Skip to main content

Studs and Duds From Week 8

While the attention shift the Chiefs this week, allow me to jump back and examine the second great team performance in a row. 33-3 was a pretty good beating of the Seahawks.

This game was pretty simple the Raiders killed the Seahawks in the trenches. The offensive and defensive lines whipped the Seahawks into submission.

STUDS:

DL: Richard Seymour, Tommy Kelly, Lamarr Houston, Matt Shaughnessy

The front four whipped the Seahawks. Richard Seymour continued his solid play. Tommy Kelly had one of his best games of the year and Matt Shaughnessy and Lamarr Houston fed of the veterans inside. Trevor Scott is the only player that didn't stand out here.


Darren McFadden

He's dominating games. Play action works better when he is running it and it only takes a small seem for him to bust a long run. All the attention on McFadden has given Marcel Reece opportunities and kept the Raiders poor pass blocking line from being exposed. He's the key to the offense right now and needs to keep it up this week against the Chiefs.


Darrius Heyward-Bey

I think must fans were happy with Heyward-Bey's best game as a pro. He had to step up and he did against a bad secondary. He is running crisp routes and defenders are starting to respect his speed. Hopefully he can use the performance as a launching pad for more good games. Murphy and Schilens will again be out and Brandon Flowers is playing as good as anyone at corner. This, like the last, is a big week for DHB.


OL: Jared Veldheer, Robert Gallery, Samson Satele, Cooper Carlisle, Langston Walker

They can run block and when the team can't sit back and rush the passer they hold up quite nicely. Amazing what playing with a lead and play action can do for a group. Next step is producing when the Raiders are trying to come back, by protecting the QB. If they can turn the corner pass blocking, maybe they will find themselves on this list more often.


Jason Campbell

He's managing the game and making the throws he should. He's avoided mistakes. Thankfully the Raiders haven't had to rely on Campbell the past two weeks very much. The 4th and 1 pass to Marcel Reece shows you that Hue Jackson and Tom Cable are more pleased with Campbell's production of late.


DUDS


The Fans

Yeah, that's you...and me. The stadium wasn't even close to full last week. I know, everyone has excuses. No one wants to pay their hard earned money to watch a loser. After two big wins and with the Chiefs coming to town things are different this week. The fan base has mobilized and the game is close to a sellout for the first time in 11 home games. I expect it to happen. I'll also be in Oakland this Sunday to join the celebration of another Raiders win.

Comments

  1. The fans should be studs too. Those of us 35K die hards that were there this past Sunday made up for those that weren't. If you were there, you would know that. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are right 100%. Not all fans were duds.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Oakland Raiders Swing for the Fences in 2016 NFL Draft

[embed align="center"]http://gty.im/153039819[/embed] These aren't your daddy's Oakland Raiders or even your younger self's Raiders. If anything, these are your newborn's Raiders or your puppy's Raiders. These are the Raiders we've never seen before. Indicative of the freshness of the franchise was their 2016 NFL Draft. No longer slave to a high draft pick and desperate needs, the theme of the draft for the Raiders was upside. It's as if general manager Reggie McKenzie got so used to hitting his draft picks out of the park that he started swinging for the fences. We'll have to wait a couple of years before we know if he struck out or if he'll continue his Ruthian ways. First, McKenzie boldly went with a safety at No. 14 overall. Kyle Joseph is coming off a torn ACL and fills a major need, but safety isn't a premium position. Only a handful of safeties have been drafted in the first 14 picks in the last 15 years and include names like Ea

The Raiders aren't who we thought they were....they're better

The Oakland Raiders are tired of being the team that will be good in a year or two. The team expects to win now and it is winning now. We thought the Raiders needed more talent. We thought that being in the playoff hunt was a year away for this team, but we were wrong. This isn't the team we thought they were, they're better. On Sunday, they moved to 3-3 on Sunday with a 37-29 win over the San Diego Chargers that wasn't close until the final minute. It was also the Raiders second road win of the season. The last time the Raiders had two road wins by their sixth game was 2011. Before that, a five-year streak from 1998-2002. The Raiders went 8-8 in 1998, 1999 and 2011 and narrowly missed the playoffs each year.  They made the playoffs in 2000, 2001 and 2002. They didn't have a losing record in any of those seasons because teams that can win on the road are usually pretty good. As the season matures, there is more and more evidence that some of the "best-case scenario

Oakland Raiders' Studs and Duds From Preseason Week 1

[embed]http://gty.im/484069738[/embed] The Oakland Raiders finally look like a competitive football team again. That should be the biggest takeaway from their preseason rout of the St. Louis Rams. Quarterback Derek Carr and the offense looked significantly improved from a year ago, thanks in large part to some of the studs listed below. The starting defense was still a little shaky, but there were still a few bright spots. Overall, the Raiders can feel good about their first live action of the year, especially since there appeared to be no significant injuries to come out of it. Studs Rodney Hudson Of all general manager Reggie McKenzie's offseason acquisitions, he committed the most money to center Rodney Hudson. Offensive linemen rarely get the praise they deserve, but a great offensive line as anchored in the middle can be huge for an offense. Hudson was very solid in his debut against a very good defensive front. If Hudson and the offensive line can consistently protect Carr an