Tennessee Titans vs. Las Vegas Raiders Preview & Prediction | PFF

Tennessee Titans vs. Las Vegas Raiders Preview & Prediction | PFF

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With over 30,000 therapists, BetterHelp is the world’s largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. And it works with an average rating of 4.9 out of five for live sessions based on over 1.7 million client reviews. This World Mental Health Day, we are collaborating with those therapists who have helped millions of people take a step forward. If you’re ready to find the right therapist for you, BetterHelp can help you start that journey. Our listeners get 10% off of their first month at betterhelp.com/pf. That’s betterhelp hp.com/pf. Titans and Raiders, wake up, Walt. We’re talking Raiders again. Titans coming off of a thrilling victory against the Arizona Cardinals. The Raiders coming off of a pretty tough defeat against the Indianapolis Colts. Uh, you want to talk about the Raiders, you want to talk about the Titans here. First, first and most importantly, did we get a Walt lunch call out? What’s he got going? Is there is that Oh, did he throw something on the grill? Normally he normally tells us what he’s throwing on the grill for dinner, but is he is he firing up the grill for lunch? Okay. I Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know if he’s doing that now or or what. I don’t I feel like I feel like it’s pork chops a lot of times. So, if I had to guess, I would guess pork chops. He’s a big pork chop. I just I wasn’t sure if we’d heard from him. That’s kind of honestly I I’ve kind of taken that as like important news of the show now. It’s like what does Walt have on the grill? That’s kind of a big thing, man. I I think that’s great stuff. He’s got to get Omaha as a sponsor is what’s got to happen here. All right. Him personally. Yes. Actually, just a oneman sponsor for Omaha. doesn’t even he dude he doesn’t even need as a sponsor. He can go to omahaststakes.com get 50% off there. There’s a freebie right there. BFF. Boom. Got it. Omaha Stakes. All right. As usual with the Raiders, it’s about Gino Smith and is there going to be more success throwing the football downfield because it has not been great this season. These 10 plus yard throws. We’ve talked about how hot and cold it’s been, how streaky it’s been. 15.9 passing grade this season on 10 plus yard throws. only completing 39.7% of those passes and eight interceptions. Eight interceptions on vertical throws alone so far through five games. Now, if you’re going to beat this Titans team, I think you do have some advantages on the outside when you’re attacking Legarius Sneed in this secondary. They’re 25th in the NFL in coverage grade defending 10 plus yard throws. So, Gino Smith, as we know by now, he’s quite high variance, more so than ever on this Raiders team. I think they’ve had a problem, you know, having somebody else step up on the outside. Trey Tucker’s been hot and cold as well, but, you know, he’s a smaller speed threat who’s going to make a couple of plays a game. They need either Dante Thornton or Jack B, somebody to win downfield and for Gino Smith to be able to make these throws, but I think that’s going to be the difference in the game. Once again, I think Ashton Genty starting to get it rolling the last couple weeks. are going to run the football reasonably well against this Titans team, but the difference in this game is going to be Gino Smith and his performance throwing the ball down the field against a vulnerable Titans secondary. Yeah, I I I do agree with you there, Gino getting back to being more efficient, passing the ball deep down the field. It’s obviously it’s just going to be how the Raiders win. In the games where he looks incredible doing that, they’re they’re going to win. And the games where he doesn’t, they’re not. And I think that’s just a high variance of Gino being your quarterback. On the Tennessee Titans things, look, I I don’t want to take anything away from their their win last week against the Arizona Cardinals. But I I’m not going to get too carried away with it, and I can’t because they’ve been so bad through the first uh what do I say, four and three quarters weeks of the NFL season. The fourth quarter was magical from them and Cam Ward was unbelievable. But even in that fourth quarter, I want to be very clear like Cam still had some throws that you go, “Oh, okay.” Like that that was almost a turnover worthy play there from him. But he just had some unbelievable throws, three big time throws in that fourth quarter. And again, I’m not taking anything away from there. What I think is actually the most tangible takeaway of why the Tennessee Titans were able to win against the Arizona Cardinals was that it was the best day from their offensive line that they had had so far this season. 