The St. Louis Rams and Oakland Raiders are looking much different from the teams that struggled a year ago. The Rams finally have a quarterback that they can back in former Philadelphia signal caller Nick Foles, while the Raiders’ Derek Carr finally has some weapons to play with.
How will each team look with their new key acquisitions? Read on as we break down one of Friday night’s thrilling preseason matches. Don’t miss out on Friday night’s big games; check out the complete previews for the Steelers vs. Jaguars and Giants vs. Bengals.
[sc:Football ]St. Louis Rams vs. Oakland Raiders Preview
Where: O.co Coliseum, Oakland, CA
When: Friday, August 14, 10:00 PM ET
Line: St. Louis Rams (pk) at Oakland Raiders (pk); total 36.0 – view all NFL lines
Betting on the St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams should have one of the best defenses this season with Robert Quinn being one of the most explosive edge rushers, and interior gap-shooter Aaron Donald closing the running routes. The Rams are pretty much solid on defense. In contrast, their offense still has plenty of questions to be answered especially with a new quarterback starting under center.
There’s no other Ram that was more impressive in training camp than quarterback Nick Foles according to head coach Jeff Fisher. Foles enters this season having thrown for 2,163 yards and 13 touchdowns in eight games last year before suffering a broken clavicle.
[sc:NFL240banner ]Improved quarterback play should help the Rams’ receiving corps of wide receivers Brian Quick and Jared Cook along with tight end Kenny Britt, who each caught three touchdowns last season. But the first team may see only a few series on the field. Fisher wants to be careful with Foles, especially going against a defensive-minded head coach in Oakland’s Jack Del Rio.
Fisher has also gone on record to say that youngsters in the team will have plenty of time on the field for this preseason game. Rookie offensive linemen Robert Havenstein, Jamon Brown, Andrew Donnal and Cody Wichmann should showcase their skills as part of a revamped St. Louis offensive line. Meanwhile, rookie quarterback Sean Mannion could also expect to play some snaps.
Those wanting to have a look at 10th overall draft pick Todd Gurley will be disappointed, though. He likely won’t play in the preseason at all after tearing his ACL last year.
The Rams have lost six of their last eight preseason games.
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Betting on the Oakland Raiders
Derek Carr was the most promising rookie quarterback last season despite not having a receiving corps of note in Oakland. He’ll have that now with free agent acquisition Michael Crabtree and first-round pick Amari Cooper.
Crabtree was a staple of the San Francisco 49ers’ receiving corps, racking up 4,327 career receiving yards and 26 touchdowns. Cooper, on the other hand, was a stud as he set school records in Alabama for single-season receptions (229), receiving yards (3,463) and receiving touchdowns (31). He also set the most receiving yards in a single game at 224.
Carr will throw several passes to Crabtree and Cooper to build some chemistry in live competition. But don’t expect them to keep playing for over a quarter and a half considering St. Louis’ devastating pass rush. Instead, Oakland should have a look at backup quarterback Christian Ponder, who passed for 222 yards with two interceptions in his only game of note with the Minnesota Vikings in the 2014 regular season.
On the other side of the ball, Khalil Mack will shift over to defensive end for the 2015 season to help in the Raiders’ pass rush. The 2014 fifth-overall draft pick finished his rookie season with 76 tackles, four sacks, 40 quarterback hurries and a forced fumble playing in all 16 regular season games. He should rack up even more sacks now as he will be featured even more in the Raiders pass rush. Expect Mack to be on the field for extended playing time to get him accustomed to his new position.
Raiders fans could also look forward to seeing former Seahawk linebacker Malcolm Smith in black and silver. The Super Bowl XLVIII defensive MVP should help strengthen the Oakland defense as the starting weakside linebacker. He won’t play for the whole game, but expect Smith to help Mack force Rams coach Fisher take his quarterback Foles out of the game really early.
The Raiders have lost eight of their last 12 preseason games.
Writer’s Prediction
Mack scares off Foles in the Rams’ first two series. The Raiders’ starters outplay St. Louis’ reserves before eventually ending the game on a high. Oakland (pk) wins its first preseason game of 2015.
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