MORSE: Preview of Las Vegas Raiders – Game 1
Follow us
Follow Us
🕑 Read Time: 8 minutes
Posted Under: Patriots News
HOME > Patriots Blog > Patriots News
Predicting natural disasters before they occur takes technology, talent, and a lot of experience. Predicting the NFL season is far less precise, taking into consideration coaching, personnel and injury history. It’s a SWAG (scientific wild ass guess).
| 3WR 1TE Offense | ||||
| Starter | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| QB | Geno Smith | Kenny Pickett Q | Aidan O’Connell IR | – |
| RB | Ashton Jeanty | Raheem Mostert | Zamir White | Dylan Laube |
| WR | Jakobi Meyers | Dont’e Thornton | ||
| WR | Amari Cooper | Jack Bech | – | – |
| WR | Tre Tucker | |||
| TE | Brock Bowers | Michael Mayer | Ian Thomas | – |
| LT | Kolton Miller | Charles Grant | – | – |
| LG | Dylan Parham | Caleb Rogers | – | |
| C | Jordan Meredith | Will Putnam | – | – |
| RG | Jackson Powers-Johnson | Alex Cappa | ||
| RT | DJ Glaze | Stone Forsythe | – | – |
It’s a new era for the Las Vegas Raiders. They fired the GM, Head Coach and his staff and brought in former Patriots Head Coach, 73-year-old Pete Carroll, to revitalize the franchise.
Carroll is an energetic and proven Head Coach. He took the Seahawks to an NFC Championship in 2013 and blew out Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 43-8 in the Super Bowl, and then followed it up with another Super Bowl appearance in 2014 but lost to the Patriots 28-24 in Super Bowl XLIX.
Carroll added a QB he’s familiar with in Geno Smith, who played multiple seasons under him in Seattle. For the last 4 seasons combined, Smith has had the highest completion percentage of all NFL QB’s. In his last seasons he has started 49 of 51 games, completed 1138 passes of 1649 attempts for a 68.4 Completion %. In the last three seasons he passed for 71 TDs and had 35 INTs.
This from Warren Sharpe “Last season he had the highest completion % when under pressure. Last season Seattle’s line was one of the worst in the league:
#30 in pressure rate allowed
#30 in no-blitz pressure rate allowed
#31 in offensive false starts
#28 in offensive holding
It was a bad line that allowed a lot of pressure, but Geno was a top QB in accuracy.” This is a huge upgrade over the QBs the Raiders had last year who had the 26th ranked completion %.
In the Draft they selected RB Ashton Jeanty. He is very exciting player and gives the Raiders offense a big boost. Jeanty is expected to rush for 1631 yards and 10 TDs in 2025.
Raiders O-Line is ranked 17th in the league by PFF. They have two young linemen that took their lumps in 2024. RJ Glaze and Jackson Powers-Johnson were rookies and played pretty well at Center and Right Tackle. They replaced Alex Cappa at Right Guard and moved Powers-Johnson there. Kolton Miller is a solid Left tackle who ranked 13th amongst tackles last season. Dylan Parham at Left Guard was also ranked high at #17.
Brock Bowers is the #1 TE in the league. He will be a matchup nightmare for the Patriots, who have not been able to cover a TE in two years.
The cupboard is a little bare in the Wide Receiver room. Old friend Jakobi Meyers led the team in receptions with 87 and 1,027 yards and 4 TDs. Reliable and steady, last season he did not drop a pass that was catchable. He wants to be traded because the Raiders won’t extend his contract. He did show up to practice this week and is expected to play this Sunday. If he decides to stay, he should have an even better season with Smith at QB.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Patriots renew trade talks with Ls Vegas after the two teams have played. It would make no sense for the Raiders to trade him to their opening game opponent the week before the game. The Patriots lost Meyers to Las Vegas over a $1M difference in their offer. I also believe the Massachusetts Millionaires tax was a big part of his departure too. His take home pay would be about $2M less in Foxboro. He is making $10.5M this season, the last year of his 3-year contract and I would love to have him back.
They just signed Amari Cooper and expect him in the lineup too. For the Bills last season, the 31-year-old Cooper had 44 receptions for 547 yards and four touchdowns. Tre Tucker was a 3rd Round pick by the Raiders in 2023. The 24-year-old had 19 receptions for 331 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games and one start, as a rookie. Last season he chipped in with 37 receptions for 539 yards and 3 TDs in 17 games with 14 starts.
