What We Saw: Every Game From Preseason Week 2

Raiders vs Cardinals

 

Oakland Raiders

 

Quarterback

• Mike Glennon: 11/14, 175 yards, 2 TD
• Nathan Peterman: 8/8, 41 yards 
• Derek Carr: 2/2, 40 yards, 1 TD

Derek Carr was sharp with his throws, showing off the ability to put touch on a pass and hit a streaking receiver. The most impressive aspect of the offense was the coaching schemes and game planning. The offensive calls created multiple opportunities for receivers to run free of defenders and utilize their abilities to run after the catch. There were several plays were offensive players were used as decoys to free up a specific target for a catch and a sizable gain of yards. Carr’s first pass was floated perfectly to Williams and allowed him to dominate his defenders with his size. The touchdown that Carr threw to Grant was accurate and allowed him to stay in-bounds after out-racing his defenders into the endzone. Mike Glennon looked good working within the play design. He was able to hit receivers when they beat their defenders to get open and looked comfortable working within the play design. 

 

Running Back

• James Butler: 8 carries, 32 yards 
• Mack Brown: 8 carries, 27 yards, 1 TD
• Josh Jacobs: 4 carries, 21 yards 

Josh Jacobs started out the game running strong. He had five and a half yards on his first carry of the game and showed off a lot of vision and power. On his second carry, he displayed a nasty cutback to get a first down and leave defenders in his wake. His third carry was just as impressive for a consecutive positive game. Jacobs showed off an innate running ability, power, vision, and the ability to be a lead back in the NFL. He should be looking forward to a productive and impactful rookie season. Mack Brown also looked to work well within the blocking schemes highlighted by a touchdown run. The Raiders showed off a physical offensive line matched with designed running plays to hit holes with power. 

 

Wide Receiver/ Tight End

• Rico Gafford: 1 reception, 53 yards, 1 TD
• Keelan Doss: 5 receptions, 38 yards
• Hunter Renfrow: 2 receptions, 26 yards 
• Ryan Grant: 1 reception, 13 yards, 1 TD

The biggest takeaway from the Raiders passing game was their superior play design. There were multiple times throughout the game when receivers were running free of defenders able to make an impact after the ball was in their hands. The ball was spread around with efficiency hitting whoever was open regardless of the quarterback throwing the passes. Gruden has certainly made a massive impact on the offense and the play calls that would provide a large amount of optimism for the regular season. 

 

Arizona Cardinals 

 

Quarterback

• Brett Hundley: 10/15, 139 yards, 1 TD, 3 carries, 26 yards 
• Drew Anderson: 6/9, 59 yards, 1 TD
• Kyler Murray: 3/8, 12 yards, 1 rush 4 yards

Murray was somewhat impressive behind an offensive line that blocked poorly. He consistently made a defender miss and created space to get a throw off while under pressure. On his one run of the night, he was able to get out of the grasp of a defender and turn the ball upfield for a short gain. Murray worked well-running zone-read plays and was able to take advantage of over-aggressive defenders. He had to suffer through multiple penalties called on his offensive line and poor blocking throughout the night. He did have a few overthrows during his time on the field. The most notable was a throw that was put out too far in front of a streaming Christian Kirk, who would have been able to do a lot of damage had the pass been on target. If the blocking in front of Murray improves he looks to have the ability to do some damage through the air. In contrast, Hundley had several on-target throws throughout the evening, highlighted by his touchdown to Trent Sherfield. He should have the backup quarterback spot locked up securely at this point. 

 

Running Back

• T.J. Logan: 5 carries, 15 yards 
• Wes Hills: 2 carries, 14 yards, 1 reception, 6 yards
• David Johnson: 4 carries, 6 yards, 1 reception, -3 yards

The running backs as a unit faced the same offensive line deficiencies as the quarterback. On nearly every handoff, the running backs were tasked with making a defender miss in the backfield and creating yardage on their own. For the majority of the night, there were minimal lanes to run through and defenders directly in running lanes to shut down runs before they began. The run blocking will have to improve if David Johnson hopes to make more of an impact under Kliff Kingsbury’s first year. If that fails to materialize, he will be tasked with creating space solely on his own and while running directly into defenders. Wes Hills looked like the most competent backup running back, fighting through tackles and fighting for positive yardage. 

 

Wide Receiver/ Tight End

• Andy Isabella: 1 reception, 59 yards, 1 TD
• Pharoh Cooper: 3 receptions, 40 yards 
• Trent Sherfield: 1 reception, 40 yards, 1 TD
• Caleb Wilson: 3 receptions, 23 yards, 1 TD
• KeeSean Johnson: 3 receptions, 23 yards

The receivers for the Cardinals were often asked to run short routes amid poor pass protection for their quarterbacks. The most impressive catch of the night would go to rookie Andy Isabella. He was able to locate the ball among tight pass coverage, make the catch, and take it to the house. Trent Sherfield also continued to impress, snagging another impressive touchdown with a toe tap into the endzone. Tight end Caleb Wilson was also able to break into the endzone to close out the game with a touchdown. Unless the Cardinals get a big boost to their pass protection it looks like they may be struggling to run Kingsbury’s air raid offense as he imagines it.

 — Ben Davidowitz