Tag Archives: Darren McFadden

2015 NFC East Predictions

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One of the most perplexing aspect of picking the NFC East is what is going on with Jason Pierre Paul’s hand?? How damaged is it?? Is he really missing his thumb?? Today he showed up to the facilities and is about to sign his contract yet we haven’t been shown what his hand looks like. As the Giants “alpha dog” on defense, without him being what he had been could have a ripple effect on the Giants as a whole.

dez2015 NFC East

  1. Dallas Cowboys 9-7 *
  2. Philadelphia Eagles 8-8
  3. New York Giants 7-9
  4. Washington Redskins 4-12

The Dallas Cowboys will come down a peg now that they are running by committee. This is the first time since 1946 when the NFL’s leading rusher switched teams the following year. Here at Taylor Blitz Times we made mention of “The Great Wall II” and an offensive line is great for an era. We stand by that but we have to see how the often injured Darren McFadden and Joseph Randle will perform.

Cowboys brass has to have some reservations or they wouldn’t have traded for Christine Michael from Seattle. The penchant is there to revert back to the pass happy era we saw earlier in Tony Romo’s career. At least in a few games this can happen. The defense begins the season with Rolando McClain, Kevin Hardy and Orlando Scandrick beginning the season suspended and on the reserved injured list doesn’t bode well. Dallas will have a sloppy start to this season as they try to establish their running game and find defensive continuity.

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Sanchez will have to play for Bradford several times this season.

Interestingly the Eagles are coming into 2015 with something old and something new. The old?? Chip Kelly jettisoning off top shelf talent. Gone is RB LeSean McCoy to Buffalo and WR Jeremy Macklin to the Chiefs. The something new is swapping QBs Nick Foles for Sam Bradford from the Rams.

The often injured Bradford won’t remain on his feet for the entire season. We saw the hit Terrell Suggs put on Bradford in the pre-season. Chip Kelly’s offense will expose Bradford too additional hits and Sanchez will have to take his place several times this season. This kills offensive continuity and we know Kelly’s too arrogant to change his play calling.

Not only will the Eagles wear down but the Giants will remain too inconsistent to take the division. Eli Manning just inked a new contact extension and will play loose. However Victor Cruz is still rounding back into game shape and Odell Beckham is getting the business from defenders set to get after him in his sophomore season.

If Jason Pierre-Paul had showed up with 10 fingers the Giants win the division. With his being sent home without signing his contract something is definitely up. And without an index finger he’s rendered one of his hands to be useless to pull on jerseys in pass rush hand fighting techniques. Pierre-Paul won’t be the same player and the defense will take a big step back without it’s dominant pass rusher. Remember he was their franchise player… not any more.

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NFL Week 4: AFC West -Teams Making Progress

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Darren McFadden takes a hand-off from Carson Palmer in Sunday’s come from behind win.

Funny how attention on one team seems to trump the news of the rest of the division. Many of us were paying so much attention to Peyton Manning and his progress with the Denver Broncos, we wind up surprised when other teams show they are not to be taken lightly. Such was the case in Oakland last Sunday. There was an emotional response to Darius Heyward-Bey being helped off the field late in that game. From that point on the Raiders played spirited football that hadn’t been seen in the first two weeks, when they couldn’t score more than 14 points. After an 0-2 start, the Raiders got off the canvas and an offense ranked 20th sprang to life and came from behind for a 34-31 victory after being behind 31-21 with 3:00 to go.

The San Diego Chargers fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a  27-3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.  In a test against one of the NFC’s heavyweights, the Chargers showed they are still lacking when it comes to playmakers. In Antonio Gates, Ryan Matthews, Malcolm Floyd and company, they can get the yardage a given play is designed for but nothing more. Not a game-breaker in the bunch. Atlanta crowded Phillip Rivers and he had nowhere to go with the football as evidenced by his 21 of 38 for 173 yards and 2 interceptions. What this means is they are one of the best of the lesser teams. They can sit on the Oakland’s and Tennessee’s of the world but come up short against stronger teams. This week they travel to Kansas City where they haven’t won in 3 years. Can they do it?? The Chancellor sees a second loss coming.

