Raiders must solve mystery in Mullens
There is a possibility that the Raiders defense could face a 49ers offense Thursday evening led by quarterback Nick Mullens.
To which many Raiders fans, and national viewers tuning into a prime-time matchup of one-win teams, might reply: Who?
With starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo lost for the year to a torn ACL and backup C.J. Beathard dealing with a sprained right wrist, the 49ers could turn to Mullens, an undrafted player who has not taken a regular-season snap and would be making his NFL debut.
If that’s the case, one Raiders player who knows Mullens said the quarterback will be ready.
“The pressure won’t get to him, man,” Raiders running back Jalen Richard said. “He’s always been that guy.”
Richard and Mullens were teammates for three seasons at Southern Mississippi, where Mullens set school records for passing yards and touchdowns. Richard recalled the program was “rebuilding” when Mullens arrived — Southern Miss snapped a 23game losing streak late in Mullens’ freshman season — and played in a bowl game two years later.
“He done been in every type of game, good and bad, highs and ups and lows,” Richard said. “So I know he’s just ready for it. He’s going to go out there and just go have fun and be him.”
Mullens played in all four preseason games, completing 31 of 43 passes for 396 yards and one touchdown with three interceptions. Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said along with that film, he has asked Richard and another former Southern Miss quarterback, Brett Favre, for insight.
“You never underestimate anybody in this league,” Gruden said. “We’ll have a lot of respect for whoever’s under center.”
The Raiders’ main challenge, Gruden said, is slowing the 49ers’ scheme under head coach Kyle Shanahan, not simply the player orchestrating it.
“You’ve got to prepare for this running game and everything that comes off of it,” Gruden said. “If you can’t stop the running game against Shanahan you’ve got no chance, because they have as good a move-the-pocket system and play-action system as there is in this league.
“We’re going to prepare for the structure of their system. We expect them to run the ball and play-action pass.”
Last Sunday, the Raiders struggled to contain the running game of the Colts, who amassed 222 yards on 40 carries. The 49ers enter Thursday with the sixth-best rushing offense in the league, averaging 133.6 yards per game. The Raiders rank last in rushing defense, allowing 144.7 yards per game.
Gruden and defensive coordinator Paul Guenther both cited that number Wednesday as tied to the Raiders’ leaguelow seven sacks. By running well on first and second down, their opponents avoid getting into predictable passing situations.
“We didn’t do a good enough job stopping the run (Sunday), and that kind of affects the down and distance of things to where you can make calls where guys tee off,” Guenther said. “We’ve got to do a better job stopping the run, getting them to third-and-longer yardage situations, so we can rush the passer.”
Overall, the Colts totaled 461 yards, converted 9 of 13 thirddown tries and scored on seven of nine possessions. Said Guenther on Wednesday: “At the end of the day, guys, it doesn’t matter who’s playing quarterback — we’ve got to play better.”
“I told you guys a few weeks back, I’m not used to giving up 42 points,” Guenther said. “This is new to me. So the players have to understand, we’ve got to play better team defense, we’ve got to stop the run better. It’s not a missed assignment issue. It’s more of a physical issue. We lost leverage in coverage several times. We’re supposed to be outside leverage with a guy and the guy beats us on an outside breaking route — that stuff can’t happen.
“I showed them those plays and said until we fix this stuff, guys, we’re going to continue to get it. So, to me, who we’re playing against is the least of my concerns.”