Category: NFL

San Francisco 49ers preview: 49ers look to build further

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard turns to make a pitch out in action against the Kansas City Chiefs during a NFL preseason football game in Kansas City, Mo., Friday, Aug. 11, 2017. The 49ers won, 27-14. (G. Newman Lowrance via AP)

By Jeremy Harness

SANTA CLARA–Hey, look, the 49ers are 1-0!

 Well, OK, it is only the preseason, but after all that transpired over the past couple of years, you have to draw anything positive that you can if you’re a 49ers fan.

 The 49ers’ reserves – as is the case with many preseason games – were the key in sparking a 27-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs Friday night at Arrowhead Stadium.

 Most of the offensive starters for both teams played only about two series before making way for the backups – including those on the bubble to make the 53-man roster come September – to show what they could do.

 One of those backups that impressed was rookie running back Joe Williams, who actually gave up football for a season while at Utah before deciding to resume his career. He carried the ball seven times for 60 yards, including a 17-yarder in the second half.

 Starting quarterback Brian Hoyer threw only four passes – completing only one – before giving way to Matt Barkley, who completed 10 of his 17 passes for 168 yards.

 However, Barkley didn’t get it into the end zone. That’s what rookie C.J Beathard did, as he fired a pair of touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to lead the 49ers to victory.

 The 49ers will now head home to play their second exhibition game against the Denver Broncos, who also won their first preseason game. The two teams will actually face each other before Saturday night’s game at Levi’s Stadium, however, as they will have a pair of joint practices in the South Bay starting Wednesday and continuing into Thursday.

 Meanwhile, Reuben Foster is said to have the inside track on the starting weak-side linebacker position after a strong performance Friday night in Kansas City. Also impressing the coaching staff was rookie defensive lineman Solomon Thomas.

 Foster instantly became the favorite to become the starter at that spot once Malcolm Smith, whom the 49ers just signed away from Oakland this year, was lost for the season with a torn pectoral muscle.

 

Takeaways from Raiders preseason opener at Arizona

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Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr warms up prior to an NFL preseason football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

GLENDALE — With the majority of the starting lineup on both sides of the football  sitting out, the Oakland Raiders entered their first preseason game in Arizona looking to develop depth around the championship-caliber roster headlined by franchise quarterback Derek Carr and defensive linchpin, defensive tackle Khalil Mack.

Even though the Silver and Black fell to the Cardinals 20-10 Saturday night at University of Phoenix Stadium, Oakland had some bright spots in the game:

The battle for the No. 2 quarterback

Former Buffalo starting quarterback EJ Manuel started the game for Oakland and was impressive in his first appearance in a Raiders uniform. Manuel looked sharp in the first half, finishing 10-of-12 for 107 and a passer rating of 103.8.

In the second quarter, the fourth-year pro out of Florida St., made a nice throw over a Cardinals defensive back that found tight end Clive Walford for a 30-yard gain that set up a 43-yard field goal by kicker Giorgio Tavecchio that finally got Oakland on the board, 17-3 right before halftime.

Second-year quarterback Connor Cook wasn’t as effective as Manuel, but did lead the Raiders to their only touchdown score of the night.

In the third quarter, Cook engineered a five-play, 63-yard drive, keyed by a 29-yard screen pass to backup running back John Crockett that would setup Crockett’s one-yard score that pulled Oakland closer, 17-10, albeit against Arizona’s third- and fourth-team units.

All indications are that Manuel will cement his position has Carr’s backup once the regular season begins, but Cook (who made NFL history by becoming the first rookie quarterback to make his pro debut in a playoff game last season), will make the decision tough for Del Rio and Co. as the preseason progresses.

The linebacker room

A position that has some question marks coming into the season, the linebackers for Oakland could actually be a strength for the Silver and Black.

With Bruce Irvin firmly entrenched as the team’s starting “SAM” linebacker, Cory James and rookie Marquel Lee made cases to join Irvin in the starting lineup in Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville on Sept. 10.

James, in his second year with Oakland out of Colorado St., led the Raiders with seven tackles against Arizona and is currently listed as the team’s starting “WILL” linebacker on the unofficial depth chart.