Defense
| Base 4-3 Defense | ||||
| Starter | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| LDE | Maxx Crosby | Tyree Wilson | – | – |
| LDT | Jonah Laulu | JJ Pegues | ||
| RDT | Adam Butler | Leki Fotu | Thomas Booker IV | |
| RDE | Malcolm Koonce | Charles Snowden | Tonka Hemingway | – |
| WLB | Germaine Pratt | Jamal Adams | – | – |
| MLB | Elandon Roberts | Tommy Eichenberg | Cody Lindenberg | |
| SLB | Devin White | Brennan Jackson | – | |
| LCB | Darien Porter | Decamerion Richardson | – | |
| SS | Jeremy Chinn | Tristin McCollum | Lonnie Johnson IR | – |
| FS | Isaiah Pola-Mao | Chris Smith | ||
| RCB | Eric Stokes | Jamal Adams | – | |
| NB | Darnay Holmes | Kyu Blu Kelly Q | – |
The secondary was a glaring weakness. They signed Jeremy Chinn, a Strong Safety, in Free Agency. I have liked him since he came out in the 2020 draft as a 2nd Rd (#64) selection by Carolina out of Southern Illinois. The 27-year-old is entering his 6th season in the league. PFF had him with a 69.0 rating which ranked him 50th of all safeties. Rookie Darien Porter was drafted in this year’s draft by the Raiders in the 3rd Rd #68. The 6’3” 195-pound DB actually played WR for the 1st three years at Iowa State. Porter has great speed running a 4.3 40-yard dash at the Combine. In 2024, he had very few tackles, probably because other teams were not throwing in his direction.
Isaiah Pola-Mao was a highly decorated High School player. He attended USC and was signed by the Raiders in 2022 after going undrafted. The 6’3 ½ “, 204-pound Safety ran a 4.51 40 at his Pro Day with a 6.87 3-cone drill. Eric Stokes plays the RCB position. The former 1st round pick (29) in the 2021 Draft by Green Bay has never lived up to his potential. The Georgia product stands 6’1”, 195-pounds and ran a 4.29 40 at the Combine. The Packers declined his 5th year rookie contract Option in 2023. He missed all of 2024 on the injured list. The Raiders are taking a chance on Stokes to see if he can bounce back and play like he did as a rookie, where he had 14 Pass Break Ups.
Darnay Holmes has had a checkered career since being drafted in the 2020 draft, 4th round, (110) by the New York Giants. He hasn’t performed to that level. The Giants released him at cutdown day in 2024, and he was claimed by Las Vegas. He played in 16 games and had 30 tackles.
Maxx Crosby, a standout defensive lineman and Oakland’s 2020 fourth-round pick (106th overall), is entering his seventh season. He has earned two First Team All-Pro selections and four Pro Bowl honors. He will play all over the Defensive line so rookie Will Campbell and Morgan Moses will both have to contend with this pass rushing monster. In his 6 years in the league, Crosby has 59.5 sacks. Jonah Laulu is the LDT. He was claimed off waivers from the Indianapolis Colts, who drafted him in the 7th Round in the 2024 draft (234). Last season he had 35 tackles and a sack, but the 6’5” 289-pound lineman is a little light for a DT.
Former Patriot’s lineman Adam Butler is the RDT. In 2024 he had 65 tackles and 5 sacks for the Raiders. Entering his 9th season in the league, the 6’5” 301-pound Butler, played college ball at Vanderbilt and was a 2017 UDFA find of the Patriots. Malcolm Koonce is the RDE. He enjoyed his beast season in 2023 with 8 sacks opposite of Crosby and under new coach Antonio Pierce. However, last season he was injured in Pre-Season Practice with a knee injury and was gone for the season. How is he after a year off rehabbing, Sunday should tell us a lot? Koonce can be run on at just 6’3” 243-pounds.
The Linebacker room is led by Germaine Pratt. Last season with the Bengals he had 143 tackles but after the season he asked for his release. Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo was let go by Cincinnati and that may be why Pratt asked for his release. Las Vegas signed him on a one-year contract. Former Patriot Elandon Roberts is now the Middle Linebacker. Always an undersized linebacker at 5’11” 235-pounds, the University of Houston product enters his 10th season in the league after being selected by the Patriots in the 6th Round (214). In 2024 he had 46 Tackles for Pittsburgh.
