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.

How To Stop Tom Brady

 Posted by at 8:00 AM  No Responses »
Sep 302011
 

So maybe stopping Tom Brady is impossible without resorting to tactics used by Robert De Niro’s character in The Fan. Maybe this is more of a how to limit Tom Brady and beat the Patriots, but I’d argue it is nearly impossible to win a game against the Patriots without stopping Tom Brady at least a few times. This is the definitive how to guide on stopping Tom Brady. Okay, it isn’t definitive, but it is a guide and you didn’t write it.

 

Disguise the coverage

If Tom Brady knows the coverage, there is a good change he knows exactly how to exploit it. The Raiders need to completely change the way they disguise their coverages and force Brady to read and react to the coverage post snap. For the Raiders this also means more mixed coverages. Strict man-to-man will be hard to accomplish without Michael Huff and Chris Johnson who did not participate in practice on Thursday so the Raiders need to explore zone coverages in addition to man.

 

Get pressure

Blitzing good quarterbacks can be dangerous. The real good ones like Brady will just dump it into the hole the blitzer vacated or exploit single coverage on the outside. Organic pressure with the front four and the occasional zone blitz will have to get the job done. The Patriots boast and excellent offensive line, so Richard Seymour and his gang have their work cut out for them. The best quarterbacks will get the ball out quickly to mitigate the pressure so the Raiders will have to apply it quickly and from both sides.

 

Keep him off the field

No matter how great a player is he can’t hurt you if he isn’t on the field. The Raiders need long sustained drives and touchdowns early. The Raiders have been a quick strike offense in 2011 and won last week despite not converting a third down. No team would ever shy away from quick scoring, but drives that don’t result in a score still need to chew up clock. Not only will longer drives keep Brady off the field, but they will keep the defense fresh to deal with Brady when he is on the field.

 

Take Away Wes Welker

Tom Brady will find the open receiver and the is little doubt coverage on the Patriots receivers and tight ends will be important, but even Brady gets to third down occasionally and when he does he’ll look for Wes Welker. Welker will find soft spots in zone coverage and runs routes against man that give him all the separation Brady needs. Welker and Brady will slice through a defense nine yards at a time if you let them. Rough up Wes Welker at the line of scrimmage, drop defensive ends into coverage underneath and instruct the lineman to get their hands in the air to disrupt the underneath passes. Do this and maybe the Raiders young secondary has a chance.

 

So there you have it. Tom Brady stoppage in four simply stated yet massively complicated elements. In Tom Brady-like fashion he will now burn the Raiders without throwing to Welker and despite disguised coverage, pressure, and a low time of possession.

 

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.

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