Post by TheShadow on Aug 30, 2013 17:27:21 GMT -5
www.insidebayarea.com
By Jerry McDonald
SEATTLE -- Following a 22-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks to close out the preseason, Raiders coach Dennis Allen was asked point blank if he knew who his starting quarterback would be when the regular season begins.
"I'm not telling you, but yes," Allen said.
An anxious fan base will have to wait and see whether Terrelle Pryor or Matt Flynn will be under center when the Raiders play against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 8.
Based on how things went when Pryor subbed for a sore-armed Flynn on Thursday night before 67,341 fans at CenturyLink Field, it could go either way.
The Raiders finished the preseason 1-3, and Allen will turn his attention to trimming 22 players from the roster to get to the NFL limit of 53 by Saturday. Seattle is 4-0.
Pryor showed the running skills that make him such an intriguing option but struggled with his passing in a first-half performance that was limited to 19 snaps because Seattle moved at will against the Raiders' first- and second-team defense.
With 45 yards rushing on three carries, including a 25-yard burst around right end and a 17-yard bootleg to the left, Pryor helped set up Justin Medlock for field goals of 45 and 37 yards.
But when it came to pass, Pryor was 3 of 8 for 31 yards, an interception on an underthrown deep ball to Jacoby Ford, and a miniscule 9.9 passer rating. Late in the half, when the Raiders took over with 3:52 to play, they went 61 yards without completing a pass -- not exactly a pro-style passing attack.
Allen thought the lack of rhythm in the passing game was at least in part due to having the ball for only 19 plays. Pryor was critical of himself over the interception, but otherwise thought he did OK.
The Raiders sat out center Stefen Wisniewski and right tackle Khalif Barnes, in addition to running back Darren McFadden.
"I didn't have some of my guys, guys I was working with all week," Pryor said. "I'll get better. It's crunch time now."
Allen said he'll withhold an announcement of the starting quarterback "until the appropriate time," and when asked if he might wait until the season opener, said, "We'll see."
Flynn, Allen said, is expected to be back at practice and ready to play Monday after resting his arm.
Neither quarterback was interested in lobbying for the job.
"I don't really want to get into that," Pryor said. "It's going to be coach's call and whatever he thinks is best for the team. It's all about the team, and if it's me leading, I'll lead to the best of my ability and we'll get things done. If it's Matt leading, then we'll get things done too and I'll support him.''
Allen may know who the quarterback is, but Flynn said he had no idea and added, "I don't know. We'll wait and see. I can only control what I do."
Allen was able to find silver linings among the black clouds that found the Raiders scoring only 16 points in the first halves of the last three preseason games.
Most notably, Seattle had only 34 yards rushing on 17 first-half carries.
"We wanted to be a physical team in this game and really I thought we were," Allen said. "I thought our guys played with effort, I thought our guys ran around. We didn't always play as smart as we needed to play."
Another bright spot was rookie left tackle Menelik Watson, playing his first game at the position after only one padded practice. The second-round draft pick incurred no penalties and had no glaring mistakes.
"The first thing that comes to mind is I've got to get better," Watson said. "There's a few things comfort wise with the run game, that I got more reps at. I think I did a good job mostly just concentrating on the assignment and what I've got to do."
One of the two sacks of Pryor came to Watson's side on a play where the quarterback ran into the pressure.
Starting quarterback Russell Wilson was 3 of 3 for 68 yards and a touchdown and Robert Hauschka kicked five field goals to account for Seattle's scoring.
The Raiders were particularly vulnerable on rollouts and bootlegs with receivers breaking free.
Running back Rashad Jennings had 53 yards on six carries, including bursts of 9 and 32 yards on Oakland's field goal drive before the half.
Wide receiver Brice Butler didn't make the trip because of a hamstring injury, and Sio Moore, bothered by a toe injury of late, also didn't play.
Mike Brisiel, who has struggled with his knee of late, played as the second-team right guard in the second half behind starter Lucas Nix.
Rookie defensive end David Bass, a seventh-round pick, got good pressure and had one sack erased by a defensive holding penalty by linebacker Kaelin Burnett.
It was the eighth straight year the Raiders have ended the preseason against the Seahawks. Seattle is 7-1. The Raiders' only win was 23-16 in Oakland in 2010.
