Oakland Raiders Week 8 Stats Breakdown and Awards
Nov 1, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Taiwan Jones (22) runs the ball against the New York Jets in the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Jets 34-20. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Offensive Standouts (per PFF)
If you’ve never looked at a Pro Football Focus grade of a player, here’s the simplest way to describe it. If a player grade is highlighted in green, then the player had a very good game, highlighted in red means the player had a very poor game, and if the grade is white, then they had an average game. This week the offense had nine players with grades highlighted in green, and only three in Red, indicating that overall the offense had an outstanding day.
Here are the top standouts on offense, per ProFootballFocus.
Gabe Jackson: The second-year guard is having a pro bowl caliber year, he seems to be at the top of his position week in and week out. Against the Jets he posted a +4 overall grade. Making him the highest rated offensive player, second overall on the team (to someone I’ll talk about later, but it’s no surprise who is at number one) and 5th in the league among Left Guards.
Jackson’s +2.9 grade in Run Blocking is a great number against a top tier Jets run defense is the most impressive stat line to me. The Jets run defense was considered so tough that just one week prior the Patriots didn’t want anything to do with, only rushing a handful of times in order to avoid the subject alogether.
Latavius Murray: Murray posted a very solid +2.3 overall rating against the Jets, serving as the primary back taking 20 attempts for 113 yards he is the only player with a positive rating in the Rushing category with +1.7. Murray had an overall great day, causing 4 missed tackles and getting 60+ yards after contact, meaning he’s playing hard and fighting through tackles.
Murray’s performance was good for 3rd among all Half Backs in the NFL week 8. Only Marshawn Lynch, and LeGarrett Blount scored higher in the Rushing, but overall Murray had higher grades than both players, indicating that he had a more well-rounded game by contributing in the pass game, as well as a positive grade in Blocking (+.3 grade in each category).
Taiwan Jones: With an overall score of +2.2 Jones contributed in a complimentary manor to Murray. While Murray was 3rd overall in Rushing, Jones was 3rd overall in the pass game with a +1.4 grade.
Jones is one of the last of the players that Al Davis picked before he passed. Jones is fast…really fast, versatile, and willing to work had at any position in order to help the team; embodying many of the core philosophies Al Davis coveted so much in a player.
Donald Penn: Coming off of a down performance last week, Penn bounced back by playing a clean game devoid of the thoughtless penalties he stacked up in week 7 against the Chargers. Penn’s +2.1 grade is good enough to be the 4th overall Left Tackle in the league, and an exceptional +1.9 grade in the Run Blocking (3rd among Left Tackles). His Pass Blocking grade was actually a -.1 due to two QB hurries he surrendered. But given the strength of the Jets defensive line, I think he did an incredible job.
This offensive line is considered by many to be one of the best in the league, and the consistent play of Donald Penn along with his leadership is a big reason why.
Seth Roberts: Seth wasn’t on the field much, only playing 33 of the offensive snaps, and snagging one reception for 21 yards, but when he was out there he was doing the dirty work. Seth made his grade of +1.9 by blocking. A +1 grade in both Screen Blocking and Run Blocking show that he is willing to do the dirty work and help contribute any way he can.
I see a bright future for Roberts, he’s got a game much like Wes Welker had. Not the biggest guy, or the fastest guy, but he’s quick and he knows how to get open. After a few miscommunications with Carr, culminating against the game ending pick six against the Broncos, it seems Roberts’ role has been cut back a little bit. As long as he and Carr develop a chemistry, I think Roberts will be a player the Raiders offense will lean on more and more.
Next: Week 8 PFF Grades