Ranking the Oakland Raiders 2012 Offseason Hires

 Posted by at 4:47 AM  No Responses »
Feb 202012
 

Al Davis carefully planned his estate so his son could retain full control of the team. It will be Mark Davis who leads the team into an era of Raiders football without his legendary father.

Mark Davis waited three months before making any changes on the football side of the organization, but changes were inevitable.

Perhaps the best slogan for the 2012 Raiders would be, “Under New Management.”

The Raiders have hired 21 new people on the football side of the organization and whereas a quality control coach will have little to no impact on the immediate or long-term success of the team, a general manager will have significant impact.

 

21. Eric Sanders, Quality Control – Defense

He’s been with the team for two years and even the most die-hard fan doesn’t recognize the name. Sanders coached linebackers at U.C. Davis for two seasons and he was a psychology major before joining the Raiders. He’ll make copies of play sheets and get the rest of the staff coffee. That’s probably short-changing Sanders, but he sits firmly at the bottom of the pecking order.

Importance: Negligible impact.

 

20. Justin Griffith, Quality Control – Offense

Griffith has mostly followed Greg Knapp around the country. As a player, Griffith followed Knapp from Atlanta to Oakland to Seattle to Houston. He was no longer wanted as a player in 2010 and left Knapp to be a coaching intern with the Seahawks for the 2011 season. He’s well schooled in the zone-blocking system and an ex-player and that may prove to be a valuable resource for the offensive staff.

Importance: Familiar with zone-blocking system. Slight impact.

 

19. John Grieco, Assistant Strength and Conditioning. 

This is Grieco’s first NFL position, but he comes well credentialed and he’ll assist legendary strength coach Al Miller. While the strength coaches are some of the more underrated coaches on the staff, let’s not get carried away putting an assistant strength coach in-front of position coaches.

Importance: Injury prevention and recovery time. Slight impact.

 

18. Keith Burns, Assistant Special Teams

Special teams is the third phase of the game and only one or two coaches are devoted to it. Burns has been coaching for almost 30 years and was believed to be hired as a secondary coach. In fact, his Raiders.com biography says Burns is a secondary coach.

Importance: Impact on kick coverage. Slight to moderate impact.

 

17. Mark Hutson, Tight Ends

Like Burns, Hutson is a veteran of the college ranks. He’ll have the narrow focus of dealing with the tight ends. He’ll likely focus on blocking as he was the offensive line coach at Tulane dating back to Matt Forte‘s final year there.

Importance: Couldn’t hurt to have tight ends that can block. Slight impact.

 

16. Clayton Lopez, Defensive Backs

For the most part the Raiders went to the college ranks to fill position coaches, but the defensive backs coaches are one of the exceptions.

Lopez has a good track record at the NFL level, but he’s  bounced between teams. At the surface, Lopez’s work looks good as his secondaries tend to improve upon his arrival.

Impact: Lopez will not be around long if there is not a noticeable impact on one of the team’s weakest position groups.

 

15. Steve Wisniewski, Assistant Offensive Line

He’s not going to be real familiar with the zone-blocking system Greg Knapp will deploy, but he’s loved by fans and the organization. Wisniewski was a big part of the reason for the surprise Raiders’ offensive line in 2011. His role may be reduced, but the organization realized that he is more than worth keeping around.

Importance: Proven teacher of man-blocking techniques and will help transition to zone-blocking scheme. Noticeable impact.

 

14. Al Miller, Strength and Conditioning

Miller helped teams win four Super Bowl rings. He retired in 2004 to be with his wife who has Alzheimer’s disease. Dennis Allen, who he worked with in Atlanta, recruited him to be strength coach before he had been formally offered the Raiders position.

The strength coach is often overlooked, but strength and conditioning is a big part of injury protection and healing. Miller is one of best in the industry and only stopped to take care of family matters.

Importance: Noticeable impact on injury prevention and recovery.

 

13. Steve Hoffman, Special Teams Coordinator

Hoffman makes a lateral transfer from the Kansas City Chiefs. He inherits two of the best kickers in the NFL. As long as he doesn’t mess with Sebastian Janikowski or Shane Lechler he’ll be a success. His coverage units will be under scrutiny, but perhaps not as much as his field goal team after the Raiders blocked two kicks in-route to a win in Week 16.

Importance: Ability to impact one phase of the game significantly. Noticeable impact.

