Skins vs. Raiders preview

So this is about as much of an early season must win game there is for the Skins.  They can ill afford to go drop to 0-4.  While I expect the Skins to win, I don't think this will be an easy game by any means.  The Raiders have shown some flashes and it is always hard for a team to travel cross country to play.  Still, I won't make any excuses.  The Skins have to win this game.  Keys are as follow:

1. More running:  The run game is our bread and butter and when we have run this season, we have been effective.  Unfortunately, because we have been down, we have been forced to pass much more.  This isn't our game.  We need to get Morris going and ride that as much as we can.  I'm sure Morris wants it and the O line would love to run block all day.

2. Defense:  We blitzed a lot in the Lions game and relied on man to man coverage.  It appeared to be more successful.  Will be interesting to see if we employ the same strategy this week.  I say might as well as it is more high risk/high reward as we could give up big plays but we could also create big plays for our defense. 

3. Who is the Raiders QB?:  I don't think it matters too much.  Pryor looks better than I thought in the little I have seen from him but he is coming off of a concussion and Matt Flynn was supposed to be the guy.  I think each guy will present their own challenges and each guy will definitely want to impress if they are in there as there doesn't seem to be a strong hold on the QB position.  I expect Pryor to play and all the more reason to send pressure and force the kid to make plays. 

4. RG3:  Have to throw him in there as you just want to see improvement week to week.  I've seen that so far and want to see another step this week.  Per #1 above, I don't want to see him throw 50 times but would rather see a better selection of passes but I would prefer the focus to be on the run to take pressure off of RG3.  Still, I'm sure he will have to make his share of plays and I'm expecting continued stronger play from him.

5. Kickoff/Punt returns:  We need better production from this group.  Looked like Josh Morgan picked up for Chris Thompson on the kickoff returns.  Thompson hasn't done much but it's still early to make a definitive decision on him.  He seems fast but seems more linear and less quick and able to make guys miss.  However, the bigger problem I have with him is his decision making.  He will catch the ball on punts when he should let it drop or try and run a ball 9 yards deep in the end zone.  I appreciate a young guy wanting to make plays but not at the cost of hurting his team.  Will be interesting to see how well we do in the return game.

In the end, I expect a determined group to come out and win the game 31-17.  I think we will run the ball effectively and create two turnovers that will help bring us our first win.

HAIL SKINS!!!