Jon Gruden says Seth Roberts is making Raiders roster
Oakland Raiders T-Shirt , Keon Hatcher 3 TD night ‘put himself into position’ For the fifth year in a row, Seth Roberts will be a part of the Oakland Raiders. The
former undrafted free agent out of West Alabama was given his stamp of approval
Thursday night following the team’s final preseason game.“I like Seth Roberts,”
said Jon Gruden. “I think he’s proven that he’s a good player in this league. He
had 8 or 9 days he was away, he was injured. We know what we have in Seth
Roberts. He’ll be an Oakland Raider this year and we’re happy about that.” And
there you have it.Gruden had said earlier this week that Dwayne Harris had
beaten out Ryan Switzer for the job of return man and slot receiver. And you
figure Amari Cooper, Jordy Nelson, and Martavis Bryant are locks. That gives the
Raiders five receivers. They will keep at most six.The primary contenders for
that spot up to this point were Marcell Ateman and Johnny Holton. Keon Hatcher
made a late push by putting on a show tonight, catching 8 passes for 128 yards
and 3 touchdowns, but that may not be enough to secure that sixth spot.“Keon
Hatcher, what can you say about that kid? That’s a great story,” said Gruden.
“He put himself in position to make this team. Not only as a receiver, but as a
special teams performer.”Gruden said he’s emotional right now because there are
guys like Hatcher of whom he’s really proud and will have a tough call to make
tomorrow.Should Hatcher be among the cuts, he could garner interest around the
league based on his performance tonight. If he doesn’t get signed, he could be
back on the practice squad for the second season.My money would be on Ateman
taking that final spot. He was the team’s 7th round draft choice and he has
shown some strong skills as a jump ball specialist and possession
receiver.Follow @LeviDamien As a combo, the Denver Broncos' two highest-paid
players aren't exactly money yet.Although Demaryius Thomas caught the winning
touchdown pass from Case Keenum in their opener, the pair making a combined $27
million this season have 10 missed connections so far.That's almost as many
connections ??11 for 81 yards ??as they've made together.Calculating
incompletions where he got both hands on the ball, Thomas leads the league with
five drops so far.Thomas had two early drops in the opener but bounced back to
catch a 4-yard dart from Keenum to beat the Seahawks in Week 1. Thomas dropped
three passes against the Raiders last week, when he had five receptions for 18
yards. Only four times has he had fewer yards in a game since becoming a starter
in 2012.His biggest drop last week came with Denver at midfield
Oakland Raiders Hats , trailing by two points with 22 seconds left. Thomas sprinted up the right sideline and deked his defender into leaving him wide open. Keenum
delivered a pass on target and on time, but the ball sailed through Thomas'
hands.On the next play, Keenum hooked up with Tim Patrick for his first NFL
reception, a 26-yarder that set up Brandon McManus' 36-yard field goal that beat
the Raiders 20-19 .Thomas' early-season troubles are reminiscent of 2015, when
he dropped eight passes before November, then added five drops against New
England in a game when his sole catch proved crucial to Denver's win in overtime
that helped propel the Broncos to the Super Bowl 50 title.Thomas said his only
focus this week was on trying to help his team out Sunday when the Broncos (2-0)
visit Baltimore (1-1), and his latest bout of drops apparently hasn't alarmed
his coaches."He's OK," coach Vance Joseph said, adding that the coaching staff
can provide a boost by calling his number early and often."It's our job to get
him going early and to get him his confidence early," Joseph said. "When guys go
through a whole half and have one attempt or two attempts, that's tough for
receivers. If he has his first attempt and he drops it or it's a bad ball,
that's a mind war. It's our job to get him going early. It's his job to play
with confidence, and he will."Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said he
believes that corrections need to be made in the flow of the game without regard
to a specific player who might be struggling with catches or confidence."We're
just trying to give everybody the ball," Musgrave said. "We don't want to start
worrying about one guy here ... We've just got to let the ball find everybody in
the system, whether it's handing off or throwing it. If we do a good job, I
think everybody will get their touches."Keenum sees any hiccups right now as the
inevitable crimps that will dissipate as the offense develops."The team that you
are in September is always very different then the team you are in December,"
Keenum said. "I think that's why you come out every day and practice. You grind
away at those little itty-bitty details
Oakland Raiders Hoodie , mechanics and footwork, routes and protections, so that you can keep building this library, keep building this trust, keep building this
chemistry with these guys with the offensive line, the running backs, the
receivers."All so you can trust on that when it comes down to December, January,
and hopefully February."ROUGHING RULEJoseph said he understands why the league
is emphasizing roughing calls on quarterbacks this season."They want the
quarterback not to be punished. Back when I played, that was the key to the
game: How much can you punish the quarterback? But it's changed," Joseph said.
"They want you to sack the quarterback and turn your body and not put your full
body weight on the guy."Joseph said he concurs with the league's efforts to keep
QBs safe."I don't want Case hit that way. So, it goes both ways with the
players. So, I agree with it," Joseph said. "We haven't had a play yet that has
cost us. So, I don't have a problem with it. That could change in two weeks. But
it's for the safety of the position."
