Jets @ Raiders: The Week 3 Preview

 Posted by at 9:56 AM  No Responses »
Sep 252011
 

On Offense by Brandon Dwonch

The Raiders offense has been hitting on all cylinders. Week 1 saw Darren McFadden run for 150 yards. Week 2 showcased the Raiders vertical passing game as Jason Campbell passed for 323 yards and hooked up with Denarius Moore for 146. McFadden could not be the second leading rusher in the NFL nor could Campbell be performing this well if not for the offensive line. The make shift offensive line is exceeding expectations and deserves recognition. The offensive line is creating holes, finishing blocks and keeping Campbell upright and clean.

This week the offensive line faces their stiffest test yet. The Jets’ defensive front seven is stout and only giving up 88 rushing yards per game. By comparison the Raiders defense is allowing 130 rushing yards a game. Even though the Jets front seven might be a little overrated, they and their coordinator cannot be taken lightly. Make no mistake, the Jets are a defensive team.

This is a match up of strength vs. strength. In order to win, the Raiders offense must remain balanced and efficient. This means the Raiders need to establish their physical presence in the trenches but also attack Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and the Jets secondary. If the Raiders can run for over 125 yards and pass for over 175 the offensive line would have “bullied” the Jets front seven.

 

On Defense by Brandon Dwonch

The Jets were a team for years that relied heavily on the run but so far this year they are trying to air it out. In two games this season the Jets have gained a paltry 146 rushing yards on a meager 48 attempts. With 32 of those attempts and 101 of those yards coming in a blowout win over Jacksonville. On the other hand, the Raiders average 35 rushing attempts and 160 rushing yards a game. With the Raiders allowing over 200 rushing yards last week, the Jets’ offensive approach might change. With the Jets being without their starting center Nick Mangold, expect the Raiders defensive line, led by Richard Seymour and Tommy Kelly, to come out hungry to prove themselves and have a great game in front of a sold out coliseum.

Look for Mark Sanchez to test the Raiders questionable secondary. This Jets passing game revolves around Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress and Dustin Keller and Holmes and Keller are both serious threats. The Raiders for years have struggled covering good receiving tight ends. Keller is in the top three at his position in the AFC in receptions, yards and touchdowns and could take over this game. The Raiders cannot afford to let Keller get on a roll.

The Raiders could do themselves a favor by assigning Stanford Routt to shadow Holmes, but this is highly unlikely. Routt, who currently owns the lowest completion percentage against in the NFL at 28% (4/14), has earned a chance to create his own island. It is time to see the coverage in the secondary consistently rolled towards Chris Johnson or Demarcus Van Dyke’s side. For the Raiders secondary to improve they need to figure out and fix their defensive communication problems. They need to line up correctly and stick to their assignment. If not, it will be a very long game against the fundamentally sound Jets.

For the Raiders to win this game their secondary must produce. Somebody in the secondary needs to step up and make plays. If the Raiders defense holds Holmes and Keller’s combined receiving yardage under 100 and Mark Sanchez under 215 passing yards, they would have done their job very well and will give the Raiders a great chance for victory.

 

Matchups by Chris Hansen

Richard Seymour and Tommy Kelly vs. Rookie Center Colin Baxter

Nick Mangold didn’t make the trip to Oakland. The undrafted rookie will start at center and face two of the best defensive tackles in the league. If Seymour and Kelly can apply pressure to Mark Sanchez up the middle, the Raiders have a good chance to disrupt the Jets’ pass and run game.

 

Kamerion Wimbley vs. Wayne Hunter

Another week and another right tackle for Wimbley to feast on. Putting pressure on Sanchez and forcing errors will be a key to victory. Wimbley should have another fun afternoon harassing the quarterback and should record his first sack of the year on Sunday.

 

Santonio Holmes vs. Stanford Routt

Although the Raiders aren’t likely to shadow Holmes with Routt, this is still a key matchup. Holmes is the flanker and as such will likely lineup across from Routt more than not. The Raiders must not have a repeat of what happened in week 2 and neutralizing Holmes needs to be their primary focus.

 

Dustin Keller vs. The Secondary

The Raiders may deploy several options to stop Keller which may include using Jerome Boyd, another safety or an extra cornerback. Keller presents the Raiders with challenges in coverage and the Raiders will likely initially counter with Boyd. This is the first game the Raiders will really need Boyd to step in and play like Mike Mitchell in 2010, covering tight ends and becoming a linebacker to stuff the run when needed.

