Raiders preseason week 4 Ballers & Busters part two

With the roster cuts coming down today, you may see a few players on this list get the ax. While those on the Ballers list (you can see that here) may have earned their roster spot with their performance in this one.

Busters

Matt McCants, Mitch Bell, Anthony Morris

I'm half tempted to put Jack Del Rio and/or Mike Tice on here witl McCants for suddenly putting him at left tackle in this game after he had worked on the right side all camp and preseason up to this point. But not only did McCants look like a fish out of water, he looked like one that had been caught in a boat prop and washed up on shore to rot in the sun.

Next to him was Mitch Bell, who looked equally rotten. McCants switched back and forth with Anthony Morris at left tackle and Morris also stunk it up.

The Raiders' second possession was killed by McCants. He gave up a pressure for a tackle for loss on the second play and gave up what would have been a sack had Ponder not leaned forward for a one-yard scramble. Either way, it was a three and out. He was replaced on the next drive by Morris who did his best matador impression to give up a tackle for a loss of 5 yards and a few plays later gave up a sack for a 7-yard loss.

Next drive it was back to McCants. First Bell gave up a tackle for a loss. After a Jon Feliciano holding penalty, the Raiders were backed up against their own goal line. That's when McCan'ts pretty much just let Frank Clark get around him for an easy strip sack on Matt McGloin as he tried to throw. The Seahawks recovered in the end zone for the score and a 17-0 lead to begin the second quarter.

The Raiders got the ball back immediately and drove for a score. Though it took a while because McGloin and the offense had to make up for a McCants false start. Mitch Bell gave up a pressure and was bailed out by a Seahawks pass interference penalty.

Those two were at it again on the next drive with another false start by McCants followed by a holding penalty on Bell. Then Bell gave up a pressure on McGloin that forced him to escape the pocket and throw the ball away just to preserve field goal range.

That was just the first half.

Morris came in for the third quarter and gave up a tackle for loss and was called for holding. With under a minute on the clock, the Raiders executed a successful onsides kick. The result was Mitch Bell getting Christian Ponder destroyed on a sack. Game over.

Christian Ponder

Matt McGloin didn't just win the Raiders back-up quarterback job, Ponder lost it. His first pass was wide of Brice Butler who was also in double coverage and it was nearly picked. That first drive ended with a 6-yard pass on third and 12.

The next series was a three-and-out followed by a drive in which Ponder didn't complete a single pass. The final play of the drive, Brice Butle had a good ten yards on his man up the right sideline and was wide open for a touchdown. Ponder under threw the pass badly, causing Butler to have to stop completely and wait for what seemed like an eternity for the ball to arrive. The defender closed on Butler, causing him to drop the pass for fear of getting it defended or him getting pummeled.

That was about as easy a pass as you'll see in the NFL and Ponder completely blew it. He was replaced by McGloin after that who, with same offensive line and receivers, drove the Raiders into scoring position three times with two touchdowns.

Ponder returned late in the fourth quarter and managed to put together a touchdown drive, but his two best completions were practically despite him, not because of him. Both big passes on the drive went to Seth Roberts who had to make an adjustment to pull in the first pass which was behind him so he could get 27 yards out of what should have been a touchdown and the second pass was well-behind the first down marker and Roberts made some spectacular moves to scoot 39 yards down field. The touchdown was a Michael Dyer run from a yard out. Ponder was cut today.

Neiron Ball

He had a missed tackle resulting in a 17-yard run on the Seahawks' second drive that led to a field goal and a quick 10-0 lead. He then gave up a 9-yard run to begin the next series. Due to a defensive touchdown by the Seahawks and a long drive by the offense, the defense barely saw the field in the second quarter.

Bal started the second half with a pressure that helped lead to a sack on third down. The following drive, he missed a tackle on an 11-yard run and the drive ended with a touchdown and a 24-14 lead. The next drive he had another missed tackle for an 11-yard run. Though to his credit, he ended that same drive with a sack.

On the final Seahawks drive, he didn't hold the edge of the line to allow an 11-yard scramble by the quarterback. That drive also ended with a touchdown and a 31=14 lead.

Michael Dyer

After three decent preseason games, Dyer showed his inexperience in the final preseason game. It just seemed like he was trying too hard to make a big final impression and it backfired on him. Several times in this game, he chose not to use the gap provided him and/or follow his blockers and instead searching for a more ideal spot to run through that he would not find. His hesitation and indecision had him stopped in the backfield too many times. He needs to learn that in the NFL, holes open and close quickly and you rarely get a second chance. Take the yardage and live to play another down.

Jon Feliciano, Tony Bergstrom

The Top Busters were the left side of the line. But the rest of the interior line doesn't escape the list either. These two could both survive the roster cutdown today, but neither will make the Raiders feel very comfortable should a starter go down with an injury.

Feliciano gave up a run stuff in the first quarter and was called for holding early in the second that backed the Raiders up to their own goal line. That's when McCants gave up the strip sack for a Seahawks defensive touchdown. That holding penalty is what had the Raiders running their offense from inside their own endzone.

On consecutive drives in the second quarter, Bergstrom gave up a tackle for loss and a tackle for no gain. In the third quarter, Feliciano be blown off the line to give up a 4-yard loss.

Shelby Harris, Max Valles

Where were these two in this game? Harris played 26 snaps and Valles played 32. And yet neither recorded a single stat. The only time I saw either one of them is when both got into the Seahawks backfield and both missed the sack on the quarterback. The next play Valles gave up a 9-yard run. In the final defensive snap of the game, Harris was blocked on a 3-yard touchdown run.

See the Ballers

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