Studs and Duds From Week 7

 Posted by at 12:32 PM  No Responses »
Oct 252011
 

Studs

Michael Bush

While he was stone-walled at the goal line by Derrick Johnson three times he still managed to put up a very respectable game with 99 rushing yards on 17 carries. That’s a very healthy 5.8 yards per carry. He managed a respectable game despite little to no threat passing and an early two score deficit. He wasn’t amazing, but no one was on Sunday.

Darrius Heyward-Bey

He snarred another 5 balls for 89 yards and he’s the Raiders leading receiver and it isn’t close. Heyward-Bey is on pace for over 1100 yards receiving on 72 receptions. Over the past four games Heyward-Bey is averaging 96 yards and 6 receptions. If that trend continues he’ll finish the season with 82 receptions for nearly 1400 yards. It probably will not continue at the same level, but it is worth noting. Ten receivers finished the 2010 season with more than 1100 yards and only Brandon Lloyd finished 2010 with more than 1400 yards. The sample is still relatively small, but Heyward-Bey may have finally arrived. 

Aaron Curry

Flying around and consistently around the ball. He hasn’t looked as lost in coverage as he did in Seattle. The Raiders turned in another solid performance against the run and Curry was a big part of it. The Raiders have been playing a lot of big nickel and Curry isn’t a part of it, but what the Raiders have asked him to do he has done well. Let’s hope it continues as he gets more and more comfortable in the defense.

Demarcus Van Dyke

 He did allow a few receptions, but he was targeted a lot and had pretty solid coverage most of the game. Obviously he is a rookie so he is still learning things. He showed more willingness to tackle and use his body on Sunday. He’s thinly built, but he’ll get bigger and can’t shy away from contact. Rod Woodson and Kevin Ross have done a good job with the Raiders young corners. It wasn’t a great game for him, but it was a good game and worthy of recognition.

Honorable Mentions: Tyvon Branch, Stanford Routt, Lamarr Houston

 

Duds

Kyle Boller

It would be easy to write and entire post here about how poor Boller played. He locked onto receivers, he made bad decisions. There just isn’t a lot to say. If the Raiders have their way he wont start again and he shouldn’t.

Hue Jackson

Just for talking large and then letting his team put up a goose egg is enough for dud status this week for the Raiders leader. He’s wearing a lot of hats now and made a spectacle of the Raiders acquisition of Carson Palmer. Then there was a decision on who to start at quarterback and some shoddy playcalling. Hue did just about everything wrong last week, but those same moves are genius if the Raiders win. That’s just life as a coach that talks a big game. He’s only seven games into his head coaching career and will rebound from the loss and learn from some of his mistakes.

Denarius Moore

Four of the six interceptions were in the direction of Denarius Moore including one that bounced off his chest. Perhaps the quarterbacks placed a little too much confidence that Moore would “make a play” and it seems like there was a communication issue and a poorly run route among the interceptions. Boller has to make the right decisions, but Moore wasn’t helping on Sunday.

Jared Veldheer

At least one of the interceptions was the result of pressure from Tamba Hali. Hali bull rushed Veldheer and blew through him giving Boller less than two seconds to make his read. He was blown into the backfield numerous times and failed to get enough of a push at the goaline to open up things for Bush on the wildcat run that would have made it 14-7. He’s had a very good season, but he struggled with Hali.

Dishonorable mention: Carson Palmer, Samson Satele

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Studs and Duds From Week 5

 Posted by at 8:00 AM  1 Response »
Oct 112011
 

An emotional win. A big win. The Raiders made it through the toughest stretch of the schedule 3-2. Now the Raiders have a month at home and play three unspectacular teams. Two are division foes and anything can happen. Raiders have plenty of things to work on in practice this week and the coaching staff will not let the players look past the Cleveland Browns.

A few players really stood out in the Raiders win and a few, well, didn’t.

 

Studs

Lamarr Houston

Pushed the pile all day long and had the awareness to make the interception on one of the many Matt Schaub tips. Houston had a heck of game in Houston as did the rest of the defensive line. The Raiders really needed the defensive line to take over the game and the Raiders defensive line did just that and Houston was a big part of the Raiders day. Honorable Mention: John Henderson

Tommy Kelly

He had the worst game of his career against the Texans the last time he faced them, but one of his best this Sunday. The Texans had no answer for the Raiders bigs pushing the offensive line into Schaub’s lap. Kelly was pushing the pocket and sealing Arian Foster out of running lanes. A motivated Tommy Kelly is one heck of a football player. He proved that again on Sunday.

