Las Vegas Raiders podcast with Rich Perez: Carr benched looks to be finished with Raiders; Eagles express interest in quarterback

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) was feeling the pressure of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense all game long particularly the second half where the Raiders were shutout on Sat Dec 24, 2022 in Pittsburgh (AP News photo)

On the Raiders podcast with Rich Perez:

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels expressed his disappointment in the last two loses to the Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers both loses came in the last minute of the games. The Raiders in the second half of their game in Pittsburgh were completely shutout and quarterback Derek Carr could not get the ball moving.

On Wednesday McDaniels addressing the media said that Carr will be benched for the next two games and it was also reported that Carr will not even be in Allegiant Stadium suited up or otherwise for the games against the 49ers and Chiefs as the Raiders finish out their season in the next two weeks in Las Vegas.

Carr was not at practice on Wednesday and most likely he was told by McDaniels when he came to practice Wednesday morning that he would be benched and that he needed to clear out his locker his season was done. There had been talk that the Philadelphia Eagles who are looking for a starting quarterback are preparing to make a trade offer with the Raiders who earned over $22 million this season with the Raiders has three years left on his contract which the Eagles and Raiders might end up splitting.

Jarrett Stidham will be the Raiders new starting quarterback and Chase Garbers will be his back up. Stidham got a few snaps this season will see action against a powerful San Francisco 49ers defense whose pass rush is one of the most effective in pro football no doubt this will truly be a big test for Stidham and the Raiders offensive line trying to protect him.

The Raiders might express interest in Indianapolis Colts starting quarterback Matt Ryan if Stidham doesn’t pan out. Ryan will be a healthy scratch on Monday Night Football and will be replaced by Nick Foles. The Raiders might take a look at Ryan in the off season and he could be on the Raiders short list in finding a starting quarterback for 2023.

Rich Perez does the Raiders podcasts after every home and away game at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Fantasy Football Doctors Podcast for NFL Week 2: Let’s win your matchup!

Fantasy Football Doctors Vasu Vaddiparty & Charlie O have the advice you need to win your Week 2 fantasy matchup.

• Ben Roethlisberger may be a QB1 this Sunday vs. the Chiefs

• Veteran Alex Smith is finding new life in D.C.

• Sleeper? Patrick Mahomes

• What about Matt Ryan this week?

• You may want to keep Jared Goff on the bench!

• The doctors review the roster of tight ends who might impact your lineup

• Did Marshawn Lynch just go from the penthouse to the outhouse?

• The Dolphins WR Kenny Stills could be a strong starter for you this week

Push Play and get ready to win!

A written prescription for tonight’s game from the Fantasy Football Doctors

 

By doctors Charlie O. Mallonee, Vasu Vaddiparty and Jordan Chapin

Atlanta Falcons
QB
If you drafted Matt Ryan, you drafted him as a number one QB. Of course, you are going to start him versus the Eagles tonight. Just don’t have too high of expectations for his production. Most of the predictions have him passing for 230 to 240 yards with up to two TD’s. Expect approximately 20 completions.

RB
Devonta Freeman was a Top 10 pick in most Fantasy Leagues, so he’s starting for you tonight. Again, do not get too excited because the projections for his production are not great. Many have Freeman rushing for under 50 yards. The experts say chances of Freeman scoring a touchdown are minimal.

WR
Yes, you are going to start Julio Jones. If you don’t start him, we are going to make you turn in your Fantasy Football membership card. Again, the projections are not great. The prediction is for 75 yards receiving with an outside chance of catching a touchdown.

Philadelphia Eagles
QB
If you have Nick Foles as your starting QB tonight, it probably means you picked Carson Wentz hoping he would be ready to go tonight. Well, you are going to have to wait at least until game three for Wentz so Foles is your man until then. He is projected for 240 yards versus the Falcons with two touchdowns.

RB
Jay Ajayi will be the main man carrying the rock for the Eagles. Look for him to run for about 80 yards in the game.