 

D’Brickashaw Ferguson vs. Matt Shaughnessy

It’s a big game for Shaughnessy as he faces his first elite left tackle of the season. If Shaughnessy is going to become a pro bowl-type player these are the games were he needs to shine. Ferguson is a tall tackle at 6’6″ and Shaughnessy should do whatever he can to get underneath him to gain leverage. Sanchez will have a tough afternoon if he gets pressure from both sides.

 

Raiders Offensive Line vs. Jets Front Seven

It’s tough to point out any one player from these units that needs to play well, but Samson Satele will have his hands full with Sione Pouha the big nose tackle. Satele has played well, but has struggled in the past with good nose tackles. If Satele can handle Pouha without significant help from Stefen Wisniewski or Cooper Carlile, the two guards will be free to take on blitzing linebackers like Bart Scott and Calvin Pace. This is the greatest test of the Raiders new look offensive line and the two tackles will always be under the most pressure. Jared Veldheer and Khalif Barnes will need to diagnose blitzes on the outside and pick up the inside man to allow Jason Campbell to step up into the pocket.

 

Denarius Moore vs. Darrelle Revis

Will the Jets shadow the rookie with one of the best cornerbacks in the league? They might try to limit the rookie and force the Raiders other receivers to beat them. It’s a tough matchup for any rookie. If Moore can beat Revis for a couple his hype train may never stop.

 

Derek Hagan/Chaz Schilens vs. Kyle Wilson

It’s either Derek Hagan or Chaz Schilens for the Raiders against the Jets slot corner Kyle Wilson. The Jets slot corner has been targeted more than any other team through the first two weeks. Revis and Antonio Cromartie have limited opponents number one and two receivers leaving the slot corner as the best option. Look for the Raiders third receivers to play an important role in this game.

 

Kevin Boss vs. Blitzing Linebackers

It’s the debut for Boss in Silver and Black and it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. The Jets like to throw crazy looks at the opposing quarterbacks and will send at least one linebacker to rush the passer. Boss will need to find the soft spot vacated by the rusher and Campbell will need to deliver the ball to Boss in the face of a rush. If accomplished the Raiders will effectively take away the linebacker lined up across from Boss and this will make it easier to diagnose blitzes as they will likely come from the weak side. The Raiders may try to do the same on the weak side by running screens to Darren McFadden. It is often more effective to burn the blitz on a pass than max protect, particularly when the opposing defense has Revis and Cromartie.

 

Hue Jackson vs. Rex Ryan

They both want bullies, but only one can be a bully on Sunday. Who will it be?  The Jets defense is aggressive and the Jackson may call a few misdirection plays and see if he can’t get some of his speed out in the open. Jackson needs to have his players on the same page to diagnose Ryan’s defensive looks that can give offenses fits. The bully this Sunday will be the coach who outsmart the man on the other side of the field.

 

Score Prediction: Raiders 20, Jets 19.

 

 

 

Gut Check

 Posted by at 1:00 PM  1 Response »
Sep 232011
 

After a week one win, on Monday night, against a division rival, the Raiders and the Raider Nation were flying high. The opening game curse was broken, the Prime Time curse was broken, Hue Jackson was 1-0 as a head coach, and the Raiders were back. Week 2 has brought everyone back down to earth a little. Welcome to the first, but probably not last time the Raiders have to look in the mirror and decide what kind of team they are going to be this year.

Hue Jackson had a lot of time this off-season to say what he wanted to say. Get his message across to everyone. The time for talk, however, is now in the past. This is a different Raiders team under Hue Jackson, but one win on Monday Night Football is not going to convince anyone. He has to get his persona to show through his players. That’s what good coaches do. Rex Ryan is able to get his attitude to show through his players on the field. Bill Belichick is able to get his players to always be right mentally. Mike Tomlin has his players always playing with a nasty edge.  Hue Jackson says he is “building a bully”  so he has to find a way to get that attitude to show through his players on Sunday or it’s just words. Gut check coach Hue Jackson, bullies get even.

The offense is playing with the “next man up” philosophy and have been impressive. Jason Campbell is playing his best football as a pro, making good decisions, trusting in his guys, being a leader, and most importantly throwing the ball well. Don’t forget that just about all his weapons on offense have been out at some point too. Darren McFadden, broken orbital bone. Michael Bush, not signed right away and arrived at training camp late. Jacoby Ford, broken hand and now out with hamstring injury. Louis Murphy, sports hernia surgery. Darrius Heyward-Bey, had a mysterious injury to start camp, and now has a knee injury. Chaz Schilens, suffered a knee injury in preseason. Kevin Boss, has a sprained MCL. Taiwan Jones, had hamstring issues that kept him out most of camp.