West Division

W

L

T

PCT

PF

PA

HOME

ROAD

DIV

CONF

STRK

LAST5
San Diego Chargers Chargers 2 1 0 .667 63 51 1-1 1-0 1-0 2-0 L1 2-1
Denver Broncos Broncos 1 2 0 .333 77 77 1-1 0-1 0-0 1-1 L2 1-2
Kansas City Chiefs Chiefs 1 2 0 .333 68 99 0-1 1-1 0-0 0-1 W1 1-2
Oakland Raiders Raiders 1 2 0 .333 61 88 1-1 0-1 0-1 1-2 W1 1-2

Last week’s 233 yard rushing performance was an eye opener.

Speaking of the Chiefs they are riding the momentum of their 27-24 win in New Orleans. A game where they finally started to look like the team most pundits expected out of the gate. Jamaal Charles ran for a season high 233 yards and displayed he hasn’t lost his game breaking ability with a 91 yard touchdown on the bayou. In those 2 prior meetings the Chiefs stayed with a commitment to the run with 26 rushes in 2010 and 34 in 2011. Now with Cassel and the passing game not totally in rhythm yet, Charles coming off 33 carries last week in the Superdome, and the Chargers allowing 5.7 yards per carry (14 car. 80 yds) for Michael Turner last week. We’re going to take a wild guess and say Kansas City runs the football this week. What do you think??

This week the entire division is squaring off against one another as the Raiders make the trek to Invesco Field. The Broncos will be without the services of MLB Joe Mays who will be serving a suspension. Not the right time when Darren McFadden just had his best game of the season. His 113 yards came on only 18 carries and had a showcase run for a 64 yard touchdown. Right now Denver is 13th against the run and Oakland is 26th against the pass. Last year, Oakland won in Denver when McFadden rushed for over 150 yards. Had the Raiders not played such an emotional game last week they would have a chance to hand the Broncos their third straight loss. The real issue is Manning is going to be able to hit his receivers and expect a huge day from Brandon Stokely. He’ll have a Wes Welker type of day and the Broncos should pull away in this one.

Then it will be time for the first quarter report cards with the season 1/4th over.

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Week 10 AFC West: The Broken Record That Keeps on Playing

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Is this the end for Norv??

In the most unpredictable NFL season ever, there have been a few teams who have repeated previous incarnations of themselves. Namely the San Diego Chargers. At some point you learn who you are as a team and as a coaching staff and ever since Norv Turner was called out by Rex Ryan before the Jets game, this team has been in disarray. They already played up and down to the level of their competition, yet at the time stood at 4-1. After blowing a 21-6 halftime lead, they promptly had the Jets take their lunch money and rip the heart out of the team. Oh no?? They haven’t won a game since and as of last night, they dropped their 4th in a row to the revitalized Oakland Raiders falling 24-17. Now this team is in 3rd place with a 4-5 record with 4 conference losses. You can say goodbye to a wildcard and the same to Norv Turner as their Head Coach.

Face it Rex Ryan was right. A good coach in San Diego, with the talent that is in place, should have taken this team to the Super Bowl. They had the #1 offense AND #1 defense a year ago and didn’t make the playoffs. First time that has ever happened. The last two times someone was #1 in offense and defense were the ’87 San Francisco 49ers, who went 13-2 before back to back Super Bowl championships, and the Dallas Cowboys in 1977 who went on to win Super Bowl XII. Norv couldn’t even get them to the playoffs?? This team will play better for another head coach, they just wouldn’t play for him. When his job was on the line they have come up snake eyes each time.

