@BramBreezy

Week 4 Raiders Fantasy Outlook

 Posted by at 12:41 AM  No Responses »
Oct 022011
 

Quarterback

In one of the toughest match-ups, and one of the most historical, on the Raiders’ schedule, Jason Campbell has a lot on his shoulders. The vast majority of the sports world has Brady in the top NFL quarterbacks of all-time, let alone this season. However, their D was shown up by the Bills’ offense, and they’re on the road. Campbell has been steadily improving, but when it comes to Fantasy numbers, this won’t be his best week. The Raiders like to run the ball, which they will do a lot, but this means most of Campbell’s passes will be short tosses to McFadden. He’ll put up standard numbers (150-200 yards) in a fairly low scoring game. Look for some consistent points from him this week, but nothing earth shattering. Belichick has said they studied the Raiders very hard since the teams haven’t met in four years, which means Campbell may need a few tricks up his sleeve.

Running Backs

Play Darren McFadden! Unless you’ve been living under a rock, this is obvious. The Patriots’ run defense is ranked tenth in the NFL, but he’s the number one rusher overall in the league. He’ll get decent yardage, but the big points will be scored on short passes, which he’s been working on this week in practice. The tightness in his groin from Sunday will be nothing to worry about. Michael Bush is a good number three running back on your roster, if you need one for your WR/RB. He’s been getting carries, but once converted to Fantasy points, it’s nothing to write home about.

Wide Receivers

Denarious Moore is a star in the making. The question coming into Week 4 is how he will grow into the role with Jacoby Ford back in the fold. Know this about Moore: he is the second offensive playmaker behind Darren McFadden. If you own Moore in one of most of your leagues and are fretting about his depth chart position or targets, take comfort in the fact that many teams will try to limit Run DMC’s effectiveness and that can only benefit Moore. In my eyes, he is a low end WR2 and a WR3 with a ton of upside. If you’re looking for that extra punch in your lineup plug and play him without hesitation.

The other Raiders WRs are better left alone for now. If you drafted or invested early on in Jacoby Ford, monitor his progress closely this week against the Patriots.

Tight Ends

Kevin Boss’ role within this offense will continue to grow. However, this week there are better options in fantasy. This year especially, the TE position is fairly deep and you can gain value in how other teams are utilizing their tight ends. Boss helps the run game tremendously and his pass-catching abilities will be slowly introduced.

Defense/Special Teams

I would caution against using the Raiders D/ST this week against the Patsy Patriots. QB Tom Brady will put the points on the board with relative ease the same manner that Ryan Fitzpatrick did in Week 2. There are great options out there such as Tampa Bay vs. the Colts on Monday night. Curtis Painter gets the start in that game, enough said.

Kicker

Nothing to see here, Sebastian Janikowski is a fantasy must start every week the Raiders play. No dirt this week bumps his value up just a little more.

Raiders Week 3 Fantasy Preview

 Posted by at 9:56 AM  No Responses »
Sep 232011
 

Alright fantasy football die-hards, if you are looking for information regarding the Raiders players, you’ve come to the right place. Each week we will break down the fantasy impacts of the Silver and Black in case you own any or most of them.

There were no major injuries to speak of when it comes to the skill positions and the only area where the injury bug has hit seems to be in the Wide Receiver position as was the case last week. Notable returns this week include the enigmatic Darrius Heyward-Bey and Tight End Kevin Boss, which will be discussed in our picks.

 

Running Backs

This week you need to start both Darren McFadden and Michael Bush. McFadden isn’t at the top of his game, but he has been practicing and will play. As long as he’s on that field, you better believe that he will be carrying the ball (and hopefully holding onto it). Expect him to put up similar numbers to last week, around 60-70 total yards. Since McFadden is a bit banged up, Bush will get more carries than usual, and most likely close to the end zone (hello six-point gimme). He’ll at least hit the 30 yard mark, if not more, depending on how McFadden is at game time. The Raiders staff is being overly cautious with McFadden during the week, thus the limited participation in practice, but he should be fine moving forward. Consider Run DMC a must-start in all formats and Bush to be a low-end flex starter in deep leagues.

