Missing Hiram

 Posted by at 7:30 AM  1 Response »
Sep 292011
 

After the Raiders “bullied” the Jets it is easy to forget the team has inadequacies. Even though the Raiders have a very imposing defensive line and are tied for third in the league with 10 sacks, the defense is still allowing nearly 290 passing yards per game. What is also looked over in the Raiders 2-1 start is the inconsistent play of the kick coverage units. The Raiders were exposed on a couple long kick returns despite recovering a fumble by Antonio Cromartie. The punt coverage has been terrible and is a huge weakness on this team.

Stanford Routt and Tyvon Branch are the only healthy members of the Raiders secondary who were on the team last year. With the injury to DeMarcus Van Dyke (knee) coupled with his lack of development, the Raiders are extra thin in the weakest area of their defense.

Chimdi Checkwa, is showing why he was drafted and made the roster. After Chekwa’s promising performance the starting cornerback position could be his for the taking with Chris Johnson nursing a hamstring injury. Because of the Raiders tendency to run dime packages, Matt Giordano, Joe Porter and Jerome Boyd saw additional snaps last week. The Raiders will continue to rely heavily on these defensive backs because they now have pivotal roles  on the defense. The success of the secondary hinges on the performance of these young and unseasoned defensive backs.

The Raiders may be missing special teams ace Hiram Eugene. Eugene found a way to make an impact and in four years with the Raiders, Hiram played in 60 games and started in 19, with 10 being in 2008 over a healthy and disappointing Michael Huff. In four years Eugene accumulated over 120 tackles, most coming as the last line of defense or as the gunner on special teams. Not bad for an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana Tech.

Eugene provided depth in the secondary and supplied leadership as one of the premier gunners in the league. Eugene may not be a household name, but his presence is sorely missed. The Raiders have allowed punt returns for 53 and 90 yards without Eugene; there is no wonder the Raiders rewarded him this past off-season with a four-year contract.

The Patriots are averaging a gaudy 437 passing yards per game so Tom Brady and Wes Welker will be ultimate test for the Oakland Raiders secondary. The defensive line cannot take a play off and the linebackers have to play very well in space.  Special teams cover units cannot let New England have great field position or any free points.

The Raiders will miss Eugene for his special teams ability most of all, but with all the injuries in the secondary Eugene may be also missed as a backup.

Studs and Duds From Week 3

 Posted by at 3:38 PM  1 Response »
Sep 272011
 

The Raiders victory over the Jets has the coach and the team riding high. Even the national media is catching on as the Raiders are now making the top 10 in the mostly ridiculous power rankings.

Tom Brady comes to Oakland in week 4 so the Raiders don’t have much time to think about their early season victory. The Raiders need more studs on defense if they are to beat the Patriots.

Studs

Samson Satele

I sometimes have a hard time believing he is the same player as he was last season. I heard Satele was dealing with headaches and dizzy spells last season. I’m not sure how much this impacted his on-field performance and how much his production has to do with having Bob Wylie and Steve Wisniewski as offensive line coaches. It doesn’t matter now as Satele has done a great job this season. Early in Sunday’s game Sione Pouha got the best of him on one running play and Satele dominated at the point of attack from that point on.

 

Darren McFadden

I’m pretty sure he’ll be on the list every week. You already know his stats 171 yards, 2 touchdowns.

 

Hue Jackson & Chuck Bresnahan

The Raiders made the Jets defense look silly most of the afternoon. Bresnahan switched to zone coverage when youngsters were forced into action and it worked in the second half. Coaching staff pulled all the right strings and called all the right plays. Credit to them.

 

Jason Campbell

Took care of the football. No turnovers and didn’t force throws into the Jets secondary. Stepped up into the pocket and delivered a strike to Michael Bush down the left sideline that lead to the game sealing field goal.

 

Kevin Boss

First game in Silver and Black looked pretty good. Made a key catch on the Raiders opening touchdown drive and a key block that sprung McFadden for over 70 yards. He’ll make everyone forget about Zach Miller if he stays healthy.

 

Chimdi Chekwa

Coming out party for the rookie? He entered the game when Chris Johnson went out with an injury and had tight coverage on Plaxico Burress most of the day. If the Raiders secondary remains banged up the Raiders will need Chekwa and Joe Porter to play well and Demarcus Van Dyke to get healthy.

 

Duds

Special Teams

It didn’t really burn them on Sunday, but the coverage units did terrible covering kicks on Sunday. John Fassell is really missing Hiram Eugene. Rock Cartwright can’t cover kicks alone. Lechler had a rare off day and Jon Condo had a few sub par long snaps. Seabass kept the special teams from being a complete disaster, but even he missed one. Taiwan Jones and Denarius Moore didn’t stumble and fall down like Nick Miller, but hardly improved the return game. Big difference between a muff and a forced fumble.

 

Rolando McClain

He had a solid game, but he makes the duds list for his weak arm tackle on Tomlinson’s long reception. When he properly diagnosing runs he’s at his best. He’s been solid in coverage, but far too many missed tackles and bad angles.

 

Matt Giordano

Plays too tentatively. He always seemed to be watching players run by him. He’s a ticking time bomb in the secondary, but until the Raiders young cornerbacks relieve Michael Huff from cornerback duties Giordano will keep playing. 

