The Oakland Raiders seem to be in internal limbo when it comes to their quarterback position. The Green Bay Packers, winning their preseason encounter 31-21, are in the opposite situation with Aaron Rodgers, who wasn’t at his most accurate but didn’t cause any doubts as to why his team has one less position to worry about when he’s on the field.
Rodgers completed only 9-of-20 passes but did complete two touchdown passes to Jordy Nelson and Andrew Quarless. He was sacked once and finished with 139 passing yards. Scott Tolzien did a good job against backups with 107 yards, completing 8-of-11 and finding Alex Gillett for a touchdown pass. Matt Flynn, playing against his former team, had a rough game with 4-of-10, intercepted once.
Things didn’t look good for the Raiders. Matt Schaub has been the man brought over to try and bring some consistency and stability to the quarterback position. However, maybe that one bad season with the Texans has turned him into damaged goods. He completed just 13-of-27 passes and all through this preseason hasn’t looked very convincing. Matt McGloin coming on after him completed two touchdown passes to Brice Butler in the fourth quarter to make the score seem more respectable.
Both teams were at least pleased with their running backs. DuJuan Harris ran for 56 yards on 12 carries while Eddie Lacy finished with 36 yards on six carries, scoring the game’s opening touchdown. The Raiders are dreaming of a special combination between Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden, but it was only the newcomer from the Jags that put on a show, as Jones-Draw ran for 45 yards on three carries, scoring a touchdown on a 40-yard run.
While the Raiders see this season as a chance to create some sort of foundation on offense instead of re-shuffling season after season, things are different for the Packers. Last season ended in something of a disappointing early exit against the 49ers for a second straight season, losing dramatically at home. Their defense needed improvement but might not have done so well in getting upgraded. Aaron Rodgers is still the one who’ll need to play at an unbelievable level for this season to be like the one in 2010.
The Raiders? Anything that seems like progress would be good, especially when it comes to their quarterback situation. Maybe in the end Matt McGloin will be the one who gets the job. He has looked better in preseason, although it has been against inferior competition and backups. Matt Schaub isn’t just trying to become something special for the Raiders, he’s trying to save what remains of his career as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
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