Cardinals game night thread
Friends, I’m behind the eight ball this season, let it rip here And I will chime in a bit later. Go Raiders.
posted by Raider Take at 5:06 PM
Thursday, August 13, 2026
DEFENDING THE NATION!
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18 Comments:
DLine and DB could not get it together tonight. Outside of Maxx, there still seems to be nobody stepping up to make plays in these positions. In a 43 base, they struggled, decided to move to a 34 base; but focused on LBs in the offseason, instead of NT, DT, and DE. Not sure what needs to happen here, but it was embarrassing to see the DLine's inability to get off a block.
Hated to see McCoy struggle too. I think he will be a good player one day, but he got beat on 2 TDs that were identical pass plays, never making a play on the WR or the ball. I think he will learn and grow, but that was hard to watch. Porter also gave up a TD on a play that had he stayed on his feet would have knocked down the pass.
Other complaint, too many stupid penalties. Eichenberg trying to punch the ball after the play has been blown dead, false start after false start, in total 8 penalties, 75 yards. I know it is only preseason, but not focusing on the DLine in the offseason continue to hurts the defense and this team.
I didn't see the game but the media reports (and Nate's account) weren't good. I don't think the Cardinals registered a punt, which means the defense was awful. Young CBs got burned, and the Card's rookie RB had 5.3 yards per carry.
It's one preseason game, but I'm worried the Raiders still have a long way to go. Cousins will provide some sanity to the offense but the Raiders are far from ready to compete... if we're sticking with Carrol's slogan. One thing is obvious, the Raiders completely lost their way last season under Carrol and it might take longer as a result. Kubiak has his work cut out for him. Plain and simple, the Raiders are the worst team in the league (by virtue of drafting #1) until further notice.
Hope springs eternal. I watched the game. Most importantly Mendoza looked good. The the offensive line looked much improved you can see kubiak's and the new coaching staff influence there already not to mention linderbaum and a healthy Kolton Miller watch out for Charles Grant he's going to be a starter for us one day. As far as the defense most of the time it was rookies and second year players in there and they looked young and disjointed. Sandy
Lots to like, Mendoza, Cousins, O line, running game, Benson, etc. but I did expect better from the D based on the word from training camp. Too many penalties too.
First preseason game, noting to get crazy about. But I do like the look of our young QB.
Mendoza throwing lasers to Benson and Bech (TD) definitely give promise of better QB play this year. Mike Washington was impressive and having a FB again should really help the run game. But there will be lots of growing pains with this young team. How can there not be....
37 year old Von Miller signed with the Cowboys. Raiders missed out and really could have used him.
Pass rush vs Arizona was a pathetic, joke. It was men against boys out there.
I hear you on the pass rush Ghost it was preseason but I don't think the problem is edge rushers, Koonce look decent Paye is solid and there are a couple of youngsters who could pan out not to mention the great Mad Maxx. Dean and Walker are good blitzers so that will help,. Where the problem is is up the middle at the defensive tackle spot Raider dont have one above average player on the inside. Sandy
Lacking on the D-line, Raiders will be forced to blitz, which is reportedly Rob Leonard's approach to defense, i.e., more than it was Patrick Graham's. Blitzing will also improve the secondary.
Sandy, to your point, it's really amazing how many interior DL the Raiders have drafted and signed as FAs without truly hitting on any.
Despite all their activity in free agency, they will clearly need to evaluate and regroup at some positions next year. Notwithstanding, there have been a number of one-year FA contracts signed this year for WRs and DL which the Raiders have shown little to no interest. It's really baffling. WR and DT have almost reached a level of neglect. I can only assume the Raiders brass know more than we do and their roster will be ready.
Yeah Sandy, I hear you. I don't want to sound to negative after only one pre season game. It's just that it returned me to last years nightmare defense, of no consistent pass rush, and mostly soft coverage in secondary.
On the good side, Mendoza looked great throwing the ball. Wait until he has some experience, and a good team around him.
Keenan Allen signed with the Colts. You'd think it would have been a no brainer to replace someone like Thorton (10 catches last year) with Allen. The Raiders have had a few of these (short term, inexpensive "bridge") opportunities and let them go... to the point which seems very intentional.
