Nine rookies were active for the Raiders Sunday and all of them played significant roles. That’s a lot. Just eight games in Marshawn Lynch Jersey , and sitting at 1-7, this team is well into the evaluation phase.ActiveKolton MillerP.J. HallBrandon ParkerArden KeyNick NelsonMaurice HurstJohnny TownsendTrent SiegDaniel CarlsonJason CabindaInactiveMarcell AtemanKolton MillerComing out of the bye, Miller appeared to finally be healthy and had his best game of the season against the Colts last Sunday. He wouldn’t last a half before aggravating that knee injury. He missed the second half of the game and the Raiders were not prepared for his exit. It was a debacle. Not because Miller is some indispensable All Pro pass protector, but because the alternative was Ian Silberman who had been working as the reserve center and Kelechi Osemele who had his own knee injury problem and moved over from left guard. Miller’s injury is one to watch.P.J. HallHall has been in the rotation at defensive tackle for a few weeks now. Thus far, he has been a non-factor on a team that can’t stop the run on any given play. Since his return in week four against the Browns, Hall has 7 combined tackles in five games.Brandon ParkerParker has started four games now. He has been passable at times at right tackle, but struggled along with much of the line Thursday night against the 49ers. Parker had three penalties in the first quarter — a false start, holding, and illegal formation — and was all or partially responsible for three of the 49ers’ seven sacks.Arden Key He still leads the team with 7 QB hits, which says more about the team than anything. Key is their best hope for mounting a pass rush each week and the result is just 7 sacks and 22 QB hits on the season — both by far the worst in the league. And that’s counting Thursday night when the rest of the league won’t play until Sunday.Nick NelsonIn just his second game of the season, Nelson didn’t record a stat. No tackles, not passes defended in just 13 snaps. But he didn’t give up any of the big plays in those limited snaps.Maurice HurstHurst has had his moments Jared Cook Jersey , but he hasn’t stood out either. That’s hard to do when everything around you is toppling. Football is the ultimate team sport. Hurst is an inside pass rusher. If there is no threat from the outside — and there absolutely is not — it’s pretty hard for him to have a major impact.Johnny TownsendPathetic. He is probably the worst punter in the NFL right now. Each week he punts a ball a shorter distance than he had the week before. He went from a game with punts of 28 and 27, to a 25-yarder last week, to a 23-yard punt this week. Jon Gruden needs to start showing the same lack of patience with his draft picks as he has with Reggie McKenzie’s because Townsend is already on scholarship.Trent SiegAll conditions normal for Sieg. No news is good news for the long snapper.Daniel CarlsonSigned by the team as their third rookie kicker this season. The previous two were undrafted, while Carlson was selected in the 5th round by the Vikings. He made his first field goal attempt from 37 yards out, but missed from 45 off the right upright. He is now two for six on the season.Jason CabindaHad four combined tackles in 15 snaps against the 49ers; his first action of the season. Paul Guenther raves about how smart Cabinda is. That was a decent first appearance, but we need to see more to make any real judgment.Some of these guys have shown promise at times this season. But they are being asked to keep a bad Raiders team afloat. Any team relying this heavily on this many rookies is not going to be very good. And that’s an understatement for this squad.Follow @LeviDamien Football is officially back. There has been plenty of drama surrounding the Raiders with Antonio Brown’s feet and helmet grabbing many headlines. Hard Knocks airing this week put rookie safety J..." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesSilver And Black Pride homepageHorizontal - WhiteSilver And Black Pridean Oakland Raiders communityFollow Silver And Black Pride online:Follow Silver And Black Pride on TwitterFollow Silver And Black Pride on FacebookLog in or sign upLog InSign UpSite searchSearchSearchSilver And Black Pride main menuFanpostsFanshotsRaidersOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 321 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Raiders StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Raiders NewsYahoo Raiders Team PageYahoo Raiders ReportYahoo Raiders Depth ChartYahoo Raiders TransactionsYahoo Raiders PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Raiders Film Room: Rookie defenders preseason week one performances vs RamsNew,74commentsPDTFootball is officially back. There has been plenty of drama surrounding the Raiders with Antonio Brown’s feet and helmet grabbing many headlines. Hard Knocks airing this week put rookie safety Johnathan Abram on display as well drawing both admiration and ire for his brash antics on the first episode. With all that buzz, it can be easy to forget there is football to be played.For those of us who welcome back pure football, Preseason week 1 against the Rams is a time to see how the players are developing. The defensive unit played the most consistent football only allowing the Rams to score 3 points all game. The Raiders’ rookie defenders were front and center for much of the game making their fair share of plays to help the defense stall the Rams’ attack. Here’s a look at a few of the rookies.Clelin FerrellFerrell came out of college well known for his ability to stop the run. The biggest test for rookie edge players is their ability to hold up against the run and Ferrell is on his way to prove that he won’t be a liability as a starting base end. This rep shows him playing left end over a tight end. The tight end has no chance of blocking the heavy handed rookie and he crosses the blocker’s face with relative ease to bring down the ball carrier in the backfield.Ferrell played the most snaps of any rookie and he showed flexibility, coming in as a nickel rusher to play defensive tackle in passing situations. Gruden said in his press conference this was because so many defensive tackles were inactive this week but there is a good chance Ferrell could play plenty of this alignment with Key and Crosby on the outside as speed rushers. Ferrell does a great job reading the QB and working over to get a hustle play and potentially save a first down scramble.Johnathan AbramAbram wasted no time, getting in on this tackle on the first play from scrimmage. Abram is playing box safety and has “force” responsibility against the run. He trusts his eyes and gets outside of the ball carrier forcing him back inside. Officially Jason Cabinda received credit for this tackle but Abram will get a positive grade from coaches for turning it back to his teammates.Abram was often around the ball but played only a short time before yielding to Erik Harris and Curtis Riley.Trayvon MullenI’ll go out on a limb and say Mullen had the best game of any rookie defender and maybe any defender other than perhaps Arden Key. He was targeted only once and played tight coverage throughout the first half. This pass break up above shows Mullen pedaling off in man coverage before coming up and making a play on the ball. Mullen’s only question from his college film was his ability to do just that as he predominately played press man coverage while at Clemson. The only reps where he struggled in college were in this type of coverage. It’s promising to see him make this play and show his early development. He will push Daryl Worley to start across from Gareon Conley.Maxx CrosbyCrosby was getting in on tackles all over the field but usually he was in pursuit and the ball carrier had already gained yards downfield. He needs to improve his ability to hold the edge against the run but this tackle on the backside of zone is a glimpse into what Crosby will be early on in his career for the Raiders; an effort player who will hustle to the ball. It’s worth pointing out Crosby had broken his hand earlier in the game and came back in with a cast before making this tackle. He should be okay to start the year as a sub package edge rusher.
