Oakland visit New York for Season Opener

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Finally the preseason is over and now the wins and loses will count for each team on their quest to be one of the final two teams to play in Super Bowl XLVIX  in February out in Glendale, AZ  for the Lombardi Trophy.

The Oakland Raiders hope to be one of those two teams, but will need to break an 11-year playoff drought first in order to make that happen which begins Sunday in New York against the Jets in Week 1.

Oakland finished the preseason 2-2, and had glimpses of a quarterback controversy with backups Matt McGloin and Derek Carr playing well at times in place of projected starter, Matt Schaub. Carr will the first rookie quarterback in team history to make his first start in Week 1.

Well there is no quarterback controversy as FOX Sports NFL Insider Jay Glazer reported Monday that Raiders Head Coach Dennis Allen named Carr the starter ahead of Schaub for Sunday’s tilt in the Big Apple.

“Not an indictment on Matt Schaub, Derek Carr is mature beyond his years,” coach Dennis Allen said after Monday’s practice. “We feel very comfortable with him helping us win football games. … Derek is the starting quarterback.”

Schaub, who was battling parts of training camp with elbow tendinitis in his throwing elbow, didn’t play like a starting quarterback in his three starts, throwing for 218 yards, no touchdowns and one interception on 24-of-47 passes. The former Houston Texans quarterback is trying to resurrect his career in Oakland, after a disastrous 2013 season for the 2-14 Texans.

“Matt is disappointed but he has handled it like a pro,” Allen said. “Derek has grown [by] leaps and bounds…He is ready to accept the challenge.”

In three preseason games (missed one due to a rib/concussion injury), Carr finished 30-of-45 for 326 yards passing, four touchdowns and one interception, with a 108.2 QB rating. In his start  against Seattle in the preseason finale at home, Carr looked like a seasoned veteran, taking command of the Raider’s first-team offense on two touchdown drives against the vaunted Sehawks first-team defense.

With the help of what should be a promising running attack with the tandem of Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden, Carr should not feel pressured into trying to win the game on his own. Both MJD and McFadden played sparingly during preseason, and look healthy to shoulder the load on the ground.

Defensively, Oakland made several key free agent acquisitions, most notably with an influx of veteran leadership with the signings of defensive end Justin Tuck, linebacker LaMarr Woodley, and cornerbacks Carlos Rogers and Terrell Brown. Oakland is counting on those guys to help improve an Oakland defense that finished 22nd  in total defense in the league last season.

The Jets, who finished the preseason 2-2, are led by second-year quarterback Geno Smith.

Smith, who started all 16 games last season as a rookie, threw 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions (fourth-most in the league), but did finish with 3,046 yards passing.

New York is banking on the five-year $36.25 million contract they gave former Denver Broncos wide receiver Eric Decker to help the former West Virginia Mountaineer improve on those numbers, and end a three-year playoff absence for New York.

Second-year defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson is the force behind a vastly improved Jets 3-4 defense that ranked 11th in total defense in 2013.

Richardson is the key to the Jets defense, enabling defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson to get after the quarterback.

Wilkerson finished with a career-high 10.5 sacks last year and could make Carr’s first career regular season start a tough one as Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan loves to blitz and give multiple defensive looks to opposing quarterbacks.

If Carr continues to grow and show the confidence that he’s exhibited during the preseason and play mistake-free football, Oakland has a great chance of leaving New York with a win.

 

 

 

 

 

NFC North again? Oakland welcomes Detroit in preseason home opener.

By. Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — With two rough and tough practices with the Dallas Cowboys under their belts where tempers were hotter than the Oxnard sun that both teams practiced under this week, the Raiders will try to keep that same intensity when they host their first preseason game at O.co Coliseum Friday night against the visiting Detroit Lions.

It will be the second consecutive time Oakland will face a team from the NFC North as the Raiders fell to the Minnesota Vikings, 10-6, in Minneapolis last Friday.

The first-team offense was anemic early with anointed starter Matt Schaub at one point, finding themselves down 10-0. Schaub finished 3-of-7 for 21 yards, but was plagued by three dropped passes that could’ve turned into first downs.

Matt McGloin played well with the second-team offense, finishing with a team-high11-of-18 for 90 yards and a 10-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that pulled Oakland within a score.

“I thought our guys came back and fought. I thought late in the game we were able to move the ball a little bit…I thought at times we could run the ball pretty well,” said Raiders head coach Dennis Allen after the game. “There are some positives there that we can take and continue to work with but obviously we have a long, long way to go as a football team to be the type of team that we want to be, but I’m sure our guys are going to continue to work.”

Derek Carr, the Raiders second round draft pick, finished 10-of-16 for 74 yards and an interception.

Darren McFadden finished with one carry on a nice 23 yard-burst in the first quarter, while Maurice Jones-Drew had 10 yards on two carries (he had a 7-yard run called back due to a penalty).

Overall, Oakland outgained the Vikings, 268-236 in total yards.

Defensively, Oakland looked sound, finishing with six sacks. Defensive tackle Pat Sims recorded a sack on the first drive of the game.

The Lions (1-0) are coming off a 13-12 home victory over the Cleveland Browns to kickoff their preseason schedule.

Detroit backup quarterback Kellen Moore threw for 121 yard on11-of-13 passing, including the game-winning touchdown from 21-yards out to wide receiver Corey Fuller with 1:05 remaining in the fourth quarter.

On the defensive side of the ball for Detroit, safety Isa Abdul-Quddus and linebacker George Johnson had great showings, combining for six tackles, a forced fumble, and an interception.

After Friday’s game, Oakland will continue their through the NFC North when they will travel to Green Bay for their third preseason game against the Packers.

McGloin leads Raiders to victory

By Jeremy Kahn

With Terrelle Pryor out with a knee injury, Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen was forced to go with undrafted free agent Matt McGloin.

In his first NFL start, McGloin threw three touchdowns, as the Raiders defeated the Houston Texans 28-23 at Reliant Stadium.

McGloin went 18-for-32 for 197 yards, as the Raiders scored their most points in a game this season.

Things did get dicey in the waning moments of the game, as the Texans were able drive all the way down the field to the Raiders’ eight-yard line; however Matt Schaub was unable to get the Texans into the end zone on fourth-and-goal, giving the Raiders the win.

Schaub came on to replace Case Keenum in the third quarter, but was unable to put an end to the Texans five-game losing streak.

Rashad Jennings, who is getting playing time due to the injury of Darren McFadden made the most of his additional playing time as the number one running back.

Jennings took a direct snap out of the Wildcat and scampered 80 yards to give the Raiders a 28-17 lead in the third quarter.

Mychal Rivera was on the receiving end of what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown, as he caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from McGloin with just over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.

McGloin got the Raiders on the board in the first quarter, as he found Denarius Moore for a five-yard touchdown pass to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead.

Just less than six minutes later, McGloin threw his second touchdown of the quarter, as he found Rod Streeter for a 16-yard touchdown to give the visitors a two-touchdown lead.

Unfortunately, that lead would eventually disappear, as Keenum led the Texans back into the game.

Keenum found Garrett Graham for a 42-yard touchdown pass to cut the Raiders lead in half in the second quarter.

Keshawn Martin took a Marquette King punt on the 13-yard line and took 87 yards to the end zone to tie up the game with 2:54 remaining in the third quarter.

Randy Bullock then gave the Texans their first lead of the game, as he nailed a 52-yard field goal with under a minute to go in the third quarter.