Raiders safety Johnathan Abram stays optimistic for rest of season
Rookie safety Johnathan Abram thinks his Raiders teammates will beat the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football.
But to do that, they’ll need to find a way to contain the run and Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen, he said.
“They’re always trying to find ways to get him the ball,” Abram said of Allen. “They put him in the slot, they put him at 3, 4.”
It’s important for the Raiders secondary to communicate and ensure they’re on the same page as the defense has blown coverage playing cover two in recent weeks, he said.
On the other side of the ball, the offense needs to “keep doing what they’re doing,” Abram said.
The Raiders stand at 4-4 through their first eight games of the season, and if Abram is to be believed, the best is yet to come for the team. The team won four games in a tough half of their schedule where they spent five straight weeks away from Oakland, as many wins as some on the outside thought they might win all year.
“I think we’re a lot further than a lot of people thought,” Abram said.
He has his eye on the playoffs, predicting the team can rack up wins during what looks like a softer half of the schedule that includes games against the struggling Bengals, Jets and Broncos.
Abram has been forced to watch his teammates from the sidelines as he rehabs a torn rotator cuff that ended his season after just one game. Rehab has been good so far, if painful, he said.
“A lot of range of motion stuff,” Abram said.
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