Other » The next group of edge rushers are not widely considered

CINCINNATI (AP) — Derek Carr kept his streak without an interception going. In the end Womens Bo Jackson Jersey , he couldn’t complete enough throws to give the Raiders a chance.Carr extended his streak without an interception to nine games, but Oakland managed only 19 yards in the fourth quarter, helping the Cincinnati Bengals hold on for a 30-16 victory on Sunday .The Bengals (6-8) got the better of a game between two struggling, injury-depleted teams. Oakland’s offensive line has been hit hard, forcing the Raiders (3-11) to keep shuffling players.They managed to pull out a 24-21 win over the Steelers a week earlier and had a chance for another comeback, trailing 20-13 after the third quarter. They failed to convert a third-down play against the NFL’s worst defense the rest of the way.“We’re working with our fourth and fifth guards,” Carr said.Starting left guard Kelechi Osemele missed his second straight game with a toe injury. Starting right guard Gabe Jackson was inactive with an elbow injury. The line didn’t give the running backs much room — the Raiders managed only 68 yards rushing — and Carr was sacked five times.“It was a very difficult situation for us today offensively, with all the changes,” coach Jon Gruden said. “We’ve got to do better, and I will acknowledge that was one tough situation that we were put under today.”Doug Martin ran nine times for 39 yards, the Raiders’ leading rusher. Tight end Darren Waller accounted for nearly a third of the Raiders’ yards rushing, getting 21 on a reverse. Otherwise, there wasn’t much room to run.“We didn’t have it today,” Martin said.Carr has thrown 301 passes without an interception, breaking Rich Gannon’s club record from 2001. Overall, he was 21 of 38 for 263 yards with a touchdown . In the fourth quarter, Carr was 4 of 7 for 38 yards with three sacks.After Daniel Carlson‘s 40-yard field goal cut Cincinnati’s lead to 23-16 with 5:05 left Bo Jackson Jersey , Alex Erickson returned the kickoff 77 yards, setting up Joe Mixon‘s clinching touchdown run.“We made it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter, and the kickoff return by Erickson really hurt us,” Gruden said.The Raiders already are in next-year mode. They fired general manager Reggie McKenzie on Monday and had little on the line against the Bengals, other than Carr’s interception streak and the chance to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.“I want to see us finish with authority, with as much juice as we have, and as much heart and soul as we can showcase,” Gruden said. “That’s what I want us to do.” When you need an edge rusher as bad as the Raiders do, reaching for need seems almost inevitable."Every GM preaches drafting the best player available. Some are at least honest enough to admit that need also plays a significant role in that selection. Former Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie was one of those who consistently swore the player he selected was the best player on the board, even though the selections were clearly filling needs. Raiders GM Mike Mayock is a bit more upfront about the more practical strategy a GM uses to select certain players — that need is the primary factor.“I’m the son of a coach and I know how coaches think, and coaches think need,” Mayock said in his pre-draft press conference. “And we are a coach-driven building, our coaches are highly involved and that’s good. I embrace that.”I doubt there are many (if any) reading this who isn’t already quite familiar with the Raiders considerable need of edge rushing. The need was so great that it seemed inevitable the team would make a play for one of the top edge rushers in free agency to ensure they didn’t go into the draft in desperation mode at the position.Being desperate at any position ends up calling for desperate measures. “The flip side is you can’t reach,” Mayock continued, “you got to use some common sense and that’s what I preach upstairs. Is that if we are in a situation where if two similarly rated players and one is a higher position of need, great, let’s go get him https://www.raiderslockerroom.com/authentic-antonio-brown-jersey , but if there is a discount, a disparity between two let’s not reach for need because the more you do that, the more you dilute your roster, and that’s a conversation we’ve had a lot.”It’s a conversation that needed to happen, especially after last year’s draft.In Gruden’s first draft since returning to coaching he passed up on clearly the best player on the board and best safety in the draft Derwin James (twice) to reach for tackle Kolton Miller. Then he traded up in the third round to get small school tackle Brandon Parker. Those reaches bit them in the ass last season and still this offseason tackle was the top priority as they began free agency by making Trent Brown the highest paid offensive lineman in NFL history.With the way most mock drafts are falling, the Raiders are in a precarious position with regard to pass rushers. The top two pass rushers Nick Bosa and Josh Allen are usually gone, and the next tier would be considered a reach at 4. The edge rushers most commonly in that group are Brian Burns, Montez Sweat, and Clelin Ferrell. But by the time they get to pick 24, all those next tier of pass rushers figure to be gone.This will make it tempting to trade up in the first round. The fear with that is teams strong arming the Raiders to force them to give up too much in trade knowing they have them right where they want them. The draft value chart suggests the Raiders could move up into the top 12 while not having to surrender both pick 24 and 27. But if the team they are negotiating with simply stands their ground, and the Raiders know if they don’t make that trade, they will miss out on one of the draft’s top pass rushers, they may be forced to overpay to make the move. first round prospects. But as much draft sense as it makes for the Raiders to not reach for anyone in that group at 24 or 27, it could prove tempting if they are sitting there looking at the risk of going through all three first round selections without addressing the most glaring need on the team.No one knows exactly how the draft will play out. Mayock’s draft board might be very different than those of other teams or draft analysts. It often is. He is also not the one with the final say in who gets drafted. Mayock admits that he is the conservative one and Gruden is more willing to ‘“roll the dice”. Gruden gets antsy and either gives up too much or drafts players higher than they should be taken for fear of not getting his guy or not filling a need. That’s not a good combination when considering the situation the Raiders have put themselves in at edge rusher.Follow @LeviDamien