 

Quarterbacks

Jason Campbell is clearly the better quarterback in this match up. His completion percentage is slightly higher than Mark Sanchez and he’s thrown less interceptions and only one less touchdown, but that’s mostly due to the fact that the Raiders have been running the ball. Look for him to throw about 200 yards and at least one touchdown.

 

Wide Receivers

Here’s the one area that many fantasy players will be curious to see. If you were lucky enough to nab Denarius Moore, this position will be in flux all year long. Currently, Jacoby Ford and Louis Murphy is battling injury and will not see action vs. the Jets. Darius Heyward-Bey, however is primed to go this week. As a savvy owner, I watched the situation last week and when DHB was a no-go, I inserted Moore into my WR3 and was handsomely rewarded. In fantasy, it’s all about opportunity and Moore is primed to breakout. This week, however, be a little bit more cautious. Coach Hue Jackson has expressed that Moore is locked into more playing time, but the matchup vs. the best cornerback tandem in Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie should give Moore owners pause for concern. Moore will not be sneaking up on anybody in this matchup and should be reserved. If anything, the return of DHB should justify you benching him for this week. Not the greatest of news for owners who were lucky enough to get him through the waiver wire, but after the Jets the Raiders will play the Patriots, Texans, Browns and Chiefs in Week 4-7. These are all WR-friendly matchups and he should reap the benefits then.

 

Tight End

Kevin Boss is in line to make his return this year and should be reserved this week on a wait and see approach. However, as the season progresses, he should be productive catching passes in the middle as part of the run-heavy, possession game the Raiders employ. Keep an eye on him this year as he could be valuable in Points-Per-Reception leagues.

 

Kicker

Sebastian Janikowski should be in line for a productive day as the Raiders square off against a formidable defense. If the offense stalls, look for Seabass to chip in from all over the field. If you own him, this is a no-brainer. Conversely, the Jets kicker Nick Folk could see plenty of action as well with the struggling Sanchez and ineffective Shonn Greene in the backfield.

 

Defense

The Raiders defense was gashed last week by the Bills and should be reserved in fantasy in favor for a better matchup. The Jets is a weekly play despite the opponent. My suggestions would be any defense playing against the Seahawks and the Chiefs, which would be the Cardinals and Chargers defense this week.

Tale of the tape: Raiders @ Bills Preview

 Posted by at 4:20 PM  No Responses »
Sep 162011
 

For two teams looking to turn things a whole culture around, the Oakland Raiders and the Buffalo Bills meet in what is bound to be an early statement game.

After demolishing their Week 1 opponents (41-7 in favor of the Bills over the struggling Chiefs and the 23-20 win of the Raiders over the physically outmatched Broncos), both teams are looking to state their case as the up-and-coming team in the AFC by coming out of the gates fast.

One can argue that these two teams are night and day schematically and aesthetically (the new-look Bills all white look and the Silver and Black of the Raiders). The Bills relies on a short-passing attack by on offense behind QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Raiders employ a hard-running attack behind one of the most complete backs in the NFL Darren McFadden.

On defense the two teams are also night and day, with the Bills being stout in the secondary while having a solid but not great defensive line, while the Raiders are dominant in the front seven and are still trying to compensate for the hole left by Nnamdi Asomugha (Stanford Routt looks great thus far).

Here are some key matchups to keep an eye on in the duration of the game that can tip the balance one way or the other.

Darren McFadden vs. Shawne Merriman and Bills Secondary

When Run DMC gets past that first level of defenders (because we know he will as he averaged 12 yards per carry in runs equal to or over 4 yards vs. the Broncos), will the secondary and linebacker Shawn Merriman be able to limit his yards after contact? In last week’s game vs. the Broncos, Run DMC lowered his pads and finished off tough runs to punish defenders and it had an impact as the game wore on. Employing a successful running attack will go a long way into dictating the game in the Raiders’ advantage.