Carson Palmer leads the Raiders to first place with a fine performance v. San Diego

Which brings us to the Oakland Raiders who were down in the dumps, wondering how they were going to right the ship, then they traded for Carson Palmer. Lets see… a former Pac 10 Heisman Trophy winner coming off the bench to resurrect the Oakland Raiders season. Hmmmm now where have we seen this before?? Somewhere Al Davis is smiling. At one point in last night’s game, Carson Palmer hit on 10 of 10 passes for 126 yards 2TDs. He was on pace to become the first quarterback in NFL history to finish with a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3 with less than 15 passes. He didn’t make it but finished with 14 of 20  for 299 yards, 2 TDs and 1 interception. Oakland now has a quarterback! That pounding sound you’re hearing is Jason Campbell’s sign going into the ground as his house is going up for sale. Rookie Denarius Moore was in sync with Palmer all night. His 5 catches for 123 yards for 2 touchdowns showcased the speed Al Davis always coveted. Once Darren McFadden can come back 100%, look out this team is going to be dangerous. Take a look at the standings

AFC WEST W L T PCT HOME ROAD DIV CONF PF PA DIFF STRK
Oakland 5 4 0 .556 2-3-0 3-1-0 2-2-0 5-4-0 208 233 -25 Won 1
Kansas City 4 4 0 .500 2-2-0 2-2-0 2-1-0 3-3-0 131 201 -70 Lost 1
San Diego 4 5 0 .444 3-2-0 1-3-0 2-2-0 3-4-0 216 228 -12 Lost 4
Denver 3 5 0 .375 1-3-0 2-2-0 1-2-0 3-3-0 171 224 -53 Won 1

Tebow’s harsh critics dog him with every incompletion or misread

Again the situation is tenuous out in Denver. Book ending the come from behind miracle in Miami and the signature win vs. their hated Raider rivals was a forgettable 45-10 loss to the Detroit Lions. With one forgettable game, Tebow doubts krept back into the picture. The Broncos need to realize they have a running quarterback the size of a linebacker. They need to call plays that exploit his ability to turn football back into 11 on 11 on some running plays. He and Willis McGahee bludgeoned Oakland with over 100 yards each and the better he runs, the more defenses are going to remain honest in nickel and especially dime defense situations. Instead of 6th and 7th pass defenders back to cover receivers they have to keep them within 10 yards of the scrimmage line to deter him from running. Right now the Broncos have to come up with a hybrid version of the wildcat where the quarterback is as much a runner as a thrower. That simple. They have to go to the collegiate ranks and nab a quarterback friendly offensive co-ordinator to make this work.

Critics are just going to bash Tebow for backlash from the super favorable treatment he received in college. We legitimately thought of him as a tight end going into the draft. Yet when you see a pass play breakdown, he can bull his way to positive yards instead of throwing a pass that could be intercepted. Sure critics point to Kyle Orton’s superior passing percentage (58.7% -46.4%) yet this is the only showcase to Orton’s upside. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/den/2011.htm Yet when it comes to touchdown to interception ratio Tebow is killing Orton (6TDs /1 INT- 8TDs /7INTS) and Orton has thrown 58 more passes. Orton’s having thrown 6 more interceptions directly relate to Denver’s losing 23-20 to Oakland, the Titans 17-14, and the 29-24 loss to San Diego. Think about it, had they had the ball and possibly have scored 1 more time in each game, this team could be 6-2. The Tebow trade-off for rushing yards (277-17 for Orton) is well worth getting rid of the 6 extra turnovers. The difference is Tebow SHOULD improve passing the football vs this is it for Orton’s upside. Coach Fox, you’re just going to have to live with some offensive breakdowns from time to time, hell the Giants did that with Lawrence Taylor when he’d rush the passer instead of dropping like he should when he was young. This is where you have to close ranks as a team and move on. Yet you’re 2-1 with Tebow v. 1-4 with Orton. Alright make a case for why Orton should be elevated to starter again?? Sorry we can’t hear you….

Can we ask a question: Was Charlie Weiss that important to the Chiefs passing game?? Apparently so. Matt Cassel’s regression from 27TDs to 7 INTs last year has been replaced with a less than modest 61% completion percentage, and 9TDs to 9 INTs is an epic drop. The Chiefs still have the 10th best rushing attack despite losing Jamaal Charles. Completely unacceptable. They drafted a big receiver in Jonathon Baldwin and brought in a Steve Breaston he should be slightly off last year’s pace at worst. With all his arsenal at his behest he threw for a modest 239 yards against the Dolphin’s 27th best defense against the pass last week. At home he should have been more successful than that. Hell, Tom Brady nearly set an NFL record against this bunch back in week 1 with his 517 yard performance. They should be gaining momentum with taking over 1st place in the AFC West instead of falling back to the pack losing to a win-less, hapless Dolphins team.

