The Oakland Raiders returned to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the first time since 1994 Saturday afternoon, falling to the Los Angeles Rams 19-15 in the team’s second preseason affair.
While losing is never ideal, there’s no need to overreact to Saturday’s showing in Southern California; with the two teams set to open the regular season against one another in just over three weeks – a funky scheduling oddity to be sure – a ton of starters on both teams enjoyed an afternoon off, as not to tip their hand prior to Week 1.
However, with the starters not going, it gave other players further down the roster a chance to make their case for why they should be on the final, 53-man roster, and give credit where it’s due, a bunch of them took advantage of the reps.
Let’s take a closer look at the playtime percentages from Saturday’s game at the LA Coliseum, and see what we can learn from the numbers.
| Player | Pos. | Offense | Defense | Special Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C Warren | RB | 51 – 85% | 2 – 7% | |
| M Ateman | WR | 51 – 85% | ||
| J Feliciano | G | 47 – 78% | ||
| O Aboushi | G | 41 – 68% | 1 – 4% | |
| I Silberman | G | 38 – 63% | 1 – 4% | |
| J Simmons | G | 38 – 63% | 1 – 4% | |
| J Ware | T | 38 – 63% | ||
| E Manuel | QB | 35 – 58% | ||
| P Butler | TE | 32 – 53% | 5 – 18% | |
| D Kirkland | G | 24 – 47% | ||
| M Baugh | TE | 27 – 45% | 12 – 43% | |
| P Brown | TE | 26 – 43% | 10 – 36% | |
| C Cook | QB | 25 – 42% | ||
| K Hatcher | WR | 23 – 38% | 6 – 21% | |
| B Parker | T | 22 – 37% | 1 – 4% | |
| D Sharpe | T | 22 – 37% | 1 – 4% | |
| J Holton | WR | 16 – 27% | 11 – 39% | |
| R Switzer | WR | 14 – 23% | 8 – 29% | |
| G Whalen | WR | 14 – 23% | 7 – 25% | |
| I Whitney | WR | 13 – 22% | 6 – 21% | |
| S Blacknall | WR | 13 – 22% | 2 – 7% | |
| J Stone | C | 13 – 22% | 1 – 4% | |
| C Hunt | G | 13 – 22% | ||
| R Yurachek | FB | 10 – 17% | 10 – 36% | |
| J Richard | RB | 9 – 15% | 9 – 32% | |
| D Harris | WR | 1 – 2% | ||
| J Cabinda | LB | 43 – 66% | 25 – 89% | |
| N Nelson | DB | 42 – 65% | 16 – 57% | |
| D Leavitt | DB | 39 – 60% | 15 – 54% | |
| T Mitchel | CB | 38 – 58% | 6 – 21% | |
| S Luani | FS | 37 – 57% | 23 – 82% | |
| S Calhoun | LB | 37 – 57% | 14 – 50% | |
| N Morrow | LB | 35 – 54% | 4 – 14% | |
| F Brown | DE | 34 – 52% | 3 – 11% | |
| S Soto | DT | 29 – 45% | 6 – 21% | |
| T Hester | DT | 29 – 45% | 3 – 11% | |
| A Hamilton | CB | 24 – 37% | 10 – 36% | |
| K Wilber | LB | 24 – 37% | 4 – 14% | |
| T Carradine | DE | 24 – 37% | 2 – 7% | |
| M Edwards | DE | 23 – 35% | 3 – 11% | |
| M Lee | LB | 22 – 34% | 2 – 7% | |
| A Victor | LB | 21 – 32% | 18 – 64% | |
| S Wright | CB | 21 – 32% | 7 – 25% | |
| K Joseph | SS | 20 – 31% | 1 – 4% | |
| J Cowser | LB | 19 – 29% | 17 – 61% | |
| M Hurst | DT | 19 – 29% | 2 – 7% | |
| R Nelson | FS | 18 – 28% | 2 – 7% | |
| F Rucker | DT | 17 – 26% | 2 – 7% | |
| G Wright | DT | 17 – 26% | 1 – 4% | |
| R Melvin | CB | 16 – 25% | 1 – 4% | |
| P Hall | DT | 16 – 25% | 1 – 4% | |
| R Pringle | CB | 15 – 23% | 1 – 4% | |
| E Harris | SS | 12 – 18% | 1 – 4% | |
| G Conley | DB | 11 – 17% | ||
| A Key | DE | 9 – 14% | 3 – 11% | |
| Q Mauger | S | 4 – 6% | ||
| A DePaola | LS | 8 – 29% | ||
| J Townsend | P | 8 – 29% | ||
| M Nugent | K | 5 – 18% |
Offense
Chris Warren III was at it again – The rookie running back delivered quite the debut performance last week against the Detroit Lions, and if you can believe it, Warren III was actually even better against the Rams. Warren III was an absolute beast against the Rams, carrying the ball 18 times, for 110 yards, and tallying his first touchdown as a pro, during his 51 (85%) offensive snaps. Once again, Warren III averaged more than six yards per carry, and at this point, you have to say he’s been the Raiders offensive MVP of the preseason.
Jalen Richard shows off his hands – At this point, we know what Jalen Richard brings to the table running the ball, but over the past two weeks, No. 30 has shown us that he’s also a legitimate receiving threat. “Rocket” Richard didn’t play a ton – just nine offensive snaps (15%) – but he made sure to make the most of the times he was on the field, hauling in three passes for 35 yards, a number that was good enough to tie for the team lead. Richard is one of those guys who constantly finds a way to get involved, so I’m excited to see what Head Coach Jon Gruden has in store for him this year.
Griff Whalen finds the end zone – If you want to talk about guys who have made the most out of their opportunities in Silver and Black the past two weeks, you can’t leave Whalen off that list. Saturday in particular, with Jordy Nelson and Amari Cooper playing the role of spectator, Whalen made sure to leave his imprint on the game. In 14 snaps (23%), Whalen caught a pair of passes, including a touchdown pass from EJ Manuel, the only Raiders’ passing touchdown of the afternoon.
Defense
Marquel Lee fills up the stat sheet – Now in his second season in Silver and Black, Lee has enjoyed a strong start to the preseason. He’s been active around the ball, and looks comfortable with what Defensive Coordinator Paul Guenther is asking of him. Lee played 22 defensive snaps (34%) against the Rams Saturday afternoon, and totaled five tackles, a sack, one tackle for loss, as well as a quarterback hit. Not a bad day at work for No. 55.
Mo Hurst gets to the quarterback – Another positive takeaway from the first two preseason games of the year is the play of the team’s interior line. Last week, P.J. Hall was a man on the mission, and this week, his fellow rookie Mo Hurst was the one who enjoyed the big day. Hurst played 19 defensive snaps (29%), and finished his second preseason game with two tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, and one quarterback hit.
James Cowser secures an interception – Typically when we say James Cowser’s name we’re talking about him getting to the quarterback or taking down a running back behind the line of scrimmage, but Saturday afternoon, No. 47 showed that he’s not just a one-trick pony. Cowser played 19 defensive snaps (29%), and while he did tally a tackle, and a pass defensed, his highlight of the day came in the form of a fourth quarter interception, his first since his sophomore year of college.