Hue of Shame

 Posted by at 1:28 PM  1 Response »
Dec 202011
 

It is easy enough to blame Chuck Bresnahan for the Raiders second half collapses this season. He was never Hue Jackson’s guy and his performance this season means there will likely be turnover in that area unless the Raiders defense turns into the 1985 Bears the last two weeks and the team squeaks into the playoffs and continues to dominate defensively. That’s not going to happen.

Jackson will likely get a pass for his rookie season. Dealing with the loss of legendary owner Al Davis and assuming the General Manager duties, losing his starting quarterback, his star running back, and having some of his best players miss time will all be excuses to give Hue Jackson another chance. That’s probably how it should be, that’s a lot to bite off for any first time head coach. Add to it the Jackson-created hype and expectations and you have a dangerous mix that has a segment of the Raider Nation upset.

Playing the blame game

Let’s take a look at the two phases of the game. Let’s assume Jackson is responsible for the offense and Bresnahan the defense and see how many of the seven losses are on Jackson and how many are on Bresnahan.

Week 2: 35-38 Loss to the Bills

Raiders scored 35 points and 14 in the 4th quarter. The Raiders defense allowed 35 points in the second half and 21 in the final quarter.

Blame: Bresnahan

Week 4: 19-31 Loss to the Patriots

The Raiders couldn’t score more than 19 on the terrible Patriots defense at home. The defense couldn’t stop the Patriots offense.

Blame: 50-50

Week 7: 0-28 Loss to the Chiefs

The Raiders scored no points. Kyle Boller and Carson Palmer combined for six interceptions. Hue didn’t have enough confidence in his backup quarterback that he had to give up a King’s ransom to bring in Carson Palmer. The defense was at a huge disadvantage when the offense throws so many interceptions.

Blame: Hue

Week 9: 24-38 Loss to the Broncos

The Raiders couldn’t stop Tim Tebow and the Broncos read-option offense. The offense cobbled together 24 points and a 17-7 halftime lead only for the defense to give up 31 in the second half and 14 in the 4th quarter that put the Raiders away.

Blame: Bresnahan

Week 13: 14-34 Loss to the Dolphins

The Raiders didn’t score until the Dolphins had a 34-point lead. Garbage time touchdowns do not equal good offense. 46 yards rushing and all the passing yards came in garbage time. The defense did allow 200+ rushing, but the defense was playing decently until giving up 21 points in the 3rd quarter. It wasn’t a good performance by the defense, but the offense didn’t score until the 4th. That’s not good enough.

Blame: Hue

Week 14: 16-46 Loss to the Packers

The Raiders didn’t score in the first half, perhaps they didn’t because the defense couldn’t make s top of the Packers.

Blame: 50/50

Week 15: 27-28 Loss to the Lions

The offense scored 20 and the defense scored 7. Take the defensive score away and the score is 20-14 Raiders prior to the two easy touchdown drives for the Lions that won them the game.

It was a close game and the offense and defense had opportunities to put the game on ice and neither could do it.

Blame: 50/50

That puts the blame share at 3.5 losses each for Jackson and Bresnahan. The offense has scored 22.6 points per game and the defense has allowed 27.3 and that’s ultimately what will get Bresnahan fired and save Hue Jackson, but Bresnahan is just a scapegoat. Half the losses are easily attributable to the offensive struggles and Hue Jackson deserves a little more heat for his share in the woes of this team. It’s not as simple as plugging a new defensive coordinator in and erasing the problems that have plagued the Raiders in their 7 losses.

Midseason Report Card

 Posted by at 3:40 PM  No Responses »
Nov 102011
 

The Raidersblog team gives their grades at the midway point of the season.

Quarterback

Chris Hansen: B
Brandon Dwonch: C – (Incomplete)
Nick Silverman: B-
Natalie Saar: C – (Boller D)
Bram Makonda: C+
Jeff Fagen: B
Overall GPA: 2.5

Jason Campbell played his game and did it well enough until he got injured. Carson Palmer, given ample time to learn the offense, tossed three touchdowns and had such command of the offense he was audibling at the line. The grade can be considered incomplete for now, but with significant room to grow.

