What did we learn from Raiders’ win?

OAKLAND – You’re not supposed to garner much information from a preseason game.

After all, it’s a dress rehearsal – a glorified scrimmage.

Then again, most teams don’t hire head coaches who haven’t been on the sideline in a decade.

Here’s what we learned in the Raiders’ 16-10 (at times soulcrushingly dull) preseason win over the Lions.

1. Donald Penn might not be long for this squad: The 2018 Raiders, under Jon Gruden, are a mystery. The Oakland offense, in particular, is a subject of deep intrigue. Luckily, Friday’s preseason opener provided a few hints of what Gruden has been cooking up since he last called plays.

We now know one aspect of Gruden’s offense: it’s going to utilize zone blocking.

By the looks of things Friday, there’s going to be lots of it.

That should raise eyebrows around “The Nation” – after all, an increase in zone blocking was a major aspect of the Raiders’ offensive train wreck in 2017.

But it should also concern offensive tackle Donald Penn. It could well mean that he’s not going to be on this team much longer.

Perhaps the constant zone calls were a byproduct of the preseason – the Raiders didn’t want to show too much in the first preseason game. Maybe Gruden and offensive line coach Tom Cable will find a “good mix” of power (man) and zone blocking come the regular season.

Or perhaps the Raiders showed off what will be the team’s default in 2018. I’m betting that it’s the latter. After all, there’s a reason the Raiders have been downright effusive in their praise of rookie left tackle Kolton Miller – the No. 15 overall pick – and why the team is reportedly asking Penn to take a pay cut.

Miller didn’t have a sterling performance Friday (his clear-as-day holding penalty negated a 60-yard Marshawn Lynch touchdown run), but he certainly looks the part of a modern, zone-blocking NFL left tackle. He’s tall and long and while his footwork wasn’t necessarily strong in limited action against the Lions, it’s evident that athleticism won’t be an issue for the UCLA product and that’s critical in a zone scheme, which wins by attacking defenders at the right angles.

Bay Area News Group/tns Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden grimaces while watching his players warm up before the start of Friday night’s preseason opener against the Detroit Lions.

Contrast that with Penn, who is a throwback kind of tackle: a stocky, bottom-heavy, road grater. Penn, who is on the Physically Unable to Perform list after offseason foot surgery, was a perfect fit for the Raiders’ offensive line in 2015 and 2016 – when the Raiders ran a power, man-blocking scheme, which valued physicality and winning one-on-one battles.

But if the Raiders are going to use that style in 2018, why would Gruden and his staff ask the Raiders’ offensive linemen – one of the heaviest, if not the heaviest lines in the NFL last season – to drop weight this offseason? Guard Kelechi Osemele, for instance, dropped 25 pounds. The reason, though not expressly stated by the Raiders’ new/old coach, is to better fit a zone scheme, which demands increased mobility.

Indeed, the Raiders’ offensive line looked like a lean, mean blocking machine.

And while I have no room to judge, Penn, who was standing on the sideline in street clothes Friday, doesn’t look svelte compared to last season.

Should he be able to get back onto the field this week, there are a few options for the Raiders to go with Penn, whose contract is set to count for $8.31 million against the cap this season: Gruden and his staff could let him battle with Miller for the starting left tackle spot (there’s been no indication that Miller is going to move to right tackle upon Penn’s return); they could cut him and save $5.3 million on the salary cap; they could relegate him to a backup role, keeping him around as an expensive insurance policy for the rookie; or they could trade him, perhaps getting an asset back (while getting off of his full cap hit).

But take a step back and look

at the situation. Penn is – in theory – coming back into the fold soon and it’s not clear where the three-time Pro Bowler fits onto this Raiders’ offensive line. It’s a stunning and somewhat bizarre offseason development, though Penn might have seen it coming – he did angrily call Gruden after the NFL Draft.

No matter what happens, Friday night’s game made one thing clear: if he even gets the chance, reintegration won’t be easy for No. 72.

2. Connor Cook is going to be the backup quarterback (and he might be the only one): You won’t get a foul word out of anyone in the Raiders’ locker room about backup quarterback EJ Manuel – he’s a standup guy – but that doesn’t mean that he’s guaranteed to make the Raiders’ roster this year.

Connor Cook is clearly the No. 2 on this team. The Raiders’ substitution patterns Friday indicated it and his play (especially compared to Manuel’s play) cemented it.

