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.

 

Raiders’ Brash Attitude Propelled Win Over the Broncos

 Posted by at 1:41 PM  2 Responses »
Sep 152011
 

During the night telecast of the Monday night opening double-header between two bitter AFC West rivals, something ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer said caught not only my attention, but I’m sure a lot of other residents of Raider Nation as well.

Dilfer assumed that of the Raiders’ penalty-filled night, scuffles and aggressive nature meant that the team lacked discipline. Granted the 15 penalties for 131 yards were deserved, I argued that it was exactly what this team needed.

Many forget that there was actually no NFL preseason this year. For Dilfer to assume that a clean-fought game was to be expected in week one was ludicrous.

While there was no overwhelming evidence of penalties in the other week one games, the talk of the NFL after one week centered around ballooned passing yards. Tom Brady passed for over 500 yards and Chad Henne, the other quarterback in the game passed for over 400 yards (Chad Henne everybody! Who saw that coming?). This further explains that not only are the players still adjusting to the shortened off-season, but the coaches are still making the correct adjustments needed to become successful this season.

In Dilfer’s defense, he stated that the Raiders are a talented bunch and that after addressing these correctable behaviors, the team will be well on their way to a division crown and deep into the playoffs. But what if this behavior is inherently born out of the mystique that we have come to know as the Raiders? Can you take the bite out of the dog? That’s like telling Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant to pass the ball with time winding down in the game.

Brashness defines the Raiders not only as a team, but as an organization as well.

I argue that it was this same brashness that the Raiders played with against the Broncos that propelled them to win the game. It’s the same confidence and self-assurance that enabled Sebastian Janikowski tie the record for the longest field goal in league history.. It’s the same swagger that Shane Lechler displayed when he pinned the Broncos deep into their territory (Raiders have the best special teams in the league, no question). And it’s the same punishing attitude that Darren McFadden displayed at the end of his runs Monday night. On this night, the Raiders weren’t intimated by the Broncos heavy hitters of Brian Dawkins, Von Miller, Elvis Dumervil and whoever else got in the way. Attitude is more than just the pregame actions and chest bumps, its born out of purpose and this team bled that sense of purpose, as evident from the head coach on down.

Dilfer and other analysts will tell you that the Raiders need to correct their attitude, but we, Raider fans know that they won because of this attitude. It was a tough and sloppy game, from both sides, but attitude won outright that night. And attitude will continue to carry this team in 2011.

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