Breaking down Josh Jacobs development for the Oakland Raiders

Week 4 at Indianapolis Colts

Jacobs really started to shine in the Colts game in Week 4. He had 17 carries for 79 yards for a 4.6 average. Not only was this a game where the offensive line played well, but Jacobs ran very well.

One of his first runs was a zone-read to the right early in the 1st quarter. His 12-yard run was mostly due to the offensive line blocking very well and hard. Rodney Hudson pushed the defensive tackle farther and farther to the right then Alec Ingold blocked the linebacker in the hole just enough for Jacobs to make a cut-up north through it.

He hit the hole hard, then made a couple moves to make a defender miss and got into the secondary.

The next play came later in the quarter on a 6-yard run. It came right before the touchdown to Foster Moreau.  The strong offset I formation to the right and the run was up the middle. Jacobs made a cut and just turned on the jets until he was taken down by the linebacker speeding across the field.

This was a play that showed his decisiveness and quickness to make a decision.

Coming late in the second quarter, this 8-yard run was impressive to me, too. Moreau and Richie Incognito made a great seal on the inside so Jacobs could jump-cut from right to left. He noticed the linebackers doing a good job at locking down the gaps, but saw a hole open up and juked the linebacker out of it.

What was impressive was the quick decision making and knowing what to do and when to do it. Jacobs faked the linebacker and then cut up and put his head down and took on the other defenders for an 8-yard gain on first down.

The Raiders didn’t have any real flashy runs in the Colts game, they just played disciplined and made sure everyone did their job right.