Oakland Raiders Film Room: Week 2 (HOU)

September 14, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99, right) tips the football while Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) attempts a throw during the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Texans defeated the Raiders 30-14. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The home opener Week Two loss to Houston was a disaster. Nothing could be more frustrating as a Raiders’ fan than to hear even future Hall of Fame CB Charles Woodson say it’s embarrassing. Oakland once again missed the presence of Nick Roach, as Miles Burris was about as much an obstruction to the Houston run game as the Red Sea was to Moses.

Last week we saw how the offensive play calling was primarily concentrated on fairly easy plays to help pump up rookie QB Derek Carr’s confidence and warm him up to NFL speed. The run game was pitiful, and passes focused mostly on short crossing routes and screens. The offensive line played poorly, constantly letting defenders gain too much penetration into the backfield, disrupting plays before they began. It was very difficult for Carr to do anything properly, even a quick screen pass with no drop back before the throw, before he was hounded by defenders.

This week saw the offense open up a little bit. Carr was given the opportunity to throw more passes deep, and Raiders’ fans got a chance to see the run game work, if only a minority of the time. Carr still struggled under pressure, but there was overall less of it this week with a bit of an upgraded performance in pass protection. What stood out for Carr against Houston was the massive disparity between his throws to the right side of the field versus his throws to the middle or left. On the right side he went 11 for 13 for 123 yards while the middle and left combined for a 16/28 for 124 yards. Zero interceptions to the right, one in the middle and one to the left.

Defensively, the middle of the field was wide open again and Houston took full advantage. Arian Foster had 28 carries for 138 yards and a TD. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry, making a large amount of his gains on zone running plays between the tackles. While it was nice to see Khalil Mack have an impressive game, the Raiders’ veteran pass rushers, Justin Tuck and Antonio Smith, were nowhere to be seen. Often the were found bullied right out of the way by Houston offensive linemen.

In the secondary, Oakland’s DBs struggled to defend passes against Houston WRs Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins. They weren’t majorly out of position very often, but couldn’t make the play. Of course, the few times they did, they fell victim to the NFL’s new emphasis on calling defensive holding and pass interference penalties. Major note though: Oakland safeties recorded 22 solo tackles, far more than another group. They were the primary defense against Houston’s run game.

Let’s get to the game film.