It's week 12 of the NFL season and the Raiders are set to face the Tennessee Titans in a game that the Raiders will hope bring them to within a game of .500 and still in the playoff chase.
Who: Oakland Raiders (4-6) vs Tennessee Titans (4-6)
Where: O.co Coliseum, Oakland CA
When: 1:05pm Pacific time, Sunday November 24, 2013
TV: CBS (Game sold out so it will air locally)
Radio: 95.7 The Game (Bay Area)
Online: NFL Game Rewind
Last Week:
The Raiders came out with the big win last week against the Texans and quarterback Matt McGloin's performance has earned him the right to keep it going.
It wasn't all good new, however. The Raiders had several players go down injured in the game that required MRI's on Monday. In total there were six players injured in the game with five of them getting MRI's. Those players were Mike Brisiel, Andre Holmes, Jason Hunter, Denarius Moore, and Daniel Muir with Menelik Watson leaving the game injured but it was not serious.
Two of those players - Jason Hunter and Denarius Moore - didn't practice all week and will not play Sunday.
Dennis Allen laid out the positives and negatives as he saw them in the win over the Texans.
Among those who saw their seasons end last week were rookie cornerback D.J. Hayden and wide receiver Juron Criner. Both players were placed on injured reserve.
While their seasons were ending, Miles Burris season is just beginning. He was activated from the PUP list on Wednesday and we could see him on the field Sunday.
Jared Veldheer's season is close to its beginning as well. Dennis Allen said his big left tackle will not play this week but likely make his return next week when the Raiders play the Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
This week:
Matt McGloin was officially named the starter this week. Terrelle Pryor was limited all week with his knee injury and is questionable for the game. McGloin earned the start with his three touchdown game against the Texans. If Pryor is healthy enough to suit up, the Raiders could play him in certain packages.
Starting at wide receiver in place of the injured Denarius Moore will be Andre Holmes who joined the team as an unheralded free agent signing this off-season and was suspended the first four games of the season for violating the league's policy of performance enhancing drugs. He had his first catch last week against the Texans. It went for 33 yards.
Another player seeing his first game of the season is wide receiver Greg Jenkins who was activated from the practice squad to replace Juron Criner who was placed on injured reserve.
The big story for the Raiders is how will Matt McGloin play in his second ever start. Now the opposing team has game tape to study. We also need to see whether that first start is a fluke or a sign of things to come from the upstart undrafted rookie. If he can continue to play well, he will continue to earn starts.
Rashad Jennings has been playing quite well for the Raiders as well, including getting 150 yards on the ground last week against the Texans.
The Titans have a pretty good running back of their own in Chris Johnson. The Raiders will have their hands full with him.
Jake Locker is out for the season and he is replaced by former Bills' starting quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The Titans have one of the better pass defenses in the league as well with DT Jurell Casey with 7.0 sacks on the season and each of their two defensive ends with 4.0 sacks each. Derrick Morgan is the player to watch rushing McGloin's blindside. He leads the team in QB pressures. Their corners are pretty solid as well with cornerback Alterraun Verner leading the way with 5 interceptions on the season.
To get the scoop on what the Raiders can expect from the Titans, check out my Five Good Questions with a blogger from Titans' blog Music City Miracles.
Loading comments...