78.9 overall blocking grade from their team in week five. They were one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL prior to last week. They had an 81.2 team pass blocking grade, a 73.3 run blocking grade as a team. Both of those were season highs. Now, where I get a little bit nervous is JC Laam, who has missed the last four weeks due to a hip injury. He it looks like he’s going to be back in the starting lineup this week. But Oludo, who was replacing him, like he had a really good week last week. And again, like I almost wouldn’t mess up the chemistry of this offensive line for how well they played. I I’d almost tell JC Leam like, “Hey man, like just take another week off. Like just get another week of rest in there because I would want to throw the same five offensive linemen that played really well for me last week out there against the Raiders.” And outside of Max Crosby, the Raiders really don’t have very much of a pass rush at all. Even with Max Crosby, they’re 19th in pass rush grade and pass rushers win percentage over the last two weeks specifically. And those are two weeks in which Max Crosby was cooking when he was playing really well. So, there’s not really much outside of of of Crosby. And if I were the Titans, I would be very wary of messing up what was the best offensive line performance they had last week. So, to me, that was the most tangible part of why they were able to win that game. Outside of the wackiness that happened with, you know, the Cardinals and Demarcado fumbling the football and um DTD fumbling the ball into the end zone. Like, like all of that aside, the Titans were even able to move the football down the field and score and capitalize off of that because of the offensive line. And I get a little bit nervous with them switching things up. I think the Raiders win this game 24-6. Thought about te taking the Titans for a second, but it’s just So much had to go right for them to win that game at the like the last second. So, it’s hard for me to still think that it’s stable for this team moving forward given how undisiplined they had been through most of the season up to that point. So, I’m still going to say that the Raiders win this game. I I’ve really thought about taking the Titans here, too. I think if this game was in Tennessee, I would take the Titans, but they got to take Maybe they’re staying out on the wet the West Coast after playing in Arizona last week. But, um I I really thought about it. But I do think the Titans have an opportunity to win this game. I have the Raiders 23-7. Um, if the Titans can protect Cam Ward with the way he threw the ball in the fourth quarter last week, especially vertically down the field, I think they absolutely have a shot. I also have one more just quick pop quiz for you. Something I found interesting in the run game in this game. Trev, the top five linebackers in the league right now in run defense grade. Okay, here we go. Number one’s Bobby Wagner because of course. Number two is Jack Campbell. Reasonable. Number three is Fred Warner, of course. Number five is Deario Davis, of course. Take a one wild guess it. Who’s number four in between there? Warner and Deario Davis. Uh Jamal Adams. Great guess. Actually love the guess considering how much we’ve talked about him. I would never, you would probably never get this. Titans secondyear linebacker Cedric Gray. It Wow. for Cedric Gray. Cedric Gray, he’s played less than 50 snaps on defense last year. He’s got a 91.2 run defense grade right now. Cedric Gray against Ashen Ginty might be something really fun to watch on that side in the run game. I just found that astounding. You have four elite names, maybe the four best linebackers in football right there. And then just Cedric Gray, hey, just kind of thrown in there after not playing hardly at all last year. They were pretty pumped about Cedric Gray in the preseason. I remember watching some preseason games of the Titans and they were talking up Cedric Gray a lot for the training camp that he had and the preseason that he had. So, it’s great to see him translating that uh to the regular season. I know a lot of people were big on him when he was coming through the draft as well. Really athletic linebacker and it just feels as though, you know, sometimes when I watch these smaller, more athletic linebackers, I get a little bit worried. I’m like, man, are you big enough? Are you physical enough to play between the tackles and really be a reliable player? But, man, we see Cedric Gray this year. remember Omar Spates last year with the Rams and how I mean Omar Spates was an undersized fast linebacker who he went undrafted and you go okay well yeah he’s probably not going to make it in the league and he ends up being fantastic now he’s not having as good of a year this year but still I mean it’s that speed that can be so fantastic with you getting to a spot and being a good run defender so shout out to Cedric Gray for that

PFF’s Dalton Wasserman and Trevor Sikkema preview the matchup between The Tennessee Titans and The Las Vegas Raiders.

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