Raiders Leave Oakland With Final Home Loss vs. Jags

Final: JAX 20 OAK 16 (6-8)

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Happy to be back after a week off to take care of a project to wrap up this current semester. I was in attendance for this game. Last game in Oakland and all, my bro and I wanted to take a trip to the Coliseum one last time before they depart to Las Vegas (for real). For me, that was only my 2nd time. My first was back in 2011 vs. the Chicago Bears when Carson Palmer still quarterbacked for the team. This game was a bitter loss. It began with a lot of fireworks and it ended with a dud. We didn't see the last five minutes to catch the BART early. But we kept track of the remainder of the game and the Jaguars came back to spoil the celebration.

Without question, this game was a tale of two halves and a microcosm of Jon Gruden's teams in his second stint. This team preaches 60 minutes of football. Yet, they only play 30 minutes of it. The first half was all Raiders. They did a good job that first quarter balancing the run and pass plays to keep Jacksonville's defense off balance. It was nice to have Josh Jacobs back this game as he carved up the Jags' run D. Darren Waller went off this game with 122 receiving yards. Jags' pass D was very susceptible to Tight Ends, which was perfect for Waller. The only lone touchdown on the Raiders was Derek Carr's pass to Tyrell Williams who proceeds to break away from his defender and take it in for a 40-yard TD. The Jaguars were able to get one big play off of Gardner Minshew for the first quarter. But, they were mostly held in check. Raiders added a triplet of field goals from Carlson to extend the lead to 3-16 at the half.

Then, the Jaguars proceeded to score 17 unanswered points. Derek Carr started feeling more pressure and felt the wrath of Sacksonville during the 2nd half. Penalties racked up. Carlson misses a field goal twice with the potential to put the Raiders up six and set up a potential game-winning field goal since the Jags scored with 31 seconds left in the game. As I said, a microcosm of Gruden's teams.

The playoff talk was already over with back-to-back blowout losses on the road. If there was any game they had to get, it was this one. This loss is pretty much a symbolism of the Raiders' ugly 2nd tenure in Oakland: four winning seasons in 24 years since their return. I was too young for three of those even though I vividly remember. This 2nd tenure has sucked. I feel sorry for all of Oakland fans because they had to put up with this for a while. Now the team is departing for Vegas and this is the
last memory we'll see of the Raiders in the Bay Area and all of Cali: letting us down one last time.

Despite the loss, it doesn't take away the fun I had earlier today talking with a lot of Raider fans, taking a look at the tailgate in the Coliseum parking lot one last time. Sure, Vegas has a shiny new stadium for Raider Nation waiting. But, the atmosphere in Oakland is something that Sin City will never replicate. I see a lot of posts on the notion that the Raiders will get better once they move to Vegas. It's not that simple. Relocation doesn't automatically reverse the fortunes of a franchise, especially of a team that has so many holes on the roster. That's where the Raiders are right now. I'm tired of Derek Carr. The organization has invested too much around him for him just to be a "deer in the headlights." Paul Guenther needs to go. Jon needs to bring his brother in to call plays. This organization has lost touch in reality. Despite the draft capital in the next two years, they'll be back in square one where they need to start paying these rookies big dollars in 4-5 years. We keep saying that the future is bright. The greatness of the Raiders is in its future right? So far it hasn't happened and one relocation won't automatically bring an immediate bright future. That's my rant for tonight. They still got two games left on the road. The road to Vegas starts here and the Raiders have their work cut out. I'll see you guys later.

Raiders Pummel Hapless Jags to Open Up Florida Road Trip

Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' Week 7 road matchup vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars where the Raiders remain perfect away from Oakland, soundly beating the Jaguars 33-16 to open up the two-game Florida road trip.

I know a win against the Jaguars does not gauge the barometer around this team after a loss against the Chiefs last week. But, like I said in the 2nd quarter, this was exactly how the Raiders should handle the Jaguars. The Jaguars are a weak team and the Raiders should be expected to beat them. And plus, we were expecting a game where the Raiders would put up a complete performance and not give us heart attacks. We got that wish here this game. The Raiders did a give up a touchdown when the game was out of reach, but advanced statistics show that the Raiders destroyed the Jags big time.

(+)

Defense. The defense still needs to do a little more maintenance check in terms of giving up big runs and big plays. There's no denying that. But I'd say this was more of their better games this season. They came out to play. There's absolutely no way that they should surrender over 400+ yards against a team with a weak O-line, no running game, and a quarterback who's known to turn the ball over. David Amerson and Reggie Nelson both had INTs. Khalil Mack had his 3rd sack of the season, could've had his 4th sack if Bortles didn't choose to shuffle pass the ball at the last minute. Still a lot of room to work with, but the defense played a lot better than the last 6 weeks. 

Latavius Murray, 18 carries, 59 yards, 2 TDs. I said it last week, we should all write to Tay Train and apologize because his presence was definitely missed in the running game the last two games. In this game, you could see the difference on the performance of the running game this week. On the Raiders' first touchdown drive, Carr barely threw the ball. They just ran it down the throat of the Jaguars' defense. Tay Train's return definitely gave the running game a boost.

Marquette King, 5 punts, 59.6 avg, 1 carry, 27 yards. I keep forgetting to put Marquette King on the positive list all season. His leg is such a luxury weapon. On the stats sheet, he pinned the Jaguars inside the 20 yard line 4 times. Of course you have the punt where the Jaguars' returner fumbled the ball to give the Raiders some good field position off the turnover. Blake Bortles and the Jags were getting bad field position to start because of King's leg. And yes, his 27 yard run off a botched snap was the best highlight of a 4th quarter penalty fest. He is a weapon.

