Getty Davante Adams, Raiders receiver
It’s certainly no excuse and probably would not have made much difference in the result, but it is worth pointing out amid the hue and cry over the state of the Raiders offense that the team’s two best receivers—Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers—spent Sunday evening getting over NFL concussions.
All right, in Adams’ case, the hit that sent him out with a concussion came with a little more than three minutes to play and the Raiders already down, 38-10, in Buffalo on Sunday. So that had no bearing on the end score. But Meyers missed all of Week 2 because of a concussion he suffered in Denver.
The good news is that the Raiders might yet have both Adams and Meyers back for the home opener in Week 3. Operative word: Might.
“Tae is good. Tae’s good,” coach Josh McDaniels said in his Monday meeting with the media. “And Jakobi is just going through the process in terms of coming back. I’m not going to say anything about where I feel like that is or isn’t yet because, again, I could be wrong quickly. So, Tae’s good. Jakobi is headed in the right direction, and we’ll see how this week goes.”
Raiders’ WR Lacking Behind Meyers & Adams
Meyers led the team with nine catches, 81 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1, and might have at least helped the Raiders get something going offensively. There was precious little else working for the Raiders besides Adams in the passing game, and the Vegas receiving corps tallied all of one catch beyond Adams’ production.
That catch went to the much-discussed former Pro Bowler Hunter Renfrow, who took in one garbage-time throw from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, for 23 yards. That was Renfrow’s first and only catch of the season, part of a disturbing trend that has seen him iced out of the Raiders’ offense now for two consecutive years.
The Bills show Cover 3 pre snap and roll it into a Cover 2 post snap, Jimmy Garoppolo doesn’t see Hunter Renfrow wide open in the middle of the field.. You can’t win like this. #RaiderNation
“I would say I’m disappointed just in our overall ability to be more productive than what we’ve been,” McDaniels said. “And Hunter’s done his job the right way. A lot of times the passing game, as you know, is a function of us doing the right thing. And the defense gets a vote. So, depending on the coverages they choose to play, it may open up some other things or it may give us an opportunity to throw a person like Hunter or the tight ends the ball inside. There’s been some missed opportunities on our part, but I don’t think that’s a function of Hunter.”
Game vs. Steelers Should Give Passing Game a Chance
The Raiders would do well to get their full complement of receivers back for Sunday night’s showdown against the Steelers in Week 3. Pittsburgh has an inexperienced group of defensive backs that has talent but still needs time to jell.
Heading into the season, the Raiders’ receiving unit was ranked No. 8 overall in the league by Pro Football Focus, primarily on the strength of Adams having the league’s best wide-receiver grade. But the passing game, with new quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo at the helm, has been a disaster. The Raiders rank 27th in passing yards (385), tied for second in interceptions (3) and 20th in passer rating (89.2).
Those numbers are not what was expected, and they’re not going to improve much without Adams or Meyers on the field.