Week 13 Matchups: Risk/Reward

 Posted by at 8:00 AM  No Responses »
Dec 042011
 

Defensive Matchups

Stanford Routt vs. Brandon Marshall

Marshall can take over and when his mind is right he is one of the best wide receivers in the game. Routt has an interception in two consecutive games and may be starting to prove he is worth his contract. With Bresnahan mixing up things, don’t be surprised if Routt shadows Marshall as he did Vincent Jackson a few weeks ago.

Rolondo McClain vs. Reggie Bush

Bush is at his best when in space and McClain is at his worst in space. The Dolphins will try to get Bush in open space and build on his reception total currently at 35. McClain needs to be physical with Bush to take him out of his game. From his midweek arrest in Alabama, McClain has plenty to prove. ***If McClain sits, Blackstock will draw the matchup, but the key for him will be getting the defense lined up correctly***

Kamerion Wimbley vs. Jake Long

Long has been under-achieving this season and as a result the Miami Dolphins offensive line has given up 36 sacks, which ranks 28th in the league. The Raiders are 5th in the NFL with a team total of 30 sacks. If the Raiders defense is to dominate they need to consistently get to Matt Moore. The matchup of Wimbley against Long will set the tempo in the battle of the trenches.

X-Factor

Michael Huff

Huff has done a bit of everything this year. He’s showing off the versatility he showed at Texas and he also has two interceptions. Look for him to be all over field and making an impressive impact this Sunday.

Offensive Matchups

Marcel Reece vs. Yeremiah Bell

Since coming back from injury Reece has been the catalyst of the Raiders’ offense. If there are yards to be picked up, Hue Jackson finds a way to get Reece the ball. Bell is an outspoken, athletic member of the improved Miami D with a nose for the ball. Look for these two to bump heads on many occasions.

Michael Bush vs. Karlos Dansby

Last week, for the first time since his injury, the Raiders missed Darren McFadden’s running production. Bush was held to 69 rushing yards on 24 attempts. The Raiders offense relies on the running game to win games so Bush needs to get going early. Dansby is one of the league’s best inside linebackers and has led a defense that hasn’t given up a 100 yard rusher since Ben Tate put up 103 in week 2.

Carson Palmer vs. Vontae Davis

Palmer is a risk taker. Last week he had one interception, but could have easily had three. Davis has had great performances, but he has also been suspended. Davis is a risk taking corner looking to make plays for his team. There will be reward, but for who?

X-Factor

Chaz Shilens

A week after catching his first touchdown from Palmer, Chaz caught 4 passes for 58 yards. Those numbers might not sound too impressive, but up until last week his season high was 31 yards. With Ford and Moore still nursing injuries look for Chaz to be one of Palmer’s favorite targets on third downs and in the scoring zone.

Studs and Duds From Week 11

 Posted by at 2:56 PM  1 Response »
Nov 222011
 

The Raiders slogged through the second half again and it nearly came back to bite them. A better team may have been able to capitalize on the Raiders penalties, but the Vikings without Adrian Peterson were powerless to do so. The defense looked suspect again and the Raiders offensive line struggled more than they have all season. A few welcome surprises this week and the reappearance of duds from 2010.

STUDS

Jared Veldheer

Veldheer handled Jared Allen on Sunday and held him without a sack for the first time this season. The Raiders finally found their franchise left tackle from Hillsdale College. If Veldheer can handle Julius Peppers this Sunday, he’ll start getting national recognition and should get a decent amount of Pro Bowl consideration. Allen did get pressure on Palmer on back-to-back plays in the first half, but Veldheer adjusted and was pushing Allen well wide of Palmer for the rest of the day. On one occasion Veldheer flattened Allen on a run. A great performance from the Raiders left tackle and the Raiders need him to equal it next Sunday.

Kevin Boss

Hue Jackson finally got his tight end involved in the offense and the Bossman didn’t disappoint. On more than one occasion Boss helped the Raiders convert on third down. It was nice to see Boss getting into the groove of things and getting involved, he’ll continue to be a good third down outlet for Carson Palmer and Jackson should utilize him in that capacity when needed.

Darrius Heyward-Bey

He sustained a blow to the back of the head and the severity of the injury is still unclear, but it appears that Heyward-Bey avoided the worst and may be able to return to action in a few weeks. It’s a good thing too, because Heyward-Bey’ has been producing when given the opportunity. Palmer is starting to look his way and a 34-yard strike was nullified by a Veldheer hold in the first half.