Runningback/Fullback

Chris Hansen: A-
Brandon Dwonch: A-
Nick Silverman: B+
Natalie Saar: A
Bram Makonda: A-
Jeff Fagen: A
Overall GPA: 3.8

Darren McFadden held the league lead in rushing until his injury against Kansas City. Michael Bush is a great replacement back and can consistently put up 100-yard days. Marcel Reece injury really hurt the offense, but he’s as good as they come at the position. Richard Gordon and Manase Tonga have done a good job as blocking fullbacks. I’d like to see a bit more of Taiwan Jones, but that’s of minor concern with this group.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Chris Hansen: B-
Brandon Dwonch: B
Nick Silverman: B
Natalie Saar: B-
Bram Makonda: B
Jeff Fagen: C+
Overall GPA: 2.8

Emergence of Darrius Heyward-Bey, the emergence of Denarius Moore, the injury of Jacoby Ford and then re-emergence of Ford against the Broncos. Signing T.J. Houshmandzadeh to be a veteran. Schilens has stayed healthy. A lot of talent here, but the group hasn’t been consistent enough and Hue Jackson seems content to rotate them based on matchups. I’d like to see two of these guys develop to a point that they merit the majority of the playing time. The tight ends drag this down. Kevin Boss isn’t even getting on the field and you have to wonder if a Palmer-run offense needs one. Brandon Myers hasn’t done anything notable. What gives?

Offensive Line

Chris Hansen: A
Brandon Dwonch: A-
Nick Silverman: A
Natalie Saar: C
Bram Makonda: B+
Jeff Fagen: B+
Overall GPA: 3.3

It’s almost amazing how fast this unit has come together. There are a few signs of weakness lately, but overall this unit has been magnificent. This unit was able to run block in the past, but when it came to protecting the passer they didn’t get the job done. This season the offensive line has been able to pass protect in addition to run blocking. It’s a remarkable turnaround for being one of biggest questions this offseason. The unit has been playing at a high level and they get extra love for an unexpected jump.

Defensive Line

Chris Hansen: B
Brandon Dwonch: C-
Nick Silverman: C-
Natalie Saar: B
Bram Makonda: C+
Jeff Fagen: C-
Overall GPA: 2.3

Not nearly up to expectations when it comes to rushing the passer, but aside from the atrocity in Oakland last week they have done a solid job stopping the run. Considering the loss of Matt Shaughnessy for the season this unit has still played pretty well, particularly up the middle. There is certainly room for improvement, but don’t sleep on this group in the second half.

Linebackers

Chris Hansen: D+
Brandon Dwonch: D
Nick Silverman: C-
Natalie Saar: B-
Bram Makonda: C
Jeff Fagen: D
Overall GPA: 1.7

Flashes here and there from the group of linebackers. If Wimbley as a pass rusher is considered in this grade it would be higher. Groves was replaced by Curry. Curry and McClain show flashes, but haven’t gotten the job done consistently. Too many missed tackles, missed gaps, and poor coverage.

Secondary

Chris Hansen: C
Brandon Dwonch: C
Nick Silverman: C-
Natalie Saar: C+
Bram Makonda: C
Jeff Fagen: C-
Overall GPA: 2.0

The only consensus among the Raidersblog staff. The secondary is in transition and hasn’t been healthy. Stanford Routt and Tyvon Branch have been solid, but too many yards have been given up in the air. Michael Huff and Chris Johnson haven’t played up to expectations. There is potential for better play here, with young players ready to break into the lineup and players getting healthy.

Kicking, Punting & Special Teams Coverage

Chris Hansen: B-
Brandon Dwonch: C+
Nick Silverman: B
Natalie Saar: A
Bram Makonda: C+
Jeff Fagen:  B
Overall GPA: 2.8

Sebastian Janikowski is one of the best. So is Shane Lechler. Too bad the coverage units really drag down the grade here.

Kick Return/Punt Return

Chris Hansen: C+
Brandon Dwonch: C+
Nick Silverman: B-
Natalie Saar: B
Bram Makonda: B
Jeff Fagen: C
Overall GPA: 2.5

Aside from one Jacoby Ford return touchdown the return game hasn’t done a lot to help the Raiders. Punt returns have been terrible all season. Huge room for improvement.

Gut Check

 Posted by at 1:00 PM  1 Response »
Sep 232011
 

After a week one win, on Monday night, against a division rival, the Raiders and the Raider Nation were flying high. The opening game curse was broken, the Prime Time curse was broken, Hue Jackson was 1-0 as a head coach, and the Raiders were back. Week 2 has brought everyone back down to earth a little. Welcome to the first, but probably not last time the Raiders have to look in the mirror and decide what kind of team they are going to be this year.