Ryan Fitzpatrick vs. Oakland Secondary

Fitzpatrick is a mentally tough and prepared quarterback. Going back to last year, he doesn’t get fazed or rattled by pressure and stands tall in the pocket to throw intermediary passes to his favorite target Stevie Johnson. We wondered how he was going to fare after losing receiver Lee Evans to Baltimore, but he turned to no-named guys like tight end Scott Chandler along with reciever David Nelson and Donald Jones into reliable targets vs. the Chiefs to the tune of 4 passing touchdowns. If the Raiders do not get consistent pressure on against Fitzpatrick, he has the ability to carve up a defense. Look for Richard Seymour, Lamarr Houston and Matt Shaughnessy to concentrate on getting to the Fitzpatrick in this game.

Marcel Reece vs. Bills Defense

In a heavy-run attack the Raiders employ, the fullback is the key to the engine that makes the whole thing go. Aside from that, Reece is showing flashes that he is as capable of becoming a weapon in the same way the Chargers use Mike Tolbert. Analysts and pundits have all expressed that the NFL is shifting towards a passing league and defenses are loading up on playmakers in the secondary and not turning to upgrade their line backing corps (see Eagles free-agency 2011).

Utilizing a bruiser with nimble feet and soft hands can devastate a defense. Reece is fully capable in that role and he can be counted on to move the chains due to injuries in the Raiders receiving corps. Over-the-top flash plays may be replaced by physical plays to move the chains in this game and Reece stands to benefit from that sort of game plan. By attacking the front-seven, the Raiders will be attacking a weak area as the Bills are much stronger in the secondary.

Kevin Boss Returns

Good news for Raider Nation: Kevin Boss is set to see action in Week 2. His versatility as a run-blocker and craftiness as a receiver should enhance the Raiders in all facets of the offense. Again, the emphasis on this game will be ball control and how the offense can keep the chains moving. Quarterback Jason Campbell should play with more confidence knowing that Boss is playing, giving him a big target in the game.

Prediction: Raiders 20, Bills 14

Raiders’ Brash Attitude Propelled Win Over the Broncos

 Posted by at 1:41 PM  2 Responses »
Sep 152011
 

During the night telecast of the Monday night opening double-header between two bitter AFC West rivals, something ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer said caught not only my attention, but I’m sure a lot of other residents of Raider Nation as well.

Dilfer assumed that of the Raiders’ penalty-filled night, scuffles and aggressive nature meant that the team lacked discipline. Granted the 15 penalties for 131 yards were deserved, I argued that it was exactly what this team needed.

Many forget that there was actually no NFL preseason this year. For Dilfer to assume that a clean-fought game was to be expected in week one was ludicrous.

While there was no overwhelming evidence of penalties in the other week one games, the talk of the NFL after one week centered around ballooned passing yards. Tom Brady passed for over 500 yards and Chad Henne, the other quarterback in the game passed for over 400 yards (Chad Henne everybody! Who saw that coming?). This further explains that not only are the players still adjusting to the shortened off-season, but the coaches are still making the correct adjustments needed to become successful this season.

In Dilfer’s defense, he stated that the Raiders are a talented bunch and that after addressing these correctable behaviors, the team will be well on their way to a division crown and deep into the playoffs. But what if this behavior is inherently born out of the mystique that we have come to know as the Raiders? Can you take the bite out of the dog? That’s like telling Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant to pass the ball with time winding down in the game.

Brashness defines the Raiders not only as a team, but as an organization as well.

I argue that it was this same brashness that the Raiders played with against the Broncos that propelled them to win the game. It’s the same confidence and self-assurance that enabled Sebastian Janikowski tie the record for the longest field goal in league history.. It’s the same swagger that Shane Lechler displayed when he pinned the Broncos deep into their territory (Raiders have the best special teams in the league, no question). And it’s the same punishing attitude that Darren McFadden displayed at the end of his runs Monday night. On this night, the Raiders weren’t intimated by the Broncos heavy hitters of Brian Dawkins, Von Miller, Elvis Dumervil and whoever else got in the way. Attitude is more than just the pregame actions and chest bumps, its born out of purpose and this team bled that sense of purpose, as evident from the head coach on down.

Dilfer and other analysts will tell you that the Raiders need to correct their attitude, but we, Raider fans know that they won because of this attitude. It was a tough and sloppy game, from both sides, but attitude won outright that night. And attitude will continue to carry this team in 2011.

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