TE
Zach Ertz was a fantasy football assassin in the second half of the season last yerar. If you have him on your roster, he is a must play.

Game Projections
FiveThirtyEight.com gives the Eagles a 65-percent chance of winning tonight’s game. They make Philadelphia the favorite -4.5 points.

The Fantasy Football Doctors Podcast will be available Friday afternoon on sportsradioservice.com

Raiders Instant Report Card: Raiders fall short in home opener to Falcons

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

AP photo: Oakland Raiders Derek Carr had his successes with three touchdown passes and 299 yards but the Raiders fell short to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at the Oakland Coliseum

OAKLAND, Calif — Well, I guess a 2-0 start for the first time since Oakland’s Super Bowl season of 2002 was not in the works for the Raiders after all Sunday.

On a day where the Oakland Coliseum was electric as ever with strong optimism from the sold out Raider Nation crowd, the Raiders couldn’t neutralize Matt Ryan and the Falcons, losing 35-28 to Atlanta in Oakland’s home opener in Week 2.

Checkout each unit’s grade following Oakland’s (1-1) home loss to the Falcons (1-1) below:

Quarterback (A) – For the second straight week, Oakland quarterback Derek Carr played a terrific game, completing 34 of 45 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns (all in the second half), with no interceptions.

With Oakland trailing Atlanta 13-7 in the third quarter, Carr engineered an 8-play, 81-yard drive in 3:43 and delivered a soft pass to a streaking Clive Walford for a 31-yard touchdown up the Raiders’ sideline that gave the Raiders a 14-13 lead.

It was one of Carr’s best throws of the day against a Falcons secondary that played aggressively all day.

After two games into the season, Carr has thrown for 618 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Running Backs (B) – For the time being, Oakland appears to be taking the “running back by committee” approach this season, given how no running back had more than eight carries on the day.

Starter Latavius Murray led the team with eight carries for 57 yards and a touchdown. Murray’s 1-yard score gave Oakland its first lead of the game, 7-3 early in the second quarter. Murray was also heavily involved in the passing game, finishing tied for the team lead with six catches and 44 yards Sunday.

Rookie running backs DeAndre Washington (six carries for 46 yards), and Jalen Richard (seven carries for 17 yards) continue to give Oakland the change of pace runners the team lacked last season.

Offensive line (B) – With Austin Howard starting in place of  right tackle Menelik Watson (groin), the offensive line surrender their first sack of the season, but kept Carr clean for the majority of the game.

After the offensive line racked up 167 yards on the ground against New Orleans in Week 1, Oakland finished with 155 yards against Atlanta Sunday.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends (B) – Carr looked for his tight ends early in the game to get the offense in rhythm, connecting on his first three passes to reserve tight end Lee Smith (who caught the first of the two), along with Walford.

Walford finished with six catches for 50 yards and a touchdown.

Amari Cooper led Oakland with 71 yards receiving on five catches, but could’ve had more if not for a questionable illegal touch pass call midway into the fourth quarter.

With Oakland trailing Atlanta 28-21 and facing a 3rd and two at their own 49-yard line, it appeared that Cooper was forced out of bounds by Falcons’ cornerback Desmond Trufant, came back on to the field and  took a Carr pass 51 yards for the tying touchdown.

Not the case.

By rule, Oakland loss the down, forcing 4th down which the Raiders didn’t convert after just gaining one yard on a hand off to Richard.

Cooper is still seeking his first touchdown of the season after two games, while fellow starting wide receiver Michael Crabtree (2-yard score) and Andre Holmes (6-yard score) hauled in their first touchdown catches of the season in the fourth quarter with Oakland rallying late.

With four catches on Sunday, Crabtree is tied for the team lead with Cooper with 11 catches. Crabtree totaled just 31 yards against the Falcons.

Rookie wide receiver Johnny Holton caught his first pass in the NFL, a four-yard catch in the second quarter.

Offensively through the first two games for the season, Oakland is leading the league in total yards per game (486.0) and rushing yards (167.0), second in points per game (35.0),and sixth in passing yards per game (319.0).