Hue Jackson had a lot of time this off-season to say what he wanted to say. Get his message across to everyone. The time for talk, however, is now in the past. This is a different Raiders team under Hue Jackson, but one win on Monday Night Football is not going to convince anyone. He has to get his persona to show through his players. That’s what good coaches do. Rex Ryan is able to get his attitude to show through his players on the field. Bill Belichick is able to get his players to always be right mentally. Mike Tomlin has his players always playing with a nasty edge.  Hue Jackson says he is “building a bully”  so he has to find a way to get that attitude to show through his players on Sunday or it’s just words. Gut check coach Hue Jackson, bullies get even.

The offense is playing with the “next man up” philosophy and have been impressive. Jason Campbell is playing his best football as a pro, making good decisions, trusting in his guys, being a leader, and most importantly throwing the ball well. Don’t forget that just about all his weapons on offense have been out at some point too. Darren McFadden, broken orbital bone. Michael Bush, not signed right away and arrived at training camp late. Jacoby Ford, broken hand and now out with hamstring injury. Louis Murphy, sports hernia surgery. Darrius Heyward-Bey, had a mysterious injury to start camp, and now has a knee injury. Chaz Schilens, suffered a knee injury in preseason. Kevin Boss, has a sprained MCL. Taiwan Jones, had hamstring issues that kept him out most of camp.

With all that going on Campbell has led this team and has played pretty well. That is a tremendous positive and should not be overlooked. The offense did what they had to do Sunday versus the Bills only to come away with a loss. The defenses will only get tougher the more film there is and the surprise factor is gone. Now the Raiders have to find a way to keep scoring and not start to breakdown like in years past. Gut check time offense, after putting up 35 in a losing effort, will you follow it up or take a step back?

The defense had a stats party week one. They shut down the run, had 5 sacks, they were creating turnovers, their blitzes were getting home and they felt invincible. That feeling carried over into the Bills game as well. At least for the first half. Then came one of the biggest drop offs on defense in recent memory. The Bills had the ball five times in the second half and scored five touchdowns. The Raiders had no answer. They had opportunities just like in week one, but this time, they didn’t cash in. They couldn’t get anything to go right, and at the end of the game they were left thinking to themselves “What just happened?” IT’S GUT CHECK TIME! The kind of games like the one last Sunday defines teams. They can accept that they were exposed or take it personally and make it right.

Winning is easy; losing teaches you about yourself.

Studs & Duds From Week 2

 Posted by at 8:00 AM  2 Responses »
Sep 212011
 

The pain of defeat had a nasty sting to it Sunday when the Raiders blew a big lead in the second half and were downed by the Bills in the final minute.

This game, unlike the first game, had many more standout performances. Unfortunately for the Raiders, some of the performances were horrible. Fortunately,  many are correctable. Luckily, the team now comes home for five out of the next six games where they were 5-3 a year ago. Thankfully, the Raiders found out important things about their team in the process.

Studs

Denarius Moore

Yes, the rookie can play. He proved it Sunday. It’s going to be hard for the Raiders to keep him off the field. Who’s playing time does he cut into? It would be logical for him to cut into Darrius Heyward-Bey’s time, but that won’t be the case. Most of the damage done by Moore was from the Z receiver position. Jacoby Ford plays this position. Certainly the Raiders will not rob from Ford to give to Moore.

Moore is cut into the playing time of the Raiders third receiver. Chaz Schilens is holding down the third receiver role, but things get more complicated when Louis Murphy is healthy. That pushes down Derek Hagan even further on the depth chart.

Jason Campbell

Probably one of the best games of his career. He was comfortable with the Raiders receivers even with Ford, Heyward-Bey and Murphy out with injuries. Campbell is proving that when given time he can deliver. He was far from perfect, but it was the passing game that kept the Raiders second half meltdown on defense from looking even worse. Even Darren McFadden looked human with a critical fumble. Jason Campbell made the Raiders offense go on Sunday to the tune of 25 points.

Darren McFadden

143 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. He was overshadowed by the rookie Moore and his critical fumble. It wasn’t a great day rushing for McFadden as he rushed for just 3.6 yards per carry, but he proved yet again to be a versatile weapon contributing a 10+ yards average per reception. If McFadden continues to put up 150 yards per week he’ll continue being listed with the Studs. He’s vitally important to the Raiders offense.