Lots of talk from beat writers about how much better the Raiders Oline is this year, with mostly the same personnel. That's on Carroll and his son, who were so bad that O-linemen were meeting on their own to go over plays which they didn't get adequately trained by coaches.
But having a better Oline is bigger than that (no pun intended). Raiders took a QB with their #1 pick. How often does the #1 pick in the draft not start? If the Oline is solid and Mendoza is ready, he should start, IMO. And by "ready," I don't mean he needs to be better than Cousins. He just needs to be ready to calls plays, make his reads and pass with accuracy. And, yes, he has all that.
It's probably true Cousins can win more games, but Cousins is not the Raiders QB. He's already got one foot out the door for 2027. Mendoza has two more games and three weeks of practices to make the case.
The future is now. Pete Carroll set the Raiders back at least one year with horrible coaching and game planning. He was antithetical to what the Raiders need. Enter Kubiak, whose staff is all about coaching the players up.
Some in media are saying if Mendoza gets held back, then it's Tom Brady pulling the strings. If Mendoza plays well these last two games, put him in. What are the Raiders waiting for, Cousins to sign his next over-valued contract?
Count me with those who want Mendoza to play right away... learn on the fly and speed up the Raiders development.
Raiders 22-20 is a surprising score based on the game I saw, which was just the first half. My biggest take away is not that Mendoza threw an INT, but the lack of depth the Raiders have on the Oline, especially at center.
The defense doesn't look ready and probably lacks depth too, yet they've held other teams 2s and 3s scoreless for two games in a row. So maybe there's a few gems there for the regular rotation. Although both teams started their 2s on defense against the 1s on offense, it only showed for the Raiders... not for the Texans who might have the best D in the NFL.
Penalties also a big concern. Stupid ones! But that should be repairable. It's a work in progress.
NY, After watching the game last night and looking at your comment about Mendoza starting right out of the gate I have to say he is not ready yet. More importantly neither is the talent on the team good enough to support him. He would be well served to sit and watch for part of the season----especially when you look at the schedule after the Miami game. It is a murdeous six game stretch where the Raiders wont be favored once. I say start him Nov 1st against the Jets unles Kirk has the raiders at .500.
As far as the rest of the team. Other observations I agree the back up oline is week, Washington is a beast, secondary is super young but could have a gem or two there.
Sandy
In fairness, my comments about Mendoza starting were expressly conditioned upon the O-line being up for the job of protecting him... And under that provision, the longer Mendoza sits, the more time it will take him to mature and the team to develop around him. But my opinion doesn't matter. It will be interesting to watch it unfold.
Funny thing is, no matter who starts the season, fans might soon be chanting for the other guy... where the grass is always greener.
I tell you the starting offensive line is way better than the starting wide receiver core. The Raiders barely have a number two (Nailor or Tucker) never mind a number one at that position. Sandy
About thst link in the previous subject...some of it may be true and you had some points too but this regime is again- painting s picture, rose colored glasses and good reported of staff and camp news. Yes they are new, yes they need time and the hey maybe come some good things and they may have found some talent and are using it from other regime. But- they aren't denying/ pretending they are about '27. Refused to admit they don't have 3-4 personnel, or are experienced team builders. Er need tSkent and they need to doend
Ci,
To New York Raider about post about Mendoza and you wanted me to see a link about new regime and their game plan and to the new first time regime giving them time and a chance and their talent.snd the things they are and promised not to and to do
Once the pre-season is over, Mendoza will stop getting first team reps until he's QB1. Each game he misses slows his development. Kubiak knows that. Eventually, they will have no choice but to put Mendoza in and it won't matter who's at WR.
If you were arguing for Mendoza to play, you'd say the Raiders have two of the best receiving TEs in the league, and Jeanty and Washington out of the backfield to mostly run Kubiak's west coast offense. Also, aside from a spectacular catch by Nailor against the Texans, we've not seen Nailor or Tucker this pre-season. They should be fine. On paper at least, Kubiak is looking for one more WR to step and take the other WR spot. They have options.
That said, letting Jakobi Meyers out of the building is clearly biting the Raiders in the ass right now.
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