For the Chiefs to hit their stride their defense has to be better against the run (18th and gave up 90 yards rushing to Reggie Bush) and find a pass rusher to assist Tamba Hali (6 sacks). Which brings up another question..Where is Glenn Dorsey?? No sacks and only 10 unassisted tackles? Pathetic for such a high draft pick. They somehow have to light a fire under his ass and possibly get raw Aaron Bailey (from [[_]]) on the field. Maybe more hussle and less thinking is what the Chiefs need. They clawed their way back into the race, but will they stay there?? The hated Raiders need a running mate.

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NFL Week 2 AFC West: Who Are These Guys??

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The most enigmatic division in the NFL has just gotten weirder and weirder over the last two weeks. We chronicled how the Chargers play up or down to their competition and until Norv Turner is gone will continue to do that. True to form in their 1-1 start, they played down to the Vikings and up to the Patriots, although they lost. In the 93 years of the NFL, normally when a team can run the ball better than their opponent, they usually will win. Well the Chiefs are turning that axiom into a lost cause. They have run for over 100 yards in their first two games yet were blown out of the stadium on both occasions. They were also dealt another loss when they lost RB Jamaal Charles, who ran for over 1,400 yards last year. Second in the NFL.

However the Chiefs have lost three prominent players to injury and no one can answer the lingering question: What happened to the Chiefs passing attack?? It fell apart just  because Offensive Co-ordinator Charlie Weiss left?? We don’t buy that. Josh McDaniels and Todd Haley are from that same New England Patriot coaching tree. They both were offensive passing coaches there. So how do you explain Matt Cassell who threw for 27 touchdowns to just 7 int a year ago, to having thrown for only 1TD and 4 interceptions in two games this year?? Look no further we’ll reveal that answer in a moment. Yet lets take a look at the AFC West standings…

AFC WEST W L T PCT HOME ROAD DIV CONF PF PA DIFF STRK
Oakland 1 1 0 .500 0-0-0 1-1-0 1-0-0 1-1-0 58 58 0 Lost 1
San Diego 1 1 0 .500 1-0-0 0-1-0 0-0-0 0-1-0 45 52 -7 Lost 1
Denver 1 1 0 .500 1-1-0 0-0-0 0-1-0 1-1-0 44 45 -1 Won 1
Kansas City 0 2 0 .000 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-0-0 0-1-0 10 89 -79 Lost 2

Which brings us to the cream of this crop in the Oakland Raiders. Someone must have told Darren McFadden about our CEO’s claim that the SEC sends too many draft busts to the NFL. Since the midway point of last year no running back has run with more purpose. Even in defeat he ran hard for a well earned touchdown in Buffalo, where he fought off two Bills at the pylon. DMC rushed for nearly 100 yards for a second straight week. He’s the second leading rusher in the NFL after two weeks and it’s his play that’s allowed Jason Campbell to settle in and play some good football.  Right now Campbell has completed over 65% of his passes and is going downfield with confidence. That touchdown bomb to Denarius Moore was a thing of beauty. Last year he would have overthrew his receiver or thrown a two yard outlet pass since he saw Buffalo CB McKelvin running with Moore. The Raiders have stuck to their philosophy of running first to set up the pass. Something the Chiefs used to do.

How about the embattled John Fox and the situation in Denver regarding the quarterback position. Should he start Tim Tebow or Kyle Orton?? We say start Tebow and you can always go back to Orton. By going with Orton and switching to Tebow late it looks like you’re giving up the season and the Bronco players might go in the tank. If Orton is your guy trade Tebow and get something for him. You can’t dangle a talent like that in front of a fan base and have him not hit the field. We said it before on our CEO’s facebook page, the more Cam Newton succeeds in Carolina, the louder the fan base will call for Tebow. How embarrassing was that a week ago to be on Monday Night Football and your stadium chanting for Tebow to play?? They’re chanting this while Orton is playing ok football. When he has a bad outting Coach Fox might need a heavy police presence to get him to his car. Better make a decision fast or keep winning. Well so far they did the latter after Willis McGahee (The U) came off the street to rush for over 100 yards in last weeks win over the Bengals.