With all that going on Campbell has led this team and has played pretty well. That is a tremendous positive and should not be overlooked. The offense did what they had to do Sunday versus the Bills only to come away with a loss. The defenses will only get tougher the more film there is and the surprise factor is gone. Now the Raiders have to find a way to keep scoring and not start to breakdown like in years past. Gut check time offense, after putting up 35 in a losing effort, will you follow it up or take a step back?

The defense had a stats party week one. They shut down the run, had 5 sacks, they were creating turnovers, their blitzes were getting home and they felt invincible. That feeling carried over into the Bills game as well. At least for the first half. Then came one of the biggest drop offs on defense in recent memory. The Bills had the ball five times in the second half and scored five touchdowns. The Raiders had no answer. They had opportunities just like in week one, but this time, they didn’t cash in. They couldn’t get anything to go right, and at the end of the game they were left thinking to themselves “What just happened?” IT’S GUT CHECK TIME! The kind of games like the one last Sunday defines teams. They can accept that they were exposed or take it personally and make it right.

Winning is easy; losing teaches you about yourself.

Raiders Week 3 Fantasy Preview

 Posted by at 9:56 AM  No Responses »
Sep 232011
 

Alright fantasy football die-hards, if you are looking for information regarding the Raiders players, you’ve come to the right place. Each week we will break down the fantasy impacts of the Silver and Black in case you own any or most of them.

There were no major injuries to speak of when it comes to the skill positions and the only area where the injury bug has hit seems to be in the Wide Receiver position as was the case last week. Notable returns this week include the enigmatic Darrius Heyward-Bey and Tight End Kevin Boss, which will be discussed in our picks.

 

Running Backs

This week you need to start both Darren McFadden and Michael Bush. McFadden isn’t at the top of his game, but he has been practicing and will play. As long as he’s on that field, you better believe that he will be carrying the ball (and hopefully holding onto it). Expect him to put up similar numbers to last week, around 60-70 total yards. Since McFadden is a bit banged up, Bush will get more carries than usual, and most likely close to the end zone (hello six-point gimme). He’ll at least hit the 30 yard mark, if not more, depending on how McFadden is at game time. The Raiders staff is being overly cautious with McFadden during the week, thus the limited participation in practice, but he should be fine moving forward. Consider Run DMC a must-start in all formats and Bush to be a low-end flex starter in deep leagues.

 

Quarterbacks

Jason Campbell is clearly the better quarterback in this match up. His completion percentage is slightly higher than Mark Sanchez and he’s thrown less interceptions and only one less touchdown, but that’s mostly due to the fact that the Raiders have been running the ball. Look for him to throw about 200 yards and at least one touchdown.

 

Wide Receivers

Here’s the one area that many fantasy players will be curious to see. If you were lucky enough to nab Denarius Moore, this position will be in flux all year long. Currently, Jacoby Ford and Louis Murphy is battling injury and will not see action vs. the Jets. Darius Heyward-Bey, however is primed to go this week. As a savvy owner, I watched the situation last week and when DHB was a no-go, I inserted Moore into my WR3 and was handsomely rewarded. In fantasy, it’s all about opportunity and Moore is primed to breakout. This week, however, be a little bit more cautious. Coach Hue Jackson has expressed that Moore is locked into more playing time, but the matchup vs. the best cornerback tandem in Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie should give Moore owners pause for concern. Moore will not be sneaking up on anybody in this matchup and should be reserved. If anything, the return of DHB should justify you benching him for this week. Not the greatest of news for owners who were lucky enough to get him through the waiver wire, but after the Jets the Raiders will play the Patriots, Texans, Browns and Chiefs in Week 4-7. These are all WR-friendly matchups and he should reap the benefits then.

 

Tight End

Kevin Boss is in line to make his return this year and should be reserved this week on a wait and see approach. However, as the season progresses, he should be productive catching passes in the middle as part of the run-heavy, possession game the Raiders employ. Keep an eye on him this year as he could be valuable in Points-Per-Reception leagues.

 

Kicker

Sebastian Janikowski should be in line for a productive day as the Raiders square off against a formidable defense. If the offense stalls, look for Seabass to chip in from all over the field. If you own him, this is a no-brainer. Conversely, the Jets kicker Nick Folk could see plenty of action as well with the struggling Sanchez and ineffective Shonn Greene in the backfield.

