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.

Costly Mistakes, Penalties & Defense Down Raiders

 Posted by at 6:00 PM  4 Responses »
Oct 032011
 

The Patriots coordinated and proven method of attack were too much for unorganized and mistake-prone Raiders on Sunday. The two teams did battle, but the well-coached Patriots had far more weapons in their arsenal and the rowdy Raiders put themselves into difficult positions all day. By the end of the day, the Patriots were burning the Jolly Roger and sending the Raiders to the gallows.

Mistakes

How big was the Jason Campbell interception in the red zone? With time ticking down in the first half and the Raiders offense marching down field Campbell threw the ball to a wide open Patrick Chung in the end zone. There wasn’t a receiver within ten yards. Did the ball slip or did Campbell just have a mental lapse? Campbell said he was going to throw the ball away, but at the last second saw Darrius Heyward-Bey get open in the back of the end zone. His body responded to his brain and tried ended up catastrophically merging the two thoughts. It was like that time when I put hazelnut creamer in my orange Zipfizz instead of french vanilla. One tastes like vomit, the other like an orange creamsicle.

Richard Seymour spotted the Patriots 30 yards on the opening drive. Maybe the Patriots score without the yards or maybe they don’t. Seymour should have realized after the very first penalty that the he had to play cleaner than most at least until the officials settled into the flow of the game.T

Blown coverages, missing tackles and not disguising blitzes added to the  Raiders mistakes on Sunday. Everyone asks why Al Davis hates to blitz and Sunday’s game was a good example. If the blitz is picked up, the quarterback has open receivers and/or one-on-one matchups.

Penalties

Will things ever change? Raiders killed themselves with penalties all afternoon. Complaining doesn’t change the outcome or the number of flags thrown. There is no denying the questionable nature of several penalties called against the Raiders, but there is a reason the Raiders are the most penalized team year after year and it has nothing to do with coaching. Reputation kills the Raiders. A small minority of penalties are black and white mental errors that the Raiders can correct with coaching. There simply is no sense in complaining about the penalties because as long as the Raiders image remains, the penalties will remain.

To change the penalties the Raiders have to do nothing more than change their image. Jon Gruden did it, but he may be the only coach to successfully alter the Raider mystique. The Raider mystique is something most fans don’t want to see lost, but for the Raiders to win another Super Bowl it has to go. There is so little margin for error in the NFL that the Raiders can’t afford to battle against two teams on Sunday.

Hue Jackson is trying to reduce the penalties. The best he can hope for is avoidance of mental penalties. Time will tell if that is enough.

Defense

What defense? The Raiders didn’t get a single stop of the Patriots until the Patriots were comfortably in control of the game. The Patriots passed when they wanted to pass and ran when the wanted to run. They did both successfully. While the offense had problems converting yards into points, the defense had problems with yards and points. Bend and break defenses don’t win many games. The Raiders have faced two quality offensive teams this season and were unable to stop either of them for long stretches of the game. The Raiders face a third quality offense in week 5 in the Houston Texans.

Chuck Bresnahan will take the heat, but the players aren’t performing. It isn’t like Bresnahan can drastically alter the defensive scheme with Al Davis around.

Week 4 Preview: Pressure On Raiders Defense

 Posted by at 8:00 AM  No Responses »
Oct 022011
 

It’s all about the defense this Sunday. The performance of the defense will either cement the Raiders as one of the elite teams in the NFL or it will push the Raiders back into mediocrity.

 

Richard Seymour vs Patriots Offensive line

If the success of the defense relays on the play of the defensive line, then everything starts with Richard Seymour. Seymour has been one the most dominant defensive linemen in football for the past decade and is the defensive captain. If Seymour gets penetration early, look for the doors to open up for other linemen. The Patriots offensive line features all-pro Matt Light and Logan Mankins but will be without starting right tackle Sebastian Vollmer. Containing the Patriots passing game starts with Seymour up the middle.

 

Chuck Bresnahan vs Tom Brady

Every defensive scheme has a weakness and Tom Brady will find it if given enough time. The question is can Bresnahan keep Brady guessing? The Raiders must mix up and disguise their coverage well. Bresnahan needs to call blitzes at the right times and find a way to get consistent pressure on Brady. If not, Brady will turn the Raiders injured and inexperienced secondary into Swiss cheese.

 

Raiders Secondary vs Wes Welker

Being Brady’s favorite target, Welker is on path to put up Madden-like numbers. Last week he had 16 catches, 217 yards and had two touchdowns. That is more catches, more yards and more touchdowns than any Raider receiver has so far this season. Welker is the best slot receivers in football. In a perfect world Stanford Routt would stick with Welker, but this is highly unlikely. Welker will move all around the field and will test the entire secondary. The Raiders secondary needs to do a lot of things right to win this match up. The Raiders defensive backs will have their hands full this Sunday.