The Chargers have the NFL’s best quarterback that hasn’t played in a Super Bowl in Phillip Rivers. He’s a fiery field general yet needs his duplicate on the defensive side of the ball. The Chargers are well coached and are strong in ever phase of the game. What they lack is a little more play making ability to get a little more out of each play. On defense they haven’t had a “presence” since Shawne Merriman left this team. They don’t have an enforcer maybe Bob Sanders can remain healthy and become that guy. They have to stop coming out unmotivated and playing down to teams then try to roar back late in the game. It will work against a lessor team but you saw what happened in New England when they try that against a good one. This will be Norv Turner’s last year coaching them if they can’t break that spell.

Which leads us back to the Chiefs. Haley should fire his offensive co-ordinator and take over play calling himself or pass it over to Josh McDaniel. This team needs to get back to running first and passing second. This was the #1 team in the NFL in rushing attempts and yardage last year. So after 2 weeks Jamaal Charles, Dexter McCluster and Thomas Jones have a combined 38 carries for 219 yards?? Last year those were single game totals and to have McCluster with as many carries as Jones shows their running out of passing formations. Too much slick ’em and not enough sick ’em. Get your lineman firing off the ball and run at your opponents with purpose. Enough of this trick ’em football!! Chiefs if you listen and play to your fundamentals you can reclaim your division. We know that you have scored 10 points while giving up 79, has a team ever had that bad a beginning of a season and made the playoffs?? Yes, the 1989 Pittsburgh Steelers were 0-2 after losing 51-0 and 42-10 to the Browns and Bengals yet fought their way to a 9-7 wildcard. So it can be done. Aside from the Raiders, who in this division has some direction??

2011 Oakland Raiders Preview

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Oakland Raiders Pre Kickoff

At some point the Oakland Raiders are going to make a few football moves that I’ll agree with although firing Tom Cable was not one of them. Many have attributed their newfound offensive success to Hue Jackson, who succeeded Cable as Head Coach. They did put the NFL on notice last year with a powerful rushing attack that kept them in games. Last year at midseason they were 5-4 and had just defeated the Chiefs, the eventual division winner, and looked to be headed to the playoffs. That stumble in Indianapolis in week 16 (31-26 loss) kept them from the postseason and they finished 8-8.

Last year the Raiders went undefeated in the AFC West, sweeping the division champion Chiefs in the process.  Can they duplicate that feat and win a few more games and get to the playoffs??  Well in football there is a saying that in order to be good you have to run the football and stop the run. They were 2nd in the NFL averaging 155 yards per game and a stout 4.9 yards per carry average. However there are two sides to that equation and where their numerator was good, their low common denominator of being 29th against the run, allowing 2,138 yards rushing was atrocious. They don’t fix this they have to watch the playoffs again.  As for Jason Campbell, pull the trigger and don’t play so overly cautious.  His team will need him to make more plays with defenses creeping up to stop the run.  So how will they fare this year?

Campbell needs to pull the trigger in 2011. Too often held the ball and took sacks or threw too quickly to his running backs.  Has to learn to let the passing windows develop to deliver the intermediate throws.

Quarterback: Face it, Jason Campbell is a serious upgrade from JaMarcus Russell.  Yet that’s not saying much when you’re replacing the biggest draft bust in NFL history. This was addition by subtraction in the team felt like it could win without seeing Russell in the lineup. Where in years past they looked defeated walking onto the field. The first thing asked of Campbell was to minimize the turnovers and he did that. However there were plays where Campbell was too apprehensive. He has to realize its his team and play with some abandon.  In 2010 he was 7-5 as a starter, completed 59% of his passes for 2,387 yds, 13 TDs, and only 8 interceptions. Statistically thats not bad yet many times he would check down to the running back without letting his downfield options develop. Then there were a few chances when Jacoby Ford broke into the open and Campbell would overthrow his target.  Maybe he’ll be more settled in his second season as the starter. They need him to make all the throws if they are to become a playoff team. Going into his 6th season its time for him to put it together and he has the tools. Will he??