Stanford Routt

He’s much like Nnamdi Asomugha was, he’s consistently good in coverage and will occasionally have lapses trying to make a tackle, but a corner’s main responsiblity in the Raiders offense is to cover and he did that an elite level on Sunday. Capping the performance with interception in the endzone when it appeared the Vikings were getting back into the game.

Desmond Bryant

He’s the starting end opposite Lamarr Houston now and his performances have gotten him more and more playing time ahead of Jarvis Moss and Trevor Scott. He had two sacks on Sunday and looked dominant at times. He should win the job full-time at end as he has been equally good against the run and pass. It sure helps alleviate the loss of Matt Shaughnessy when you have a player as versatile and good as Desmond Bryant on the team.

Honorable Mentions

Tommy Kelly, Matt Giordano, Tyvon Branch

DUDS

Rolando McClain

Oh Rolando…how I wish you were anything approaching a good middle linebacker. The Raiders really hit the 2010 draft out of the park…minus the very first pick. Bad angles, bad tackling, can’t get off blocks. He’s decent in coverage, but for every good play he has a lapse. He made a good play to knock down a pass late in the game, but he should have been able to intercept it if he hadn’t been there a step late.

Michael Huff

Matt Giordano is getting more time at free safety and Huff is getting more time at cornerback at the expense of Demarcus Van Dyke. Perhaps the Raiders should re-think this alignment. Huff might be playing injured, but he wasn’t able to tackle anyone and was lucky Percy Harvin’s touchdown run was nullified by a Vikings penalty. Terrible game for Huff.

Khalif Barnes

He’s obviously the weak link on the Raiders resurgent offensive line. If the Raiders had a good alternative they would probably bench Barnes, but Bruce Campbell appears stuck at the bottom of the depth chart and Stephon Heyer and Joseph Barksdale are getting their snaps at guard due to the injury of center Samson Satele.

Cooper Carlisle

The Raiders offensive line struggled on Sunday and Carlisle was no exception. The Raiders couldn’t run to the right without the lineman getting blown into the backfield and stuffing Michael Bush. Carlisle and Barnes are probably rated 21 and 22 among Raiders starters and they both get dud status this week.

Dishonerable Mentions

Stephon Heyer, Samson Satele, Aaron Curry, Officiating.

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Studs and Duds From Week 9

 Posted by at 2:02 PM  No Responses »
Nov 082011
 

Since I’ve already blasted Hue Jackson and Chuck Bresnahan, we’ll keep this to the players who didn’t perform on Sunday.

Studs

Lamarr Houston – One of the few Raider defenders who showed up on Sunday. He’s becoming a force on the defensive front. The Broncos couldn’t block him and instead ran away from him with great success.

Michael Bush – He isn’t McFadden, but he is still good. He grinds out positive yardage every time he gets the ball. He doesn’t quite have the burst to run away from the defense, but he is good at finding running lanes and agile enough to get through them. He should have had more carries on Sunday, maybe if he does the Raiders grind out a victory after being up by ten points.

Carson Palmer – Three interceptions, but good enough to be a stud. Keep in mind he still only has three weeks in the offense. He looked crisp enough and made a few laser throws. He was audibling at the line and commanding the offense. For a debut it wasn’t bad. Keep in mind that one interception was a tip (although a bad throw) and the other came in garbage time. A good debut for Palmer.

Jacoby Ford – I guess we found Palmer’s favorite receiver. He needs to focus more on ball security as he nearly lost a fumble. Burning Champ Bailey is still an accomplishment and Ford did it more than once.

 

Duds

It’s tempting to just put defense here, but let’s take a look at a few of the worst offenders.

Jarvis Moss & Kamerion Wimbley - Tebow ate you for breakfast with the play fake. Sure, he faked the whole defense, but it was your job to have contain. Those big runs on a read option shouldn’t happen.

Darryl Blackstock & Aaron Curry – Raiders got burned by Willis McGahee. That’s what happens when the primary two linebackers fill the wrong gaps in the running game. McClain takes a lot of heat (me included), but the Raiders missed him on Sunday.

Michael Huff – I can’t say with certainty it was Michael Huff’s blown zone coverage that lead to a couple touchdowns, but it sure looked it. He is nursing an injury, but that shouldn’t be an excuse for totally missing a zone assignment. Tebow burned this secondary and being the second highest paid player in it you are going to get your fair share of the heat.

Hue Jackson’s Window

 Posted by at 10:36 AM  No Responses »
Oct 282011
 

The most successful teams in the NFL have their franchise quarterback. No other position in the NFL is as valuable. Teams, however, don’t need a spectacular quarterback to win. Look at San Francisco, Tampa Bay and the Giants. More than anything, teams need a reliable quarterback to hold it together that does not give away the game. When NFL teams struggle for years, it’s largely due to the team’s perpetual ineptness at quarterback.