The offense can score points at will and rack up a chunk of yards, but the defense is having trouble stopping the opposition early, which could hinder Oakland’s chances of being a playoff team this season.

Defensively, Oakland is dead-last in total yards surrendered per game (507.0) and passing yards (419.0), and second-to-last in points (34.0). Surprisingly, Oakland is 10th in rushing yards against per game (88.0).

But the defense got trashed again Sunday, allowing 528 total yards to the Falcons. Oakland has given up 500+ yards of total offense in back-to-back weeks, which is outright unacceptable for any defense to allow that type of production.

Defensive Line (C) – Atlanta’s strong running game took advantage of some holes in Oakland’s defensive front, rushing for 139 yards. Starting running back Devonta Freeman rush for 93 yards on 17 carries for Atlanta.

Backup defensive tackle Stacy McGee recorded Oakland’s lone sack of the game, while defensive end Khalil Mack had another tough Sunday handling double teams and chip blocks from Falcons tight ends and running backs.

Linebackers (B-) – Starting outside linebacker Malcolm Smith, who took over calling the defensive plays for the defense from middle linebacker Ben Heeney after the defense was shredded by New Orleans for 507 total yards last week, finished with five tackles.

Heeney, led all linebackers in tackles with six. You could see that Heeney played looser Sunday without having to call the plays on defense.

Secondary (C+) – The secondary didn’t get blown up for 423 passing yards, four touchdowns (one going for 98 yards) as Saints quarterback Drew Brees piled up in Week 1, but it did allow 396 yards and three touchdowns to another NFC South quarterback in Matt Ryan.

Ryan completed 26 of 34 passes, but did throw an interception to cornerback David Amerson in the end zone after trying to hit his tight end Jacob Tamme on a post route in the third quarter with Oakland up, 14-13.

The nine-year veteran from Boston College shrugged off the interception and found Tamme on the Falcons’ next drive for a 14-yard touchdown that gave Atlanta a 19-14 lead before converting a two-point conversion that made the score 21-14.

Julio Jones, the Falcons’ all-world wide receiver who was battling an ankle injury during the week, caught five balls for 106 yards and a touchdown.

Jones capped off a 10-play, 76-yard drive with a 21-yard score in the second quarter that gave Atlanta a 10-7 lead.

Jones’s 48-yard reception where he beat safety Reggie Nelson (finished with a team-high 10 tackles) over the middle, and his 20-yard catch and run past cornerback Sean Smith in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference-makers for Atlanta closing out the game.

Raider Nation will have to wait until Oct. 9  (Week 5) to see their football team, as the Silver & Black will be on the road for the next two weeks, traveling to Nashville to face the Titans (1-1) and to Baltimore to play the Ravens (1-1).

 

 

Oakland Raiders-Atlanta Falcons preview: Raiders look for first 2-0 start since ’02; host Falcons in Week 2

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

AP file photo: Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) looks for some daylight as he’s pass rushed by the New Orleans Saints Paul Kruger (99) during last Sunday’s game at the Superdome in New Orleans

OAKLAND, Calif — The Raiders opened up the NFL season in dramatic fashion, knocking off the Saints 35-34 in New Orleans last Sunday and have been one of the trendiest sports topics for the week, thanks in large part to the two-point conversion that head coach Jack Del Rio dialed up for quarterback Derek Carr and wide receiver Michael Crabtree.

But the NFL is a week-to-week league and Oakland (1-0) will face another NFC South opponent when they host the Atlanta Falcons (0-1) at Oakland Coliseum Sunday in what should be a sellout for Raider Nation.

Kickoff is at 1:25 p.m. PDT.

Carr finished the game 24 of 38 for 319 yards passing and one touchdown, including the two-point conversion to Crabtree with 52 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Carr’s clutch throw to Crabtree  earned Carr the Castrol Edge Clutch Performer of the Week, for Week 1 as announced by the NFL Friday.

