Well, here we are once again brothers and sisters. The Raiders are high on rookie TE Clive Walford, who caught two passes (one for a TD) against San Diego last week. “We have them on the team, so the comfort level is there”, Bowles said.
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The Jets and Raiders kick off at 3:05 p.m. CST Sunday at O.co Coliseum in Oakland. While everyone knows bran muffins are a better choice than the disgustingness that is fruitcake, no one is necessarily clamoring for more bran muffins.
When Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers clicked on a film of the Raiders’ 37-29 victory over the Chargers last week, he realized these weren’t the laughable Raiders of recent years. This will be the biggest test so far as a pro for Cooper.
Is it really possible the Raiders are a playoff-caliber team? They also departed the Bay Area after the 1981 season before returning in 1995. I think that Bruce Arians has a chance of joining Mike Holmgren and Bill Parcells in starting a new popular coaching tree where the rest of the National Football League looks to find the next coaching talents. Oakland also is tough against the run, ranking third in the league at 84.3 yards, but needs to put forth a better all-around defensive effort after surrendering 23 points in the fourth quarter versus the Chargers.
However, the Jets are playing very well this season and will most likely be well prepared to face the Raiders, especially if they go to their passing game where Oakland has somewhat of a weak spot, allowing 303.8 yards in the air.
A decision which team, or which two, will be permitted to move to Los Angeles could come as early as next year. The young signal caller has thrown for well over 1,000 yards, and has only 3 interceptions to his 11 touchdowns. Furthermore, the relationship that he has developed with rookie wide out A. Cooper has been a pleasure to bear witness to.
NOWHERE TO RUN: New York has the NFL’s top-ranked rushing defense, which is not good news for Latavius Murray and Oakland’s 23rd-ranked running offense. Furthermore, they’re nearly impossible to run against. The defense is led by an outstanding pass rush and arguably the best cornerback tandem (Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie) in the league. Carr completed five passes vs. Revis previous year against Patriots. No “happy feet” in the pocket!
While Revis is one of the all-time greats, Amari Cooper in his mind feels like he is going to be one of the greats. They have a coaching staff that instills confidence in players to go out and make plays. They will try to get as many players in front of Jets running back Chris Ivory as possible. Brandon Marshall has added 41 receptions for 578 yards and four scores.
Oakland hasn’t been as consistently good as the Jets, but have had offensive explosions that makes it a unsafe opponent for any team.
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New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) runs with the ball against the New England Patriots during the second half at Gillette Stadium.
