*Grabs Morpher* It’s Hyperbole Time! The Las Vegas Raiders sent fans at Allegiant Stadium home smiling with a 26-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. While we should always temper expectations when it comes to preseason matchups, where’s the fun in that?! Personally, I’d rather discuss what made me Google hotel reservations for Super Bowl Sunday and the moments that made me offer the franchise as a guinea pig for league relegation.
Raiders Preseason: Nick Mullens Is The True Backup QB
Jarrett Stidham got all the headlines after the Hall of Fame game, even when he missed open receivers and made the offensive line look worse than it actually played. Nick Mullens didn’t do much to help his own case that night. However, he certainly did Sunday afternoon against the Vikings. Mullens was the better QB at Allegiant Stadium.
Stidham was in no way bad, but his inability to let it rip when guys were open landed him in situations that ended in sacks. Mullens is no world beater, but he’s gotten it done in real NFL games and won’t hold the ball as long as his competition has.
Ndamukong Suh is a bigger priority than Daryl Williams
We all know the offensive line for the Raiders is a big question mark, but ultimately, the concern comes down to the right tackle position. The rest of the line isn’t a top-five unit, but they should be enough for Josh McDaniels to work with on paper. That hasn’t quieted the screams from fans and pundits alike for the Raiders to take some of that $20 million in cap space and spend it on free agent veteran tackle Daryl Williams. Those cries are very understandable, but the defensive line may become an even bigger concern.
Johnathan Hankins and newcomer Bilal Nichols have yet to take part in training camp. Additionally, the Raiders are running out of time to activate them before they’re forced to miss regular season action as well. In their absence, none of the current defensive tackles has inspired much hope. Ndamukong Suh is still a free agent. Even though his price may be a bit scary, the idea of signing him has gone from luxury to necessity. That’s entirely based on the play of the current options during this Raiders preseason.
Ameer Abdullah is a lock for the 53-man roster
Ameer Abullah didn’t see the field on Sunday. Neither did Josh Jacobs nor Brandon Bolden. You can read whatever you want into that. The Raiders used this opportunity to give more chances to names like Brittain Brown, Austin Walter, and what about Kenyan Drake? Well, Drake didn’t do very well in the Hall of Fame game, but he got better little by little last Sunday against Minnesota before leaving the game to let the young running backs show off their skills.
One would assume Abdullah would be put in that spot, not Drake. However, from the looks of things, Abdullah has already done enough to secure his place in Josh McDaniel’s offense. According to MMQB’s Albert Breer, based on his observations, Abdullah is primed for the “James White” role in Las Vegas. Sunday did nothing to make that seem like a longshot.
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*Top Photo: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images