Grading the Raiders
Here are the Raiders' grades from a 35-13 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday:
Pass offense
Carson Palmer passed for 373 yards and one touchdown without being sacked. However, he completed only half of his 48 throws and misfired badly on numerous passes. Mike Goodson did a nice job turning a short reception into a 64-yard touchdown. Tight end Brandon Myers caught all six passes thrown his way for 86 yards. Grade: B
Run offense
Darren McFadden and Goodson combined for 16 yards on 12 carries, as the Raiders struggled running the ball for the second straight game. The inability to establish the run forced the Raiders into a pass-heavy attack, which played into the Dolphins' hands. So far, the zone-blocking scheme has been slow to yield results. Grade: F
Pass defense
The Raiders pressured rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill on a consistent basis. Yet, they sacked him only once and allowed him to complete 60 percent of his passes. Cornerback Pat Lee struggled mightily in place of injured regular Ron Bartell. MLB Rolando McClain got beat for a touchdown. Grade: D+
Run defense
Atrocious. Four missed tackles enabled Dolphins back Reggie Bush to turn a third-and-1 play
into a 23-yard, game-altering touchdown. Ten plays later, Bush scampered 65 yards for a game-clinching score. Overall, the Dolphins managed 263 yards and four touchdowns rushing, at an average of 6.1 yards. Grade: FSpecial teams
Phillip Adams had three nice punt returns, though two were wiped out by penalties. He also made three questionable decisions fielding punts inside the Raiders' 10-yard line. Sebastian Janikowski converted both his field-goal attempts. Shane Lechler averaged 46.9 yards on his nine punts. Punt coverage was spotty. Grade: C
Coaching
Coach Dennis Allen summed up things best: He and his assistants didn't do a good enough job of having their players prepared to beat a Dolphins team that lost all four of its exhibition games and its regular-season opener. Grade: F
-- STEVE CORKRAN
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