Richard Seymour

Three studs on the Raiders defensive line. They deserved it and you could really give a stud mention to this entire unit. Seymour applied tremendous pressure up the middle with Kelly and any yardage Foster gained didn’t come through the middle. Seymour had a sack and was beating double teams which prompted the Raiders to blitz Rolando McClain up the middle which disrupted Schaub even more. Al Davis traded a first round pick for Seymour and to this point he has been worth it and then some.

Darrius Heyward-Bey

Heyward-Bey had 99 yards on six receptions on Sunday with one touchdown and was two out-of-bounds throws by Jason Campbell from nine receptions for 150+ yards and a touchdown. Did I mention Heyward-Bey is also a great blocker? Heyward-Bey played his best game as a professional on Sunday. Heyward-Bey played with the kind of swagger great receivers play with and his profile with the Raider Nation is turning in his favor.

Michael Huff & Tyvon Branch

The Raiders starting safeties had some tough moments, but Branch had a few key tackles and kept Schaub from walking into the end zone on the game’s final play. Huff stepped in from of Schaub’s final pass to seal the big win for the Raiders. That’s enough to get stud recognition despite the team’s struggles covering backs out of the backfield and covering the Texans tight ends.

Rock Cartwright

Not only was the guy all over the field on kick coverage, but he checked to the fake on the punt that gave the Raiders new life and kept the momentum in the Raiders favor. He’s the Raiders special teams captain and he plays like one. He’s quickly become on of my favorite Raiders to watch. Just watch him work on special teams because it is a thing of beauty.

 

Duds

Stanford Routt

Gave up too many catches for an “elite” cornerback. The Patriots ran a quick slant that Routt wasn’t able to defend and the Texans took advantage of the same play to get their first score. He’s still clearly the Raiders best corner, but he’s not playing at an amazingly high level that is making the team forget about Nnamdi Asomugha. That’s troubling, because the two players are making about the same amount.

Quentin Groves

The 12-men on the field penalty on the final drive was a direct result of Groves lack of hustle to get off the field and it cost the Raiders crucial time at the end of the game. Groves also blew his coverage assignment on Texans fullback Lawrence Vickers only for Vickers to drop the sure touchdown. Groves was nowhere to be found when Arian Foster was catching swing passes out of the backfield. He’s still rounding into form as a linebacker, but he isn’t good enough to make up for his own mistakes.

Jason Campbell

Forced too many throws and didn’t always give his receivers a chance to catch the ball. Way too many missed receivers. He missed Chaz Schilens on the flea flicker and threw several passes to Heyward-Bey and Denarius Moore that took the receivers out of pounds or where just too far out of reach. Campbell made enough plays to redeem himself and the touchdown pass to Schilens was a highlight, but he has to play better for the Raiders offense to take the next step. The next step for the Raiders offense is producing when Darren McFadden isn’t putting up be yardage on the ground.

Taiwan Jones

He redeemed himself with a big special teams tackle on Shane Lechler’s final punt, but he committed a penalty and was getting into Denarius Moore’s way on punt returns. The Texans special teams units pushed Jones back into Moore as well. Jones can’t stay active on gameday without his special teams ability, so the Raiders will continue putting him into position to make a play on special teams. Let’s hope his stop on special teams is the real Jones.

The Raiders Linebacker Problem

 Posted by at 8:00 AM  4 Responses »
Oct 062011
 

The strength of the Raiders defense as everyone knows is the defensive line. It is anchored by six-time pro-bowler Richard Seymour and 300-pounder Tommy Kelly. The defensive line also features two young stout defensive ends, Matt Shaugnessey and Lamarr Houston. This season has also featured plays by run stuffing 330 pounder John Henderson and a resurgent Jarvis Moss. This unit is the undeniable strength of the defense.

Coming into this season the biggest question regarding the Raiders defense was in the secondary. With Nnamdi leaving, the spotlight has been on Stanford Routt and he has quietly delivered. Tyvon Branch has made his fair share of plays, but he’s still working to improve his consistency. These two starters of the secondary are the only two starters that have stayed healthy and that played four games. Michael Huff, Chris Johnson, Mike Mitchell and DeMarcus Van Dyke have all missed time and the backups have played like backups. Once these four players return the play and potential of the secondary unit will come into focus.

What about the linebackers? Coming into the season, they were neither the strength of the defense nor the weakness. This unit has two former 1st round picks in Rolondo McClain and Kamerion Wimbley and a 2nd round pick in Quentin Groves. Since week 1, the Raiders linebackers have been struggling. The biggest problem with this unit is that Wimbley and Groves were both drafted into this league primarily on their pass rushing abilities and not their outside linebacker skills. Both of these men, are outside rush linebackers in a 3-4 system or a defensive end in the nickel or dime in passing situations. The problem with this unit is that Groves and Wimbley are not 4-3 outside linebackers.

