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Jacobs Believes He's Shaking The Rust Off; Renfrow To Get A Chance?
Running back Josh Jacobs sat out the offseason program, training camp and the preseason. He joined the team Aug. 26.
So, it was not surprising that the All-Pro rushed for only 48 yards on 19 carries, with his 2.5 yards per carry average the third-lowest of his career. He added two catches for 23 yards and had the block that sprung Jimmy Garoppolo on an 8-yard scramble that iced the win.
According to Jacobs was unsatisfied.
"We had a lot of runs that was really close [to breaking]," Jacobs said, via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN. "It's just the small details. Not only that, man, I've got to knock the rust off, too. It was a few plays where I felt like I tripped up a little bit. Plays that I knew I could have made or reads that I was kind of a little late on. It's going to come with me, man, working at practice and trying to get that back with not being here in the offseason."
Jacobs averaged 48 snaps per game last season when he led the league in touches (393), yards from scrimmage (2,053) and rushing yards (1,653). He played 47 against the Broncos.
"It was an interesting game because I think he played in the teens [in snap count] in the first half, and normally you'd like your play count to be a little higher," Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said. "So, just by the nature of how the game went, I didn't think we would be able to push it to 65 or 70. But because we were so low in the play count in the first half, I felt like we would just let him kind of determine how he felt as he went into the second half.
"Nobody is more critical of his own performance than J.J., so he'll see things that he can do better, and he'll work really hard at improving, as will our team."
Now he faces a Bills defense that allowed 172 rushing yards to the Jets on Monday night, which was surprising because Buffalo had one of the best run defenses in the league last season. But they do have a specific weakness.
As FantasyPros' Derek Brown notes, in Week 1, 84 percent of his runs came on gap scheme plays. The Bills allowed a surprising 10.6 yards per carry against gap runs, but their woes against this run type aren't just an isolated one-game snippet. Last year, Buffalo allowed the 13th-highest yards per carry (4.8) and gap run success rate to opposing backs. ...
Meanwhile, with Jakobi Meyers (concussion) ruled out for tomorrow's game, who steps up at wideout?
As ESPN.com's Paul Gutierrez notes, the easy answer is All-Pro Davante Adams, but he's always going to get his. So what about Hunter Renfrow?
Forgotten in the Raiders' game plan during their 17-16 win at Denver -- the former Pro Bowl slot receiver was not targeted a single time against the Broncos -- Renfrow figures to be more of an emphasis anyway. But if Meyers is out, it only makes sense for Jimmy Garoppolo to look for the shifty Renfrow underneath.
It was the first time in Renfrow's 57-game career he was not targeted, let alone shut out on the stat sheet, so a big rebound is expected after he played a career-low-tying 13 snaps.
In his only other action against Buffalo, Renfrow had five catches for 57 yards in 2020.
So, it was not surprising that the All-Pro rushed for only 48 yards on 19 carries, with his 2.5 yards per carry average the third-lowest of his career. He added two catches for 23 yards and had the block that sprung Jimmy Garoppolo on an 8-yard scramble that iced the win.
According to Jacobs was unsatisfied.
"We had a lot of runs that was really close [to breaking]," Jacobs said, via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN. "It's just the small details. Not only that, man, I've got to knock the rust off, too. It was a few plays where I felt like I tripped up a little bit. Plays that I knew I could have made or reads that I was kind of a little late on. It's going to come with me, man, working at practice and trying to get that back with not being here in the offseason."
Jacobs averaged 48 snaps per game last season when he led the league in touches (393), yards from scrimmage (2,053) and rushing yards (1,653). He played 47 against the Broncos.
"It was an interesting game because I think he played in the teens [in snap count] in the first half, and normally you'd like your play count to be a little higher," Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said. "So, just by the nature of how the game went, I didn't think we would be able to push it to 65 or 70. But because we were so low in the play count in the first half, I felt like we would just let him kind of determine how he felt as he went into the second half.
"Nobody is more critical of his own performance than J.J., so he'll see things that he can do better, and he'll work really hard at improving, as will our team."
Now he faces a Bills defense that allowed 172 rushing yards to the Jets on Monday night, which was surprising because Buffalo had one of the best run defenses in the league last season. But they do have a specific weakness.
As FantasyPros' Derek Brown notes, in Week 1, 84 percent of his runs came on gap scheme plays. The Bills allowed a surprising 10.6 yards per carry against gap runs, but their woes against this run type aren't just an isolated one-game snippet. Last year, Buffalo allowed the 13th-highest yards per carry (4.8) and gap run success rate to opposing backs. ...
Meanwhile, with Jakobi Meyers (concussion) ruled out for tomorrow's game, who steps up at wideout?
As ESPN.com's Paul Gutierrez notes, the easy answer is All-Pro Davante Adams, but he's always going to get his. So what about Hunter Renfrow?
Forgotten in the Raiders' game plan during their 17-16 win at Denver -- the former Pro Bowl slot receiver was not targeted a single time against the Broncos -- Renfrow figures to be more of an emphasis anyway. But if Meyers is out, it only makes sense for Jimmy Garoppolo to look for the shifty Renfrow underneath.
It was the first time in Renfrow's 57-game career he was not targeted, let alone shut out on the stat sheet, so a big rebound is expected after he played a career-low-tying 13 snaps.
In his only other action against Buffalo, Renfrow had five catches for 57 yards in 2020.
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