While the result of the game may not count, there is plenty to takeaway from the first preseason game for the Oakland Raiders. Saturday’s 14 to 3 victory over the Rams shed some light on a few important categories for Oakland.
Pro: Offensive Line
Pass protection has been a point of emphasis for the Raiders this offseason. Unfortunately, during the past few weeks the team has hit a few roadblocks in the form of suspensions and injuries. Despite this adversity, Oakland’s offensive fared well against the Rams and didn’t allow a sack in the first half. Quarterback Mike Glennon had plenty of time to throw and go through all of his progressions. As the game went on, Nathan Peterman faced a little more pressure and was sacked twice, but the majority of the players in the game at that time won’t be on the 53 man roster.
The unit was impressive in the running game as well. As a whole the offensive line looked much more comfortable with the zone run blocking scheme, and this lead to running back DeAndre Washington averaging four yards per carry and scoring a touchdown. If training camp is any indication, the Raiders will need depth on the offensive line and Saturday’s game should give fans hope in that regard.
Con: Backup QB
As mentioned above, quarterback Mike Glennon had plenty of time to throw, however this resulted in a lot of check-down passes from the veteran. The Rams were able to sit back in coverage and dare the NFL journeyman to throw the ball deep. Finally towards the end of the second quarter, Glennon started throwing and moving the ball down the field, but the drive culminated with a red zone interception. As a backup quarterback, turnovers are the last thing you can have, and the Raiders incumbent backup threw two of them.
Nathan Peterman might have flashed his Mike Vick-esque skills with a 50-yard run, but the rest of his game was underwhelming. The quarterback only averaged 5.5 yards per attempt and had 66 passing yards on the night. Even his touchdown pass wasn’t an impressive throw, as the pass was nearly batted down at the line of scrimmage and wide receiver Keelan Doss had to dig it out of the ground. Like last year, Oakland’s backup quarterback might not be on the roster during the preseason.