McClain is a work in progress. Some plays, he makes a pass deflection or he makes the correct read, fills the correct gap and stuffs the run. But too often, he is slow to react, plays too high, takes bad angles and is easily sealed off. McClain can be a quality run stuffing middle linebacker but right now he needs his outside linebacker to back him up when he makes mistakes. Unfortunately for McClain, his outside linebackers are not linebackers who fit the system. This season is not the season to give up on McClain, the Raiders are putting him a very difficult position.

Wimbley and Groves can still find a home with the Raiders. Groves is not a financial liability and could actually provide quality depth in the linebacker or defensive line unit. Given that he isn’t relayed upon to produce as the starting outside linebacker. Wimbley, whose new contract is deserved, is his best and provides the most value when played at defensive end.

With Groves and Wimbley at outside linebacker the Raiders are trying to put a square peg in a round hole. Wimbley and Groves provide another example of how Al Davis loves size and speed. Having Wimbley and Groves start at outside linebacker is an experiment. This experiment has resulted in the Raiders owning the worst run defense in the league. Groves and Wimbley both need to quickly complete the transformation into quality 4-3 outside linebackers. If not, Oakland’s run defense will continue to be embarrassed and the Raiders will have to give up the experiment. If the Raiders are to win the AFC West and be playoff team, something has to change.

Studs & Duds From Week 2

 Posted by at 8:00 AM  2 Responses »
Sep 212011
 

The pain of defeat had a nasty sting to it Sunday when the Raiders blew a big lead in the second half and were downed by the Bills in the final minute.

This game, unlike the first game, had many more standout performances. Unfortunately for the Raiders, some of the performances were horrible. Fortunately,  many are correctable. Luckily, the team now comes home for five out of the next six games where they were 5-3 a year ago. Thankfully, the Raiders found out important things about their team in the process.

Studs

Denarius Moore

Yes, the rookie can play. He proved it Sunday. It’s going to be hard for the Raiders to keep him off the field. Who’s playing time does he cut into? It would be logical for him to cut into Darrius Heyward-Bey’s time, but that won’t be the case. Most of the damage done by Moore was from the Z receiver position. Jacoby Ford plays this position. Certainly the Raiders will not rob from Ford to give to Moore.

Moore is cut into the playing time of the Raiders third receiver. Chaz Schilens is holding down the third receiver role, but things get more complicated when Louis Murphy is healthy. That pushes down Derek Hagan even further on the depth chart.

Jason Campbell

Probably one of the best games of his career. He was comfortable with the Raiders receivers even with Ford, Heyward-Bey and Murphy out with injuries. Campbell is proving that when given time he can deliver. He was far from perfect, but it was the passing game that kept the Raiders second half meltdown on defense from looking even worse. Even Darren McFadden looked human with a critical fumble. Jason Campbell made the Raiders offense go on Sunday to the tune of 25 points.

Darren McFadden

143 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. He was overshadowed by the rookie Moore and his critical fumble. It wasn’t a great day rushing for McFadden as he rushed for just 3.6 yards per carry, but he proved yet again to be a versatile weapon contributing a 10+ yards average per reception. If McFadden continues to put up 150 yards per week he’ll continue being listed with the Studs. He’s vitally important to the Raiders offense.

Stanford Routt

Recorded his first interception on a great read of Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Bills mostly stayed away from him after that. He’s playing well and was the only guy on the field that could cover Stevie Johnson. Naturally the Bills lined Johnson up on Chris Johnson and Michael Huff. Routt was the only stud on defense in week two.

 

Duds

Rolando McClain

Missing tackles are not something you want to see from your middle linebacker. McClain lead the team in tackles and made a nice deflection on a seam route pass that would have been a touchdown. It wasn’t all bad, but McClain needs to get better quickly. Poor angles, incorrect reads and missed tackles aren’t going to be tolerated for long. He’s a sophomore and he’s still learning, but linebackers unlike receivers are typically coming into their own in their second season. McClain needs to show he is coming into his own and soon.

I incorrectly assigned the blame for the game-winning touchdown to Rolando McClain. I had assumed the Raiders were in zone coverage. This was incorrect, McClain’s responsibility was the running back. So while it was a bad game from McClain it wasn’t as bad as I initially believed.

