The Oakland Raiders took a chance when they acquired veteran quarterback Matt Schaub. The former Houston Texans' starter was coming off a season where he threw 14 interceptions and 10 touchdowns. He was eventually replaced, only starting in 10 games. However, the Raiders felt a change of scenery could bring back the Schaub that threw for 4,008 yards and 22 touchdowns just a season before. Two games into the preseason and the jury is still out as to whether or not Schaub is still that quarterback.
According to head coach Dennis Allen, the Raiders are still Schaub's team, for now. The veteran has not exactly stood out in the right way through two preseason games. The Raiders won their opener against the Minnesota Vikings, but fell to the Detroit Lions. The first game saw Schaub connect on a few nice passes to both James Jones and Rod Streater along with tight end Mychal Rivera. However in the second game, no one appeared to be on the same page and it clear just how big of a hill the Raiders and more importantly, Schaub, has to climb.
Schaub went 8-for-13 against Detroit for 87 yards and one pick-six interception that reminded fans of the 2013 Schaub. Allen was not waivered by the down performance of his quarterback. He remained adamant that Schaub was the starter and would remain the starter into the new season. That became even more clear when rookie Derek Carr went down with a concussion and rib injury. Carr has driven the Raiders down for a touchdown against the Lions while going 9-for-16 for 109 yards. He was looking like a true starter before the injury. However, Allen is not concerned by the loss.
"I did see a lot of improvement," Allen said, via the Associated Press. "I saw some improvement in his accuracy, I saw some improvement in his reads, I saw some improvement on his touch passes. I think that's a positive sign. There's still obviously a lot of room for improvement and room for growth, but I did see him take a step forward from his first preseason game."
Schaub has some serious work to do before the season begins. The struggle with wide receiver chemistry is troublesome considering the Raiders do not have that guaranteed safety blanket that can bail Schaub out like Andre Johnson once did. One good thing for the quarterback, Darren McFadden is taking his one-year contract very serious and has shown plenty of improvement that should give the Raiders offense a nice boost.