 

12. Terrell Williams, Defensive Line

Williams is yet another college coach to have been added to the Raiders staff. He wont design the scheme, but Williams will need to get the Raiders front to stop the run, something they haven’t been able to do since 2002. Coincidentally or not, the Raiders haven’t made the playoffs since 2002, which is the last time the team held opponents under 125 yards per game rushing.

Williams coached Cliff Avril and Anthony Spencer, both free agents, during their college years at Purdue. Only one is likely to be available, but the link is worth mentioning.

Importance: Williams will monitor a position needing improvement against the run. Significant, specific impact.

 

11. Ted Gilmore, Wide Receivers

Gilmore has been coaching receivers in the college ranks since the mid-1990s and most recently was coaching receivers at USC. This will be his first stint in the NFL and he’ll inherit a young and talented group of receivers that still need to grow at the position.

The continued growth of the Raiders offense may rely on the receivers and it will be up to Gilmore to make sure Darrius Heyward-Bey, Jacoby Ford, Denarius Moore and Louis Murphy improve on their 2011 seasons.

Importance: Gilmore will monitor a position needing improvement. Significant, specific impact.

 

10. John DeFilippo, Quarterbacks

DeFilippo is another coach that seems to find a home wherever Greg Knapp lands as an offensive coordinator. This time around, DeFilippo will not be saddled with Josh McCown, Daunte Culpepper and JaMarcus Russell as his three quarterbacks.

DeFilippo will have a proven veteran Carson Palmer and a young, athletic developmental player in Terrell Pryor. DeFilippo and Greg Knapp will likely be able to hand-select their backup quarterback of choice. Obviously this is a much better situation for DeFilippo than his previous stint with the team.

Importance: It’s a quarterback-driven league and the Raiders will need to get Palmer playing well and start planning for the future. DeFilippo could make a break a season or multiple seasons with his coaching of the quarterbacks. He’s likely to get assistance from Greg Knapp, without it DeFilippo would have more impact on team performance than any other position coach.

 

9. Kelly Skipper, Running Backs 

Skipper has had opportunities to leave the Raiders and he remains on staff for his sixth season. Skipper has done a nice job bringing out the best in Darren McFadden. McFadden had detractors coming out of Arkansas, but has corrected many of the issues scouts had with him in college while under tutelage of Skipper.

Importance: Significant impact of running game, which also happens to be a key of Greg Knapp’s entire offense.

 

8. Johnnie Lynn, Defensive Backs

The Raiders aren’t messing around with defensive backs or defensive backs coaches. Stanford Routt was released and the Raiders hired two defensive backs coaches with NFL experience.

Lynn comes over from Philadelphia, but he has years of NFL experience. He’s been an assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. That experience can be valuable to his superiors.

He’s experienced and has been successful at each of his coaching stops with the exception of his one-year stint in Philadelphia last season. His secondaries have always keyed on getting turnovers and that’s an area of the Raiders defense that most improve.

Importance: His experience and expertise in many areas and track record as a secondary coach will make a significant difference for the entire defensive staff.

 

7. Frank Pollack, Offensive Line

Pollack has been the assistant offensive line coach for the zone-blocking Houston Texans for the past five years. He should have a very good handle both the zone-blocking system and how to teach it to NFL players.

Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp’s entire offensive system is based around the running game and the proper execution of the zone-blocking system. Pollack is a unique find because he’s well-versed in the system and was available. Knapp’s implementation of his system is made many times easier due to the hire of Pollack.

Pollack’s challenge is to team with Steve Wisniewski and get the young Raiders’ offensive line executing the zone-blocking system like they’ve been running it for years.

Importance: Significant impact to a pivotal area of the offense.

 

6. Johnny Holland, Linebackers

Holland was well-respected and well-liked in Houston. He was ousted with the rest of the defensive staff at the end of the 2010 season after a five-year stint as linebackers coach. He was one of the few position coaches at the time that was expected to stay with the team. Wade Phillips apparently had his own guy, so Holland sat out the 2011 season.

Both DeMeco Ryans and Brian Cushing achieved rookie of the year honors under Holland.

The Raiders are in desperate need of a coach that can motivate and challenge Rolando McClain and clean up Aaron Curry’s pass coverage.

Impact: Potentially huge impact on the Raiders defense. Even if the defensive line improves if the Raiders don’t also improve at linebacker they can’t expect to hold opponents to less than 125 yard per game rushing.