Chris Johnson

In fact, the poor coverage on the last Bills touchdown was the responsibility of Chris Johnson. Johnson also couldn’t cover Stevie Johnson most of the day. He was repeatedly beat in the passing game. Normally Johnson’s risk-taking way serve him well and he’ll give up plays, but make a few as well. That wasn’t the case Sunday. The pressure from the loss of Nnamdi Asomugha was placed on Stanford Routt, but in reality it is Johnson who was taking over at cornerback for the all-pro. Johnson immediately took to Twitter to take responsibility for his place and vowed to get better. The Raiders need him, behind him is youth and inexperience.

Pass Rush

What happened? Five sacks to zero sacks. The Raiders have Kamerion Wimbley, Lamarr Houston, Richard Seymour, Matt Shaughnessy, and Tommy Kelly and none could break through the Bills offensive front and put pressure on Ryan Fitzpatrick. As with many quarterbacks, Fitzpatrick can carve up a secondary with no rush. That’s just what happened Sunday in Buffalo. After obliterating the Broncos offensive line in week one the “vaunted” Raiders front four did nothing in week two. They should be hungry in week three and let’s hope they eat the offensive line and the quarterback and not a hot dog.

Nick Miller

Slip, slip, thud no way you should be a returner, bud.

 

Tale of the tape: Raiders @ Bills Preview

 Posted by at 4:20 PM  No Responses »
Sep 162011
 

For two teams looking to turn things a whole culture around, the Oakland Raiders and the Buffalo Bills meet in what is bound to be an early statement game.

After demolishing their Week 1 opponents (41-7 in favor of the Bills over the struggling Chiefs and the 23-20 win of the Raiders over the physically outmatched Broncos), both teams are looking to state their case as the up-and-coming team in the AFC by coming out of the gates fast.

One can argue that these two teams are night and day schematically and aesthetically (the new-look Bills all white look and the Silver and Black of the Raiders). The Bills relies on a short-passing attack by on offense behind QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Raiders employ a hard-running attack behind one of the most complete backs in the NFL Darren McFadden.

On defense the two teams are also night and day, with the Bills being stout in the secondary while having a solid but not great defensive line, while the Raiders are dominant in the front seven and are still trying to compensate for the hole left by Nnamdi Asomugha (Stanford Routt looks great thus far).

Here are some key matchups to keep an eye on in the duration of the game that can tip the balance one way or the other.

Darren McFadden vs. Shawne Merriman and Bills Secondary

When Run DMC gets past that first level of defenders (because we know he will as he averaged 12 yards per carry in runs equal to or over 4 yards vs. the Broncos), will the secondary and linebacker Shawn Merriman be able to limit his yards after contact? In last week’s game vs. the Broncos, Run DMC lowered his pads and finished off tough runs to punish defenders and it had an impact as the game wore on. Employing a successful running attack will go a long way into dictating the game in the Raiders’ advantage.

Ryan Fitzpatrick vs. Oakland Secondary

Fitzpatrick is a mentally tough and prepared quarterback. Going back to last year, he doesn’t get fazed or rattled by pressure and stands tall in the pocket to throw intermediary passes to his favorite target Stevie Johnson. We wondered how he was going to fare after losing receiver Lee Evans to Baltimore, but he turned to no-named guys like tight end Scott Chandler along with reciever David Nelson and Donald Jones into reliable targets vs. the Chiefs to the tune of 4 passing touchdowns. If the Raiders do not get consistent pressure on against Fitzpatrick, he has the ability to carve up a defense. Look for Richard Seymour, Lamarr Houston and Matt Shaughnessy to concentrate on getting to the Fitzpatrick in this game.

Marcel Reece vs. Bills Defense

In a heavy-run attack the Raiders employ, the fullback is the key to the engine that makes the whole thing go. Aside from that, Reece is showing flashes that he is as capable of becoming a weapon in the same way the Chargers use Mike Tolbert. Analysts and pundits have all expressed that the NFL is shifting towards a passing league and defenses are loading up on playmakers in the secondary and not turning to upgrade their line backing corps (see Eagles free-agency 2011).

Utilizing a bruiser with nimble feet and soft hands can devastate a defense. Reece is fully capable in that role and he can be counted on to move the chains due to injuries in the Raiders receiving corps. Over-the-top flash plays may be replaced by physical plays to move the chains in this game and Reece stands to benefit from that sort of game plan. By attacking the front-seven, the Raiders will be attacking a weak area as the Bills are much stronger in the secondary.

Kevin Boss Returns

Good news for Raider Nation: Kevin Boss is set to see action in Week 2. His versatility as a run-blocker and craftiness as a receiver should enhance the Raiders in all facets of the offense. Again, the emphasis on this game will be ball control and how the offense can keep the chains moving. Quarterback Jason Campbell should play with more confidence knowing that Boss is playing, giving him a big target in the game.

Prediction: Raiders 20, Bills 14

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