Rookie Marquel Lee started as the team’s “MIKE” linebacker and finished with six tackles (five solo). Lee, was drafted in the fifth round by the Raiders in this year’s NFL draft, recovered a forced fumble by defensive tackle Justin “Jelly” Ellis in the first half.

The former Wake Forest Demon Deacon still needs to improve is footwork in pass coverage as Lee did find problems covering tight ends on curl- and in-routes.

Overall, the Raiders’ defense racked up four sacks, two a piece by fellow linebacker LaTroy Lewis and defensive tackle Treyvon Hester, possibly developing more depth for a team that must improve a 26th-ranked defense in 2016.

Oakland (1-0) host the Los Angeles Rams next Saturday at the Oakland Coliseum.

The Rams (1-0) defeated the Dallas Cowboys 13-10 Saturday night at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

 

Cardinals double up Raiders in preseason opener 20-10; Beast Mode chills on cooler during anthem

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Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch (24) sits during the national anthem prior to an NFL preseason football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

By Jeremy Kahn

On a night where the Oakland Raiders made their 2017 preseason debut, the biggest talk of the night came from a player who did not even play in the game.

Marshawn Lynch, who signed with the Raiders during the off-season sat on a cooler during the National Anthem prior to the game.

As for the game, Carson Palmer threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brittan Golden, as the Arizona Cardinals defeated the Raiders 20-10 at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Palmer and the Cardinals completed a 12-play 70-yard initial drive after the Raiders committed a penalty on the field goal attempt, giving the Cardinals an additional four downs and Palmer finished it off by throwing a touchdown to Golden.

E.J. Manuel, who is competing with Connor Cook for the backup role to Derek Carr got the start in the preseason opener. Manuel went 10-for-12 with 107 yards passing.

Cook played the entire second half for the Raiders, as he went 10-for-21 for 81 yards passing.

Clive Walford led the Raiders in receiving with three catches for 44 yards passing, while Jaydon Mickens also caught three passes for 31 yards.

Mickens also carried the ball one time for a team leading 24 yards rushing.

NOTES: Carr, Lynch and Amari Cooper were the notable Raiders offensive players not to play in the opener.

Both Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin were the biggest defensive players not to play for the Raiders against the Cardinals.

The Raiders open their preseason home schedule on August 19, as the Los Angeles Rams head to Northern California.

49ers Second and Third Stringers Earn the Pre-Season Opener Victory 27-17

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San Francisco 49ers wide receiver DeAndre Smelter (18) reaches for a pass. the fell incomplete, against Kansas City Chiefs’ Kenneth Acker (27) during the first half of an NFL preseason football game in Kansas City, Mo., Friday, Aug. 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

By: Joe Lami

The Kyle Shannahan era is off to a good start for the San Francisco 49ers, as they bested the Kansas City Chiefs in the pre-season opener 27-17 on Friday evening. The victory needs to be taken with a grain of salt of course since much of the 49ers scoring came late in the game, when 3rd, 4th, and 5th stringers were in there for both sides.

Alex Smith tore up San Francisco on his only possession, passing 4-of-6 for 48 yards with most of it coming on a 32-yard pass to Tyreek Hill on a deep route down the sideline. Spencer Ware finished off the scoring drive, punching it in from two yards out.

The rest of the first half seemed to drag on for both sides. New 49ers’ place kicker, Robbie Gould, saw a lot of action, going 3-for-3 to give San Francisco a 9-7 lead going into the half.

49ers’ starting quarterback, Brian Hoyer, saw only two possessions, connecting on one pass for three yards, while a first down was wiped out by a penalty.

The battle for second string is on between Matt Barkley and rookie, C.J. Beathard. Both impressed, as Barkley finished the night 10-of-17 for 168 yards, but Beathard bested him throwing 7-of-11 for 101 yards and two touchdowns that came in the fourth quarter.

The 49ers were outscored 10-0 in the third quarter, giving the Chiefs as 17-9 lead going into the final frame; giving the impression that the Chiefs were running away with it. However, the Niners dominated the fourth charging down the field on multiple occasions led by Beathard and running back, Raheem Mostert, who finished the night rushing for 89 yards on 15 attempts.

The 49ers defense also looked strong once Smith left the field, as they forced two turnovers, including a Rashard Robinson interception. They were also extremely effective at getting off the field, holding Kansas City to a 20% third-down efficiency.

