Studs and Duds From Week 14

 Posted by at 2:12 PM  No Responses »
Dec 142011
 

Surely in a blowout loss there were more duds than studs. I suppose a stud is relative to the play of the rest of the team when the score is 147-14. A few players did have nice days and the rest didn’t. There were probably more duds than I can list, so the duds this week are the “Death Ro” of duds.

STUDS

Desmond Bryant

He’s earning himself more playing time each week. With the way Richard Seymour is playing and with John Henderson banged up he might just earn more time at defensive tackle as well as defensive end.

Stefen Wisniewski

Towards the end of the game the Raiders sat the Wiz kid down. I guess the coaching staff realized that he was the only solid offensive lineman and gave him a rest. He was very good pass blocking and did a solid job run blocking for Bush. He was particularly good at getting to the linebacker. Some may argue Wisniewski is better suited to play center, but until Stephon Heyer or Joseph Barksdale play well enough to slide Wisniewski over he’ll be at left guard.

Mike Mitchell

He makes this list because his primary assignment was Jermichael Finley and Finley didn’t catch a pass. He also made a nice interception.

DUDS

Rolando McClain

Sure he had two sacks and a safety. On those plays Ryan Grant had some of the worst blocking you will ever see and both were basically in garbage time. McClain’s poor gap discipline and diagnosis of plays hasn’t improved and may actually be regressing. The Raiders defense looked confused and out of sync. So much for the thought that McClain was better strictly because the defense would be on the same page.

Carson Palmer

Throw off back foot, interception. Throw into 5 on 1 coverage, interception. Lock onto receiver on short slant, interception. Palmer had about every issue a QB can have on Sunday. The trade is looking bad…really bad. When is Jason Campbell going to be back? Palmer takes more risks and that can work when the team has playmakers on offense. With the pedestrian group of offensive players healthy it’s extremely dangerous in a bad way. Palmer must play smarter and get to his second and third reads. His mechanics have also been sloppy and he doesn’t have enough arm strength to throw off his back foot.

Richard Seymour

If he isn’t healthy he shouldn’t be on the field. He was totally incapable of pushing anyone around for the past couple weeks. The pass rush has been steady from the outside, but the push the Raiders normally get up the middle has evaporated at the same rate as Seymour’s play. He sure doesn’t look like he is worth the contract he was given. Everyone wants to pinpoint Routt as a the man being most overpaid on the Raiders defense, but a case can certainly be made for Seymour.

Khalif Barnes

He struggles pass blocking and his skills in that area contributed to at least two of Palmer’s interceptions on Sunday. He’s the weakest link on the offensive line and the Raiders have to decide if they couldn’t get equal play out of Joseph Barksdale, Stephon Heyer or Bruce Campbell. Based on his play he can almost be on the duds list every week and it is time the Raiders moved him back into an extra blocker role.

Marion Barber

His dud status on Sunday reached Bill Buckner level when he handed the game to the Broncos and put the Raiders a game down in the division with only three to play.

Studs & Duds From Week 13

 Posted by at 1:13 AM  1 Response »
Dec 082011
 

It was such a painful football game to watch a second time that it took three days to get entirely through it. Searching for answers to what happened in Miami, I put some extra focus on finding the performers and pretenders this week, so let’s take a look.

STUDS

Darrius Heyward-Bey

Magnificent day from the Raiders’ breakout receiver. No he didn’t have great yardage numbers or multiple touchdowns, but he was the only offensive weapon the Raiders had on Sunday. He had 21 yards taken away from him via holding penalty on the offensive line and made a highlight one-handed touchdown grab. Knowing how far his team was behind, Heyward-Bey flipped the ball to the official. There would be no celebration of his second touchdown catch of the season.

Stefen Wisniewski

The rookie has a rough game last week and although the rest of the offensive line crumbled around him he stayed strong. It wasn’t a great performance, but no other Raiders seems to qualify for studs this week.

Stanford Routt

Wasn’t allowing anything through the air. No major errors supporting the run. He had a nice day and the Dolphins had to get Brandon Marshall into coverage against someone else. He needs to turn in more of these performances and hopefully his teammates will rise to the occasion and make a stop when the defense starts ignoring his coverage responsibility.