 

Rob Gronkowski vs Mike Mitchell

Mitchell often has been assigned to receiving tight ends. Even though the Raiders will change-up their coverages, look for Mitchell to be around Gronkowski a lot. With the secondary pummeled with injuries, Mitchell will be relied upon heavily in his return to the playing field. Gronkowski, who is Brady’s second favorite target this season, leads all tight ends in catches, reception and touchdowns. Mitchell will be tested early and often.

 

Rolondo McClain/Quentin Groves vs Danny Woodhead/ BenJarvus Green-Ellis

Woodhead’s versatility could pose problems for the Raiders linebackers. BenJarvus Green-Ellis is an 1,000 yard rusher and often overlooked in the Patriots pass happy offense. Even though McClain and Groves both have made progress this year and have made some plays, both are still inconsistent. This is a match up the Raiders have to win.

 

Jason Campbell vs Patriots secondary

With Darren McFadden running all over the Jets last weekend, the Patriots will try to stuff the box to test Campbell’s consistency. Campbell needs to make the Patriots pay for loading the box and over playing the run. So far this year Campbell has been very dependable. Expect Campbell to spread the ball around and to take advantage of the league’s worst pass defense. To win this game, Campbell needs to be clutch.

 

Darren McFadden vs Patriots front seven

New England ranks last in total defense but have a respectable rush defense. Most teams pass on them, but those teams don’t have Darren McFadden. The Raiders will need McFadden to pound the football, pick up first downs and control the clock. The Raiders need to win the time of possession battle and that rests mostly with the success of Darren McFadden/

 

Hue Jackson vs, Bill Belichick

For the Raiders to win Hue Jackson must outwit Belichick. These two playcallers will match wits when the Raiders have the ball. Belichick’s defense has been atrocious, Jackson’s offense has been great. Belichick will likely have to load up the box to stop Oakland’s running game. For the Raiders to win, Hue needs to call the right plays to maintain long drives and make Belichick pay for sneaking up a safety.

Don’t forget to check out Bram Makonda’s Raiders Fantasy Outlook.

Week 4 Raiders Fantasy Outlook

 Posted by at 12:41 AM  No Responses »
Oct 022011
 

Quarterback

In one of the toughest match-ups, and one of the most historical, on the Raiders’ schedule, Jason Campbell has a lot on his shoulders. The vast majority of the sports world has Brady in the top NFL quarterbacks of all-time, let alone this season. However, their D was shown up by the Bills’ offense, and they’re on the road. Campbell has been steadily improving, but when it comes to Fantasy numbers, this won’t be his best week. The Raiders like to run the ball, which they will do a lot, but this means most of Campbell’s passes will be short tosses to McFadden. He’ll put up standard numbers (150-200 yards) in a fairly low scoring game. Look for some consistent points from him this week, but nothing earth shattering. Belichick has said they studied the Raiders very hard since the teams haven’t met in four years, which means Campbell may need a few tricks up his sleeve.

Running Backs

Play Darren McFadden! Unless you’ve been living under a rock, this is obvious. The Patriots’ run defense is ranked tenth in the NFL, but he’s the number one rusher overall in the league. He’ll get decent yardage, but the big points will be scored on short passes, which he’s been working on this week in practice. The tightness in his groin from Sunday will be nothing to worry about. Michael Bush is a good number three running back on your roster, if you need one for your WR/RB. He’s been getting carries, but once converted to Fantasy points, it’s nothing to write home about.

Wide Receivers

Denarious Moore is a star in the making. The question coming into Week 4 is how he will grow into the role with Jacoby Ford back in the fold. Know this about Moore: he is the second offensive playmaker behind Darren McFadden. If you own Moore in one of most of your leagues and are fretting about his depth chart position or targets, take comfort in the fact that many teams will try to limit Run DMC’s effectiveness and that can only benefit Moore. In my eyes, he is a low end WR2 and a WR3 with a ton of upside. If you’re looking for that extra punch in your lineup plug and play him without hesitation.

The other Raiders WRs are better left alone for now. If you drafted or invested early on in Jacoby Ford, monitor his progress closely this week against the Patriots.

Tight Ends

Kevin Boss’ role within this offense will continue to grow. However, this week there are better options in fantasy. This year especially, the TE position is fairly deep and you can gain value in how other teams are utilizing their tight ends. Boss helps the run game tremendously and his pass-catching abilities will be slowly introduced.

Defense/Special Teams

I would caution against using the Raiders D/ST this week against the Patsy Patriots. QB Tom Brady will put the points on the board with relative ease the same manner that Ryan Fitzpatrick did in Week 2. There are great options out there such as Tampa Bay vs. the Colts on Monday night. Curtis Painter gets the start in that game, enough said.

Kicker

Nothing to see here, Sebastian Janikowski is a fantasy must start every week the Raiders play. No dirt this week bumps his value up just a little more.

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.

 

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