There were reports of Derek Carr losing his command of the team Authentic Rashaan Melvin Jersey , and trade rumors began swirling at an all time level.Ultimately Amari Cooper was dealt to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 1st round pick and Marshawn Lynch was placed on injured reserve.These moves left Oakland’s already beleaguered offense without two feature players.This isn’t great news ahead of the Raiders’ matchup against the Colts’ whose defense is ranked 24th against the pass as opposed to 8th against the run.The offense hasn’t been able to gain much traction in the previous two games against the Chargers and the Seahawks even with the two aforementioned players on the active roster.Much of the offensive woes are due to the injuries on the offensive line—whose inability to protect the quarterback has hindered the game plan.The bye week was a chance to get healthy and allow the new starters to gel.Getting the tight ends involvedThe Raiders will have to jump start their passing game in Cooper’s absence and Gruden said“we’ll lean on all our receivers and certainly our tight ends as well” at his Wednesday press conference.Luckily the Raiders have a top 5 NFL Tight End on the roster in Jared Cook.Cook has had monster performances this year and will have to do even more going forward if the Raiders have a chance at winnings anymore games in 2018.This is a fun wrinkle out of 12 personnel where Jared Cook is lined up on the wing alongside blocking end Lee Smith.Gruden designed this man beater to get Jared Cook loose against 1-on-1 coverage.Lee runs a clear-out and Cook cuts inside creating a natural rub.Defenses know they will have to take Cook out of the now that he is the Raider’s only consistent receiving weapon.Play designs like this against the Colt’s pass defense will be a key to success on Sunday.But Lee Smith isn’t only a decoy in the pass game.He can contribute in small spurts as a receiving option as well.Smith will have plenty of reps where he stays in pass protection to help rookie Tackles Kolton Miller and Brandon Parker.A play like this takes advantage of the defense not accounting for Smith as a receiver for a solid chunk gain.Getting the ball downfieldDerek Carr was at one time one of the more dangerous quarterbacks in the league throwing fade routes.Mostly because of poor coaching however starting last season, this part of Carr’s game just hasn’t been clicking like it was in 2016.Carr getting back to his old self needs to start at some point soon, regardless of the Raiders win-loss record by season’s end.Martavis Bryant will get plenty of opportunities like this play here.Carr has had no problem throwing it up to Bryant this season, often ending in interceptions unfortunately.Bryant isn’t a polished route runner but his freakish athleticism even by NFL standards gives Carr confidence in his ability to come down with 50-50 balls downfield.The play above is one rare example of Carr throwing a perfect fade route to his receiver this season.Bryant is simply able to win with speed and victimize the corner for being in press coverage.Carr is able to get this pass off in rhythm and takes a 3 step drop before dropping a dime on the sideline for a 20 yard gain.Expect to see plenty of this going forward and the success of this route will force defenses to play with 2 deep safeties or back their corners off, opening up other plays in the gameplan.Check out the nifty play design here against the Dolphins.Jordy Nelson and Brandon LaFell line up stacked outside the numbers.The distance of their split stresses the defense and forces them to cover the entire width of the field and the free safety is too late to help the seam defender with Nelson’s vertical route.Again Carr is able to get this pass off in rhythm and doesn’t have to rely much on pass protection to help him make this throw.Play design is the real winner here.Gruden will have to reach deep into his bag of tricks now that the offense has lost multiple playmakers.Plays like this will be the key to Carr getting back on track this season.Screens and scramblesThe following plays aren’t alike but both will be a key to the offenses success against the Colts.Carr doesn’t have the luxury of stellar pass protection and as such, plays need to be made that slow down the pass rush.Jalen Richard will likely get a larger workload now that Lynch is no longer on the active roster.His spot as a receiving back is secure and faces no competition for this role on the current roster.Screen passes force the pass rush to think twice about their rush plans and a back like Richard can get chunk yards even when the defense is closing in fast.Expect Richard to get somewhere around 8 targets in the passing game against the Colts.The most criticized aspect of Carr’s game is his ability to make plays off schedule.Unlike the deep ball, Carr has never shown an aptitude for this type of play as a pro Quarterback.The example above against the Chargers is one of the few occasions where Carr breaks the pocket and throws a strike downfield.Seth Roberts is lined up in the slot on the bottom of the screen.He runs a 15 yard dig route and continues to make a break towards the opposite sideline when he sees Carr scramble.Carr will have to make more plays like this with his offensive line in flux and it can really take the wind out of defensive linemen having to chase down a quarterback outside of the pocket.ConclusionAll receivers, including tight ends and running backs need to step up in order to get the offense humming again.Play designs that stress the defense horizontally as well as vertically need to be called now more than ever.Short passes have their place, especially with the amount of time Carr has to throw the ball behind this offensive line.Deep passes need to be schemed into the gameplan in order to open up other phases of the offense.Carr needs to make plays with his legs as well as his arm.Raiders Film Room: Three ways Raiders finally finished out a win It took four weeks Youth Kolton Miller Jersey , but Jon Gruden finally squeezed one out for his first win in what felt like “100 years” according to the coach who took off 10 seasons to broadcast on Monday Night Football.The Raiders barely resembled the team that lost 3 straight to start