Tommy to the Raiders

[iaafan]

O’Connell is a priority for LV. They need a backup quarterback and it looks like they want to get him as much PT as possible. He struggled in the first half so they probably don’t want to leave game on a sour note.

[catsrback76]

Tommy was in on that last series. Caught a pass for no gain. His comfort level with aggression needs to increase…

[kwcat]

On the other hand, sounds like Miller must be pretty composed

[SCVBobcat]

Mentioned this during OTA's: they were not working Tommy into receiver drills much. I watched several receiver drills where he just stood and watched, and then just when I thought he was never going to get a rep near near the end of OTA's I saw a drill where they tossed one to Tommy as the D was already starting to clear the field. Maybe now he's going to get more receiver reps nows that some other receivers have been cut...? To me it says that even though he obviously needs a lot of receiver reps as a QB convert, the coaching staff just didn't prioritize it this spring. So either they're not going to give him a fair shake, in my opinion, or his position is safe this year due to his potential / athletic ability.

Why, in your opinion do you think they were willing to draft him, then not give him a fair shake? Perhaps he didn’t live up to their expectations?

If you draft a QB to be a receiver, then you're going to have to develop him. So I find it odd that they didn't have him run routes for a stretch of OTA's. On the other hand, the Raiders have a 73 year old coach. My previous statement stands: I hope they keep him on the basis of his potential identified by scouts and GM, but if they cut him there's an argument he didn't get much of a chance. But I'm sure that NFL history is littered with players who could claim the same...

On the punt return tonight, it seemed that Tommy was confused about whether he or Laube was going to field it. How often do NFL teams have 2 punt returners out there at the same time these days? I get the increased coverage, but I think you try to avoid those kind of situations in baseball (confusion in the outfield)...

[TomCat88]

Well that didn't go very well

What happened?

Tommy missed catching the punt, then chased it back to the end zone and wasn't fast enough picking it up and got tackled. Just a really ugly series.

This is his big weakness. He made several plays (mostly on pass plays) like that at MSU. Plays where he was indecisive or committed too soon. He could make up for it with his speed and twitch on running plays, but he'd occasionally miss receivers or misfire his pass. Those rarely hurt MSU but plays like that are killers in the NFL.

[SparkCat]

Mentioned this during OTA's: they were not working Tommy into receiver drills much. I watched several receiver drills where he just stood and watched, and then just when I thought he was never going to get a rep near near the end of OTA's I saw a drill where they tossed one to Tommy as the D was already starting to clear the field. Maybe now he's going to get more receiver reps nows that some other receivers have been cut...? To me it says that even though he obviously needs a lot of receiver reps as a QB convert, the coaching staff just didn't prioritize it this spring. So either they're not going to give him a fair shake, in my opinion, or his position is safe this year due to his potential / athletic ability.

Why, in your opinion do you think they were willing to draft him, then not give him a fair shake? Perhaps he didn’t live up to their expectations?

If you draft a QB to be a receiver, then you're going to have to develop him. So I find it odd that they didn't have him run routes for a stretch of OTA's. On the other hand, the Raiders have a 73 year old coach. My previous statement stands: I hope they keep him on the basis of his potential identified by scouts and GM, but if they cut him there's an argument he didn't get much of a chance. But I'm sure that NFL history is littered with players who could claim the same...

On the punt return tonight, it seemed that Tommy was confused about whether he or Laube was going to field it. How often do NFL teams have 2 punt returners out there at the same time these days? I get the increased coverage, but I think you try to avoid those kind of situations in baseball (confusion in the outfield)...

Well that’s too bad. I agree on your assessment, and think he needs a honest shot. He will need time to develop, hopefully the raiders are patient to see that upside.

[nanacat]

Knowing Tommy, he will take the bad things that happened last night and work extra hard to not let those happen again. It had to be overwhelming to be playing NFL football, in Seattle, in brand new positions that he hasn't played since his freshman year of college. To say the moment was too big might be correct, especially with how well Miller did, but Miller was playing a position he played all through college and excelled at, Tommy is doing something brand new. Now both Tommy and his coaches know what needs to improve and I believe he will, as long as they give him another chance. Hopefully they appreciate his intangibles, his brain, and his work ethic enough to keep developing him and allow him to find success.

