Week 3 Mailbag: Oakland Raiders

Week 3 of the JBB Mailbag, answering questions from Twitter about the Oakland Raiders win against the Tennessee Titans and also any questions looking ahead to the Week 4 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.

Can we play Tennessee every week? What a feel good win.

Look, it doesn’t matter who the opponent is, it’s tough to win on the road in the NFL. And to conquer that challenge, in our first two attempts this year, has to count for something.

A team win, undoubtedly, but a special shoutout to the performances of Sean Smith and David Amerson. Let’s keep it going.

Note: Some of the questions were duplicates or similar to other questions that had already been asked. If you don’t see your question specifically responded to, that is likely the reason why.

This was one of those wins I believe the team will build on. For the first time in a long time, we’re seeing maturity from the Raiders, with respect to how they approach each game; especially on defense. The performance by the defensive backfield, specifically, was vital for the group going forward.

Inserting Karl Joseph into the mix created a swagger amongst the defensive backs. As the game developed, you could see them playing with a controlled confidence, that actually allowed them to be more effective in making plays that they had previously left on the field against New Orleans and Atlanta.

I definitely see this continuing, especially against an inconsistent Joe Flacco up next.

There are mini-communities forming around Khalil Mack, especially versus the Titans. However, I don’t see this trend being able to sustain too much longer.

The reason being is as our defense continues to find their identity, what you’re seeing is the other ten men becoming more comfortable in their roles. Bruce Irvin is a perfect example of that, because the more comfortable he becomes, the more productive he becomes.

And the more 51 continues to sit offensive linemen in their quarterback’s lap, the more we’ll see offensive coordinators adjust, and account for him. Which will only benefit Khalil Mack.

I saw impressive flashes from James. I also saw a few rookie mistakes, especially centered around the run-pass option. With that being said, Cory James is my kind of football player. He brings an element of physicality to the unit that I don’t know if I’ve seen from Ben Heeney thus far.

What we, as fans, should hope for is a continued competition between the two. An iron sharpening iron type of situation. I think JDR sticks with James as the starter against Baltimore.

Without question. His fellow defensive backs — which the exception of Hayden, more than anything, seemed to feed off of KJ’s energy from the first snap. His play is infectious. And talking physicality? Listen, KJ is a missile you don’t want landing anywhere near you.

But there were also some teaching points for him as well. On the play where Bruce Irvin forced the fumble, Joseph had actually overrun Mariota when he blitzed. In this instance, it worked out in favor of the good guys, but more times than not that won’t be the case.

These are the times I miss Al the most. I’d imagine a call down to the field would be simply put: more TJ, less DJ.

And in JDR’s Monday presser, following the game, he stated “It looked to me that DJ needed a break,” in response to a reporter’s question on the insertion of TJ Carrie. Question is, will DJ’s break carry over to Baltimore?

I touched on this a bit last week, I believe it was, and I’m still in favor of all three backs (Murray, Richard, and Washington) seeing snaps.

Although I will admit, if the rhythm of any of the three backs is being disrupted, it is Murray’s. Therefore it is worth continuing to keep an eye one.

But let’s face facts, our offensive staff will notice that long before we would. In the meantime, it is critical that each back make the most of the snaps that they each see.

In grabbing a couple of the questions above, I believe the best way to be effective versus Steve Smith would be to throw different bodies at him, to prevent him from getting into a groove. With that being said, there’s a reason I’m on this side of the game plan, and not the other.

As for Osemele and Yanda, and 2016, I’m taking Osemele every time. I’m almost certain, through Week 3, Yanda has already matched his penalty total for all of last year.

Although where I am willing to give Yanda the edge over Osemele is in pass protection. But it’s Osemele, overall, that in two or three seasons from now will show that Ozzie’s loss was Reggie’s exceptional gain.

Aside from that, I would be surprised if this team wasn’t heading back to Oakland with a 3-1 record, come Sunday.