Skip to main content

Studs and Duds From Week 10

The Raiders really took it to the Chargers on Thursday night and came away with a seven-point victory in San Diego. The Raiders played well and a few players really stood out in a good way and a couple in a bad way. Special mention to the Raider Nation's Southern California division for making the game an extra home game for the Raiders.

STUDS

Kamerion Wimbley

An impressive performance by the Raiders franchise player. The Chargers backup tackle had no answer for Wimbley and the rest of the Raiders defensive line on Thursday. It's a big reason Phillip Rivers didn't look comfortable all night. The Raider Nation has been waiting for Wimbley's coming out party and they were blowing out birthday candle after that four sack performance.

Stanford Routt

If you wanted to be critical, he was unable to breakup the Vincent Brown touchdown grab. I saw was a heck of a catch and Stanford Routt clawing at the pass the whole way down. Just a superb play by the receiver to come down with it. The Raiders didn't something extremely unusual for them Thursday, they had Routt shadow Vincent Jackson. Routt responded by holding Jackson to just one catch.

Carson Palmer

Elite level play from a Raiders quarterback is something the Raider Nation hasn't seen since Rich Gannon wore a Raiders uniform. Palmer is getting better by the week and he torched the Chargers. Palmer also bailed out Hue Jackson for a suspect play call late in the game by stepping up in the pocket and moving to his right to find Kevin Boss for the long completion on third and long. He'll make Hue Jackson look pretty good if he keeps this going.

Denarius Moore

The spectacular catches are just part of why he has been so good. The kid is special and everyone knows it. Even a couple weeks worth of struggles with routes wasn't enough for Hue Jackson or Carson Palmer to lose confidence in him. Palmer targeted him repeatedly and that should continue.

Michael Bush

Made a strong case for someone to pay the man in the offseason. Will it be the Raiders? He had seemingly a trillion yards on Thursday and broke a team record for yardage gained since the merger. Pretty darn good.

DUDS

Khalif Barnes

For as good as the offensive line has played, Barnes is beginning to show that he is the crack in the armor. The Raiders may not have a suitable replacement yet, but they really need to start considering a switch before Barnes gets Palmer hurt.

Aaron Curry

He's perfectly fine or even good linebacker when the play is in front of him. This makes him particularly suited for the run game. The problem for Curry seems to be coverage. He repeatedly looks lost in coverage and Thursday was no exception. Opponents will continue to try to isolate Curry on a tight end or back in coverage until he does enough to merit the offense from going to an alternate option.

Darrius Heyward-Bey

He was on the field for every pass attempt and more snaps than any offensive player outside of Palmer. You would think Heyward-Bey would have been targeted by Palmer at least once. With Jacoby Ford's status for week 10 in doubt, Heyward-Bey will get opportunities. Palmer and Heyward-Bey need to figure each other out. All those snaps and no targets is a disappointment after such a promising start.

[table id=1 /]

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Oakland Raiders Swing for the Fences in 2016 NFL Draft

[embed align="center"]http://gty.im/153039819[/embed] These aren't your daddy's Oakland Raiders or even your younger self's Raiders. If anything, these are your newborn's Raiders or your puppy's Raiders. These are the Raiders we've never seen before. Indicative of the freshness of the franchise was their 2016 NFL Draft. No longer slave to a high draft pick and desperate needs, the theme of the draft for the Raiders was upside. It's as if general manager Reggie McKenzie got so used to hitting his draft picks out of the park that he started swinging for the fences. We'll have to wait a couple of years before we know if he struck out or if he'll continue his Ruthian ways. First, McKenzie boldly went with a safety at No. 14 overall. Kyle Joseph is coming off a torn ACL and fills a major need, but safety isn't a premium position. Only a handful of safeties have been drafted in the first 14 picks in the last 15 years and include names like Ea

The Raiders aren't who we thought they were....they're better

The Oakland Raiders are tired of being the team that will be good in a year or two. The team expects to win now and it is winning now. We thought the Raiders needed more talent. We thought that being in the playoff hunt was a year away for this team, but we were wrong. This isn't the team we thought they were, they're better. On Sunday, they moved to 3-3 on Sunday with a 37-29 win over the San Diego Chargers that wasn't close until the final minute. It was also the Raiders second road win of the season. The last time the Raiders had two road wins by their sixth game was 2011. Before that, a five-year streak from 1998-2002. The Raiders went 8-8 in 1998, 1999 and 2011 and narrowly missed the playoffs each year.  They made the playoffs in 2000, 2001 and 2002. They didn't have a losing record in any of those seasons because teams that can win on the road are usually pretty good. As the season matures, there is more and more evidence that some of the "best-case scenario

Looking Forward: Raiders 2012 Free Agents

Khalif Barnes - Weakest link on the offensive line with youth behind him. Raiders will look for for other options. It's not as if there aren't a dozen Khalif's on the street each year. Darryl Blackstock - Was a Chuck Bresnahan guy, but found a home on special teams. Would have to make the team as a reserve LB and special teams guy next training camp. Wouldn't be surprised to see him back as a camp body or gone entirely. Kyle Boller - Hue didn't have enough confidence to turn to Boller. Expect the Raiders to look elsewhere for a backup to Carson Palmer. Jerome Boyd - Was nothing more than a reserve and special teams player. Some good moments and some very bad ones. Camp body again and fate will depend on the defensive coordinator. Tyvon Branch - About the only consistent producer in the secondary. Raiders will want to bring him back. Desmond Bryant - He's been great in limited action and can play inside and out. Key reserve. Michael Bush - He'll find a home a