Khalif Barnes

The weakest link on a much improved offensive line. It shouldn’t be long now because Joseph Barksdale is starting at right tackle. He’s already been promoted as evidenced by Stephon Heyer’s deactivation on Sunday. The only pressure on Campbell came from Barnes inability to handle the speed rush. He’ll continue to have a role as a sixth lineman in jumbo sets, but his starting job is very much in jeopardy.

 

Highs, Lows & Blows From Thursday’s Game

 Posted by at 1:58 PM  2 Responses »
Aug 122011
 

Everyone likes to win, but this is preseason. It’s the first preseason game of a year which features very little practice time beforehand.

It’s far too early to jump to conclusions about the season or any one player. It doesn’t mean that there is nothing to learn from the game.

Highs

1. The defensive line looks even more dominant than they did last year. Matt Shaughnessy looks poised for breakout year. They held up on the goal line.

2. The passing game looks ready to take the next step. Darrius Heyward-Bey, Denarius Moore and Kevin Boss all looked the part. Moore got snaps with the first team and made the most of them.

Heyward-Bey made a hands catch and then beat a defender deep only to have Jason Campbell under-throw him. Even Kyle Boller and Trent Edwards looked to be effectively orchestrating the passing offense. David Ausberry looks like he could become something special and a weapon in the receiving game.

3. The offensive line blocked reasonably well. A pleasant surprise. Sacks and pressure mostly came as a result of blitzes, something you aren’t really planning for in preseason games.

First team offensive line (left to right): Jared Veldheer, Daniel Loper, Samson Satele, Cooper Carisle, Khalif Barnes.

Second team: Stephon Heyer, Alex Parsons, Stefen Wisniewski, Roy Schuening, Joseph Barksdale

4. Depth players who looked good last night include Sterling Moore, who made a play, which echos what we have been hearing about him in camp. Chances are improving that he will make the roster. Tommie Hill was consistently getting a good push.

5. Jarvis Moss looks like he is in great shape. He’s motivated and he’s energetic on defense. He could become a key player this season if he continues to play with as much speed and strength as he did last night.

Lows

1. Depth in the secondary. After the starters left the game it got ugly. Walter McFadden looked the worst and was picked on repeatedly by the opposing quarterbacks. Jeremy Ware was not exposed in coverage, but could have made a play on the game-winning touchdown catch and run and didn’t. Stevie Brown didn’t even look good, missing the defender completely on an open-field tackle attempt.

Demarcus Van Dyke started strong by blanketing Larry Fitzgerald early. Fitzgerald still made a long reception over Van Dyke, but his coverage was good. He struggled with the backups. He was stiff-armed by Beanie Wells and was beat for a touchdown reception. He needs to bulk up and his speed will not benefit him if he isn’t within five yards. It looked worse than it was for Van Dyke, but he certainly has a steep learning curve.

2. An announced crowd under 30,000 means the Raiders will have a hard time selling out games. On any given week the Raiders will have to sell more individual game tickets than they have season ticket holders. The two for one offer starting August 15th will help, but it’s a steep hill to climb to avoid blackouts.

3. Not much depth at outside linebacker. Travis Goethel may end up sliding outside when the season moves closer, even though his best fit is in the middle. Goethel reminds me of Greg Biekert. Quentin Groves was playing with third and fourth string players and you almost couldn’t tell. Besides those three players there isn’t much depth. None of the backups stood out from the crowd. Raiders are rumored to still be interested in Lofa Tatupu. I’m not sure he can play outside, but he’s a quality option.

4. Mental errors killed the Raiders. Khalif Barnes had three false starts. That’s going to cost him snaps and could cost him his job. Trent Edwards had a delay of game penalty after a penalty. Reading Hue Jackson’s lips on the sideline: “You can’t do that! Come on!”

Blows

1. Hiram Eugene dislocated his hip. It’s a season ending injury. The same injury ended Bo Jackson’s career when the injury caused a subsequent conditions that resulted in loss of blood flow.

2. Chaz Schilens hurt his knee. Enough said.

3. Many Raiders players tweeted post game that the team had “a lot” of injuries. We’ll find out who had “nicks” when Hue Jackson talks to the press at 5 p.m.

Plenty of things to correct for Hue Jackson, sadly most of it will be on the back of Chuck Bresnahan. It only took one game for fans to lament his bend, don’t break defense.

 

Stevie Brown To Practice Squad

 Posted by at 7:33 PM  1 Response »
Sep 052010
 

Stevie Brown has been signed to the Raiders practice squad, according to Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times.

Wilson also notes that there was quite a bit of interest in Brown and that his stint on the practice squad could be short lived.

The Raiders could decide to promote Brown themselves, but they would have to move someone off the 53 man roster.

Breaking: Stevie Brown Final Cut

 Posted by at 2:12 AM  No Responses »
Sep 052010
 

There were whispers all afternoon that it could be Stevie Brown being cut.

He was just removed from Raiders.com. Although no formal announcement has been made.

This comes as a bit of a shock to many who thought it would be a receiver or Hiram Eugene.

Andy Slater correctly called this cut after predicting earlier that Mike Mitchell was going to be cut.

There are still some questions to be answered.

Update: Brown is now listed as released on the transactions page.