 

5. Jason Tarver, Defensive Coordinator

There is no denying that Tarver is a relative unknown. He’s young and has his only experience as a defensive coordinator came last season as co-defensive coordinator for Stanford. He wasn’t the play-caller.

This will be Tarver’s first time calling defensive plays and running his own defensive staff. It’s a good thing that Dennis Allen is the head coach and is likely to have his hands heavily in the defensive game plan. Greg Knapp is mostly self-sufficient on offense and Allen should and will have input on the defense.

It will be interesting to see if Allen allows Tarver to call the defensive plays as he said he would in his introductory press conference or if the coaches Allen was able to hire might have changed his mind.

Importance: The potential impact Tarver can make on team and the defense is significant. The defense was the problem in 2011 and Tarver is the man specifically tasked with correcting the issues although he will work closely with Allen.

 

4. Al Saunders, Senior Offensive Assistant 

The retention of Al Saunders can’t be understated. He’ll be an adviser on offense now and he’s familiar with the personnel and their strengths and weaknesses. He’ll be a valuable resource for Knapp and Allen to draw from for offensive information.

Saunders retention could mean Knapp isn’t going to force the Raiders offense to fully convert in one offseason. If that is the case it bodes well for the young players as the Raiders transition.

The Raiders could be attempting to use Knapp’s zone-blocking running scheme combined with a little more of Saunders’ Air Coryell-style passing game which better suits the Raiders options at receiver and quarterback.

Importance: Potentially large impact on the Raiders offense, particularly Carson Palmer and the passing game.

 

3.  Greg Knapp, Offensive Coordinator

His first stint with the Raiders was a disaster. He didn’t call the plays and he was forced to start JaMarcus Russell at quarterback in his second season. He’s experienced, but that also means he hasn’t been overly successful. In the past, Knapp has fallen in-love with the running game, but his recent stint as quarterbacks coach of the Texans may have reignited a love for the passing game.

Knapp needs to craft his offense carefully to fit the skill set of Carson Palmer. Al Saunders could be a valuable resource to Knapp.

The offense gained respectability under Hue Jackson and Knapp needs to build upon that success. A step down in offensive production is not likely to be well received.

Importance: Knapp has a nice group of players to work with and should be able to put them in position to make plays, but a step-back on offense is likely to be considered a failure.

 

2. Dennis Allen, Head Coach

Not since John Madden have the Raiders had a defensive-minded head coach. Allen comes well-respected from his prior stops in Atlanta, New Orleans and Denver. According to various accounts, it was only a matter of when and not if Allen received his first shot at being a head coach.

Allen’s tasked with taking a roster full of players and getting the Raiders back to greatness. Allen will preach discipline and accountability, two things the Raiders have been lacking since Jon Gruden was traded to Tampa Bay.

Allen has quietly put together a solid coaching staff and the team is hard at work preparing for the draft, free agency and the new era of Raiders football.

Importance: McKenzie’s commitment to Allen for four years and the organizational change marks a sharp contrast to the Al Davis-era. The impact will be significant even if that change does not immediate alter the Raiders win total.

 

1. Reggie McKenzie, General Manager

While Dennis Allen will be the face of the Raiders, it is Reggie McKenzie that will sit behind the curtain and pull the levers and strings. McKenzie will have total control of football operations, but as he’s mentioned multiple times that he wants the Raiders organization to work as a team. McKenzie will listen to input from his coaches and scouts, but when a decision has to be made, it will be McKenzie that makes that call.

McKenzie will let Allen coach and he’ll do what he can to assist his team in any way he can. Much of that has to do with the players that are brought in.

The players are the ones that actually play the game and that’s what makes McKenzie the most important hire the Raiders have made in decades. Ron Wolf suggested McKenzie and his interview with Mark Davis and John Madden went well enough that Mark Davis didn’t feel the need to continue the search.

Importance: The Raiders are committed to McKenzie for years to come. General manager hires are usually not the variety the team wants to be making every few seasons. The most stable franchises at top of the organization chart are also the franchises that are winning the most games.

As published on Bleacher Report 2/20/2012.

What Really Lead To Hue Jackson’s Firing?

 Posted by at 4:54 PM  5 Responses »
Jan 112012
 

Allow me for a moment to walk the Raider Nation through a timeline of Hue Jackson’s tenure with the Raiders.