DUDS

Aaron Curry

Love his energy on the football field, but he was lost in coverage and lost against the run. Save a big hit his day was a total waste. With Rolando McClain sitting out many reps due to so little practice time, Curry was calling plays and the difference showed up in the Raiders’ game and Curry’s performance as well.

Jared Veldheer

Two weeks ago Veldheer was getting mentioned as a probowl candidate. That was two weeks ago before being smoked by Julius Pepper and Cameron Wake. He’s playing with really poor balance and defenders have learned how to get inside of him. Wake moved Veldheer around on Sunday with relative ease. Raiders desperately need a rebound from their young left tackle.

Richard Seymour

If you hadn’t realized Seymour was playing last Sunday until he was ejected no one would blame you. Seymour and the rest of the front seven were handled by the Miami offensive line. Absolutely no pass rush and the run defense was porous once again. The Raiders need more from Seymour, much more if they are to make a legitimate playoff push.

Carson Palmer

Even when he was completing throws the receiver they had to adjust significantly to it. His throws were off. The pressure really gets to Palmer. A few adjustments and many of his receptions could have been bigger than they are. He made some throws in garbage time that makes me think

 

Studs and Duds From Week 12

 Posted by at 7:17 PM  No Responses »
Dec 012011
 

Belated this week, but the show must go on!

STUDS

Marcel Reece

Quite the weapon for the Raiders. Expect him to continue to have a big role for the final five games.

Aaron Curry

Best game as a professional. He’s a good player when he the play is in front of him. A good trade for the Raiders with potential to be great.

Rolando McClain

The linebackers were a big reason for the Raiders success on Sunday. McClain had a good game stopping the run and in coverage. He was in a tough position when Caleb Hanie scrambled to his right as he had to choose between covering Forte or going after Hanie. It was a big pickup for the Bears, but if McClain leaves Forte open it could have been bigger. ***I should revoke this for his actions Wednesday night in Alabama.***

Kamerion Wimbley

He did a bit of everything on Sunday. Still the best pure pass rusher on the team, he stepped up and stopped the run and he had an interception and return that would have been a touchdown if not for a horse-collar tackle at the end of the play.

Tyvon Branch

The stats rarely show it, but Branch is one of the rare players that can play at full speed and make very few mistakes. He was flying around the field on Sunday and he should get credit for being the strength of the Raiders secondary.

DUDS

The Offensive Line

The entire line got dominated by the Bears. The best of the bunch was Cooper Carlisle. The young left side struggled and Veldheer came back to earth against Julius Peppers. I might have expected it from the right side of the line, but it was a tough game for the Raiders left side. Back to work big fellas.

Carson Palmer

He made a few throws he would like back. He turns into a different quarterback when he is pressured and the line did him no favors. Could be a key going forward. He got the job done, which is a testament to him. He’s a very good quarterback, but Sunday was not his best.

Stanford Routt

The touchdown he allowed on a skinny post by Johnny Knox isn’t why he is a dud. He is too passive in run support and his coverage is still inconsistent. He needs to play up to his pay grade.

Studs and Duds From Week 10

 Posted by at 2:15 PM  No Responses »
Nov 142011
 

The Raiders really took it to the Chargers on Thursday night and came away with a seven-point victory in San Diego. The Raiders played well and a few players really stood out in a good way and a couple in a bad way. Special mention to the Raider Nation’s Southern California division for making the game an extra home game for the Raiders.

STUDS

Kamerion Wimbley

An impressive performance by the Raiders franchise player. The Chargers backup tackle had no answer for Wimbley and the rest of the Raiders defensive line on Thursday. It’s a big reason Phillip Rivers didn’t look comfortable all night. The Raider Nation has been waiting for Wimbley’s coming out party and they were blowing out birthday candle after that four sack performance.

Stanford Routt

If you wanted to be critical, he was unable to breakup the Vincent Brown touchdown grab. I saw was a heck of a catch and Stanford Routt clawing at the pass the whole way down. Just a superb play by the receiver to come down with it. The Raiders didn’t something extremely unusual for them Thursday, they had Routt shadow Vincent Jackson. Routt responded by holding Jackson to just one catch.