Then you have his backup in scrappy Bruce Gradkowski. This guy plays from his gut and plays with a reckless abandon that Campbell should.  He passes further up the passing tree and will take a few more chances.  Some came out good and some bad.  He threw for 5 touchdowns and 7 interceptions with his 157 attempts last year. Naturally his completion percentage was only 52.9% yet again he took more chances and inspires his teammates when he’s in there.  If there were a way to fuse these two into a single player, the Raiders would be set at quarterback.  Its like this “Have your read, know your defense, when you see the defense take their first steps, know where you’re going with the football and let it fly Jason Campbell.” Don’t be overly cautious! Remember when the Raiders won Super Bowl XVIII? In that season Jim Plunkett threw for 20 TDs and 18 interceptions so sometimes it can go against you but you can’t win most of your games throwing sideways passes.  Silver and black is below average. Campbell has to take charge and not go through the motions.

Darren McFadden ran like a beast in 2010. Has he finally arrived or was this an aberration??

Offensive Backfield: Did you see that??  Darren McFadden finally showed up! Yeah the guy from Arkansas who was the do everything back coming out of college.  Something happened last year and McFadden played motivated and ran with authority. His 1,157 yards were a career high and he ran with power between the tackles along with Michael Bush. Bush complemented McFadden with 655 yards of his own and ran for a team high 8 TDs to 7 for McFadden.  By the time you throw in Marcel Reece, no Raider running back averaged less than 4.1 yards.  Gaudy numbers when the league average is 4.0. As for McFadden he stopped going down with the first point of contact like he had in his previous 2 seasons.  He ran like the DMC we expected out of college.  He complemented his first 1,000 yard rushing year with 47 receptions out of the backfield for another 3 TDs.  He was the driving force behind the resurgent running game and Oakland had him for 13 of a possible 16 games last year v. the 12 combined starts over 2 seasons being nagged by injuries. He runs with abandon like he did last year and a 1,400 – 1,500 yard season is not out of the question.

Something was definitely in the gatorade last year for the Raiders.  Bush was the complimentary back who had an excellent year where he ran for nearly 700 yards, he caught 18 passes for nearly 200 more.  These two were giving defenses absolutely no rest as the 210 lb.s McFadden hit them first, then the 243 lbs. Bush would help tire them further and holes opened up later in games for McFadden to hit the big one on opponents.  Was this a fluke? Absolutely not. The Raiders ran with thunder and did so all year constantly knocking opponents back. This is the best 1-2 punch next to Kansas City at running back, so this team is Super Bowl quality at running back. What remains to be seen is how 4th round draft pick Taiwan Jones fits into the equation. http://www.nfl.com/draft/2011/profiles/taiwan-jones?id=2495467  If he’s a special team player or comes in as a supplemental 3rd down back this team stays Super Bowl quality at running back

2010 Pro Bowl TE Zach Miller

Receivers: Well everyone chides and teases about Al Davis and his penchant for the vertical passing game yet consequently he should have it. From a football strategist standpoint, they will lure teams into 7 and 8 man fronts to stop the run opening lanes for seam routes, verticals, digs, and deep corner patterns. As soon as that SS comes up these guys have to get open.    Here is where the Raiders may need to see improvement to become a playoff team. Darius Heyward Bey and Jacoby Ford have shown flashes that they can get deep, but can they learn to set up rival cornerbacks and not telegraph what they are running? Can they sell the first half of the play action pass to get free releases into the intermediate (10-15 yard) area of the passing tree? Right now they have some more learning to do but these are young players.