2010

Al Davis hires Hue Jackson to revamp an offense that hadn’t been good in many years. With the aide of competent quarterback play and a healthy Darren McFadden, Jackson is wildly successful in his first year.

2011

Tom Cable is fired for an 8-8 season and Hue Jackson is promoted to Head Coach.

Situation

He is working with a roster constructed by Al Davis and defensive coaches hired by Al Davis.

October 8, 2011

Al Davis dies and Hue Jackson is forced to take a more active role in managing player personnel because-although unqualified-he is the most qualified person in the building. Mark Davis begins to gather his advisory team or John Madden, Ron Wolf and Ken Herock.

Problem 1

Hue Jackson loses his starting quarterback to injury for the season. Jackson knows with the passing of Al Davis that a new front office would be coming in and in all likelihood he would be fired if he didn’t make the playoffs and maybe he would even need to win a playoff game to keep his job.

Solution 1

Trade for Carson Palmer. Hue Jackson was looking out for himself, knowing that he had little chance of making a playoff run with Kyle Boller and knowing a losing record would mean he would be fired. Hue Jackson pressures Mark Davis to make a lopsided trade for the only decent quarterback available. Hue’s ego and power begin to grow within the organization and some question wether that is a good thing.

Problem 2

Hue Jackson and the Raiders lose the most explosive offensive weapon on the team for an extended period of time, Darren McFadden.

Solution 2

Ride Michael Bush and get the young receivers more involved in the offense.

Problem 3

Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore injured.

Solution 3

No good solution can be found as the Raiders continue to ride Michael Bush and Darrius Heyward-Bey. Meanwhile, John Madden, Ron Wolf, Ken Herock and Tom Flores are advising Mark Davis to interview Reggie McKenzie when the season ends. Mark’s advisors are telling him to be cautious about Hue Jackson’s ego and power grab within the organization.

Problem 4

Defensive secondary not playing well.

Solution 4

Hue crossed his fingers that Chuck Bresnahan, without the constant supervision of Al Davis, can turn the Raiders defense into something resembling a solid unit. Turns out to be a non-solution and one Hue Jackson can’t directly change.

Week 17

Hue Jackson heads into the final week of the season 8-7 after another epic defensive failure that he has little control over. His team has an outside chance to make the playoffs.

Hue Jackson, knowing his fate was now in limbo, his defensive coordinator incompetent and his team with a slim chance to make the playoffs, walks into Mark Davis’ office and asks for input on the General Manager hire as a last ditch effort to try to save his job. One he might have saved had he never walked though Mark’s office door.

Hue Jackson was acting in self-preservation and Mark Davis wisely refuses to grant Hue’s request. It was a slightly absurd request to begin with, allowing a head coach to have input in who is hired as his boss, but Mark Davis also viewed this as another Hue Jackson power grab. Mark Davis had been warned by his advisors to be careful regarding Hue Jackson’s ego and power aspirations.

The Raiders lose in week 17 and Hue Jackson voices his frustrations with the team and his lack of input on the general manager hiring process in his final two press conferences and in-so doing seals his fate with the Raiders. Mark Davis and his advisors collectively grumble at Hue’s final act and finishing the season 1-4 does not help Hue’s case, no matter how little he had to do with the collapse.

Reggie McKenzie is interviewed and Mark Davis and John Madden give McKenzie the impression that firing Hue Jackson and starting fresh is the best course of action. That makes things easier for McKenzie, because he likely desired the ability to hire his own guy, but would have considered keeping Hue around if Mark Davis had requested it. McKenzie gets a clean start instead of delaying the inevitable firing of Hue Jackson to hire his own coach.

The decision was made to start fresh under McKenzie. It is naïve to think that either Mark Davis or Reggie McKenzie made the decision to fire Jackson on their own. It was a collective decision and ultimately it was a series of events that went against Hue Jackson. Jackson is still a good coach and will land on his feet somewhere. His defense, his ego and his act of self-preservation ended his short tenure with the Raiders. The Raiders will be better for it and Hue Jackson will be a better coach for it.

2011 Bold Predictions Revisited

 Posted by at 6:48 PM  No Responses »
Jan 092012
 

Prediction 1: Matt Shaughnessy will have 10 sacks or more.

