Oakland Raiders Have No Choice But To Let It All Hang Out In Houston

The Oakland Raiders have officially named their starting quarterback for this Saturday’s playoff game and now have to pull out all the stops to win.

Oakland Raiders HC Jack Del Rio made it official today by naming rookie Connor Cook the starter for this weekend’s playoff game with the Houston Texans. It’s not a surprising announcement – even if he were healthy, Matt McGloin shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the field. Not after the absolute dud he threw up against Denver, and not in a game as important as this.

You know it’s bad when you think a rookie gives you a better shot to win than a veteran whose been with your team for a while. But, such is the state of the Raiders today.

And now that Cook has been installed as the man who will be under center as the Raiders try to win their first playoff game since Michael Jackson was dangling his kids off a balcony and Ted Williams‘ head was cryogenically frozen, Oakland is going to have to pull out all of the stops and cut loose if they want to advance to the next round.

It’s far from an ideal situation. It’s not even in the same universe as ideal. But it – as they say – is what it is.

The approach to their playoff game in Houston should be simply – be aggressive, pull out all the stops, and let it all hang out. With their playoff lives on the line, Oakland can’t afford to play it conservative or cautious. They’ve got to go all out – on both sides of the all – from the opening snap to the final whistle.

Which means that the Raiders can’t afford to be predictable. It’s entirely likely – if not guaranteed – that the Texans will be using the same script the Broncos did in dismantling Oakland’s offense. Load the box, stop the run, and force Cook to make some plays.

To that end, Del Rio and OC Bill Musgrave can’t be afraid to let Cook start slinging it. The only way to keep Houston from committing extra attackers to shut down the running game is to let the rookie take some shots. Get his confidence up with some short and intermediate range passes. Get some completions under his belt. Get him into a rhythm.

Cook proved capable by going 14 of 21 for 150 yards and a touchdown in relief of McGloin last week. He made some throws. Moved this offense a bit. It wasn’t smooth or seamless, but it certainly seemed to be miles ahead of the offense under McGloin.

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Yeah, he made some mistakes – throwing one pick and coughing the ball up twice. But he’s a rookie and those things are unfortunately, going to happen. And the Raiders have no choice but to live with it. They have no choice but to live or die with the rookie and hope he doesn’t make the kind of mistakes that he takes them out of the game.

You have to hope Del Rio’s staff has been up his backside talking about ball security this week.

Musgrave cannot afford to limit Cook or shrink the playbook. Do that and he’ll essentially be waving a white flag and planning for next season. They have to allow Cook the freedom to run the offense and make some plays. If he can hit on some passes and get the offense moving early, Houston is going to have no choice but loosen up at the line and give the Raiders a chance to run.

Ordinarily, you’re going to use the run to set up the pass. These Raiders though, with Cook under center, are going to have to use the pass to set up their run. It won’t be easy – Houston has a hellacious pass defense. But they’ll be committed to stopping the run and forcing Cook to make some plays.

And the Raiders need to make them pay for that approach. They need to capitalize on the opportunities they will have. They need to allow Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree, and Seth Roberts to get into space and make some plays.

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Cook isn’t going to be able to do what Carr did. That shouldn’t be the expectation. But in allowing Cook the chance to make some plays, it will give the Raiders a chance to snatch a game that nobody expects them to win.

The Raiders can’t afford to play conservative. There can be no half measures. They’ve got to pull out all the stops and go completely balls out. After all, there is no next game if they can’t find a way to get it done. Might as well go down throwing haymakers. You never know, you might land a shot or two.

They might as well go down throwing haymakers. You never know, they might just land a shot or two.