Las Vegas Raiders Final Preseason Update: New England Patriots Defense
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After a few joint practice sessions, the Las Vegas Raiders are now ready to take on the New England Patriots in their final preseason game.
And here at Raider Maven, we’ll continue to dig deep at the Raiders next and final preseason opponent, the Bill Belichick’s Patriots.
Note: Don’t expect to see much gameplay on this one, as they’ll play once again during the regular season.
Unlike the offense, the Patriots defense had a few upper hands during practice, producing three would-be sacks on Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.
Depth at Cornerback
Defensively the Patriots have always been a good defensive team, but during the joint practices, Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams dominated cornerback Jalen Mills in 1-on-1 drills.
Which brings me to think, are the Patriots weak at cornerback?
As mentioned before Adams reeled in nearly every catch thrown to him, and scored in all of his targets against one of the Patriots top cornerbacks.
Their other valuable option at corner is Terrance Mitchell.
The Patriots shutdown corner, J.C. Jackson is no longer with the team.
He’s moved on to divisional rival, Los Angeles Chargers, and after many years of locking up one side of the field, the Patriots will need to figure something out quick before the regular season starts.
Rookies
Expect to see plenty of rookies in the final preseason game, and from both teams.
As players try to leave their final impression before the final roster cuts, a few players have already tried to leave their mark.
There’s one rookie in particular that we should all keep an eye on, and that is Patriots safety Brenden Schooler.
He started his college football career in Arizona (Tucson), transferred to Oregon (Eugene), and finished in Texas (Austin).
Now the undrafted free agent finds his way in the Patriots secondary and he's caught the eye of coach Bill Belichick.
Experienced Depth at Pass Rush
On a positive note on the Patriots defense is their pass rush.
Whether it's the starting front seven, second or third-team, the Patriots pass rush is consistent as it comes.
Between their pro bowl linebacker, Matthew Judon, second-year standout Christian Barmore, and players like Ja'Whaun Bentley, and Josh Uche, the combination of speed and power can easily disrupt the Raiders struggling offensive line on Friday.
"It really didn’t matter what we had last year, it's a whole new year. We looking faster and quicker but right now it's just a building block," Judon said. "We got to continue this through the rest of preseason and day by day. We trying to move fast and we are trying to come downhill and we trying to hit."
If they don’t see much of them during the preseason, they will when both teams meet again in the regular season (Week 15).
Outlook
It seems as there’s more positives on the Patriots defense than their offense.
That should be enough to consider this game a walk in the park.
The Raiders find themselve undefeated during the preseason (3-0) and with the biggest roster cut coming next week, and there will be a lot of players that will be competing for a spot in the main roster.
The Raiders will have to determine who are the best 53-players to don the Silver and Black for the upcoming season.
All teams will be required to trim their rosters from 80 players, down to 53 by Tuesday, Aug. 30 at 4 p.m. ET.
So expect this one to be a slow, defensive battle, a game of chess for Belichick and Raiders head head coach Josh McDaniels.
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