Packers vs. Raiders Recap: Green Bay’s backup OL struggles in ugly 13-6 loss Before Friday night’s game between the Green Bay Packers and
Oakland Raiders had even begun
Tramon Williams Jersey , the Packers suffered an injury to a key player. It’s a miracle that the team escaped Oakland without one of their quarterbacks getting
hurt. The Packers’ backup offensive linemen — which played the whole game —
allowed pressure after pressure after pressure all game long, ruining any hope
of getting good evaluation tape of the team’s offensive personnel. Although the
defense and special teams played pretty well and J’Mon Moore had his best
performance of the preseason, it wasn’t enough as the Packers came up just short
late in the game. A sack on fourth-and-ten in Raiders territory effectively put
an end to the Packers’ late push, a fitting finish to this contest.After trading
punts and field goals through three-plus quarters, the Raiders finally found the
end zone midway through the fourth quarter to break a 6-6 tie, Chris Warren’s
one-yard plunge was the only touchdown in the game as the Raiders emerged
victorious in a game marred by double-digit penalties for both teams.With 18
players sitting the game out — including ten of eleven projected starters on
offense — the Packers’ lineup looked very different in the first half from the
group that lined up to begin last week’s game against Pittsburgh. Still, Brett
Hundley led a scoring drive on the first series against the Raiders’ defensive
starters, finding Geronimo Allison for a few big plays to get into Raiders
territory. A Lance Kendricks drop in the end zone sent out Mason Crosby, who
tied the game at three. Hundley seemed to struggle as the first half went on,
however, as he was regularly harried by an effective Raiders pass rush that was
given only token competition by the Packers’ second-string offensive line. In
particular, Kyle Murphy could not block anyone all game long at right tackle,
allowing multiple sacks once again with both Hundley and DeShone Kizer under
center.Although the Packers’ offense struggled throughout the game, the defense
largely played well
DeShone Kizer Jersey , forcing a pair of turnovers and avoiding too many penalties. One area in particular where the Packers have to feel good is at the
cornerback position — particularly in regards to their two rookie draft picks.
First-rounder Jaire Alexander had a few struggles in coverage (including giving
up a 49-yard gain to Amari Cooper on the first drive), but he made an early
game-changing play with an athletic interception, his first in the NFL, which
stopped a Raiders drive into Packers territory. Second-round pick Josh Jackson
would have had a pick-six in his second straight game later on, but his
touchdown was wiped away by a holding penalty on the other side of the field by
Herb Waters.While Alexander made a big play on defense, he also showed solid
punt return ability despite not actually returning a punt in the first half.
Alexander alertly blocked a gunner to ensure that one punt went for a touchback,
then drew what should have been a kick catch interference penalty before the
flag was picked up.The Packers also saw a few nice plays from their reserve
defenders in the second half. Undrafted rookie safety Raven Greene forced a
fumble out of a scrambling E.J. Manuel, and linebacker Greer Martini recovered
to set up the Packers in Raiders territory. That play and the DeShone
Kizer-to-Emanuel Byrd connection set up the Packers for a go-ahead score on
another Crosby field goal before the Raiders tied the game on the next series
and took the lead for good later in the fourth quarter.On the bright side, the
Packers got a very good performance from fourth-round rookie J’Mon Moore
tonight. Moore caught four passes for 62 yards on the night and displayed good
route running and the ability to get separation. With neither Marquez
Valdez-Scantling or Equanimeous St. Brown recording a catch in this game, Moore
made a statement that he is not to be forgotten in the battle for the Packers’
fourth wide receiver job.The Packers will conclude their preseason next Thursday
in Kansas City against the Chiefs. As the Green Bay Packers look to bolster
their outside linebacker unit in the 2019 offseason, most of the attention at
present is going to the 2019 NFL Draft class. That’s entirely understandable, as
this year’s group of edge rushers is both strong at the top and quite deep, with
quality players likely available well into day two of the draft. The free agent
class will also see some intriguing players coming available, with big names
like Jadeveon Clowney
Antonio Morrison Jersey , Dee Ford, and Demarcus Lawrence set to see their contracts expire.However, there is a third group of players who are under
contract for 2019, but whose cap numbers may make them available this offseason.
