RADIO
The worry game was strong coming out of Week 1, with the fear being that the amazing rookie wide receiver crop from last year had skewed our expectations way too far. Amari Cooper’s weak line of 5-47-0 was the best of the rookies, and the Raiders looked terrible. The Ravens were coming into Oakland in what all signs pointed to being a blowout for Baltimore.
Well that is not what happened, as many ousted survivor pool players can tell you. Derek Carr had a helluva day, and in no time Amari Cooper had a 68-yard TD to his name. Cooper showed that he has the skills, as he converted 11 targets into a 7-109-1 line. Now you might look at Michael Crabtree’s 16 targets and raise the eyebrows a bit, but we know who Crabtree is at this point, and Carr’s #1 is still Cooper. Cooper beat a stud DB in Jimmy Smith for his line, proving he is the real deal.
Derek Carr’s throws were actually pretty errant, a lot of just lofting it up and underthrowing balls into some traffic, but it was encouraging that he can still get the ball out to his receivers. The Raiders won’t put up these kind of yardage and point totals with any consistency, but Cooper’s Week 1 targets in a bad showing combined with his totals in a big game are very encouraging.
