Raiders week 2 Ballers & Busters vs Broncos

After the Raiders second half collapse against the Rams www.oaklandraidersteamonline.com , it was off to Denver鈥here they had a second half collapse.There was some progress though. Or it would appear. This time they only blew a 12-point lead and managed to score once in the second half. So, the result was a crushing game-winning field goal instead of just getting routed as they did in the opener.In this one, it was a few plays that eluded them. The result was a late drive by the Broncos to kick the game winning field goal.BallersDerek Carr, Amari CooperThe opener was an out and out disaster for Carr. And part of that was getting the ball to Amari Cooper just once for nine yards. He turned it around in Denver and Coop was the top beneficiary of that, catching 10 passes on 10 targets for 116 yards.Really Coop should have had a touchdown as well, but at the end of the first drive, Carr didn’t see him wide open in the back of the end zone and instead checked down to Marshawn Lynch for a 4-yard loss, resulting in the Raiders settling for a field goal to open the game.A couple of three-and-out series in the first quarter plus missing an open Coop and it early on it was looking a lot like the opener, minus the opening drive touchdown. That all changed at the end of the first quarter.On first down, Carr found Coop for a 14-yard reception. Next play he found him again for 7 yards. Three more completions and Carr had started the game 10 of 10 for 90 yards and the Raiders added another field goal to go up 6-0.By half time, Carr was 18 of 19 for 158 yards and had driven the Raiders down field for a touchdown and a 12-0 lead. Though he had yet to convert a third down.On the Raiders first drive of the third quarter, he wouldn’t even need third down. That’s because Amari Cooper would break wide open for a 30-yard completion followed by a 20-yard completion. Two plays later, Carr threw the best looking pass he had all season on a rope to Seth Roberts up the seam for the touchdown from 20 yards out.After the Broncos scored for a second time in the third quarter to pull the score to 19-10, the Raiders started mounting another answer. It included the first third down conversion of the game on a 13-yard pass to Cooper. Then the second one on the same drive, again on a pass to Coop for four yards on third and two. A 7-yard completion to Coop would put the Raiders in third and 3. The Raiders ran the ball with Jalen Richard and couldn’t pick it up. In 4th and one from the 33-yard-line, it was decision time. Go back up 12 or try for more. They went for it and what should have been a first down was dropped by Keith Smith for a turnover on downs. The Broncos drove for a touchdown to pull within two at 19-17. A couple completions wouldn’t be enough because the last one was gained only 3 yards on a hot read on third and 8. That gave the Broncos enough time to drive for the game winner.Rashaan MelvinRegardless of what else was going wrong on defense, most notably the utter lack of pass rush, Melvin was lights out. In the first half, he had more catches than anyone in his coverage. On third and six with the Broncos down 6-0 at the Oakland 18-yard-line, Case Keenum threw for Demaryius Thomas in the end zone. Melvin picked off the pass at the goal line, stopping the Broncos best chance to score.The first play of the third quarter Melvin would give up his only catch in the game for 21 yards. In the fourth quarter alone Oakland Raiders T-Shirt , he had a QB hit on a blitz for an incompletion, tight coverage on an incompletion, and a pass defended.Marshawn LynchNow, before you go looking at Marshawn’s 3.6 yards per carry, you must also understand that not all short runs are created equal. For instance, his touchdown which was from one-yard out. Or his hard-fought one-yard run on third and one to give the Raiders a fresh set of downs and eat more clock on their final drive. Those runs were huge. If you remove them, his yards per carry jumps to 3.9 yards per carry, but you don’t have a touchdown and a crucial first down.Marshawn also had runs of 6 yards and 10 yards on the Raiders opening scoring drive, a long run called back by an unnecessary holding penalty from Seth Roberts on their second scoring drive, a 7-yard catch to set up his TD run off first and goal at the one, a 9-yard run to lead out their next touchdown drive, and an 8-yard run to lead out the following drive that ended on 4th and one.Honorable MentionKolton Miller – If this were just about pass protection, he would probably be a Baller. But his run blocking was atrocious, leading to at least 3 run stuffs at the line alone – a couple of which Shaq Barrett made him look ridiculous. He also gave up pressure on third down on the Raiders second drive that led to a three-and-out. But he settled down and overall, against a tough pass rushing team, he deserves a lot of credit for not giving up a sack.Arden Key – Another rookie with a laudible performance. He had a tackle for loss and a couple QB hits.Continue to the BallersTell the Truth: Victory! After four long weeks and the team adopting the true mantra of the Oakland Raiders, “It’s us against the world,” the Raiders earned their first win of the season. It wasn’t just about winning their