This year Miami, Indianapolis and Minnesota have arguably the worst quarterback situations. It seems every week these teams get embarrassed like the Raiders did last week against Kansas City. Not since the inept team of 2006 have the Raiders been shutout at home versus an AFC West rival.

Hue Jackson has reminded everybody how valuable a stable, quarterback is. If the scrappy game against the Houston Texans was this emotional high of the season then the embarrassing loss in Oakland vs. Kansas City was the low. Hue Jackson’s “gamesmanship” caused a resurfacing of past quarterback woes. It is now up to Hue Jackson to right the ship.

The window for this Raiders team to win is over the next few seasons. On the defensive line, veterans Richard Seymour and Tommy Kelly are at the near end of their prime. In the secondary Michael Huff and Stanford Routt at their prime. Darren McFadden will go through his prime and Michael Bush might still be affordable. Darius Hayward-Bey, Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore will provide enough speed to stretch the defense and enough skill catch the ball. During these years, the offensive line will be anchored by left tackle Jared Veldeer and center/guard Stefen Wisniewski . All the Raiders really need is a stable, reliable, not necessarily spectacular, quarterback.

Hue Jackson bet two valuable draft picks that Carson Palmer is stable, reliable and more. The truth is if Hue Jackson was not in Oakland, Carson Palmer would not be a Raider. An argument can also be made, if Al Davis was still alive, Palmer wouldn’t be a Raider. Palmer’s success will undoubtedly define Hue Jackson legacy.

If Palmer is not successful in Oakland, then Jackson and Palmer will likely get kicked out of Oakland with the same boot having missed the window Al Davis spent his final years building. If Palmer is successful during this window and leads the Raiders into the playoffs, Hue Jackson will become a new icon in Oakland and may never leave.

Studs and Duds From Week 6

 Posted by at 7:30 AM  No Responses »
Oct 192011
 

The Raiders dominated the Browns yet only squeezed out the victory. What players stood out on Sunday and which went unnoticed in the victory?

Studs

Jacoby Ford – A 101-yard kick return gets you into studs about 99 times out of 100. He broke another long return and almost busted out on an offensive play. Ford isn’t getting the snaps he is used to getting, but that could change this week.

Kamerion Wimbley – Sure his sack numbers aren’t adding up just yet, but he spent the afternoon in Colt McCoy’s face. He’s drawing a ton of attention and that is freeing up the defensive tackles to wreak havoc up the middle.

Richard Seymour – Double teams are no match for Mr. Seymour. The man sure loved to push around the Browns interior lineman and was drawing holds and double teams just about every play. Superior game by the Raiders defensive captain.

Michael Huff – No one was better than Huff in coverage on Sunday. He played mostly cornerback and Matt Giordano gets an honorable mention for holding it down and having a darn good day at free safety.

Honorable Mentions

Demarcus Van Dyke (might have made the studs list if he was willing and able to make a tackle) & Darrius Heyward-Bey (Pats self on back)

Duds

Rolando McClain – I realize by putting McClain here I put myself at risk of “hating” on McClain or people thinking I have some unnatural bias against McClain. In fact, I thought McClain had a very good game when I watched the game live, but after watching the game again I realized McClain’s game was average. Better than he has been and he did make a few impact plays so maybe McClain is coming on. He missed two tackles and made six. That 1:3 ratio needs to improve. Unfortunately average puts you on the duds list if you are both the middle linebacker, a first-round pick and there aren’t many options for duds that week. That’s this week.

Jerome Boyd – One snap. One touchdown. Released. After leaving the field only for the ghost of Al Davis to save the Raiders the week prior in Houston, Boyd only played one defensive snap and promptly allowed a touchdown. He allowed 12 receptions for 236 yards and two touchdowns while only being thrown at 16 times on the season according to profootballfocus.com stats. That’s a staggering 156.3 QB rating against. Just not good enough when the Raiders have plenty of safeties.

Samson Satele – Tough way to get on the duds list. Satele was bothered with an injury and still played 70 snaps. He wasn’t himself on the afternoon and now has had two games in a row that he hasn’t looked as good as he did for the first four games. Chalk this one up to the injury and the bye week coming up after this week could be a welcome sign for the Raiders center.

Dishonorable Mentions

Michael Bush, Trevor Scott, Jarvis Moss – Step up your game fellas.

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