“The happiest person on the block is Josh Jacobs. i know that. – Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr on the team’s offensive system under new head coach Josh McDaniels
HENDERSON, NV — Josh McDaniels has landed in Las Vegas with a reputation elite A playcaller, someone who relies heavily on a roster of running backs is as big as he is versatile in his skill sets.
Power supports? check.
Backs pass? Check again.
Pass blocking backs? Triple check.
In fact, with seven players and a linebacker on the training camp roster, it could well be a problem for McDaniels when it comes to being demoted to the 53-man preliminary roster.
“It’s interesting,” McDaniels said this week when asked about the depth and variety of the running backroom. “There are some youngsters who are learning but who play really hard and try really hard. We have some guys who are kind of versatile in what they do and give. We’ve tried to give them all different opportunities here in the first few games to try and do some of these things.”
Case in point: the (relatively) heavy workload of Jacobs, a Pro Bowler in 2020 and presumptive freshman this season, has been in the Hall of Fame Game. Jacobs started and had seven touchdowns (five carries for 30 yards and two catches for 14 yards) on the first two series that raised eyebrows.
Or Kenyan veteran Drake, who returned from a fractured right ankle, and saw significant time in both preseason games.
“I mean, the proof is in the pudding,” said Drake, who carried the ball nine times for 24 yards while catching two passes for 17 yards combined, after the Raiders beat the Minnesota Vikings in the second preseason game.
“You see everyone on the field is productive, playing in every situation – from four minutes for Britain [Brown] We finished it to the full-back set we had, Zamir and I [White] The first half, and then, obviously, not to mention [two] Other players who haven’t played who will make a huge impact on this team, so the sky’s the limit for this room. I feel like we’re going to be the beating heart of this team and we’re going to, every game, go out and be the engine.”
With two plays, Austin Walter rushed for a team-high 79 yards with a TD and caught a 3-yard pass, while White, a fourth-round pick from Georgia, rushed for 65 yards on 16 carries and is tied for the team lead with five catches for 27 yards.
Brown, a UCLA seventh-round pick, rushed 54 yards and had a score of 14 carries and caught 2 passes, while Amir Abdullah has 7 rushing yards and a TD (his high low kick followed by a swirling punt). The end zone celebration was a nod to the video game. “Tekken” while also being the inspiration for the kids in “Cobra Kai”) and also has two catches for 23 yards.
Interestingly, neither of the two linebackers who came from McDaniels’ old ballparks, the New England Patriots, played in the preseason – linebacker Brandon Bolden and linebacker Jacob Johnson.
How far can you really get two new system pre-matches?
Well, it’s been a fairly balanced offensive offense so far, with the Raiders passing for a combined 322 yards on 59 attempts and rushing for 299 yards on 72 carries.
All eight defensemen survived the first round of cuts, from 90 players to 85, this week. The Raiders must be down to 80 players by Tuesday, three days after the exhibition at the Miami Dolphins (7 p.m. ET, Saturday).
“You just take it one day at a time,” said Abdullah, who is in his first camp with the Raiders after spending seven seasons with the Detroit Lions, Vikings and Carolina Panthers. “That’s what my dad always said to me – you can’t live too much in the future, it breeds anxiety. You can’t live too much in the past, it breeds depression. Just staying in the present. Keeping whatever is right in front of you, which you can control.”
So how many appearances would McDaniels hold on to that 53-man preliminary roster?
He had as many as five in New England. If that’s the case, who might be the odd man out between Jacobs, Drake, Bolden, White, Abdullah, and Johnson? Drake’s cut will pay him $8 million.
As Jacobs said, the competition was “amazing” at camp.
“I mean, it’s fun, man,” said Jacobs, who is playing for a new contract after not being selected for a fifth year. McDaniels downplayed theories that Las Vegas was offering Jacobs to the Canton trade.
“I am a firm believer in having a group of men ready to compete. I believe that iron sharpens iron, [so] Just to be around them guys who like to work every single day that’s as good or better in certain areas, and to be able to compete with them was fun. To be able to come in, to be a vet now, to be with rookies and to be able to pass that knowledge on with them, that’s what the game is about, that’s what the game is about.”
And as McDaniels said, he really likes this set of linebackers, and the way Kennedy coaches Polamalu.
“I’ve always been a firm believer in having as many good defenders as possible on your team because as I said before, they get the ball more than anyone else … other than the quarterback, and usually they’re taking hits and calling when they get it.” “So there is a chance of cuts, bumps, bruises and injuries. You never want to get caught in that area.
“I like what they’re doing. They push each other, they help each other, they work hard together. We have a lot of maturity in that room that’s still trying to attract guys, especially young guys.”