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As the season nears its end, the Las Vegas Raiders must win each of their last three games to even have a chance at the playoffs. Based on what we’ve seen, it doesn’t look like they’ll be up for the task. Regardless, they’re going to try and shake things up.
The Raiders already fired defensive coordinator Paul Guenther and it looks like they’re going to shake up the roster a bit, also. The team announced on Monday that they’ve released offensive guard Patrick Omameh and defensive lineman Lee Autry. Omameh has been on the active roster for the last several weeks while Autry was just recently signed to the practice squad.
Omameh played in six games for the silver and black but was mostly playing special teams snaps. Autry never got a chance to play for the team. Neither of these guys were impact players so their dismissal shouldn’t change the roster much.
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Raiders Sign Niles Scott
Last week the Raiders brought defensive tackle Niles Scott in for a visit. It appears he’s impressed them as they also announced that they’ve signed him to the practice squad. Scott has spent time with four different teams but his most notable stop was with the Cincinnati Bengals.
He played six games with the team in 2018 and notched four tackles. The Raiders are running low on bodies at defensive tackle so while Scott isn’t a big name, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have more depth. Las Vegas’ run defense has been atrocious this season and it’s only getting worse. As unlikely as it might be, perhaps Scott can give the team some kind of spark.
Can the Raiders Salvage the Season?
Right now, the Raiders feel like one of the worst teams in the NFL. They got blown out by a bad Atlanta Falcons team, they almost lost to a winless New York Jets team and they were completely outclassed by a very good Indianapolis Colts team.
However, they are still 7-6 with a chance at the playoffs. This season is far from over for the Raiders. Two of their last three games of the season are against Chargers and Broncos teams that they’ve already beaten. 9-7 should be the worst the Raiders’ record looks to finish the year. The game against the Miami Dolphins in Week 16 will be very tough and very important. However, the Raiders can beat them if they stop making simple mistakes.
Las Vegas is very confusing this year. They’ve beaten some of the best teams in the NFL and almost swept the Chiefs. Despite the early season success, they’ve completely fallen apart. This exact same thing happened last year. People forget that Jon Gruden‘s final season in Tampa Bay ended in a four-game losing streak after starting the season 9-3. He was fired after that debacle. For whatever reason, his teams are having a lot of trouble finishing seasons. If the Raiders lose two or three of their last games this year, it’s very fair to question if Gruden is the right man for the job.
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