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.

Week 14 Preview: It’s All About Time

 Posted by at 1:31 PM  1 Response »
Dec 112011
 

When the Raiders take on the Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday, there is little room for error. Losing to the Dolphins last week and the meteoric rise of Tim Tebow in Denver has given the AFC West a legitimate race to the finish. Both teams are 7-4 with four to play. The Raiders face Green Bay and Kansas City on the road and Detroit and San Diego at home. The Broncos have three at home versus the battered Bears, New England and Kansas City and one game on the road against the faltering Bills.

Hue Jackson has been trying to get his team to finish games all season and now that lesson is on full display. If the Raiders are to win the division they will need to win in the final quarter of the season too.

The Packers are undefeated and present the Raiders greatest challenge this season, but don’t let a record fool you in the NFL, this will be a battle and it could come down to a turnover or special teams score. Here is how the teams look by the numbers.

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As you can see, the Packers and Raiders actually pair strengths and against strengths and weakness versus weakness. The difference could come down to the significant advantage of turnovers for the Packers or special teams. The Packers and Raiders are similarly matched return units with the Packers punt return game holding a slight advantage. Shane Lechler is punting remains amazing, but his net average could be better. The Raiders need to pin the Packers deep and make Aaron Rodgers job as difficult as possible.

The Raiders will attempt to limit Rodgers in two ways. One way is with their defense and the other is with a clock-eating offense on the back of Michael Bush.

 

When The Raiders Have The Ball:

The Packers defense is suspect on the ground and through the air. Offense has been good defense for the Packers so far this season. The Raiders need to play their game and that’s rushing and taking shots deep when needed. The Packers rush defense is allowing just over 100 yards per game, but at a 4.9 yards per carry average. It’s important for the offense and Hue Jackson not to get caught up too much in what the Packers offense is doing to the Raiders defense. If the Raiders need to pass they should be able to do so, particularly on slant patterns deep. Passing comes with risk against a Packers defense known for being ball Hawks.

Michael Bush vs. A.J. Hawk

Bush never got on track last week and the Raiders offensive line was pushed around. Hawk is questionable with a calf injury and is expected to play. The Raiders should test Hawk’s health by running right at him with the 240+ pound tailback they have. If Bush has a good day the Raiders have a good chance to hand the Packers their first loss of the season. Bush needs to do a better job in blitz pickup to protect Palmer on passing downs.

Samson Satele vs. B.J. Raji

The Raiders offensive line needs to do the job this week than last and the pressure has been coming up the middle in recent weeks. While most of the pressure has been coming via blitz, Samson needs to do a better job of getting push to thwart the free blitzer from running up the middle and getting in the face of Carson Palmer.

Khalif Barnes vs. Clay Matthews

Barnes has been the weakest link on the offensive line all year. When the Raiders offense is rolling Barnes is playing consistently average. That’s the best you can hope for is for Barnes to limit Matthews. The Raiders should keep Matthews busy in coverage versus Marcel Reece and slide help to his side.

Carson Palmer vs. Charles Woodson

Palmer will try to get matchups against Tramon Williams and the Packers safeties. He should stay away from Woodson. At very least Palmer needs to pick his spots versus Woodson. Palmer must limit interceptions and Woodson is the most dangerous player in pass coverage.

 

When The Packers Have The Ball:

Aaron Rodgers is the key to the Packers cog. Limit Rodgers and the Packers are beatable. The Raiders will attack the outside with Kamerion Wimbley and try to make Rodger move in the pocket. It’s important for the Raiders to get pressure and surprise Rodgers. The Packers will spread the Raiders defense out and put the pressure on the Raiders secondary. If the Raiders don’t present Rodgers with any new challenges the Packers talent at receiver should be enough to beat the Raiders consistently.

If the Raiders play man, the Packers will spread them out wide and run crossing routes to open up consistent yards underneath and if the Raiders play zone the Packers will attack the safeties deep and dump it off short if the Raiders play it tight. The dump offs will be the responsibility of the Raider linebackers, even when they are executing a zone blitz. If the protection holds up around Rodgers expect small dump offs to turn into big gains.

Tackling will be important and the first man to the ball must make the tackle. Yards after catch must be limited through the air and on dump-offs. If the Raiders secondary doesn’t put a shoulder into their Tackles the Packers will chip away at them all day.