A few of the bright spots on the defensive side of the ball for San Francisco included Soloman Thomas, who played well into the fourth quarter. Aaron Lynch looked like a monster getting to the quarterback, earning two sacks on three tackles. Rookie, Rueben Foster also had a couple of tackles and a pass deflection.

While earning the victory, there were a few choppy parts of the 49ers game as well. The biggest red flag was the yellow flag, as the Niners committed 17 penalties costing them 131 total yards. Penalties continue to be an issue for the red and gold and need to be addressed in the next three pre-season games.

Another concern was the bland performance from running back Carlos Hyde. It has been reported that Hyde could be on the chopping block due to the additions at the position. Hyde earned the start but was held without a yard on two rushes. He needs to step it up to be the starter come regular season.

Overall, the 49ers second and third stringers outperformed Kansas City’s, but the struggles at the beginning of the contest indicate that there is still a lot of room for growth for San Francisco.

 

Oakland Raiders Podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Taking a look at Carr, Crabtree, Cooper, as Raiders set for Cardinals Saturday

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AP File Photo: Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals kick it off tonight in Glendale for the first pre season game of 2017. On the cover, an overall inside view of University of Phoenix Stadium during an NFL football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, in Glendale. (Rick Scuteri/AP Images)

On the Raiders podcast with J Hawkes:

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has very good command of the offense right now he’s working with new Raiders offensive coordinator Tom Downing who was the quarterbacks coach last year and is taking over for Bill Musgrave who wasn’t retained. So far so good Carr has had a couple of practices and has thrown a couple of interceptions and it just takes time to work on a few things.

Carr has been working without Amari Cooper whose been out with a leg injury and he’s being held out as a precaution and of course there’s Marshawn Lynch has acclimated to the team fairly well and offensively a huge plus in the line up. One of Carr’s favorite targets Michael Crabtree is a veteran for the Raiders he’s been a great pick up for the Raiders over the last years. Crabtree has been a great receiver in helping develop Cooper.

Joe has much more on the Oakland Raiders podcast each Friday tune in below at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

NFL Podcast with London Marq: 49ers GM pushing for more contact in practice; With core of veteran players Raiders should be on top

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San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch during the NFL team’s football training camp Friday, July 28, 2017, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

On the NFL Podcast with London Marq:

1 San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch has ordered more physical contact in practices as the 49ers prepare for their first pre season game in Kansas City this Friday night at Arrowhead Stadium. Lynch says such preparation will get the players ready for full contact football this Friday.

2 The Oakland Raiders who play in Glendale against the Arizona Cardinals this Saturday night at the University of Phoenix have enough veteran on the roster to do some damage and probably go deep in post season

3 Jay Cutler who will start for the Miami Dolphins signed with the team for $10 million for this season after posting a 33.7 quarterback rating, Cutler played for Chicago last season

4 Quarterback Mike Glennon signed a huge deal with Chicago for three years at $4.5 million, $18 million. Glennon has thrown only 11 passes since 2015. Glennon is 5-13 career and was a back up in Tampa Bay last season.

5 Quarterbaack Mark Sanchez also signed with the Bears for this season for $2 million London takes a look how Sanchez can help Chicago

London Marq does the NFL Podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers preview: Young 49ers expect to get a lot of action

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San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Solomon Thomas during the NFL team’s football training camp Friday, July 28, 2017, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

By Jeremy Harness

 The 49ers are not expected to compete for a playoff spot this year, but this could be a very exciting year for the team, particularly to see what the young guys can do.

 If you can recall, the last time they were in this kind of situation was in 2000, when they were coming off a debilitating 4-12 season and badly needed to retool their defense. After selecting a pair of cornerbacks in the draft that year, the 49ers rebounded with a 6-10 campaign before advancing to the postseason the following season.

 This could very well be a year of growth for the team as a whole, and it will certainly be that for the rookies, particularly defensive tackle Solomon Thomas and linebacker Reuben Foster, both of whom the team selected in the first round of this year’s draft.

 Thomas has been getting reps with the first and second teams, but has been getting most of his work with the second unit, ad according to reports, he has started to make his mark.

