Raiders’ tackles Kolton Miller, Brandon Parker learning the hard way
ALAMEDA — The Raiders aren’t spending a lot of time being overly negative with the young core of a developmental roster.
The scoreboard each week takes care of that, as well as the NFL standings which show the Raiders at the bottom of the AFC West with a 2-9 record.
Those reminders make it so Jon Gruden spends a lot more time building players up than tearing them down.
“I think it’s a little easier than you might think,” Gruden said Monday at his weekly press conference the day after a 34-17 road loss to the Baltimore Ravens. “These guys are excited to show up and get a chance to start in the NFL, no question . . . (they) look at the film and they realize, ‘Hey, I can play in this league.’ That’s all part of being a rookie is proving yourself and proving deep down in your own heart you can make plays in the NFL.
“The win-loss record is not very good and it can take the wind out of your sails. But I think when you sit down and watch the tape with these guys individually and collectively, there’s a lot to take away from it.”
Even with three late sacks of quarterback Derek Carr, one which led to a 43-yard fumble return by Terrell Suggs, Gruden was pleased with the play of rookie tackles Kolton Miller and Brandon Parker, given the caliber of opposition.
“It went pretty good. Last week it was Chandler Jones, this week it was Terrell Suggs and (Matthrew) Judon,” Gruden said of Miller. “It’s never perfect, but the last two weeks he’s played very good football for us. I was proud of both tackles, honestly. Brandon had some bad snaps at the end of the game, but both our young guys hung there and did quite well.”
It’s been an eye-opening experience for Parker, a third-round draft pick who ideally would be playing behind Donald Penn on the right side with the idea of competing for a starting job in his second season.
“You have all kinds of blitzes and stunts and the crowd noise and the audibles and things are happening fast and you’re blocking great players and you’re a rookie out of North Carolina A&T, it’s a different ball game,” Gruden said. “I don’t want to lose sight of all the very good things this young man has done with some of the difficult situations that we put him in early in his career.”
Although there is no timetable, Gruden hopes Penn (groin) will be ready to begin practicing soon and be available to play before the season is over. At that point, the Raiders must decide whether to insert Penn back in the lineup or continue working toward 2019 with Parker.
At the least, Penn could serve as a swing tackle to get occasional snaps off for Miller and Parker as the season draws to a close.
Smith goes on IR — Jacquies Smith, the defensive end signed on Nov. 5, will be placed on injured reserve with an Achilles’ tear and is out for the rest of the season. Smith is the second player in two weeks lost to an Achilles’, joining veteran wide receiver Brandon LaFell.
“Very disappointing,” Gruden said. “He was doing some great things for us.”
Great may be a stretch, but Smith played 20 snaps against Arizona and 13 against the Los Angeles Chargers after signing and believing he was fully recovered from a 2016 knee injury that slowed
his progress. Without Smith, rookie thirdround pick Arden Key played 59 snaps against Baltimore.
Things looking up for Conley — Cornerback Gareon Conley continued to play well, breaking up a Lamar Jackson pass in the end zone that was intercepted by Marcus Gilchrist. According to Profootballfocus.com, opposing teams have just a 66.1 quarterback rating while targeting Conley, ranking him sixth at his position.
Conley, a first-round draft pick in 2017, could join Daryl Worley as the Raiders cornerback tandem in 2019.
“He’s getting better. I think his practices have been better,” Gruden said. “That’s a big part of it, his preparation . . . I really credit Derrick Ansley, our secondary coach . . . his technique is better. He’s more consistent. Playing with confidence. I like it.”
Martin now leads in rushing — Running back Doug Martin gained 51 yards on 11 carries, including 48 yards on 10 carries in the first half. The Ravens dominated in terms of time of possession in the second half and also took a 10-point lead in the third quarter, limiting the Raiders’ running opportunities.
Martin, who also caught three passes for 21 yards and finished runs with a flourish, has 384 yards rushing, passing Marshawn Lynch (376), is averaging 4.4 yards per carry and scored the Raiders’ first touchdown on a 1-yard run.
The former Tampa Bay starter came to the Raiders on a team-friendly one-year deal and has proved to be a solid acquisition.
“He’s running it, he’s catching it,” Gruden said. “He picked up some blitzes that were flushed . . . we thought Doug Martin played extremely well. Hopefully we can keep him around here.”
Jordy Nelson guts through it — It was tough to locate wide receiver Jordy Nelson against the Ravens, but his face was all over the Raiders locker room, as a someone reprinted Nelson’s likeness into a mask and distributed them in the locker room.
Nelson, who played with a knee bruise and had just one incomplete pass thrown his way in 53 snaps, said he had no idea what the masks were about.
Gruden appreciated Nelson giving it a shot with the Raiders depleted at wide receiver.