Oakland Raiders: Nothing to be worried about yet

Aug 8, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon (31) rushes into Oakland Raiders cornerback T.J. Carrie (38) in the second quarter at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Defense

I was very impressed with the defensive line as well while we focus on positives from Friday.  They were pushing the opposing OL backward and getting pressure on the QB. LaMarr Woodley looks like a renewed player, as he was causing a lot of problems for the Minnesota Vikings early and often.  Justin Tuck almost had two sacks.  Still, the most impressive players on the DL for me were rookie Shelby Harris, rookie Justin Ellis (before he got a concussion), Torell Troup, Ryan Robinson, and Ricky Lumpkin. Granted they played longer than most of the others, but they will all be strong backups to the first stringer based on their play during the time that both teams were playing their depth guys.

For the most part, the linebacker play was a bit sloppy.  Still, Sio Moore, Miles Burris, Carlos Fields, Kaelin Burnett, and Justin Cole all had a very solid performance individually during a six sack night for the Raiders defense. Khalil Mack seemed to get caught up in the moment too much, but towards the end of his time on the field he started to find his feet.  This will all be cleaned up this coming week if defensive coordinator Jason Tarver and head coach Dennis allen have their say and make the correct adjustments.

Unfortunately, the first team secondary looked kind of lost out there.  Tarell Brown struggled early and often, and Carlos Rogers was easily fooled a couple of times. Once they got off the field though, the secondary play improved ten fold.  Chimdi Chekwa and T.J. Carrie looked very impressive in their performances.  They handled their assignments very well, and they closed on the running plays quickly. Both are above average tacklers.  If this keeps up, these two will be the first

Another impressive outing came from someone that I didn’t think would make himself known, Jansen Watson.  He nearly picked off two passes, and in the next three games I will be keeping an eye on him.  The safeties didn’t have a very good outing. I expected to see an interception from this group, but they weren’t putting themselves in position. Jonathan Dowling had the best performance, but that was only due to his ability to read the run play and stuff it.