Gruden has been an outspoken fan of Cook for years – well before he took the Raiders’ job for the second time – so the favoritism isn’t surprising.

But the level of play between the two backup quarterbacks was so stark on Friday that it’s easy to imagine a scenario where Gruden only keeps one backup, cutting Manuel and instead stashing a third-string quarterback on the practice squad.

3. PJ Hall could be an impact player: It’s preseason, he was playing against backups most of the time, but rookie defensive tackle PJ Hall was everywhere on Friday night. Hall isn’t a big guy, but he was consistently getting push up the middle – you can’t teach the kind of explosion and drive he showed.

The Raiders have the makings of a really solid interior line rotation this season. Justin Ellis and Mario Edwards Jr. are rock-solid players, but behind them are two rookies, Hall and Maurice Hurst, who are poised to eventually take their jobs.

Khalil Mack will come back, and he and Bruce Irvin are going to get to the quarterback no matter who is in the middle of the defensive line.

But if the Raiders get this kind of push in the middle consistently this season, it opens up all sorts of tantalizing possibilities for this defense.

31/2. Same with Nick Nelson: Two pass breakups and five tackles? That’ll do for a debut. The Raiders can’t have enough competent players in the secondary, and Nelson looks the part of someone who can play both on the outside and in the slot. I’m fascinated to see if he can keep this level of play up, because if he can, he might be the first man off the bench in 2018.

4. Jon Gruden hasn’t missed a beat (in one specific) area: Gruden certainly received a warm welcome from the fans in attendance when he was announced along with the starters, but after that, Gruden faded from the collective consciousness – at least in the Coliseum (I can’t attest to the TV or radio feeds).

But I’m not going to lie, I expected a bit more – considering the amount of attention Gruden has garnered since he signed a decade-long, $100 million contract, I thought there would be more callbacks to the Raiders’ coach on the Jumbotrons, more chanting of his name (or nickname) in the crowd.

It’s preseason for everyone, I suppose.

All in all, Gruden put out a competent – though at times undisciplined – football team on the field on Friday. It was not an abject disaster of a “debut” and that’s about all you can ask for after so long away from coaching.

It still remains to be seen whether or not Gruden is capable of steering this boat – it will take months to come to that determination – but one thing is for sure after one preseason game: the man still knows how to chew out a referee.

“I thought I should have played it faster than what I was thinking,” Woods said. “I didn’t do that. I rapped it past the hole and missed the putt.

“I’m definitely tired,” he said. “It’s not necessarily the physical; it’s the mentally grinding that hard for 29 holes in this heat. It was a long day.”

Fowler toughs it out Playing with a strained muscle on his right side, Rickie Fowler is hanging tough.

He was forced to hit from the deep rough on numerous occasions on Saturday in playing 26 holes, but still managed to post 67 in the second round and 69 in the third.

In a trio of players trying to win their first major, Fowler joined Gary Woodland and Jon Rahm in a tie for third place, three shots behind Koepka.

“Luckily, it hasn’t gotten worse,” Fowler said of the injury he said he first suffered last week. “It’s stayed pretty much the same throughout the week. There’s probably not a whole lot of golf in my future next week.”

Englishman’s ace Matt Wallace produced an enormous roar in the gallery when he made a hole-in-one at the 16th. The club the 28-year-old Englishman used for a seemingly monstrous par-3 at 232 yards: 5-iron.

Best shot of my life, probably,” Wallace said. “In front of a few thousand people on one hole; in front of Jordan (Spieth) ... So, yeah, a special day for me.”

The ace was the 26th in the PGA Championship since they began keeping records in 1983.

Finau’s wild ride Tony Finau may have earned himself a captain’s pick on the U.S. Ryder Cup team with a second round he summed up in one word: “nuts.”

In the round that started on Friday and finished on Saturday morning, Finau made 10 birdies – along with a triple bogey – in shooting 66. He did so playing with Jim Furyk, the U.S. captain for next month’s showdown with Europe in Paris.

It might be tough for Furyk to pass up a player who can be so explosive. Mickelson’s sour finish As easy as the course played for many, it was shockingly challenging for Phil Mickelson. He made only three more birdies (six) than double bogeys (three) in 36 holes, shot 73-71 and missed the cut by four shots.

For a second straight year, Mickelson failed to go four rounds in the PGA after he’d made 21 consecutive cuts. The 48-yearold’s performances in the four majors this year were a disappointment. He tied for 36th in the Masters, 48th in the U.S. Open and 24th in the British Open.