Result: Shaughnessy played in three games registering 1 sack. There is no way of knowing is Shaughnessy would have made it to 10 sacks and the three games was too small of a sample to project out a full season. 0 for 1.

Prediction 2:  Taiwan Jones will have at least two touchdowns longer than 70 yards.

Result: Jones also had an injury that derailed what could have been a promising start to his young career. No dice. 0 for 2.

Prediction 3: Darren McFadden will have 2000 total yards from scrimmage.

Result: Yet again injury hurts he possibility of the bold prediction coming true. McFadden had 768 total yards from scrimmage in seven games. Projecting McFadden’s season over 16 games means he falls short at 1751 total yards. 0 for 3.

Prediction 4: Darrius Heyward-Bey will catch twice as many passes as he did last year.

Result: Twice as many? That wasn’t enough for DHB who caught more than twice as many passes and it was actually closer to three times as many. 1 for 4.

Prediction 5: Jason Campbell will have 3000+ yards passing and 20 touchdowns.

Result: Had it not been for the injury, Campbell was well on his way to 300 yards. Based on his first six games he would have been a little shy of the 20 predicted touchdowns. 1 for 5.

Prediction 6: Denarius Moore will return two punts for touchdowns.

Result: The injuries really are killing the bold predictions from 2011 as they did the team. 1 for 6.

Prediction 7: Jacoby Ford will return two kicks for touchdowns (despite the new rules).

Result: Injuries kill the prediction again. Ford had one in eight games. That’s two if he is healthy. I’m giving credit here. 2 for 7.

Prediction 8: Michael Bush will rush for just 500 yards….but with 10 touchdowns.

Result: Bush almost doubled the yardage prediction, but still fell short of the touchdown prediction. 2 for 8.

Prediction 9: The Raiders will have a top 5 offense and lead the league in rushing.

Result: 9th in yards per game and 16th in points per game. 2 for 9.

Prediction 10: The Raiders will win 10 games. (My prediction is 8 games +-2. Since this is for bold predictions, I’ll go with the higher one)

Result: Can’t help but feel like my bold prediction was two defensive stops away. 2 for 10.

Prediction 11: The Raiders will go 4-2 in the division.

Result: 3-3 and a defensive stop away. 2 for 11.

Prediction 12: The Raiders will not miss Zach Miller

Result: They didn’t. Boss was more than capable and the Ra5iders started incorporating the receivers into the offense. 3 for 12.

Prediction 13: The Raiders will not miss Nnamdi Asomugha

Result: A case could certainly be made either way, but the Raiders secondary was pretty bad for long stretches. Asomugha would have helped. 3 for 13.

Prediction 14: The Raiders will beat the Jets in the home opener.

Result: Win. 4 for 14.

Prediction 15: The Raiders will play the Chargers at home week 17 for the AFC West title.

Result: Not exactly what I had envisioned, but it was true. 5 for 15.

Prediction 16: Chuck Bresnahan ‘s defense will intercept 20 passes.

Result: 18 interceptions good for 12th in the league and perhaps the highest Bresnahan’s defense ranked in any category. 5 for 16.

Prediction 17: Rolando McClain will have 120 tackles

Result: Not close and I didn’t really expect this one to be. 5 for 17.

Prediction 18: Chris Johnson will have 8 interceptions.

Result: Injury or not didn’t look like he was going to get there. 5 for 18.

Prediction 19: The Raiders will lead the league in sacks.

Result: 15th ranking not good enough for such a talented group. Injuries certainly hurt. 5 for 19.

Prediction 20: Kamerion Wimbely will have 10 sacks.

Result: Just 8 sacks for Wimbley. Maybe if he wasn’t in coverage so much he could have reached the 10 sack level. 5 for 20.

Hitting on 25 percent of the bold predictions isn’t bad and it certainly could have been better if not for the numerous injuries sustained by the Raiders in 2011.

Preview Week 17: Must Win

 Posted by at 8:53 AM  No Responses »
Jan 012012
 

When the Raiders exit the field Sunday, there are three possible scenarios for the Raiders: Division Champs, Wildcard winners, or out of the playoffs.

The Raiders could be division champions with a win and the Chiefs can beat the Broncos, the Raiders could be wild card winner with a win, Bengals loss and either a Jets win or Titans loss. The last scenario is one no Raider fan wants to think about, the Raiders lose or the Broncos and Bengals both win.

