Silver And Black Pride
There’s no love lost between Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh.
Which makes Monday night’s matchup between the Carroll-led Las Vegas Raiders and Harbaugh-led Los Angeles Chargers all the more entertaining. The two head coaches get top billing in a primetime matchup between two AFC West squads that won its respective season openers.
A storied rivalry between two accomplished coaches means under the bright lights in Allegiant Stadium on Monday night is the most proper way to reignite the Carroll-Harbaugh matchups. Yet, will that receives top billing, it’s the play callers that take center stage.
And the chess match and mind games between Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman takes center stage in a divisional showdown.
Roman, who tends to orchestrate an offense that emphasizes running the football (at times detrimental to his quarterbacks), seemingly did a flip of philosophy in the Bolts’ impressive 27-21 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Brazil in Week 1. But to seal the game, it was quarterback Justin Herbert who galloped for a first down on 3rd and 14 with 2:14 left to play.
Which led to a hilarious, straight-to-the-point answer from Carroll when asked about the pass-centric offense Roman dialed up in the season opener.
“I think it’s a total mirage,” the Raiders head honcho said.
The Chargers offense showcased 34 passing attempts to 25 rushing attempts in Week 1 as Herbert connected on 25 of those throws for 318 yards and a trio of touchdown passes. He was sacked three times but was a cool customer throughout the win. Wide receiver Quentin Johnston has seemingly found his hands hauling leading the team with five receptions for 79 yards and two touchdowns. Shifty Ladd McConkey hauled in six passes for 74 yards and ever-reliable veteran Keenan Allen had seven catches for 68 yards and a score.
On the ground, rookie running back Omarion Hampton paced the team with 15 carries for 48 yards while Herbert added 32 yards on seven carries.
Combating Herbert and the Bolts attack will be a task for Graham and the rest of the Raiders coaching staff.
“I mean, obviously the one that stands out, the run game for me, how he got into the different checks. They have a great system in terms of how they run the ball, certain looks, whether they’re looking for the bubble, looking for the three technique, they do a good job. They’re making good decisions in the RPO game,” Graham said when asked about Herbert and what film revealed on the Bolts’ quarterback. “Then from there, just the quick decisions in the drop back passing game, and he’s getting the ball out pretty quick. And if he doesn’t have it, he has the ability to move around, whether he goes down the field with it or takes off. He looked pretty dynamic. I mean, the one play where he got called back because of whatever the penalty was, but, I mean, that was a good run....
