 25-33 victory, but if you guys have not heard the news, Derek Carr is injured with a broken fibula and is out indefinitely for the season. We could be celebrating that we're 12-3 and hopefully with a KC loss tomorrow, the Raiders will clinch the AFC West and a possible first round bye in the playoffs. But the Raiders just lost the heart and soul of this team and it affects the morale of the players and the morale of us, the Raider Nation.

This post will be an informal full recap of the game. I was able to listen to portions of the game on 95.7 The Game with Greg Papa making the call while I was doing my last-minute errands for the holidays. The final score is deceptively close. Offensively, the Raiders pounded the Colts through the air and on the ground. Derek Carr outperformed Andrew Luck this game, throwing for 228 yards and 3 scores while Luck managed more yardages with 288 yards and 2 scores, but he also committed 2 INTs. On the ground game, DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard were absolute studs today. DeAndre was the bigger stud as he broke out for 99 yards and two scores. Richard had 66 yards on the ground, but caught a receiving touchdown. I remember hearing Greg Papa's call on one of Washington's TD runs and the highlights after I got home. Washington was making the Colts defense miss. We also gotta give credit to the left side of the O-line. Penn, Hudson, and K.O., there's a reason why the left side is in the Pro Bowl. They absolutely demolished the Colts' D-Line to give Washington a big hole for a 2nd rushing TD.

Carr's injury was a big blemish, but there are also a few more negatives. Two missed PATs by Janikowski was an obvious negative. After seeing the highlights, the 2nd PAT by Sebass after Carr found Richard for a TD was blocked. However, those minor things come back to haunt teams at the end. And considering we're talking Andrew Luck and the Colts, the missed PATs are scarier. Another negative, the team was penalty happy during the 4th quarter. I was looking through the live feed of my Yahoo Sports app and I keep seeing "Oakland committed a 10 yard penalty" or "Oakland committed a 15 yard penalty." The offense was in Indy territory and then several penalties backed them up big time back into their own territory. This was all before Carr went down after twisting foot as the Colts' Trent Cole came in with the sack. Overall, the Raiders finished with 10 penalties for almost 100 yards. Really inexcusable, especially when they had such a big lead.

The other thing that grinded my gears here was that the Raiders were going for the knockout pass with Matt McGloin under center in over 4 minutes in the 4th quarter. A McGloin incomplete pass stopped the clock at 4:04 in the 4th quarter and the Colts were down by two possessions. Essentially, they just saved the Colts from using a timeout when they had two remaining plus the two-minute warning. In that situation, run it, and force them to use that timeout. I'm sorry, I still have nightmares abotu the game against the Lions in the 2011 season. Carson Palmer threw an incomplete pass to Chaz Schilens and ultimately, Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson came back to beat them after being down two scores. Back to the present hour, on the next Raiders possession, they did it again, but thank goodness Coop made the acrobatic catch to seal the deal. Those kinds of plays can give the coach and offensive coordinator major props or major scrutiny.

This team has to find a way to pull together. Yes, Carr is the engine that keeps the Raiders moving. Losing him sucks. It absolutely sucks. And it definitely punched us in the gut. We have all these Super Bowl aspirations after clinching the playoff berth last week in San Diego, but Carr's recent injury put a halt to that for the moment. It is now in the hands Matt McGloin. We know McGloin can ball. We've seen it first hand in 2013 even though those games didn't translate into wins. We have to remember, McGloin hasn't seen action as a full game starter since that season. I'm not counting the Bengals game last season since he took over for Carr when 25% of the game progressed. Obviously, Connor Cook is not ready. The team has to rally around McGloin as the quarterback. We have to rally around McGloin. This team also has to rally around Khalil Mack because he's gonna take on bigger responsibilities as the team leader now that Carr is likely done for the season. I've seen a lot of fight and resiliency in this team all season long. They have to continue to embody the motto of "Just Win Baby" and continue to do so "by any means." But it's also important to send Carr good wishes and support for a fast, full recovery. That's our quarterback. And we hope he comes back stronger than ever to lead the Raiders to greatness for years to come. I'll see you guys next week.

Sio Moore Traded to the Indianapolis Colts

It appears Sio Moore won't be on board for the "New Generation" after all. After seeing the field minimally this preseason since coming back from major hip surgery, the Raiders have decided to move on by trading Moore to the Indianapolis Colts. In exchange, the Raiders will receive a 6th round pick from the Colts for next year's draft.

My thoughts: As a fan, it's always shocking to see a fan-favorite go and Sio Moore since he was drafted back in 2013, was a fan favorite of Raider Nation. He was the juice and the energy for the defense and when Mack was drafted last year, we had a lot of optimism that Mack and Moore would be the duo that'll kill opposing quarterbacks for years to come. It was a series of questions throughout the preseason and it evolved into a topic of interest. Where was Sio throughout the preseason? How come Jack Del Rio and the rest of coaching staff were holding him in? How come they didn't give him a chance to see if he was 100%? Because if there were any setbacks on Moore's rehab, he would've just been placed on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list and likely placed on Injured Reserve, saving him to live to fight another season. But with this trade, it was obvious that there was something suspicious going on between Moore and the coaching staff behind the scenes. And yes, Moore's attitude problems stemmed back to last season, both on and off the field. And with his recent antics since coming back to social media, particularly calling out CSN Bay Area reporter, Scott Bair on Twitter, that was the last straw because he just couldn't contain himself to rant on the media and put his focus squarely on getting back to football. This trade is a significant sign that Del Rio has zero tolerance on players who would rather spend more time doing silly antics and stir up controversy than focusing and performing to the best of their ability. Sio Moore, with the talent he has, will be missed and this trade brings even more questions on Reggie McKenzie's 2013 draft picks. Yet, at the same time, this trade defends Reggie's vision of this Raiders team consisting of high character guys who love the game of football and want to put in the work for the love of the game.