It’s been a very up and down season and the Raiders must win and get a little help to get into the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Perhaps it is fitting that the Raiders would let the possibility of a playoff berth come down to the final game. The Raiders have seemingly given opponent after opponent the opportunity to win the game, if only a few took advantage of the opportunity. The primary issue has been a porous defense, but the Raiders defense played one of their best games of the season in San Diego a few short weeks ago and San Diego is the opponent in week 17.

What does it all mean for Sunday? Not much. It’s a one game season for the Raiders  and  we’ll find out how deep the Raiders can dig to get a win and if the defense can put together a complete game. If they can it may boost the Raiders should they make the playoffs.

When the Raiders have the ball:

The last time the Raiders faced the Chargers Michael Bush had a day to remember with 157 rushing yards, 85 receiving yards and 1 touchdown. In the Raiders week 10 win Denarius Moore came up big with 123 yards and two touchdowns. Ford added a 41-yard catch and Darrius Heyward-Bey, the team’s leading receiver, didn’t catch a single pass.

Ford was injured in the game against San Diego and has missed the last six weeks with a foot injury. Ford is ready to go and Carson Palmer has his top three receiving options healthy for the first time since the last game in San Diego six week ago. Palmer almost tossed 300 in San Diego without Ford and with Heyward-Bey as a no-show and should be even better with more options.

Bush’s effectiveness can open up the passing game for the Raiders by keeping the pass rush from coming hard after Carson Palmer. Palmer is a different quarterback when pressured and it is vital to keep the pass rush from getting to Palmer if he is to make good decisions with the football.

The Raiders will attempt to pound the football once again and hope that it opens up the deep passing game. If the Raiders can’t get the run going early expect them to turn to the short passing game with Heyward-Bey and screens and reverses to Moore or Ford.

Hue Jackson needs this win and he will empty the playbook. Expect the Raiders to showcase their speed and continue to be aggressive even when the situation calls for conservatism.

As with any game, it all starts in the trenches. The Raiders offensive line opens holes for Bush or gives Palmer time to throw. Failure on these objectives will prove fatal for the Raiders playoff chances.

Jacoby Ford vs. Dante Hughes

The Raiders get on of the Ferrari’s back and will immediately try to exploit the Chargers sub-standard group of cornerbacks. If the Raiders put Ford in the slot he’ll likely draw Chargers third corner Dante Hughes. Hughes has just three passes defended on the year and this should be a matchup the Raiders try to exploit. If Ford goes outside, expect Hughes to draw Moore instead.

Denarius Moore vs. Quentin Jammer

In their first match-up of the season Moore get the best of the veteran corner Jammer. Raiders will continue to pick on Jammer as along as Moore is getting deep releases. If the Chargers give Jammer help over the top with the strong safety Steve Gregory the Raiders will run Kevin Boss down the seam. With the Raiders offensive weapons expanding the Chargers will have to pick a poison and Moore killed them in week 10.

Darrius Heyward-Bey vs Antoine Cason

It’s a bit abnormal for three of these match-ups to be receivers versus cornerbacks, but with a full air arsenal at his disposal expect Hue Jackson to make good use of his options. With Ford’s return and Moore’s big game against the Chargers it would be easy to forget about the Raiders most productive receiver and consistent receiver this season. Heyward-Bey is a move the chains receiver that has enough speed to turn mistakes into scores. Cason is the Chargers best cornerback and has really played well the second half of this season. Over the top help is also good with Eric Weddle patrolling. If the Raiders want to get Heyward-Bey involved they may put him in the slot and have Ford run off the coverage to the outside.

Jared Veldheer vs Antwan Barnes

In the first meeting between these two teams Antwan Barnes was the only player applying consistent pressure of Palmer on only 15 pass rushing snaps. It’s up to Veldheer to keep Barnes away from the Palmer. The Chargers have only recently discovered Barnes talent as a pass rush specialist and he’ll now rush the passer 20-25 times a game.

Michael Bush vs. Shaun Phillips

There is occasionally a linebacker that does it all. That’s Shaun Phillips. He can fill the run, rush the passer and, when needed, drop back into coverage with almost equal effectiveness. Although he’s not fantastic at anything he is good at everything. The Raiders might want to think twice before running screens to his side and getting a seal block on Phillips is a must if the Raiders intend to run in his direction. If Bush can slip past Phillips in the passing game that might be the best way to exploit Phillips. Either way, if Bush has a good day on the ground or through the air, he’ll need to go through Phillips at least half the time.

