What to watch for in the third Raiders preseason game

The Oakland Raiders will play host to the Tennessee Titans on Saturday night in the ever so important third preseason game of the year. After that comJaes the 75 man roster cuts, followed by the fourth preseason game, 53 man roster cuts and finally the regular season! But what should you be focusing on when the Raiders take the field in Oakland?

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Derek Carr/Amari Cooper

It’s about more than just Carr or Cooper. I will be looking to see if their timing and chemistry look better than what we saw in the first two games. This franchise, and the offense in particular, is tied very closely to the relationship between these two. Carr and Cooper could end up playing together for over a decade, and if things go as well as we expect them to, they will be doing great things together. But the key is these two learning to play well together. So far in the preseason, they do not look like a duo who roomed together in camp so they could gel more. Hopefully that changes this week.

Jalen Richard/DeAndre Washington

Jump starting the run game has been a clear priority for the Raiders since Jack Del Rio took over. This year, there are two names who have caught the attention of coaches, fans and observers in training camp and both of those guys will get a look with the first team offensive line on Saturday:

Latavius Murray is the presumed starter but that may not last very long. Murray still has issues with running too upright, failing to get yards after contact and poor vision. Meanwhile, Washington and Richard have received rave reviews in camp. If they can play well through the last few preseason games,

Run blocking

The offensive line has been superb in pass blocking this preseason, but run blocking has been an entirely different situation. The coaches have made it clear that they want this to be a run first offense, but if they are going to achieve that, the offensive line needs to play a lot better. With three new pieces, it’s not surprising that they are getting off to a slow start, but by game three you would hope to see them playing much better together.

Darius Latham/Jihad Ward/Denico Autry

With Mario Edwards, Jr. out, the defensive line for the Raiders took a huge hit. Replacing him is no easy task and we saw as much in preseason game number two against the Packers when the defensive line didn’t look nearly as physical. Taking Edwards’ spot will likely be a combination of Jihad Ward, Darius Latham and Denico Autry. In week two, Autry did not look very good while Ward looked solid and Latham looked surprisingly good. Between these three, the Raiders are hoping that they won’t miss MEJ very much, but that’s a lot to ask for.

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