Head coach Dennis Allen isn’t even certain who his own quarterback will be as the Raiders try to reach .500 for the first time this season.
Terrelle Pryor returned to practice in limited non-contact drills Thursday but still hasn’t been cleared to play after suffering a concussion following a helmet-to-helmet collision against Denver. Matt Flynn has taken all the reps with the first-team offense during Pryror’s absence.
Allen has said he would like to name a starter before Sunday’s game, but it’s possible it might go down to just before kickoff.
Keeping RG3 contained has to be a priority for Allen, but it’s not the only key matchup for Oakland this week.
Here are a few of the more critical matchups facing the Raiders this week.
LT Khalif Barnes vs. OLB Ryan Kerrigan
This was already shaping up to be one of the more critical battles in the game. With Flynn a strong possibility to start, it could become even more so.
Kerrigan leads the Redskins with three sacks and is one half of Washington’s pair of stellar bookend pass-rushers along with Brian Orakpo. Yet he’s athletic and physical enough to drop back in coverage and is a better-than-average matchup downfield against running backs than most linebackers.
Barnes, who continues to play out of position, simply needs to keep Kerrigan out of the Raiders’ backfield.
That won’t be easy.
Since switching to left side, Barnes has been up and down. He has struggled with power rushers and has only had marginal success keeping defenders off the quarterback.
With the ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