“Everyone on this team is so confident in what we can do,” Carr said after practice Wednesday at the team’s training facility in Alameda. “It’s not arrogant, it’s not that we think we’re better than anybody. We respect every team that we play. At the same time, we know the work we’ve put in. We know how to compete.”

Carr drove the Raiders 75 yards in 11 plays, capping off the game-winning drive with a 10-yard touchdown to wide receiver Seth Roberts.

Crabtree finished with seven catches for 87 yards, while his fellow wide receiver Amari Cooper finished with six catches and led the team with 137 yards receiving.

Oakland’s running game was in good hands with starting running back Latavius Murray (14 carries, 59 yards, one touchdown) and rookies DeAndre Washington (five carries and 14 yards), and Jalen Richard (three carries and 84 yards).

Richard’s 75-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was a huge turning point for Oakland in the game.

Oakland’s defense seemed to be  heading in the right direction in the first quarter, when newly signed outside linebacker Bruce Irvin sacked Saints quarterback Drew Brees forcing a fumble that was recovered by rookie defensive tackle Jihad Ward inside Saints’ territory.

The Raiders converted that turnover into a Sebastian Janikowski 47-yard field goal, but that was the only pressure that Brees felt all day from an absent pass rush that saw star defensive end Khalil Mack facing countless double-teams and chip blocks from tight ends and running backs.

But the secondary took a beating from Drew Brees and Co., giving up a total of 507 yards of offense. Brees completed 28 of 42 passes for 423 yards and four touchdowns.

High-priced free agent cornerback Sean Smith had a day that he wanted to forget, giving up huge plays in the passing game, most notably the 98-yard touchdown pass that speedy wide receiver Brandin Cooks caught that gave New Orleans a 24-10 lead in the third quarter.

Smith was benched in favor of former first-round draft pick D.J. Hayden after giving up the touchdown to Cooks.

Cooks finished the game with six catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns, but fellow wide receiver Willie Sneed gave Oakland fits also, burning the Raiders for 172 yards on nine catches and one touchdown.

Defensive coordinator Ken Norton and the defense are going to face another high passing attack in the Falcons, led by quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Julio Jones and Mohammed Sanu. Atlanta’s passing offense can feast on a Raiders’ secondary if they miss assignments.

Atlanta is traveling to the West Coast after dropping their home opener last week to Tampa Bay, 31-24.

Ryan finished 27 of 39 for 334 yards and two touchdowns, while Sanu finished with five catches for 80 yards and a touchdown, and Jones hauled in four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown.

Jones has been dealing with an ankle injury and has been limited in practice for much of the week, but should be ready to go Sunday.

The six-year wide receiver from Alabama finished in 2015 tied with Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown for the league lead in receptions (136) and edged Brown for the league lead in receiving yards (1,871 to Brown’s 1,834) is still one of the premier wide receivers in the league even at less than 100%.

“I’ve played through things,” Jones said earlier in the week via CBS Sports. “It’s nothing that’s going to hold me back from going out there and producing or doing what I do.”

Atlanta’s running game has the potential to have a big day against Oakland, after just rushing for 52 yards Sunday against Tampa Bay, 10 by Ryan.

Starting running back Devonta Freeman (11 carries and 20 yards) and fellow running buddy Tevin Coleman (eight carries and 22 yards) are looking for bounce back games after facing a stingy Buccaneers defense that yielded  just three yards per carry to Atlanta.

Atlanta is looking to avoid an 0-2 hole after starting last season 6-1, before derailing to an 8-8 finish and missing the playoffs for the third straight season.

The Falcons defeated Oakland 23-20 in the last meeting between the two teams on Oct. 14, 2012 behind a Matt Bryant 55-yard field goal with one second left in the fourth quarter.

Starting off the season 2-0 for the Raiders would be a confidence booster for a team that hasn’t seen a 2-0 start since 2002, the year the team reached the Super Bowl.

Winning exudes confidence and with Carr, who finished with 3,987 yards passing and 32 touchdowns in 2015 already off to a promising start to 2016, the Raiders may have the makings of a special team.