Do the Raiders Need a Power Back?

 Posted by at 8:00 AM  4 Responses »
Aug 062012
 

Much like the understanding that the NFL has become a passing league, it has also has adopted the “running back by committee” model. In a day and age where running backs seem to be a dime a dozen, teams are less likely to commit to one guy and therefore take on the RBBC approach to the season. With the mindset of having multiple backs sharing the touches, many also assume that each team needs a “speed back” and a “power back”. The idea, of course, being that the power back gets the tough yards and wears down the defense while the speed back plays the finesse role and provides the home run threat to the offense.

The last few years the Raiders have had the luxury of a backfield that consisted of Darren McFadden and Michael Bush. In some ways, it seemed to be the perfect combination power and speed that would be a nightmare for any defense. Except when you break down the games when both running backs were healthy last year, you saw more of McFadden wearing down the defense and Bush playing more of a backup/short yardage role. Bush only averaged 7 touches per game through the first 6 games last season while McFadden was averaging nearly 22. With that stat alone, it’s tough to make any kind of argument that Bush had a big impact on games while McFadden was playing.

Of course Bush was also used as the short yardage back which lead many to wonder how the Raiders would convert short yardage plays without him. There is no doubting that Bush was pretty effective in short yardage and he proved that over the last three years by converting a respectable 42% (15 for 36) of his carries inside the 5 yard line for touchdowns according to Chet Gresham of writing for thefakefootball.com. However, with Bush getting most of the short yardage carries, it was assumed that McFadden couldn’t handle those duties when that is far from the truth.

Per the same data, McFadden has converted 7 of his 9 attempts from inside the 5 yard line over the last three years (78%). That conversion percentage is tops in the league for that statistic, meaning McFadden is more than capable of converting short yardage plays as well. Cedric Benson, who many have been calling for to replace Michael Bush, had a 31% (12 for 39) conversion rate from inside the 5 over that same span.

While McFadden possesses the speed and agility to turn any play into a home run, he certainly is not your prototypical speed back by any means. McFadden brings with him a wicked stiff arm and is not afraid to lower his pads and seek contact. Take a look at a few examples:

However, even though Darren has the ability to do it all, Dennis Allen will have to find the right balance between his running backs and not overuse him throughout the season. Mike Goodson and Taiwan Jones are vying for the backup role and both have the ability to provide a spark off the bench to help keep McFadden rested, but neither bring much value to the short yardage game. Owen Schmitt and Marcel Reece will get a chance to show what they can bring to the backfield at times this year too, and both are capable of hammering out a few yards when needed. Lonyae Miller is also one to keep an eye on. Miller has a much more hard-nosed running style was impressive at times with Dallas last season. Be careful how quickly you judge the unknowns like Miller, because Arian Foster was also once an undrafted free agent.

When people talk about wearing down defenses, why is it that big backs always come to mind? Sure they can punish tacklers at times, but more times than not bigger backs are slower to the hole and can be bottled up and gang tackled before doing much damage. Speed backs on the other hand force the defense to always be chasing for fear of being a step late and giving up a potential touchdown on every play. You factor in a guy like Chris Johnson who can stop on a dime and reverse field and McFadden who can deliver a devastating stiff arm if you do finally catch up to him and you begin to reevaluate which one would wear you down quicker.

Texans Preview with Stephanie Stradley

 Posted by at 1:12 PM  8 Responses »
Oct 062011
 

Stephanie Stradley, AKA TexansChick from the Houston Chronicle was kind enough to do a Q&A with us. Follower her on Twitter @StephStradley and check out my answers to her questions on the TexansChick blog. Big thanks to Stephanie for taking the time to answer my questions. 

Raidersblog: How much of a difference has Wade Phillips made to Houston’s defense? Has  scheme played as big of a role as the additions of Joseph and Watt and a healthy Cushing?

Stradley: “The biggest difference in the Wade Phillips hire is sort of a institutional confidence. The previous two defensive coordinators were first time coordinators. The Texans have had the youngest starting defenses in the league since Gary Kubiak started in 2006.

Inexperienced DCs + Inexperienced Players = A defense ranked by Football Outsiders as 31st-2006, 30th-2007, 29th-2008, 20th-2009, 31st-2010.

When Phillips took over, he had a clear plan of the players he did not want to retain and which ones he wanted to target in free agency and in the draft. Pretty much every off-season move the Texans made on defense made a lot of sense this year. They had a proven defensive philosophy, and sought to get players that fit that philosophy. They are still a work in progress but you can certainly see more playmaking.

Most obviously, instead of being at the bottom of the league in sacks, they are currently tied for 5th with 12 sacks. To put that in context, in 2010, they ranked dead last with sacks at 30.”

Raidersblog: Arian Foster has been productive in the zone blocking system favored by Gary Kubiak. While many teams try and fail at using this system, Kubiak has been successful whether it be Steve Slaton from a few years ago or Foster and Ben Tate more recently. What has been the key to the Texans’ rushing success and how much of it is the system?

Stradley: “No team does solely man or zone blocking, and the Texans are not an exception. The reason why more teams don’t do predominately zone effectively is that it takes time to get the right offensive linemen to run it and who become accustomed to playing together. Patience isn’t something a lot of franchises have.

Though this is a great system for a running back (See Shanahan’s Bronco teams forever), it’s an even better system for special backs with good vision. The offense runs much better when Arian Foster is the backfield because he has great vision, and he is much more experienced at pass protection.”

Raidersblog: The Texans will be without Andre Johnson this week, but the Texans have been able to win without Johnson before. Being that Johnson is one of the best receivers in the league, how have the Texans been able to adjust without having him?