 

Defense

The Raiders defense was gashed last week by the Bills and should be reserved in fantasy in favor for a better matchup. The Jets is a weekly play despite the opponent. My suggestions would be any defense playing against the Seahawks and the Chiefs, which would be the Cardinals and Chargers defense this week.

Davis Has Given Jackson Tools For Offensive Success

 Posted by at 12:00 PM  No Responses »
Sep 212011
 

Can you remember when the Raiders were without a real deep threat? On multiple occasions the Raiders had a roster filled with receivers who could only run in a straight line? The Raiders also had their fair share of divas at the position. Remember when Oakland’s pass offense revolved around dump offs and check downs? Remember when it seemed Justin Fargas was the only reliable weapon the Raiders had?

Do you remember all the years Zach Miller led the Raiders in receptions and receiving yardage? Do you remember feeling the entire Raiders team squawk after Miller signed with Seattle?

I am sure you remember the excitement in the media when the Raiders announced that Kevin Boss had picked Oakland over his other suitors. All the articles stated, “Well, he is a better blocker,” and Al Davis let a pro bowl tight end slip away. The Raiders were blasted for letting Miller go to Seattle and accused of taking Miller’s talent for granted. Kevin Boss has yet to play a snap and the Raiders haven’t skipped a beat on offense.

The Raiders offense has actually greatly improved since Miller’s departure. The Raiders are averaging over 370 yards and 29 points a game while averaging 5.9 yards per play so far this season. The Raiders boast the second leading running back in the NFL and even with four offensive players inactive, the Raiders still posted 454 total yards. If the defense can ever play consistently the Raiders will be a playoff team.

The truth is, with as many weapons as the Raiders have, even Brandon Myers would have the fans forgetting about Zach Miller. Did Al Davis know something we did not? Given an off-season with no workouts that his offense would gel together without relying on a premium tight end? Not signing Zach Miller saved Al Davis up to 20 million dollars and given the offensive production thus far that money can be put to better use on the defensive side of the ball.

Al Davis had faith in Jason Campbell. Davis gave Campbell the weapons and a coach to get the best out of him. Davis knows that Campbell, like Michael Bush, is in his contract year. Players generally perform their best in contract years. Even with a list of injures, the Raiders have playmakers. If rookie Denarius Moore receives the playing time he deserves he might have more yards than Julio Jones and A.J. Green combined.

Al Davis record of failures is long, but few give Davis credit for success. Give Davis the credit, he saw something in this offense and saved a lot of money by signing Kevin Boss instead of Zach Miller.

No Time To Panic

 Posted by at 11:24 AM  No Responses »
Sep 202011
 

Sunday proved that the Raiders offense is good even with their starting receivers out. Jacoby Ford, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Louis Murphy, and Kevin Boss were all out. Surely they would struggle.  Jason Campbell showed that he may be  the Raiders quarterback for years to come. He made big throw after big throw. Rookie Denarius Moore had is coming out party in this game and could be the number one receiver the Raiders have needed for years. Once Ford and Boss are healthy, this offense will be explosive.

Nick Miller has proven nothing in the kick and punt return game. He should never return kicks again. Chris Johnson also proved that he can’t play man-to-man. He is no better than last year and gets worse every game. I would rather re-sign Lito Sheppard than continue to watch Johnson look like Demarcus Van Dyke did against the Saints. The defense looked great in the first half and looked they gave up the second half. They couldn’t stop the run or the pass. No pressure on the quarterback at all. The “bully” only showed up on offense. The Bills  offensive line bullied the Raiders front seven from the second half kick off till the final embarrassing drive.

What can Raiders fans take from this bad lost?

1. Denarius Moore is a legit receiver.

2. More zone and less man to stop the run.

3. Chris Johnson needs to play the slot and not the edge.

4. Darren Mcfadden is the best player in the west.

5. The offensive line is becoming a dominant force.

6.  Jason Campbell is for now our best option at quarterback for the next two to three years.

7. The defense needs to get into better shape; they appeared to be worn down late in the third quarter.

8. The path to playoffs just got harder, but not impossible.

9. The Raiders need to step up at home against the Jets and be 2-1 going into the Patriots game the following week.

10. If the Raiders can have 2-2 or 3-1 record after week four they will still have a great shot of making the playoffs. To do this though, the Raiders will have to end the bad streak of losing outside the AFC West. Can they do this? Only if the “Bully” shows up on defense for sixty minutes. If they don’t, it could be panic time after week four.

 Older Entries  Newer Entries