The Raiders lost on Monday night in large part because they didn’t have a backup plan when long snapper Jon Condo left the game with a head injury.
They should hope that history doesn’t repeat itself. Condo is active for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins and Nick Guess, the long snapper brought onto the active roster as insurance this week, is inactive. That leaves the Raiders with the same general approach as Week One.
Oakland presumably spent a little more time in practice this week making sure that they were covered in case something should happen to Condo again this Sunday. Linebacker Travis Goethel took over the job after Condo got hurt last week and the Raiders botched three different punts on their way to a 22-14 loss to the Chargers. It wasn’t the only reason they lost the game, but it did cost them dearly in the contest.
The Raiders will have defensive back Coye Francies in the lineup after he was promoted from the practice squad along with Guess. With cornerback Ron Bartell hitting injured reserve, the Raiders had a need for a body in the secondary.