Even though the Raiders lost, I was very happy with how the starters played. Offensively, the Offensive Line held up very well and provided Campbell lots of time to throw. Even though the Cardinals don't have any premier pass rushers, the Raider's uncertainty in the O-line is less worrisome after seeing them hold their own in real game situations. There were some noticeable holes in our secondary after the starters left and the youngsters back there need to improve. Overall, how the starters play is what is most important, and I feel the Raider starters outplayed the Cardinal starters.
I will note some positives and negatives I took away from the game.
Positives:
+ QB Trent Edwards isn't the Raiders starter, but he sure played like it. I was more impressed with Edwards than I was with Campbell. Edwards looked confident, and consistently made quick decisions throwing to the correct receiver in between zones. His biggest play was a beautiful touch pass to rookie TE David Ausberry in the corner of the endzone for a TD. Edwards was 10-19 for 140 yds and 1 TD.
+ Starting QB Jason Campbell was 6-9 for 66 yds on his passes, but I would like to see him make his reads a little quicker. He looked fairly comfortable in the pocket last night and threw a few nice balls.
+ WR Darrius Heyward-Bey caught a pass?? He actually looked somewhat polished on his routes and caught the ball with his HANDS!
+ WR DENARIUS MOORE. This kid is gonna be a superstar and you heard it here first! He's got speed, elusiveness, heart, hops, can catch, and has swagger! He had 3 catches for 37 yards and looked amazing out there (no homo).
+ Our defensive line got tons of pressure on Cardinals QB Kevin Kolb, who was 1-4 for 2 yds when the starters were in.
+ FS Michael Huff, CB Stanford Routt, and CB Chris Johnson looked solid for the limited time they were on the field. Huff got a sack and neither CB allowed a reception.
+ Veteran RB Micheal Bennett: Not sure if he'll make the final roster but he's showing he's still got it.
Negatives:
- CB Walter McFadden (#22) was AWFUL. If he doesn't improve his play, I honestly expect him to be cut from the team. He was constantly burned for big plays and should've gotten called for 2 Pass Interferences that weren't called.
- Our O-line didn't open up any huge holes in the running game, I expected a little better but it's only the 1st preseason game so I'm not too worried.
- OLB Quentin Groves isn't an NFL starter, we need to replace him asap or just wait til next season to improve our D against the run.
- RB Louis Rankin did not play well which is weird because he has played pretty well in the past few pre-seasons for the Raiders. He fumbled on a crucial play and had a low "yards per carry."
- Rookie CB Demarcus Van Dyke didn't play that bad because even though he gave up a long catch, he covered Pro Bowl WR Larry Fitzgerald pretty well. However, outside of coverage he is way too skinny. He needs to hit the weight room hard or else he won't be able to tackle anyone in the NFL.
- RT Khalif Barnes was the only starter who played awful. He was called for 3 false starts and killed a few drives with his dumb play. Hopefully rookie RT Joe Barksdale will be ready to start there by Week 1.
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