Samson Satele vs. Antonio Garay

It’s a story that’s been told over and over again over the past few seasons. Samson Satele can struggle a bit with nose tackles, but in normal Satele form, he’s gotten better and better as the season has progressed and has turned in solid performances over the last five weeks. It’s Garay who can eat up blockers and apply the most effective type of pressure, that is pressure right up the middle. Garay exploited Stefen Wisniewski in week 10 when pass rushing, but it was Wisniewski pushing Garay around in the running game. For the Raiders run game and pass game to be effective it starts in the middle with Satele. The more Satele can handle Garay on his own the more that frees up the guards get second-level blocks on the Chargers linebackers.

When the Chargers have the ball:

The Raiders blanketed Vincent Jackson in the first meeting and limited him. It was Vincent Brown who became the go-to receiver for Phillip Rivers. Ryan Mathews is questionable, and the Chargers haven’t fielded a good running game in many weeks. No, the Chargers will again attempt to sling the ball around. That’s good news for the Raiders pass rushing defensive line. If the Raiders can cover the Chargers receivers long enough to pressure Rivers they will win the game. If the pass rush doesn’t get to Rivers quick enough that could give the Chargers big receivers opportunities.

Expect the Raiders to pressure the Chargers receivers at the line of scrimmage and attempt to tie up the receivers long enough to get pressure on Rivers. None of the Chargers receivers have elite speed so there is little risk of the receivers running past the coverage. Should the pass rush fail to get to Rivers there will be a lot of pressure on the Raiders safeties to provide help over the top.

Stanford Routt vs. Vincent Jackson

Routt 1 vs Jackson 0. The re-match does not always go the same way. Routt limited Jackson for most of the game in week 10. Routt has been good in coverage, he’s playing just a bit too physical and has been on the bad end of a few pass interference and defensive holding calls. The Chargers may to exploit Routt’s aggressiveness, so it is vital Routt whips his head around to find the ball. He might have opportunities to get interceptions if he can read and react to the ball in flight. He’s been getting called for hand checks lately as a direct result of his inability to find the ball in the air. Jackson was limited in practice all week until Friday. He’s probable, but a late scratch wouldn’t be surprising with Jackson headed for free agency and facing a tough match-up.

Kamerion Wimbley vs. Jared Gaither

Wimbley terrorized the Chargers in week 10 with 4 sacks, 3 hits and 7 more pressures on Rivers. Wimbley is coming off one of his worst games of the season and he may draw a more difficult match-up this time around. Gaither was picked up off the scrap heap and is starting at left tackle for the Chargers. Gaither was not signed by the Raiders in training camp when all signs pointed to it. He caught on with KC, but was hardly playing. The Chargers in need of help on the offensive line picked him up and he’s started and played remarkably well the past four weeks. Wimbley has the talent to beat a tackle like Gaither, but it’s one of the most interesting match-ups of the day.

Richard Seymour vs. Louis Vasquez

He’s big mean and nasty and as long as he isn’t committing stupid penalties he’s one of the top defensive tackle in the game. He’s the defacto leader of the Raiders defense and the defense goes as Seymour goes. So Seymour must go against Vasquez. Vasquez was having a solid season, but he’s fallen off lately. Enter Seymour. If Seymour draws a double team the Raiders to his left and right, being Lamarr Houston and Tommy Kelly need to make the most of their one-on-ones. Seymour doesn’t need 3 sacks to be successful, but the defensive line goes as Seymour goes. It’s a big game.

Michael Huff vs. The Field

Huff is used in many ways and he’s coming back from injury. The Raiders can surely use him against all the Chargers receiving weapons. It will be Huff’s job to fill in as a slot corner and help over the top. He’ll have considerable pressure on him in this game and let’s hope he makes the best of it.

If the Raiders want to win and make the playoffs it is these three highly paid defensive players that need to shine. Routt, Wimbley, Seymour and Huff were handed sizable contracts in the offseason and this is where contracts and careers are made. Crunch time for these defensive players.

Prediction:

Chargers playing spoiler and Raiders with everything to lose. The Raiders are at home and the coliseum will be rocking like it hasn’t since 2002. Raiders win this one, somehow, someway, but will it be enough?

 

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

 

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