Derek Carr, 22-36 passes, 190 yards, 1 TD. A solid bounceback game for Carr after a nightmarish game against Kansas City. Obviously, this game was tabbed as Carr vs. Bortles. Bortles may have dominated the stat sheet, but Carr got the win and managed the game well. He didn't have to be great. He made the necessary passes when needed. His long bomb to Michael Crabtree before the end of the 2nd quarter broke the backs of the Jaguars' defense. Accuracy, turnover-free, exactly the game Carr needed.

Michael Crabtree, 8 receptions, 96 yards, 1 TD. Jalen Ramsey was containing Coop all game long, leaving a lot of opportunities to Crab. What can I say at this point? Yes, he had a bad game last week, but he's the constant among this receiving corps. I've ran out of words on what to say about King Crab, he's terrific.

(-)

Big plays. Penalties are also a negative, but the refs felt like they needed more air time on T.V. This was the only legit negative that the Raiders had this game. Big run by Chris Ivory. Big catch and run by Marquise Lee. The defense still has some things that they need to clean up. They almost played like they did the last 6 weeks when they gave up such big plays to an atrocious Jaguars offense coordinated by Mr. Vanilla, run-up-the-middle Greg Olson. 

MVP

Marquette King, 5 punts, 59.6 avg., 1 rush, 27 yards

What a weapon to have on special teams! He pinned the Jags 4 times inside the 20 and is one of the major reasons why the Jags couldn't get much on offense. Really, we forget about his athleticism too. Just another day in the office.

Conclusion

Overall, much-needed bounceback game for the Raiders. And this is a game where they've proven they could beat a team that they should beat. And, I'd say this was a sound victory from the Oakland Raiders. They destroyed the Jaguars in literally every category and in all three phases of the ball: offense, defense, and special teams, especially on special teams. I'll admit I couldn't stop laughing that the Jaguars were getting awful field position. The Jaguars' returners were slipping out NSFW language when King was pinning them deep. It was great. And this was a great team win. Hopefully, this Florida retreat pays dividends to the chemistry and unity of this team. They get another favorable matchup against the Bucs in Tampa and the Bucs have to travel considering they're playing the Niners here in my hometown of Santa Clara. Perfect opportunity. The Raiders need to take care of the Bucs first before looking ahead to the Sunday Night game of epic proportions vs. the Denver Broncos. I'll see you guys next week for the Tampa Bay game.

*On another note: I will be posting my regular season preview for the Lakers' 2016-17 season as the NBA approaches. Stay tuned for that tonight.*

Week 7: Florida Road Trip - RAIDERS @ Jacksonville Jaguars 2nd Half Open Thread and Discussion

This the 2nd half open thread and discussion of the Raiders-Jags matchup. As usual, comment below the post on your thoughts on the game.

Q4

OAK 33 JAX 16

The end to a quarter that seemed like it lasted forever. You can thank the penalties for that. The run by Marquette King in this quarter, what a call. That could've spelled disaster, but King's athleticism is seriously underrated. The Raiders took the "take no prisoners" mentality to heart and decided to run up the score to make seem like this game is close as indicated on the scoreboard. But, we finally get that decisive win where all three phases dominated this game and definitely a great bounce-back win after a terrible loss to the Chiefs last week. More to come in the full recap.

Q3

OAK 23 JAX 9

To quote the late Dennis Green in a spin off quote: "the Jags are who we thought they were." They don't have a running game and the O-line is not great. The defense is doing a good job making Bortles one-dimensional. Like the Raiders' offense, pre-snap penalties, holding penalties, and dropped balls derail the Jags' offense. And this is leading to offensive coordinator Greg Olson to call conservative plays much to the dismay of the Jaguar fans. Oh, I feel their pain.

Week 7: Florida Road Trip - RAIDERS @ Jacksonville Jaguars 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

Welcome in to the first half open thread and discussion of the Raiders' Week 7 road matchup vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars. Comment below this blog post to share your thoughts on the game.

Q2

OAK 20 JAX 6

This is exactly how the Raiders should play against a beatable team on the road. The defense, despite giving up a big run by Chris Ivory and a big play by Marquise Lee (smh D.J. Hayden) has contained Bortles and the Jags' offense. The return of Latavius Murray has boosted the running game big time. On the Raiders' first touchdown, Derek Carr barely threw the ball! They mixed it up with Washington, Murray, and Olawale and it worked to perfection. This game should've been 28 to 6, but the first two Raiders drives were stalled, leading to a pair of field goals by Janikowski. Amari Cooper has not been mentioned. Credit to Jalen Ramsey. He's showing some shut down potential this game. The Jaguars have no answer and this is the time that the Raiders need put together a complete game. Blake Bortles does not show up until the game is pretty much out of reach and the Raiders need to take advantage of that heading into the 2nd half. There's still a lot of game left, so there's no reason to play conservative football. This is the time for the Raiders to show some killer instinct to gas out this Jaguars defense and make Bortles a turnover machine by applying pressure and solid coverage on pass plays. The 2nd half open thread will open up shortly.

Q1

OAK 3 JAX 0 

Talk about a slow start on both teams. But as of that quarter, the Raiders had the edge on that. 1st drive was definitely lackluster, but they've picked it up as the game went on. Blake Bortles and the Jags are a team known to turn the ball over a lot. Two turnovers so far, both from the defense with the INT in the end zone by Amerson and a muffed punt from Marquette King to put the Raiders in good field position. They gotta cash in and put this team on their heels early.