Bryan Bulaga/Marshall Newhouse vs. Kamerion Wimbley

The Raiders will deploy Wimbley as a defensive end on both sides, rotating out Lamarr Houston and Desmond Bryant when needed. Wimbley needs a performance reminiscent of his game against San Diego. The Raiders would be wise to keep Wimbley totally out of coverage and let him do all his work on the Packers sub-par offensive tackles.

Aaron Rodgers vs. Rolando McClain

McClain’s job is to keep the Raiders defense on the same page. The Raiders must play a clean mental game to limit Rodgers and confuse him and hope the Raiders can capitalize when the Packers occasionally make a mistake. If the Packers attempt to attack the Raiders weakness against the run it will be McClain’s play that makes them thing otherwise or continue. If Rodgers can easily diagnose the Raiders defense and catches the Raiders defense confused or out of position he will have a field day. Very important that McClain has a big day.

Greg Jennings vs. Stanford Routt

Jennings runs great routes and has the skills to beat almost any cornerback. The Raiders should take their chances with the Packers other offensive weapons and have Routt shadow Jennings. Routt successfully took away Vincent Jackson and he’ll need a similar performance Sunday.

Jermichael Finley vs. Mike Mitchell

The Packers told NFL.com that they will attack Mitchell after seeing something on film. Expect them to do so. Mitchell hasn’t played as well this season as he did last year when he limited Antonio Gates on too occasions. Finley is much like a younger Gates and Mitchell will have his hands full. Mitchell has been out of position on many occasions this year. With Chris Johnson, Michael Huff will be filling in at corner and Matt Giordano at safety, but it is Mitchell’s size, physicality and athleticism that gives him the best chance to limit Finley.

Predictions:

The Raidersblog prediction machine puts the game at Packers 30, Raiders 23 taking only into account offense and defense. The Raiders need to make a couple big plays, score on defense or score on special teams to close the gap. The Raiders can win this game and limiting mental mistakes, including penalties will certainly help them keep it close. If it is close, anything can happen. If the Packers decide to run, that could play into the Raiders strategy by keeping the score down, but the offense needs to show up in a big way without four of the fastest guys in the NFL.

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

 

Week 13 Preview: Sling It

 Posted by at 9:44 AM  No Responses »
Dec 042011
 

The Raiders land in Miami to face a rejuvenated Dolphins team. It was a few short weeks ago Tony Sparano was on the chopping block. Now, after winning three of the last four, Sparano’s team looks to play spoiler in the AFC. The Dolphins are finding out what they have in quarterback Matt Moore, the defense is playing well and Reggie Bush may be relevant once again.

It was a week full of distraction for the 7-4 Raiders and perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing. The focus could have been on how the Raiders are still unable to get three offensive playmakers on the field. Jacoby Ford Denarius Moore and Darren McFadden remain out of action. Tommy Kelly did not participate in practice and is questionable with toe injury.

There is good news for the Raiders, they get back veteran corner Chris Johnson and Richard Seymour is getting healthy. The offense has been able to manage without Ford, Moore and McFadden, but the defense has been patchy and can use all the help they can get.

The Dolphins are surprising evenly matched with the Raiders and the game could come down to turnovers and special teams play or a defensive score.

Offense

The Dolphins defense is averaging less than 100 yards allowed on the ground. That’s bad news for Michael Bush. The good news for the Raiders is that the Dolphins have been vulnerable through the air.

Palmer is capable and if he can limit mistakes could have a big day ahead of him. The Raiders should use play action early and as the Dolphins’ linebackers will attempt to fill the run. Expect a couple deep shots and for the Raiders to utilize Marcel Reece and more three and four receiver sets than usual to force the Dolphins to take a linebacker off the field. Any of Darrius Heyward-Bey, Louis Murphy or Chaz Schilens could be in for big days.

In the run game, the Raiders could choose to spread the Dolphins out or focus on zone blocking to setup the passing game in the redzone. The zone running style suits Michael Bush and could help the offensive line recover from the physical domination the Bears laid on them last week. Bush is at his best running north and south and the Raiders will try slip Bush past the line and take their chances with Bush against smaller players.

Jared Veldheer draws a matchup against Cameron Wake. Another tough battle for the Raiders young left tackle. After a string a good games, Julius Peppers got the best of him, but don’t expect that to continue, Peppers, when he wants to, can get after the best. Expect Veldheer to handle Wake and keep him away from Palmer most of the day. Samson Satele has a tall order in front of him in Paul Soliai. Every 3-4 defense needs a good nose tackle and that has been Satele’s weakness for years. If the Raiders are able to run, it will be because of the play of Satele.