[PapaG]

Knowing Tommy, he will take the bad things that happened last night and work extra hard to not let those happen again. It had to be overwhelming to be playing NFL football, in Seattle, in brand new positions that he hasn't played since his freshman year of college. To say the moment was too big might be correct, especially with how well Miller did, but Miller was playing a position he played all through college and excelled at, Tommy is doing something brand new. Now both Tommy and his coaches know what needs to improve and I believe he will, as long as they give him another chance. Hopefully they appreciate his intangibles, his brain, and his work ethic enough to keep developing him and allow him to find success.

I think that as long as he shows some progress in camp, he will get a place on the practice squad. Another team could pick him up for their 53, but that’s doubtful IMO so let’s hope the Raiders will allow him to learn this season and continue to train/practice with the team.

[coloradocat]

Knowing Tommy, he will take the bad things that happened last night and work extra hard to not let those happen again. It had to be overwhelming to be playing NFL football, in Seattle, in brand new positions that he hasn't played since his freshman year of college. To say the moment was too big might be correct, especially with how well Miller did, but Miller was playing a position he played all through college and excelled at, Tommy is doing something brand new. Now both Tommy and his coaches know what needs to improve and I believe he will, as long as they give him another chance. Hopefully they appreciate his intangibles, his brain, and his work ethic enough to keep developing him and allow him to find success.

I think that as long as he shows some progress in camp, he will get a place on the practice squad. Another team could pick him up for their 53, but that’s doubtful IMO so let’s hope the Raiders will allow him to learn this season and continue to train/practice with the team.

Since he's such a project I wonder if it's Raiders or bust, just because a lot of teams were interested but he'll likely have enough preseason tape that if he doesn't earn at least a practice squad spot with the Raiders the other teams may come to the same conclusion. There could always be a team out there that thinks they're better at developing than the Raiders though. I still think it won't come to that, it's just the first game and he'll get two more good chances, but that could be a possibility.

[SparkCat]

Knowing Tommy, he will take the bad things that happened last night and work extra hard to not let those happen again. It had to be overwhelming to be playing NFL football, in Seattle, in brand new positions that he hasn't played since his freshman year of college. To say the moment was too big might be correct, especially with how well Miller did, but Miller was playing a position he played all through college and excelled at, Tommy is doing something brand new. Now both Tommy and his coaches know what needs to improve and I believe he will, as long as they give him another chance. Hopefully they appreciate his intangibles, his brain, and his work ethic enough to keep developing him and allow him to find success.

I think that as long as he shows some progress in camp, he will get a place on the practice squad. Another team could pick him up for their 53, but that’s doubtful IMO so let’s hope the Raiders will allow him to learn this season and continue to train/practice with the team.

Since he's such a project I wonder if it's Raiders or bust, just because a lot of teams were interested but he'll likely have enough preseason tape that if he doesn't earn at least a practice squad spot with the Raiders the other teams may come to the same conclusion. There could always be a team out there that thinks they're better at developing than the Raiders though. I still think it won't come to that, it's just the first game and he'll get two more good chances, but that could be a possibility.

Dude would be a household name amongst CFL fans. I know it’s not as lucrative but if he wants to play football and excel he would fair well in the CFL.

[coloradocat]

Knowing Tommy, he will take the bad things that happened last night and work extra hard to not let those happen again. It had to be overwhelming to be playing NFL football, in Seattle, in brand new positions that he hasn't played since his freshman year of college. To say the moment was too big might be correct, especially with how well Miller did, but Miller was playing a position he played all through college and excelled at, Tommy is doing something brand new. Now both Tommy and his coaches know what needs to improve and I believe he will, as long as they give him another chance. Hopefully they appreciate his intangibles, his brain, and his work ethic enough to keep developing him and allow him to find success.

I think that as long as he shows some progress in camp, he will get a place on the practice squad. Another team could pick him up for their 53, but that’s doubtful IMO so let’s hope the Raiders will allow him to learn this season and continue to train/practice with the team.

Since he's such a project I wonder if it's Raiders or bust, just because a lot of teams were interested but he'll likely have enough preseason tape that if he doesn't earn at least a practice squad spot with the Raiders the other teams may come to the same conclusion. There could always be a team out there that thinks they're better at developing than the Raiders though. I still think it won't come to that, it's just the first game and he'll get two more good chances, but that could be a possibility.