Stanford Routt

Recorded his first interception on a great read of Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Bills mostly stayed away from him after that. He’s playing well and was the only guy on the field that could cover Stevie Johnson. Naturally the Bills lined Johnson up on Chris Johnson and Michael Huff. Routt was the only stud on defense in week two.

 

Duds

Rolando McClain

Missing tackles are not something you want to see from your middle linebacker. McClain lead the team in tackles and made a nice deflection on a seam route pass that would have been a touchdown. It wasn’t all bad, but McClain needs to get better quickly. Poor angles, incorrect reads and missed tackles aren’t going to be tolerated for long. He’s a sophomore and he’s still learning, but linebackers unlike receivers are typically coming into their own in their second season. McClain needs to show he is coming into his own and soon.

I incorrectly assigned the blame for the game-winning touchdown to Rolando McClain. I had assumed the Raiders were in zone coverage. This was incorrect, McClain’s responsibility was the running back. So while it was a bad game from McClain it wasn’t as bad as I initially believed.

Chris Johnson

In fact, the poor coverage on the last Bills touchdown was the responsibility of Chris Johnson. Johnson also couldn’t cover Stevie Johnson most of the day. He was repeatedly beat in the passing game. Normally Johnson’s risk-taking way serve him well and he’ll give up plays, but make a few as well. That wasn’t the case Sunday. The pressure from the loss of Nnamdi Asomugha was placed on Stanford Routt, but in reality it is Johnson who was taking over at cornerback for the all-pro. Johnson immediately took to Twitter to take responsibility for his place and vowed to get better. The Raiders need him, behind him is youth and inexperience.

Pass Rush

What happened? Five sacks to zero sacks. The Raiders have Kamerion Wimbley, Lamarr Houston, Richard Seymour, Matt Shaughnessy, and Tommy Kelly and none could break through the Bills offensive front and put pressure on Ryan Fitzpatrick. As with many quarterbacks, Fitzpatrick can carve up a secondary with no rush. That’s just what happened Sunday in Buffalo. After obliterating the Broncos offensive line in week one the “vaunted” Raiders front four did nothing in week two. They should be hungry in week three and let’s hope they eat the offensive line and the quarterback and not a hot dog.

Nick Miller

Slip, slip, thud no way you should be a returner, bud.

 

No Time To Panic

 Posted by at 11:24 AM  No Responses »
Sep 202011
 

Sunday proved that the Raiders offense is good even with their starting receivers out. Jacoby Ford, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Louis Murphy, and Kevin Boss were all out. Surely they would struggle.  Jason Campbell showed that he may be  the Raiders quarterback for years to come. He made big throw after big throw. Rookie Denarius Moore had is coming out party in this game and could be the number one receiver the Raiders have needed for years. Once Ford and Boss are healthy, this offense will be explosive.

Nick Miller has proven nothing in the kick and punt return game. He should never return kicks again. Chris Johnson also proved that he can’t play man-to-man. He is no better than last year and gets worse every game. I would rather re-sign Lito Sheppard than continue to watch Johnson look like Demarcus Van Dyke did against the Saints. The defense looked great in the first half and looked they gave up the second half. They couldn’t stop the run or the pass. No pressure on the quarterback at all. The “bully” only showed up on offense. The Bills  offensive line bullied the Raiders front seven from the second half kick off till the final embarrassing drive.

What can Raiders fans take from this bad lost?

1. Denarius Moore is a legit receiver.

2. More zone and less man to stop the run.

3. Chris Johnson needs to play the slot and not the edge.

4. Darren Mcfadden is the best player in the west.

5. The offensive line is becoming a dominant force.

6.  Jason Campbell is for now our best option at quarterback for the next two to three years.

7. The defense needs to get into better shape; they appeared to be worn down late in the third quarter.

8. The path to playoffs just got harder, but not impossible.

9. The Raiders need to step up at home against the Jets and be 2-1 going into the Patriots game the following week.

10. If the Raiders can have 2-2 or 3-1 record after week four they will still have a great shot of making the playoffs. To do this though, the Raiders will have to end the bad streak of losing outside the AFC West. Can they do this? Only if the “Bully” shows up on defense for sixty minutes. If they don’t, it could be panic time after week four.

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