 Foster, meanwhile, will likely be counted on a little sooner than anticipated. Last Saturday, it was determined that newly-signed linebacker Malcolm Smith will miss the rest of the season with a torn pectoral muscle that he suffered days before.

 What that means is that Foster got himself a lot more playing time. In the meantime, Foster has been getting reps with the second team as well as the first unit and has frequently been making big plays.

 After not having a single interception in his time at Alabama, he already has two picks in the two weeks of training camp with the 49ers, and now that the shoulder issues that plagued him prior to the draft appears to be a thing of the past, great things are being expected of him.

 They will both get their first chance to show what they can do against another NFL team, as the 49ers travel to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs on Friday.

 

San Francisco 49ers Podcast with David Zizmor: Looks like NFL doing all it can to keep Kaepernick out: Spike Lee sets Kap protest for Aug 23

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FILE – In this combination photo, director Spike Lee, left, appears at the premiere of “Touched With Fire” on Feb. 10, 2016, in New York and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick appears at a news conference on Jan. 1, 2017, after an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Santa Clara, Calif. On Aug. 8, 2017, Lee tweeted an advertisement for an Aug. 23, 2017, rally for Kaepernick outside the NFL’s New York City headquarters. (AP Photo/Files)

On the San Francisco 49ers Podcast with Dave:

A schedule rally outside the offices of the NFL will be held on August 23 which is being promoted by movie producer Spike Lee. In two parts because the NFL and it’s teams will not sign Kaepernick to any contract for last year’s national anthem protests. The second part being the Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome and head coach John Harbaugh wanted to sign Kaepernick but owner Steve Bisciotti denied that he refused signing Kaepernick. The result Kaepernick is still unsigned.

Collusion is a legal term and it’s hard to prove and it would take a large group of people to purposely to keep Kaepernick out and at this point it’s hard to prove the NFL wants to keep Kaepernick out of football although it’s staring us right in the face.

There’s more on this story with Dave on the podcast listen to Dave each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Oakland Raiders report: Khalil Mack is the driving force, but Raiders’ defense needs more punch in 2017

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Oakland Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack during an NFL football training camp Monday, July 31, 2017, in Napa, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

Heading into the 2017 NFL season, the Oakland Raiders will have a top-10 offense that will score a bunch of points and be entertaining to watch.

That we do know.

When the Raiders’ offense, (sixth in total offense in 2016 averaging 26 points per game) is engineered by Derek Carr, who is vastly becoming one of the league’s top quarterbacks with back-to-back seasons of at least 3,900 passing yards and 25 touchdowns in his first three seasons  in the NFL, all signs point to the Raiders being in good hands with Carr at the helm.

The supporting cast isn’t too shabby either: with precise route-runners in wide receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree (both had 1,000-yard receiving seasons last season) and a stable of running backs, with hometown hero Marshawn Lynch (acquired via trade from Seattle after retiring prior to the 2016 season) expected to be the lead-dog ahead of change-of-pace backs in Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington.

Third-year tight end Clive Walford and nine-year veteran Jared Cook (signed in the offseason) should provide matchup problems in the middle field for the Raiders with opposing linebackers and safeties. Play from the tight end position has been an afterthought for Oakland early in Carr’s career, but should be vastly improved this season.

But if Oakland has any shot at playing in Super Bowl LII (let alone topple the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game), the defense will need to do a lot more in support of their high-octane offense if they are to play at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on the first Sunday in February.

First, the pass rush needs to improve tremendously.

Defensive end Khalil Mack, the reigning Associated Press (AP) Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), finished with 11 of Oakland’s 25 sacks (a league-worse in 2016 for any defense).

There’s no questioning the motor that the two-time Pro Bowler and First-Team All-Pro plays with on every down and he’s the most feared player on Oakland’s defense, but he can’t do it all by himself and needs help. Even if Mack has his sites on 30 sacks in 2017, according to Carr who mentioned that after one of the Raiders’ practice sessions during training camp in Napa last week, Mack can’t be everywhere.

Taking a closer look, the Arizona Cardinals finished with a league-best 48 sacks and had two guys in Markus Golden (team- and personal career-high 12.5 sacks) and Chandler Jones (11.0 sacks) getting to the quarterback at-will.

Arizona’s second-ranked defense almost doubled the Raiders’ output in sacks from last season.