the season.Sunday against the Browns was the first game in 2018 the Raiders failed to score on their first offensive drive.After all its not how a team starts but how the team finishes.This Raider team showed they internalized the message of finishing by doing 3 things for the first time in 2018.Win the turnover battleComing into Sunday the Oakland Raiders were ranked dead last in turnover margin often cited as the most predictable metric for winning games.Their fortunes shifted however and the defense was able to capitalize on the inexperienced Baker Mayfield’s struggle to protect the football.Of course Gareon Conley puts a giant exclamation point on the play by showing excellent reaction time and acceleration to take the interception into the endzone for a defensive touchdown.But before any of that, Marcus Gilchrist makes a solid break on the route forcing Mayfield to attempt a throw into a tight window. Gilchrist does enough here to disrupt the catch while Conley was a beneficiary of being in the right place at the right time. Good to see the former first round pick finish on this rep.Later in the game Mayfield and his center are not on the same page.There could be any number of reasons why or whose fault but its impossible to tell without being in a meeting room.Any team with a rookie quarterback will have these types of plays. The Raiders finished the game +2 in turnovers, intercepting Mayfield twice and recovering 2 fumbles. Spread the wealthThis game was not without its missed opportunities, a few Amari Cooper misfires come to mind.Derek Carr and his receivers however, displayed a new level of chemistry.Each game before the week 4 matchup has “featured” one receiver getting the lion’s share of targets.However week 4 was completely different with Carr connecting for TDs and big plays each with Jared Cook, Amari Cooper, and Jordy Nelson all hauling in TD catches.This scoring pass to Cooper is high level execution on the part of Derek Carr.He first scans the left where he sees a cover 2 concept taking away the vertical route to Cook. There is a weak-side linebacker who drops into the zone; creating an opening for the routes on the frontside. Carr decides to steps up in the pocket and come back to the right side.Carr isn’t done moving defenders with his eyes yet.First he sees Amari Cooper running the first of two slants towards the area where the weak-side linebacker vacated his zone. Second Carr glances at the second slant run by Jordy Nelson. This opens up just enough room between the two hook defenders to fit a ball in for a Cooper touchdown. Yes, it does take that level of concentration and execution to score in the NFL.But Derek Carr wasn’t just dazzling defenders with his eyes, he was also shooting lasers like this ball on a rope to Jordy Nelson.Carr recognizes the defense is in cover 2 and looks the middle linebacker off before rifling one to Nelson.So not only did Carr connect with multiple receivers for scores http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-marcus-gilchrist-jersey , he showed proved 2 things; his acumen for Gruden’s scheme and his willingness to stand in the pocket and deliver strikes into the teeth of the defense.Third down stopsThe Raiders had plenty of 3 and out drives to start their 0-3 start, but they were mostly in the 1st half of those games.The Bronco’s loss featured a similar element of down to the wire football but this time the Raiders defense was finally ready to make stops when it mattered the most.Through 3 weeks the Raiders defense has almost disappeared in the final minutes allowing teams to run the score up.This week continues its theme of bizarro Raiders because Sunday was the complete opposite.This time the Raiders struggled to get off the field in the 1st half but tightened up in the 4th quarter and overtime when it really mattered the most.No play was more crucial than when the Raiders defense stopped Carlos Hyde short the the first down with less than 2 minutes left to play.There was uproar about the refs giving the game to the Raiders because of this call.But this time the refs got it right as Hyde’s elbow touches down with the ball just inches short of the first down.This stop allowed the Silver and Black to march down the field for the go ahead game tying scores.And in the overtime period, the Raiders defense stepped up in a major way.First Frostee Rucker breaks through the line on a twist for a pressure on Mayfield who throws and errant pass into the dirt.Then Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie vaporizes a hapless receiver who forgot to sit in between zones, luckily the refs pick up their flags and its 3rd and 5.Rashaan Melvin in the play above does a great job to locate his receiver in a scramble drill.It gets more difficult for a defender to stay with the receiver the longer the QB has the ball.Melvin trails the receiver downfield but gains position when Mayfield floats the ball.The Raiders corner is able to get his head around for a pass break up the force a punt and what would be the Brown’s last possession of the ball game.ConclusionThe defensive line did a great job of disrupting Baker Mayfield and not just in sacks and pressures.Raiders defensive lineman recorded pass deflections, fumbles, fumble recoveries and sacks on the Browns rookie signal caller.The disruption up front had a huge impact on the game.Marshawn Lynch scored in all 3 losses but fails to score in the Raider’s win.But don’t let the boxscore fool you.Lynch’s runs against the Brown’s set the tone for the intensity the game would be played with.Lynch rumbles to over 100 yards rushing and was the most consistent weapon for the offense. Carr might not have done enough to fully silent his critics but standing tall in the pocket, pushing the ball downfield, and being patient were common complaints associated with Carr.The Raiders QB led his team to a victory despite a slow start. Carr finished the day with 426 yards passing and 4 touchdowns.The referees are getting a lot of slack in this game.But the worst calls were against the Raiders.Arden Key was called for the weakest roughing the passer penalty in recent memory and one ref blew a quick whistle on Marshawn Lynch which really just means the man doesn’t love football.Enjoy some highlights.