Dude would be a household name amongst CFL fans. I know it’s not as lucrative but if he wants to play football and excel he would fair well in the CFL.

And since most of us that live out of state have to buy ESPN+ anyway we'd get to watch his games!

[MSU01]

Knowing Tommy, he will take the bad things that happened last night and work extra hard to not let those happen again. It had to be overwhelming to be playing NFL football, in Seattle, in brand new positions that he hasn't played since his freshman year of college. To say the moment was too big might be correct, especially with how well Miller did, but Miller was playing a position he played all through college and excelled at, Tommy is doing something brand new. Now both Tommy and his coaches know what needs to improve and I believe he will, as long as they give him another chance. Hopefully they appreciate his intangibles, his brain, and his work ethic enough to keep developing him and allow him to find success.

I think that as long as he shows some progress in camp, he will get a place on the practice squad. Another team could pick him up for their 53, but that’s doubtful IMO so let’s hope the Raiders will allow him to learn this season and continue to train/practice with the team.

Since he's such a project I wonder if it's Raiders or bust, just because a lot of teams were interested but he'll likely have enough preseason tape that if he doesn't earn at least a practice squad spot with the Raiders the other teams may come to the same conclusion. There could always be a team out there that thinks they're better at developing than the Raiders though. I still think it won't come to that, it's just the first game and he'll get two more good chances, but that could be a possibility.

Personally I will be shocked if the Raiders don't at least give Tommy a spot on their Practice Squad this year to continue his development. They knew what they were getting when they decided to draft him and his elite athletic skills aren't going away.

[catatac]

Can anyone even confirm that Tommy made a mistake on that punt... sounded like a miscommunication on who was fielding it? Did he make any other glaring mistakes? I'm thinking he'll have more chances to show how electric he can be with the ball in his hands. I think all this talk about CFL, practice squads, etc... is premature. Let's see what things like at the end of the month.

[kwcat]

He’ll shake it off and get better

[PapaG]

Knowing Tommy, he will take the bad things that happened last night and work extra hard to not let those happen again. It had to be overwhelming to be playing NFL football, in Seattle, in brand new positions that he hasn't played since his freshman year of college. To say the moment was too big might be correct, especially with how well Miller did, but Miller was playing a position he played all through college and excelled at, Tommy is doing something brand new. Now both Tommy and his coaches know what needs to improve and I believe he will, as long as they give him another chance. Hopefully they appreciate his intangibles, his brain, and his work ethic enough to keep developing him and allow him to find success.

I think that as long as he shows some progress in camp, he will get a place on the practice squad. Another team could pick him up for their 53, but that’s doubtful IMO so let’s hope the Raiders will allow him to learn this season and continue to train/practice with the team.

Since he's such a project I wonder if it's Raiders or bust, just because a lot of teams were interested but he'll likely have enough preseason tape that if he doesn't earn at least a practice squad spot with the Raiders the other teams may come to the same conclusion. There could always be a team out there that thinks they're better at developing than the Raiders though. I still think it won't come to that, it's just the first game and he'll get two more good chances, but that could be a possibility.

I saw his PFF grade and it was middle of the pack on both ST and WR for a guy on his first game at new positions at the highest level of football. Makes me feel better about him as a project. I doubt the Raiders would just cut him without giving him a PS contract, as his athleticism and football IQ would make him a lock for one team’s PS unless I’m missing something.

[SCVBobcat]

Can anyone even confirm that Tommy made a mistake on that punt... sounded like a miscommunication on who was fielding it? Did he make any other glaring mistakes? I'm thinking he'll have more chances to show how electric he can be with the ball in his hands. I think all this talk about CFL, practice squads, etc... is premature. Let's see what things like at the end of the month.

Tommy looked over at Laube (the other returner who was standing a few feet from him) while the ball was in the air, which may have caused him to lose track of the ball. So if he did make a mistake, maybe it was not knowing his assignment. If I wanted to evaluate my punt returners in the preseason, I might have just one returner out there at a time.

The scouts saw Tommy's potential. But the coaching staff is new and has to do a ton of player eval in a short time. So coaching staff may not be in development mode. They've been giving at least 6 guys punt return reps. So the coaching staff has a "competition based on what you can do right now" approach to sorting out the roster. I understand their perspective, but it's not ideal for Tommy maybe. In the long run, I believe Tommy's talent will shine, hopefully on the Raiders but on another team if not.