These are the cap casualties — players who could end up being released and
saving their former teams significant amounts of cap space.It just so happens
that there are three big names who are good candidates for that type of a move.
All three have posted monster seasons in the past, and all of them will be 30
years old or younger in 2019. Let’s take a look at these players, all of whom
could provide the Packers with some intriguing abilities if they indeed are
released and would sign for the right price.Justin Houston, ChiefsScheduled cap
hit in 2019: $21.1MSavings if released: $14MThinking back to 2011, Justin
Houston was a common pick for the Packers at #32 in some mock drafts. The former
Georgia edge rusher fell to Kansas City in round three, largely due to failing a
drug test for marijuana at that year’s Combine. However, Houston made an
immediate impact opposite Tamba Hali, recording 5.5 sacks as a rookie before a
truly magnificent three-year stretch that saw him total 43 sacks.Despite some
lingering durability questions, Houston is still effective. He’s still averaging
11 sacks per 16 games played over the past four seasons, though he has missed at
least one game each year and missed a total of 11 contests in 2016. That stands
in contrast to Nick Perry, who has dealt with injury issues of his own but who
managed just 1.5 sacks in nine games this year. Houston isn’t worth a $21
million cap hit any more
Jermaine Whitehead Jersey , and so he’s a good bet to be released for cap reasons, but he could be a great pickup for the Packers, who will need veteran
help on the edge. Another connection here is that the Packers hired Mike Smith,
the Chiefs’ outside linebackers coach in 2018, to the same job for 2019.Robert
Quinn, DolphinsScheduled cap hit in 2019: $12.9MSavings if released:
$12.9MAnother member of the 2011 draft class, Quinn went 14th overall to the
Rams. Like Houston, he had a five-sack season as a rookie before an explosive
three-year stretch from 2012 to 2014 — he had 40 sacks in those three years,
compared to Houston’s 43. Since then, he has dropped off a bit, and thanks to
some unconventional accounting, the Rams were able to trade him to Miami before
the 2018 season without much of a salary cap penalty. And since the Dolphins
traded for him, they can release him without any dead money on their capFor most
of his career, Quinn has been a 4-3 defensive end. However
Za’Darius Smith Jersey , in 2017 he did have 8.5 sacks in 15 games as the Rams moved to more of a 3-4 defense under Wade Phillips. This season in Miami,
he had 6.5 sacks in 16 games. Like Houston, Quinn could be a nice second-tier
pass-rush option if he ends up on the open market.Vic Beasley, FalconsScheduled
cap hit in 2019: $12.81MSavings if released: $12.81MWith the Falcons releasing
kicker Matt Bryant today, writers at The Falcoholic were discussing Beasley as a
candidate for a restructure or release as a cap casualty. He is currently under
contract on his fifth-year option as a first-round draft pick in 2015, which for
now is guaranteed for injury only. However, the Falcons could release him prior
to the first day of the league year on March 13th and get off scot-free.
Beasley’s Combine performance in 2015 was one to behold, as he tested above the
90th percentile of edge rushers in literally every athletic drill. He translated
that into a league-leading 15.5 sacks in 2016. However, Beasley has hardly
played up to that impressive season over the past two years. I asked The
Falcoholic’s Kevin Knight about what happened, and he responded with the
following:Yikes. That’s not a good sign, and the stats bear that out: his sack
total dropped from 15.5 in 2016 to just five each of the past two years. Still,
the Chiefs’ Dee Ford was a speed rush specialist and Mike Smith helped coach him
to a career year with 13 sacks in 2018. Maybe he could do something similar with
Beasley?