first game of the season, but how. For the last four weeks pundits, experts, and prognosticators have been jumping down the throats of the quarterback Derek Carr Oakland Raiders Hats , safety Reggie Nelson, head coach Jon Gruden, and defensive coordinator Paul Guenther.Carr had been throwing interceptions in the red zone, missing open receivers (had Jordy Nelson open behind coverage), dinking and dunking without scoring, underthrowing and floating deep passes, and trying his best to get rid of the football in 1.9 seconds or less from the snap. Nelson (Reggie) has been the guy in the unenviable position of being roasted, toasted, and burnt to a crisp as the safety with deep responsibilities. Gruden has had his team looking like world beaters for 30 minutes then couldn’t make an adjustment to save their lives, or so it would appear. The man taking most of the heat has been Guenther. He’s had Gruden sit in on his meetings, been chastised for having Nelson’s back, fingers are being pointed at the defense’s 4th quarter collapse.Finding their will to winThe Raiders had every opportunity to quit. The fans were booing Carr from the stands, recently signed Matt McCrane was missing field goals from the dirt, rookie running back Nick Chubb rushed for 105 yards and 2 TD’s on three carries. Down two scores with 7:26 in the third quarter and it was starting to look and sound like the same old song. Carr and Marshawn Lynch took it upon themselves to re-write the ending.Lynch ran hard like a man possessed all game long. The Browns couldn’t stop him, they could barely slow him down. Lynch ran through faces over and over and over again, and the Browns couldn’t take it. As a matter of fact, Lynch ran so hard the refs early whistle cost him what could have been his longest touchdown run of the season. Lynch would finish with 130 yards on 20 carries, averaging 6.5 yards per carry with a long run of52 yards. The Gruden effect in plain sightCoach Gruden has made his hay working with quarterbacks. Raider Nation can be a fickle bunch at times, but Carr is on pace to have his greatest season to date and it’s only his first with his new coach and coordinator. If history repeats itself, once Carr settles down in the red zone, and begins to utilize his legs as a means to extend plays he can be in the MVP conversation.Carr’s efforts are largely going unappreciated due to the win-loss record (1-3) and his touchdown to interception ratio (6-7). Carr hasn’t been perfect and he himself has said multiple times that he has much to improve on. Carr has 16 Oakland Raiders Hoodie ,063 passing yards as a Raider, which is good enough for 4th in franchise history. Daryle ‘The Mad Bomber’ LaMonica is next in Carr’s path at 16,655. Rich ‘Loose Canon’ Gannon had 17,585, and the great Kenny ‘The Snake’ Stabler leads with 19,078 passing yards. Defense finds the turnover bootyGreetings from Conley (Gareon Conley) Island. In the first quarter and first possession for the Browns, Conley did his best to welcome Baker Mayfield to the NFL with a pick-six. The first interception of Conley’s career and the first pick six for the Raiders dating back some time. Free agent Jonathon Hankins recovered not one but two fumbles from his defensive interior position. Ever the Johnny-on-the-spot Hankins was the first defender to see Mayfield mishandle the snap exchange. Rookie Maurice Hurst Jr. was a force and got multiple pressures including a strip sack, tying him for the team lead (2.0 sacks) with Bruce Irvin. Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty ImagesLast but not least I have been a vocal proponent for never ever letting Nelson be left alone or in any deep safety coverage responsibility, but at the most pivotal time in the game when the defense needed a stop, Nelson came through clutch, just like coach Guenther has been saying he would. Final ThoughtsThis was a gut check performance from the Raiders. The Browns are no slouches and they are a better team with Mayfield under center than Tyrod Taylor. Mayfield was on time with his throws, precise with his ball placement and consistently hit his wide receivers in the hands. Many of the Raider Nation gave up on this team before the game was over. It was obvious in the amount of people trying to beat that Bay Area traffic in an effort to get home. How do you give up on a team with a quarterback who is fourth in passing yards, completions and completion percentage, and fifth in passing attempts? Maybe because in taking the chances many were clamoring for, he’s thrown more interceptions than usual. Carr does have the most in the league with seven.The fact is Carr and this offense are gelling now that they have a few games under their belts. This offense was largely absent during the preseason and it very well could have stunted their cohesion. In any case this offense is 2nd in the league in total yards, 15th in rushing, and 4th in passing yards and the team is miraculously tied for 14th with 29 total penalties.The record 1-3 wasn’t the start they were looking for but with the next seven weeks against teams that are still struggling to find themselves, they can get right in a heartbeat. So for now RaiderNation victory is yours and now we’re on to the Los Angeles Chargers.Follow Phil on twitter @PhilRobinsonNFL