Ike Brown, Kyle Sloter and Isaiah Zuber all played in the Hall of Game; Raiders vs Jaguars. How well did they play and was it well enough to keep ’em for the preseason?
Kyle Sloter
Out of all the USFL guys playing tonight, Sloter had the most hype. After an injury to C.J. Beathard, Jacksonville signed Sloter to take his place. After Trevor Lawrence was declared out for the game, this gave Sloter a chance to show what he learned from the USFL New Orleans Breakers.
First of all, he had some positives. After not seeing the field for the first half, Sloter would be the QB that give 11 points to Jacksonville when Jake Luton failed to get one point for the Jaguars. He also statistically outperformed Luton, going 13 for 25 for 127 yards and a touchdown to Nathan Cottrell for 5 yards. Sloter would leave a QBR of 79.9 while Luton had a 74.1. But on paper doesn’t give the full performance.
Watching Sloter, the one word I use is rusty. There was a lot of running plays, it seemed that the Jaguars weren’t exactly trusting Sloter with the ball, and when he does have the ball, when it wasn’t screens and check downs, wasn’t that good. Hell, even one screen play went for 21 yards, docking a closer passing yards cut between the two Jacksonville QBs.
Overall, Sloter still has a lot to prove to Jacksonville. I won’t be surprised if Luton still is the 2nd stringer and when Beathard comes back from his injury… Sloter needs to step up.
Ike Brown
One of my personal favorites coming out of USFL, Brown would be interesting to watch coming in. Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels would it clear that USFL players should been signed, that’s why signing Ike was a no brainer after his season with the Breakers.
Ike would be playing behind rookie Bryce Cosby for the first half. That was until Cosby went down with an injury, so Ike was put in 3rd down; Luton steps back, throws, Ike Brown has the ball!… dropped. Brown was that close to making a huge play for the Raiders, but in the end he gets a PD that stops the Jaguars from scoring in the first half.
After the first half, Brown was on the field, playing special teams as well as cornerback. As I mentioned, that was a lot of screens and check downs so it was hard for Ike Brown to get some real stats. But he would get two tackles out of the game, stopping the Jaguars three times in 3rd down. The only blemish from Brown was a DPI penalty that eventually gave Jaguars enough strength to score a touchdown.
In summary, Ike made some plays for Las Vegas tonight. They got a special player when huge potential, and if I was the Raiders, I’d start seeing what he can do for their preseason.
Isaiah Zuber
Unlike the other two, Zuber did not get to shine as people thought he would. McDaniels really like what the USFL was producing, so along with Ike Brown, the Raiders signed Zuber after his tenure with the Houston Gamblers.
Tonight, Zuber was looking to not play a snap in the first half until the last play of the game, Zuber lined up as a receiver; but it was a run play to Kenyan Drake. Into the second half, Zuber would be seen in special teams and running plays as a receiver, but not targeted once. Probably doesn’t help that rookie Chase Garbers like his receivers of Jordan Veasy and the Raiders running more than passing.
Fair to say, Zuber didn’t get the opportunity to show what he’s got. We’ll have to wait for the Raiders to throw more passes and hope some of those go to Zuber.