Carson Palmer

Elite level play from a Raiders quarterback is something the Raider Nation hasn’t seen since Rich Gannon wore a Raiders uniform. Palmer is getting better by the week and he torched the Chargers. Palmer also bailed out Hue Jackson for a suspect play call late in the game by stepping up in the pocket and moving to his right to find Kevin Boss for the long completion on third and long. He’ll make Hue Jackson look pretty good if he keeps this going.

Denarius Moore

The spectacular catches are just part of why he has been so good. The kid is special and everyone knows it. Even a couple weeks worth of struggles with routes wasn’t enough for Hue Jackson or Carson Palmer to lose confidence in him. Palmer targeted him repeatedly and that should continue.

Michael Bush

Made a strong case for someone to pay the man in the offseason. Will it be the Raiders? He had seemingly a trillion yards on Thursday and broke a team record for yardage gained since the merger. Pretty darn good.

DUDS

Khalif Barnes

For as good as the offensive line has played, Barnes is beginning to show that he is the crack in the armor. The Raiders may not have a suitable replacement yet, but they really need to start considering a switch before Barnes gets Palmer hurt.

Aaron Curry

He’s perfectly fine or even good linebacker when the play is in front of him. This makes him particularly suited for the run game. The problem for Curry seems to be coverage. He repeatedly looks lost in coverage and Thursday was no exception. Opponents will continue to try to isolate Curry on a tight end or back in coverage until he does enough to merit the offense from going to an alternate option.

Darrius Heyward-Bey

He was on the field for every pass attempt and more snaps than any offensive player outside of Palmer. You would think Heyward-Bey would have been targeted by Palmer at least once. With Jacoby Ford’s status for week 10 in doubt, Heyward-Bey will get opportunities. Palmer and Heyward-Bey need to figure each other out. All those snaps and no targets is a disappointment after such a promising start.

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Studs and Duds From Week 9

 Posted by at 2:02 PM  No Responses »
Nov 082011
 

Since I’ve already blasted Hue Jackson and Chuck Bresnahan, we’ll keep this to the players who didn’t perform on Sunday.

Studs

Lamarr Houston – One of the few Raider defenders who showed up on Sunday. He’s becoming a force on the defensive front. The Broncos couldn’t block him and instead ran away from him with great success.

Michael Bush – He isn’t McFadden, but he is still good. He grinds out positive yardage every time he gets the ball. He doesn’t quite have the burst to run away from the defense, but he is good at finding running lanes and agile enough to get through them. He should have had more carries on Sunday, maybe if he does the Raiders grind out a victory after being up by ten points.

Carson Palmer – Three interceptions, but good enough to be a stud. Keep in mind he still only has three weeks in the offense. He looked crisp enough and made a few laser throws. He was audibling at the line and commanding the offense. For a debut it wasn’t bad. Keep in mind that one interception was a tip (although a bad throw) and the other came in garbage time. A good debut for Palmer.

Jacoby Ford – I guess we found Palmer’s favorite receiver. He needs to focus more on ball security as he nearly lost a fumble. Burning Champ Bailey is still an accomplishment and Ford did it more than once.

 

Duds

It’s tempting to just put defense here, but let’s take a look at a few of the worst offenders.

Jarvis Moss & Kamerion Wimbley - Tebow ate you for breakfast with the play fake. Sure, he faked the whole defense, but it was your job to have contain. Those big runs on a read option shouldn’t happen.

Darryl Blackstock & Aaron Curry – Raiders got burned by Willis McGahee. That’s what happens when the primary two linebackers fill the wrong gaps in the running game. McClain takes a lot of heat (me included), but the Raiders missed him on Sunday.

Michael Huff – I can’t say with certainty it was Michael Huff’s blown zone coverage that lead to a couple touchdowns, but it sure looked it. He is nursing an injury, but that shouldn’t be an excuse for totally missing a zone assignment. Tebow burned this secondary and being the second highest paid player in it you are going to get your fair share of the heat.

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