Pick Up the Pieces and Play

 Posted by at 1:37 PM  No Responses »
Oct 042011
 

Hue Jackson said it right when discussing the Patriot game, “We got beat by a team and an organization that’s a little bit better than us at this point.” For the Raiders to beat a team like the Patriots they need to be near perfect and they weren’t, so they lost. The Raiders played undisciplined and made “bonehead” mistakes. The Raiders did not beat themselves or give the Patriots the game, the Patriots took it right from the Raiders open hand. The Patriots played a better game.

Anytime Jason Campbell throws for over 300 yards it’s a clear sign that the Raiders defense to being taken school. It was also evident in the Buffalo game two weeks ago. It is clear that the Raiders need to play their style of football to win. That is a physical running, smash mouth type of game. Campbell, as consistent as he has been this year, is not a quarterback the Raiders can relay on to win in a shoot out. The Raiders will win with a creative and balanced offensive attack not one averaging 300 passing yards per game.

The Raiders pass defense did not get too embarrassed. They did let Welker put up 158 yards on them. But, they forced some errant throws by Brady, tipped some balls, held NFL leading tight end Rob  to only one catch and the Patriots to a season low 226 yards. But the Raiders touted front seven got only one sack on Brady and made Stevan Ridley look like Emmitt Smith. The Raiders defense failed on two major issues, run defense and pressure on the quarterback, two things that are needed to win any football game. As a result, the Raiders are dead last in the league in run defense.

Next Sunday the Raiders will be in Houston facing the physical Texans. Andre Johnson is out this week so expect the Texans to run a lot to set up the play action pass. If the Raiders front seven does not improve its play quickly, a healthy Arian Foster who had 30 carries and 155 yards last week against the Steelers, will run all over them. Next week, could get ugly.

In the next four games Raiders go to Houston, then come home to face Cleveland, Kansas City and Denver. The Raiders can easily be a respectful 5-3 at the halfway point of the season. This is the NFL, games change on single plays and momentum is everything. Each team has professional playmakers so it is time for the Raiders to show some disciple, get their head right and pick up the pieces and play.

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.

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.