Mack had an eight-game stretch where he recorded at least one sack in every game last season, but there’s no way he can get to 30 sacks this season, which would shatter former New York Giants defensive end and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan’s record of 22.5 sacks set in 2001. The four-year stud from Buffalo would need to average 2.5-3.0 sacks per game and the way opposing teams double- and triple-team him, that’s a tough feat to accomplish even if you’re considered one of the best pass rushers in the NFL.

Along with Strahan, there have only been 10 other occasions in NFL history where there have been 20+ sacks by a defensive player in a season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau:

  • Three players with 22.0 sacks in a season: defensive ends Mark Gastineau for the New York Jets in 1984 (previous all-time record holder in a season), Jared Allen in 2011 for the Minnesota Vikings and outside linebacker Justin Houston in 2014 for the Kansas City Chiefs.
  • Two players with 21.0 sacks in a season: the late, great defensive end Reggie White in 1987 for Philadelphia and defensive end Chris Doleman in 1989 for Minnesota. Both men are in enshrined in Canton after playing 15 seasons each, with White second all-time with 198 career sacks (Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith is first all-time with 200 career sacks), and Doleman sitting fourth all-time with 150.5 sacks.
  • Two players (one accomplished the feat twice) with 20.5 sacks in a season: Hall of Fame outside linebacker Lawrence Taylor in 1986 for the New York Giants, who changed the way the outside linebacker position was played and made the “sack” term a household name when the statistic became official in 1982 after “LT” won his second-consecutive AP DPOY following his rookie season; and defensive end J.J. Watt, took home AP DPOY honors after the 2012 and ’14 seasons. Both men are tied for the most AP DPOYs in NFL history with three a piece.
  • Two players with 20.0 sacks in a season: the late, great outside linebacker Derrick Thomas for Kansas City in 1990, and recently retired outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware in 2008 for the Dallas Cowboys. Thomas ranks 16th on the NFL’s all-time sacks list with 126.5 in his career, is also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and many folks believe that Ware (eighth all-time with 138.5 sacks) and a Super Bowl ring in 2015 with the Denver Broncos, is bound for Canton once his five-year waiting period is over.

The dropoff from Mack, on defense was considerable last year for Oakland, who finished as the 26th-ranked defense in the NFL.

Outside linebacker Bruce Irvin was second on the team with seven sacks, but he needs to get 10.0-12.0 sacks this season on the opposite side of the defense to lighten the load for Mack. Irvin did finish tied with Atlanta Falcons’ outside linebacker Vic Beasley with five forced fumbles last season, most in the league.

Mario Edwards Jr. has had a hard time staying healthy, and Justin “Jelly” Ellis needs to step up his production and provide more pressure to opposing quarterbacks. Throw in Denico Autry and Jihad Ward into the mix as well of guys that are expected to have better seasons for the Silver and Black.

Rookie defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes could be a force in the middle of the defensive line if he’s completely returned from the ACL injury that derailed his junior season two seasons ago for UCLA, in the Bruins’ first game of the 2015 season.

The Raiders believe that Vanderdoes has recovered well, well enough that they spent a third round pick on him in the NFL Draft this past April.

As of Monday, Vanderdoes was the starting defensive tackle on the team’s unofficial depth chart ahead of Ward but according to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle, Vanderdoes was briefly out with what the team called a “minor” knee injury Tuesday, but returned to practice on Wednesday.

It remains uncertain if Vanderdoes plays in Oakland’s preseason opener in Arizona Saturday night.

Second with no “true” middle linebacker on the roster (“true” meaning a middle linebacker with at least 1-2 years of NFL experience) on the roster, the Raiders need someone to fill the void at one of the critical spots on the defense for any team.

There’s high hopes for another rookie in Marquel Lee to seize the job in training camp, a fifth-round pick from Wake Forest that could be a hidden gem for Oakland.

The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Lee was a three-year starter in his four seasons for the Demon Deacons and finished tops on the team 105 tackles (63 solo and 42 assisted), 7.5 sacks and three forced fumbles his senior year.

Lastly, Oakland’s secondary has to protect the back-end of the defense and limit the long ball. Oakland was seventh-worse in the league last season surrendering an average of 375 passing yards per game in 2016.

