Raiders are not celebrating their win
Team will spend bye week with daily testing and no exotic vacations
It used to be you could count on a handful of Raiders getting in a couple of practice days and then heading to Las Vegas for some rest and recreation during the bye week.
Now they’re already in Las Vegas and they can’t leave.
So much for blowing off a little steam after a big win over the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
As agreed to by the NFL and the NFL Players Union on Oct. 6, the Raiders will continue to enforce their “virtual” bubble and players will be at the facility at least once each day even if they’re not practicing.
“There’s a lot of protocols, and (general manager) Mike Mayock and our staff keep me abreast of all those,” coach Jon Gruden said Monday at his weekly teleconference. “They have to come in every day and be tested. That’s mandatory by the league and by the players union. None of the coaches are allowed to leave town either. You’ve got to be in town and tested every day.”
The Raiders will hold an outdoor practice Wednesday, mostly for younger players as well as quarterbacks Marcus Mariota and Nathan Peterman, and work on fundamentals. Players will be encouraged to use restraint and caution during their free time, presumably at a safe social distance from the Las Vegas strip.
With that in mind, some analysis of Gruden’s day-after thoughts about the Chiefs win and what’s ahead for the 3-2 Raiders:
Ruggs scratching the surface: Rookie wide receiver Henry Ruggs III made a highlight-film quality contested-catch of 46 yards from Derek Carr to set up a field goal and then a 72-yard bolt of lightning for a touchdown. And he’s just getting started, having played just one healthy half of football in Week 1.
“We haven’t had a healthy Henry Ruggs, really, for a full game until yesterday,” Gruden said. “Hopefully that’s a sign of good things to come. We’re just learning about Ruggs. We’re just getting him into the offense.”
Ruggs isn’t some sprinter racing under rainbows. I found it impressive in his postgame teleconference he talked about “attacking” the ball as it was in the air — going to get it rather than waiting for it to drop into his waiting arms. Clelin Ferrell’s big day: Take a close look at the pressure on Patrick Mahomes on the 47-yard interception return by Jeff Heath. He had defensive lineman Clelin Ferrell in his face, and Gruden said it wasn’t the only play Ferrell made all day even if the gamebook had him with three tackles and one pass defensed.
Also cited were practice squad promotions Datone Jones (27 snaps) and Chris Smith (19), the latter a career defensive end who played inside at tackle at 6-foot-1 and 266 pounds.
Help for Jacobs
Gruden has been resistant to doing too much substituting for running back Josh Jacobs, considering him an every-down,
bell-cow back. It appears Devontae Booker, who had 62 yards on seven carries and has been one of the real pleasant surprises on the roster, has Gruden more willing to make sure Jacobs gets a breather now and again.
Carr’s sneaky side
Carr was 22 of 31 for 346 yards and three touchdowns, including the 59yard strike to Agholor, a 5-yard pass to Darren Waller, and the 72-yard pass to Ruggs. He converted a third-and-18 pass to Hunter Renfrow for 42 yards and generally outplayed Mahomes, who is on anyone’s shortlist with Seattle’s Russell Wilson and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers as the top quarterback in the NFL.