Defense

The Dolphins have found a rejuvenated passing game behind Matt Moore and the Raiders are still struggling to collect themselves on defense. Richard Seymour has been nursing a sore knee but it is healing. If Reggie Bush splits wide the Raiders will cover him with a safety such as Mike Mitchell or Michael Huff.

Brandon Marshall is the biggest weapon and one that must be handled for the Raiders to have a good day. Stanford Routt shadowed Vincent Jackson against the Chargers only for Vincent Brown to have a monster day. The Dolphins flank Marshall with Brian Hartline. Hartline is certainly capable of doing damage, but he’s hardly the jump-ball threat that Vincent Brown is.

Lamaar Houston has had a good season and that should continue today. The Dolphins offensive line has weaknesses and Houston can exploit them along with his part-time defensive end friend Kamerion Wimbley. Marc Colombo can be beat and Jake Long has taken steps back this season. The Raiders will attack the edge and hope to pressure Matt Moore into mistakes.

Houston could also see time inside at defensive tackle with Tommy Kelly’s status in doubt due to a toe injury.

As has been the key for the Raiders, the linebackers must step up and stop the run to allow the big men up front to rush the passer. That’s the Raiders game.

Special Teams

Special teams could be the difference between a win and a loss between two surprisingly evenly matched teams. Coverage units need to keep Clyde Gates from getting his feet moving in the return game. Sebastian Janikowski and Shane Lechler need only to continue to do their thing.

X-Factor

 

Would be easy to say turnovers. The team with more usually wins, particularly when the teams are so evenly matched. Perhaps more important for the Raiders to covert in the redzone and score touchdowns. Carson Palmer, Michael Bush and the rest of the offense have struggled punching the ball into the redzone. The Raiders need to turn scoring opportunities into touchdowns and not just field goals.

By The Numbers

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Week 13 Matchups: Risk/Reward

 Posted by at 8:00 AM  No Responses »
Dec 042011
 

Defensive Matchups

Stanford Routt vs. Brandon Marshall

Marshall can take over and when his mind is right he is one of the best wide receivers in the game. Routt has an interception in two consecutive games and may be starting to prove he is worth his contract. With Bresnahan mixing up things, don’t be surprised if Routt shadows Marshall as he did Vincent Jackson a few weeks ago.

Rolondo McClain vs. Reggie Bush

Bush is at his best when in space and McClain is at his worst in space. The Dolphins will try to get Bush in open space and build on his reception total currently at 35. McClain needs to be physical with Bush to take him out of his game. From his midweek arrest in Alabama, McClain has plenty to prove. ***If McClain sits, Blackstock will draw the matchup, but the key for him will be getting the defense lined up correctly***

Kamerion Wimbley vs. Jake Long

Long has been under-achieving this season and as a result the Miami Dolphins offensive line has given up 36 sacks, which ranks 28th in the league. The Raiders are 5th in the NFL with a team total of 30 sacks. If the Raiders defense is to dominate they need to consistently get to Matt Moore. The matchup of Wimbley against Long will set the tempo in the battle of the trenches.

X-Factor

Michael Huff

Huff has done a bit of everything this year. He’s showing off the versatility he showed at Texas and he also has two interceptions. Look for him to be all over field and making an impressive impact this Sunday.

Offensive Matchups

Marcel Reece vs. Yeremiah Bell

Since coming back from injury Reece has been the catalyst of the Raiders’ offense. If there are yards to be picked up, Hue Jackson finds a way to get Reece the ball. Bell is an outspoken, athletic member of the improved Miami D with a nose for the ball. Look for these two to bump heads on many occasions.

Michael Bush vs. Karlos Dansby

Last week, for the first time since his injury, the Raiders missed Darren McFadden’s running production. Bush was held to 69 rushing yards on 24 attempts. The Raiders offense relies on the running game to win games so Bush needs to get going early. Dansby is one of the league’s best inside linebackers and has led a defense that hasn’t given up a 100 yard rusher since Ben Tate put up 103 in week 2.

Carson Palmer vs. Vontae Davis

Palmer is a risk taker. Last week he had one interception, but could have easily had three. Davis has had great performances, but he has also been suspended. Davis is a risk taking corner looking to make plays for his team. There will be reward, but for who?

X-Factor

Chaz Shilens

A week after catching his first touchdown from Palmer, Chaz caught 4 passes for 58 yards. Those numbers might not sound too impressive, but up until last week his season high was 31 yards. With Ford and Moore still nursing injuries look for Chaz to be one of Palmer’s favorite targets on third downs and in the scoring zone.

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