With both safety positions solidified with 11-year veteran Reggie Nelson (team-high five interceptions and his second-straight Pro Bowl berth) and second-year player Karl Joseph (60 tackles total) patrolling the middle of the field, and David Amerson likely to maintain his spot at right cornerback, incumbent Sean Smith’s starting job at left cornerback is in jeopardy to four-year player TJ Carrie.

The nine-year veteran had a forgettable 2016 where he was consistently picked on by opposing quarterbacks, who had a passer rating of 114.0 against Smith last year, completing 44 receptions on 77 targets for 749 yards and eight touchdowns according to a recent training camp report filed by NBC Sports Bay Area Oakland Raiders Insider Scott Bair.

Carrie has passed Smith on the depth chart in training camp, lining up with the starting 11 over the weekend. Smith has been seen working out with the second-team defense playing a hybrid linebacker/safety covering tight ends in sub packages and at slot cornerback when the offense goes four wide receivers.

Limiting the the big-play wouldn’t hurt either.

Oakland’s defense surrendered a league-most 61 plays of 20+ yards to opposing offenses.

The 2017 season could be one of the greatest seasons in Raiders’ franchise history, and the defense will play a major roll (good or bad) in what Raider Nation is hoping will end in the organization winning its fourth Vince Lombardi trophy.

 

 

 

Oakland travels to Arizona for preseason opener Aug 12th

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AP Photo File: Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) applauds during an NFL football training camp on Saturday, July 29, 2017, in Napa, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

OAKLAND — The Raiders gear up for 2017 preseason with a road trip to the Valley of the Sun to take on the Arizona Cardinals Saturday night Aug. 12, with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. PT from University of Phoenix Stadium. This marks the third time in seven years that the Silver and Black open up the preseason schedule on the road, as they opened the 2016 preseason in Arizona last season and in Minnesota for the 2014 preseason.

This also marks the fifth time in seven years that Oakland and Arizona meet in the preseason, with the Raiders taking last year’s preseason opener 31-10.

The Raiders will be a team that will score a lot of points this season with Derek Carr throwing to his talented wide receivers in Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper. Oakland was the sixth-ranked offense with Carr throwing for 3,937 yards and 26 touchdowns (to just 6 interceptions) in 2016.

Cooper and Cooper each had 1,000-yard receiving seasons last year.

Add in a physical running back in Marshawn Lynch to an already deep running back stable with Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington to go along with free agent addition Jared Cook and holdover Clive Walford to sure up the tight end position, the Silver and Black will be a feared offense in 2017.

With left tackle Donald Penn a training camp holdout over his contract, I wouldn’t expect to see Carr and the first-team offense play no more than a series or two as the point of the preseason is to find your team’s identity, see which rookies can be contributors to an NFL team, and most importantly, keep your starters healthy.

Carr who signed a five-year, $125 million contract extension with the organization during the offseason and is coming off a broken fibula last season, is the most important Raider the team has to keep healthy with all of the Super Bowl hype surrounding the team heading into the season.

The reigning Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year in defensive end Khalil Mack and the defense look to improve a unit that finished 26th in the league last season despite Mack registering 11 sacks, five forced fumbles, and an interception that returned for a touchdown.

Overall defensively, Oakland already has the majority of their starting lineup intact with the exception of middle linebacker, and possibly cornerback opposite of David Amerson.

Rookie Marquel Lee and second-year pro Tyrell Adams battling for the starting job at middle linebacker. Lee is currently ahead of Adams on the team’s depth chart in training camp and should start in Oakland’s first preseason game but should see a lot of action.

Lee is one of 30 rookies who should see their first live action in an NFL game.

Nine-year veteran Sean Smith is being pushed hard for his starting spot at cornerback by fourth-year player TJ Carrie and rookie Gareon Conley. Carrie has passed Smith on the Raiders depth chart in training camp after lining up with the starting 11 over the weekend in Napa.

Conley hasn’t practiced yet due to shin splints and off the field issues, is playing catch up.

Arizona lost to the Dallas Cowboys 20-18 in the NFL’s Hall of Fame Game last Thursday as both teams held out most of their starters.

Former 49ers starter/backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert completed 11-of-14 passes for 185 yards leading Arizona to touchdowns on their first two drives.