By Jerry McDonald
SEATTLE -- Following a 22-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks to close out the preseason, Raiders coach Dennis Allen was asked point blank if he knew who his starting quarterback would be when the regular season begins.
"I'm not telling you, but yes," Allen said.
An anxious fan base will have to wait and see whether Terrelle Pryor or Matt Flynn will be under center when the Raiders play against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 8.
Based on how things went when Pryor subbed for a sore-armed Flynn on Thursday night before 67,341 fans at CenturyLink Field, it could go either way.
The Raiders finished the preseason 1-3, and Allen will turn his attention to trimming 22 players from the roster to get to the NFL limit of 53 by Saturday. Seattle is 4-0.
Pryor showed the running skills that make him such an intriguing option but struggled with his passing in a first-half performance that was limited to 19 snaps because Seattle moved at will against the Raiders' first- and second-team defense.
With 45 yards rushing on three carries, including a 25-yard burst around right end and a 17-yard bootleg to the left, Pryor helped set up Justin Medlock for field goals of 45 and 37 yards.
But when it came to pass, Pryor was 3 of 8 for 31 yards, an interception on an underthrown deep ball to Jacoby Ford, and a miniscule 9.9 passer rating. Late in the half, when the Raiders took over with 3:52 to play, they went 61 yards without completing a pass -- not exactly a pro-style passing attack.
Allen thought the lack of rhythm in the passing game was at least in part due to having the ball for only 19 plays. Pryor was critical of himself over the interception, but otherwise thought he did OK.
The Raiders sat out center Stefen Wisniewski and right tackle Khalif Barnes, in addition to running back Darren McFadden.
"I didn't have some of my guys, guys I was working with all week," Pryor said. "I'll get better. It's crunch time now."
Allen said he'll withhold an announcement of the starting quarterback "until the appropriate time," and when asked if he might wait until the season opener, said, "We'll see."
Flynn, Allen said, is expected to be back at practice and ready to play Monday after resting his arm.
Neither quarterback was interested in lobbying for the job.
"I don't really want to get into that," Pryor said. "It's going to be coach's call and whatever he thinks is best for the team. It's all about the team, and if it's me leading, I'll lead to the best of my ability and we'll get things done. If it's Matt leading, then we'll get things done too and I'll support him.''
Allen may know who the quarterback is, but Flynn said he had no idea and added, "I don't know. We'll wait and see. I can only control what I do."
Allen was able to find silver linings among the black clouds that found the Raiders scoring only 16 points in the first halves of the last three preseason games.
Most notably, Seattle had only 34 yards rushing on 17 first-half carries.
"We wanted to be a physical team in this game and really I thought we were," Allen said. "I thought our guys played with effort, I thought our guys ran around. We didn't always play as smart as we needed to play."
Another bright spot was rookie left tackle Menelik Watson, playing his first game at the position after only one padded practice. The second-round draft pick incurred no penalties and had no glaring mistakes.
"The first thing that comes to mind is I've got to get better," Watson said. "There's a few things comfort wise with the run game, that I got more reps at. I think I did a good job mostly just concentrating on the assignment and what I've got to do."
One of the two sacks of Pryor came to Watson's side on a play where the quarterback ran into the pressure.
Starting quarterback Russell Wilson was 3 of 3 for 68 yards and a touchdown and Robert Hauschka kicked five field goals to account for Seattle's scoring.
The Raiders were particularly vulnerable on rollouts and bootlegs with receivers breaking free.
Running back Rashad Jennings had 53 yards on six carries, including bursts of 9 and 32 yards on Oakland's field goal drive before the half.
Wide receiver Brice Butler didn't make the trip because of a hamstring injury, and Sio Moore, bothered by a toe injury of late, also didn't play.
Mike Brisiel, who has struggled with his knee of late, played as the second-team right guard in the second half behind starter Lucas Nix.
Rookie defensive end David Bass, a seventh-round pick, got good pressure and had one sack erased by a defensive holding penalty by linebacker Kaelin Burnett.
It was the eighth straight year the Raiders have ended the preseason against the Seahawks. Seattle is 7-1. The Raiders' only win was 23-16 in Oakland in 2010.