Stradley: “The Texans offense is basically the old school Shanahan offense. It’s a player-friendly offense that had the ability to make stars out of players that other teams did not value out of the draft such as Terrell Davis and Rod Smith. These players used their skills to take advantage of the system but may not have been noticed in less offensive-friendly systems. There is always a place for the ball to go.

Kubiak inherited Andre Johnson, and certainly has taken advantage of his unworldly skills. He gets targeted even when he is not open because he rarely gets true single coverage except from dumb people who like TDs scored on them.”

Raidersblog: Who are players that Raider Nation may not know of that could have an impact on the game, in a positive or negative way?

Stradley: “Everybody on the Texans offense who not an offensive linemen is a possible, legitimate pass target. So that means TDs can come from players other than ones named Arian Foster and Owen Daniels. They’ve run 2 and 3 TE sets. There are no blocking-only TEs on the offense.

James “Thor” Casey is become the Swiss Army knife of the offense. He plays the FB position, but also can play some TE and WR. He’s an athlete, not ideal size for either FB or TE. He has very good hands and when he is on the field as a blocker for Arian Foster, teams still have to respect the pass. In the game against the Saints, Casey had 126 yards receiving. He’s a very difficult matchup.

Kareem Jackson and Jason Allen have been splitting time at corner across from Johnathan Joseph and have been targeted by opposing quarterbacks. Jackson missed the last game due to a knee issue. They haven’t been tested that much this season due to the pass rush, but when the pass rush has failed, it has become a little ugly. Texans are very thin at corner.”

Raidersblog: If you were game planning against the Texans, what would you do?

Stradley: “Do not give up on the run. Teams have been able to run on the Texans, especially plays that penalize overpursuit. Opponents have given up on run after a while because the Texans have played with the lead for most of the season. 

Captain Obvious point with Schaub: Need a pass rush to get him out of his rhythm. If he gets on a roll, it doesn’t matter who the receivers are.”

Raidersblog: How is Mario Williams adjusting to the 3-4 defense? Is he primarily pass rushing? How much does he drop into coverage?

Stradely: “His primarily role is to wreck shop in the pass rush. He will drop back occasionally, and he is remarkably mobile for someone of his size. Phillips and his staff have mostly worked on his technique. He’s looked pretty dominant.”

Raidersblog: I went to school with Danieal Manning, how is he playing and do the fans have a soft spot for him because he is from Texas?

Stradley: “I’m not sure how many fans know a ton about Manning. He was acquired in a very short off-season, put to work. But they love him mostly because he is an actual safety, a position that’s been an issue for the team since the beginning. “Safety” for the Texans in the past has meant “The Guy So Far Out Of The Play He Doesn’t Show Up on the TV Screen.”"

Raidersblog: Predict the score…is this a trap game for the Texans coming off a big win against Pittsburgh? The Texans have only faced two quality opponents. Is this team as good as commonly believed or are we still waiting to see its true colors?

Stradley: “Can’t say I’m a big score prediction person because I believe with the way that luck, injuries works with NFL games, that every time you’d play you’d get a different score and often with closely matched teams, a different result.

It’s crazy that the Texans been able to win as much as they have in the past with no defense. This year, it truly appears that they have a defense. And their special teams have been outstanding. It’s the most optimistic off-season I’ve experienced with the team, and they are ahead of what I expected for them.

My guess? I’ll say Texans 31, Raiders 28. I’m guessing it will be more of a track meet, big play game. Both teams are near the top of the league in average points. I think the biggest risk to the Texans is not so much a trap game but rather immediately adjusting to the loss of the best player on offense.”

Again, big thanks to Stephanie for agreeing to the Q&A exchange. If you didn’t already check out my answers to her questions on Stephanie’s Chron.com blog.

Pick Up the Pieces and Play

 Posted by at 1:37 PM  No Responses »
Oct 042011
 

Hue Jackson said it right when discussing the Patriot game, “We got beat by a team and an organization that’s a little bit better than us at this point.” For the Raiders to beat a team like the Patriots they need to be near perfect and they weren’t, so they lost. The Raiders played undisciplined and made “bonehead” mistakes. The Raiders did not beat themselves or give the Patriots the game, the Patriots took it right from the Raiders open hand. The Patriots played a better game.

Anytime Jason Campbell throws for over 300 yards it’s a clear sign that the Raiders defense to being taken school. It was also evident in the Buffalo game two weeks ago. It is clear that the Raiders need to play their style of football to win. That is a physical running, smash mouth type of game. Campbell, as consistent as he has been this year, is not a quarterback the Raiders can relay on to win in a shoot out. The Raiders will win with a creative and balanced offensive attack not one averaging 300 passing yards per game.

The Raiders pass defense did not get too embarrassed. They did let Welker put up 158 yards on them. But, they forced some errant throws by Brady, tipped some balls, held NFL leading tight end Rob  to only one catch and the Patriots to a season low 226 yards. But the Raiders touted front seven got only one sack on Brady and made Stevan Ridley look like Emmitt Smith. The Raiders defense failed on two major issues, run defense and pressure on the quarterback, two things that are needed to win any football game. As a result, the Raiders are dead last in the league in run defense.

Next Sunday the Raiders will be in Houston facing the physical Texans. Andre Johnson is out this week so expect the Texans to run a lot to set up the play action pass. If the Raiders front seven does not improve its play quickly, a healthy Arian Foster who had 30 carries and 155 yards last week against the Steelers, will run all over them. Next week, could get ugly.

In the next four games Raiders go to Houston, then come home to face Cleveland, Kansas City and Denver. The Raiders can easily be a respectful 5-3 at the halfway point of the season. This is the NFL, games change on single plays and momentum is everything. Each team has professional playmakers so it is time for the Raiders to show some disciple, get their head right and pick up the pieces and play.