Players rest; Lynch has seat for anthem
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Raiders weren’t going to take any chances, so coach Jack Del Rio only used two offensive starters in Saturday night’s preseason-opening 20-10 loss to the Cardinals. Not only did quarterback Derek Carr, receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree and running back Marshawn Lynch sit this one out, but Lynch sat on the bench during the national anthem.
Del Rio was surprised that Lynch sat during the anthem and talked to him afterward. (Lynch was long gone by the time the locker room doors opened).
“He said, ‘This is something I have done for 11 years. It’s not a form of anything other than me being myself,’ ” Del Rio said. “I told him I very strongly believe in standing for the national anthem. But I respect him as a man and he can do his thing. “So, it’s a non-issue for me.” As for Carr, he wanted to play but the
Raiders not only decided against it with left tackle Donald Penn holding out, but Del Rio gave Pro Bowl guard Kelechi Osemele, Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson and guard Gabe Jackson the night off as well.
Left tackle Marshall Newhouse, in for Penn, and right tackle Vadal Alexander, keeping that spot warm for Newhouse, were the only two projected starters to play for Oakland. Alexander did not fare well, getting beat badly on a sack.
Backup quarterback EJ Manuel was the victim on that play, and the hard hit was the only thing that really went wrong on a pretty good Raiders debut for the former Bills first-round pick. Manuel was 10-of-12 passing for 107 yards, hitting tight end Clive Walford three times for 44 yards.
Connor Cook took over the quarterback duties in the second half and was 5-of-11 for 67 yards in the third quarter, leading Oakland on a touchdown drive.
With Lynch out, DeAndre Washington got the start at running back and ran five times for 16 yards. Jalen Richard had five carriers for 7 yards, and was stuffed for no gain on 4th-and-1.
Lynch, meanwhile, left the Raiders bench area during the second quarter, borrowed a photographer’s camera and took some shots of the crowd.
While Del Rio sat out nine offensive starters, he only gave defensive end Khalil Mack and linebacker Bruce Irvin the night off on the other side of the ball. Defensive tackles Eddie Vanderdoes and Justin Ellis were active inside, and safety Karl Joseph flew around like he did in college, before an injuryriddled rookie season last year.
Defensive lineman Mario Edwards, a key player for the Raiders if he can stay healthy, made a nice stuff of a running play before his short night was over.
The first-team defense was on the field for a long time on Arizona’s first possession, and actually escaped with only allowing a field goal. But the Raiders were called for an illegal formation on that play, and Carson Palmer threw for the touchdown two plays later.
Arizona went up 14-0 in the second quarter when quarterback Drew Stanton escaped the arms of Denico Autry and rolled until he found tight end Troy Niklas for a 7-yard touchdown.
Besides Smith, the spotlight Saturday night was on rookie middle linebacker Marquel Lee and second-year outside linebacker Cory James. Lee is supposed to be a run-stopper so it’s not really fair to go on about his coverage skills, but he had trouble with Arizona tight ends on two completions.
Lee did recover a fumble that was knocked out by Ellis.
James did a good job of tackling players, even if most of those weren’t close to the line of scrimmage.
One name that jumped out Saturday night was linebacker LaTroy Lewis, an undrafted rookie out of Tennessee. He had two sacks after not being noticed much in training camp.
Seventh-round pick Treyvon Hester, a defensive tackle out of Toledo, also had two sacks.