Devin White, the 6-year veteran and former 1st round selection (5) by Tampa Bay, signed with Las Vegas this season. The 6’ 252-pound linebacker was selected to 2nd team All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl the same year. Last season with Houston, he played in only 7 games with 1 start and made 19 tackles. He started the season on the Eagles roster but was out with an ankle injury. I don’t know what to expect from White!
| Special Teams | ||||
| Starter | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| PK | Daniel Carlson | – | – | – |
| P | AJ Cole | – | – | – |
| H | AJ Cole | – | – | – |
| PR | Tre Tucker | Ashton Jeanty | – | – |
| KR | Tre Tucker | Dylan Laube | – | – |
| LS | Jacob Bobenmoyer | – | – | – |
Punter AJ Cole finished 9th in Net Yards with 42.5 average. Of his 65 punts 41.5% were inside the 20-yard line. Placekicker Daniel Carlson made 85% of his FGs, ranking 19th in the league. That was 34 of 40 FGs made. Tre Tucker will be doing the Kick Return and Punt Return duties. Last season RB Dylan Laube (UNH) did Kick Returns.
The coaching staffs on each team include connections such as Pete Carroll, Patrick Graham, Tyrone McKenzie, Bob Bicknell for the Raiders. Josh McDaniels, Terrell Williams, Todd Downing, and Doug Marrone for the Patriots. There is also a retired quarterback (soon to be Hall of Famer) with a statue at Gillette and an ownership stake in the Raiders.
Elandon Roberts ILB
Atonio Mafi OG
Jakobi Meyers WR
Adam Butler DT
Robert Spillane, ILB
Austin Hooper TE
Ben Brown, OC
K’Lavon Chaisson EDGE
Mack Hollins WR
Thayer Munford Jr. OL
Jabrill Peppers posted this on X “Going on 9 years in this league. I’ve had 7 HCs & 6 DCs lol There is no scheme you can place me in where I won’t find a way to be effective”.
When questioned about Peppers HC Mie Vrabel alluded the decision was a lot of things but scheme fit wasn’t one of them. Curious what it was then? If it wasn’t any off field issue, then what was it? Andrew Callahabn and Mike Giradi both reported that it wasn’t any type of off field issue. Was Peppers unhappy that he wasn’t starting? Did he refuse to play Special Teams? Did he get asked to take a pay cut?
It’s also very curious that Peppers, as a Free Agent who could be signed for the vet minimum since he is owed $4.2M from the Patriots, has not found a new team yet!
The Patriots announced that they have signed OL Brenden Jaimes to the Practice Squad. Jaimes was 2021 5th Round draft pick by Las Vegas Raiders out of Nebraska. He has played in 43 games in the NFL. The 6’5” G/C has three starts, all at OC. The Titans signed him as a Free Agent this spring, but he was waived on cut-down day. Subsequently the Patriots released former BC Center Alec Lindstrom.
On Tuesday the Patriots snuck in the release of DT Jahvaree Ritzie which opened a spot on the Practice Squad.
Today, the Patriots signed Darius Harris a 6th year Linebacker to the Practice Squad. The 6’2” 238-pound linebacker played 4 years with Kansas City and last season with Dallas. In 2022 he had 43 tackles with 4 starts. However, the last two seasons he only had 1 tackle. The 6’2” 238-pound linebacker played at Middle Tennessee State. For his career he has played in 37 games with just 6 starts.
Drake Maye
Hunter Henry
Robert Spillane
Marcus Jones
Harold Landry
Brenden Schooler
K’Lavon Chaisson (named as a Game Day Captain by Vrabel)
Henry is the only player that has been a Captain for the team before this season. He was named a Captain when Jabrill Peppers was stripped of the Captaincy last year, when he was suspended. Robert Spillane was Captain for Las Vegas last year. Brenden Schooler is not a surprise as he was the leader on Special Teams once Matthew Slater retired. Very surprised by Marcus Jones being named a Captain. Harold Landry had a very good Training Camp and has filled in naturally in this position.
Every year there is turnover on the roster, usually about 30%. This year it’s out with the old and in with the new. They have 27 new players that were not on the roster at the end of last year. Yes, that is greater than 50%. They will be starting six rookies (Campbell, Wilson, Henderson [KR], Woodson, Borregales and Ashby). On the Offensive line it’s 4 of the 5 starting linemen are new to the Team.
From our archive - this week all-time:
April 9 - April 24 (Through 26yrs)
Join 2,000+ fans getting exclusive stats, analysis, and insights delivered straight to their inbox every week. Never miss a play.
Callahan, Girardi and others said Peppers issue wasn’t of the off-the-field variety. However, I assume that was said in terms of: nothing had come out yet in that regard. The fact that Peppers wasn’t picked up immediately tells you a lot in a league starved for talent. My most likely guesses (like everyone else is doing), is a failed drug test and forthcoming league suspension, or it’s head injuries given Peppers padded helmet choice, ferocious hitting, and time in the league. The issue I have is people have come out saying “it’s scheme” etc as a fact, when that should… Read more »