Going into his 3rd year, this is where Darrius Heyward-Bey needs to have his breakout year to justify his lofty 1st round selection and 7th pick overall status. Last year he caught 25 passes for 366 yards and only 1 touchdown, yet was overthrown on multiple times when he did get deep. Campbell hits him on those and he could possibly have his first 1,000 yard season or close to it. Right now Heyward-Bey is inconsistent with his set up moves to get deep on veteran corners. Jacoby Ford actually flashed more as a rookie than his 1st round counterpart. He only started 9 games yet went on to grab 25 passes for 470 yards and 2 TDs. He’s a quicker, more explosive receiver with more of an upside because he can get in and out of routes a little quicker to get himself open. They’re going to have to trust Campbell and Campbell has to trust them by throwing catchable passes they’re way. When in doubt, Campbell has Pro Bowl TE Zach Miller who had a stellar 2010 with 60 receptions for 685 yards and 5 touchdowns.  He led the Raiders in all 3 receiving categories yet that has to change for this team to see the postseason.  At receiver the Raiders are growing but right now we have to give them a below average rating.

Offensive Line: This group was given a bum rap by many for their sack totals given up last year.  Its true they gave up 44 sacks yet Raider quarterbacks were hit on only 77 plays all told.  For every team that ranked in the bottom half of the league for sacks their quarterbacks were usually hit double or even triple the amount of times they were sacked.  Much of this can be attributed Campbell holding onto the ball to long rather than consistent poor pass blocking.  Yet the Raiders went after OLine talent in the draft, first taking Stefen Wisniewski in the second round from Penn St, then Joseph Barksdale in the 3rd from LSU.  Incumbent RT Langston Walker may have a hard time fighting off Barksdale for the starting position. Wisniewski is fighting for one of the guard spots.

Not exactly sure we agree with tinkering with this line when you dissect last year’s numbers. They’re adding this talent to a line that mashed its way to 2,494 yards and a 4.9 yards per carry average.  Both those numbers ranked second in the NFL but the Eagles (yards per carry) numbers were distorted because of Michael Vick, so the Raiders were really the league’s best ground team.  Those are some tremendous numbers for an offensive line that didn’t have 1 pro bowler on it. In fact when it came to 3rd or 4th and 2 or shorter, the Raiders gained a first down or touchdown 67 times running to the left and 79 times running right up the gut.  They weren’t that successful running right with only 25 successes. So you can see where those two draft picks will be fighting for playing time. This line is playoff caliber and with improved quarterback play could be Super Bowl caliber.

Kelly and Shaughnessy welcoming Tim Tebow to Oakland

Defensive Line: What defensive line?? As we mentioned before, the ranking of 29th against the run and giving up over 2,100 yards on the ground starts right here. They also allowed 14 rushing touchdowns which negated the advantage the offense gave them anyway.  How bad are these numbers?? If the totals that Oakland gave up on the ground were attributed to a 33rd NFL team, they would have finished seventh in rushing. Yikes!! Tackle somebody! How did Richard Seymour make the Pro Bowl again?? Why wasn’t a draft pick spent here??

Well one thing they did do really well last year was get to the quarterback.  The Raiders tallied 47 sacks and 27.5 came from their front line. Matt Shaughnessy (who?) and Tommy Kelly led the line with 7 sacks each followed by Semour’s 5.5, and Lamar Houston’s (#99) 5 quarterback take downs. They may not want to tear up the field after the quarterback and disregard the run so much. Richard Seymour did see a ton of  double teams which freed up Shaughnessy and Kelly to garner 56 & 59 tackles respectively.  They may need to play at home more and become solid at stopping the run. However with 3 defensive linemen over 30 there is a chance they’ll wear down by the end of the season.  Again, why wasn’t there a draft pick spent here?  Defensive line is below average in the Bay Area.

McClain is the real deal!

Linebackers: Quite simply, the heart and soul of this defense. The Raiders have found their MLB for years to come in Rolando McClain out of Alabama. He didn’t disappoint in his rookie season, producing 85 tackles, half a sack and had an interception.  The years of a stopgap free agent filling this spot has ended. This kid is the real deal. He has range and at 6’3, 254 lbs arrives with thunder once he gets there.  This is Oakland’s version of Patrick Willis. Will soon be a Pro Bowler once Ray Lewis and a few veterans retire or play slacks off.

Speaking of Pro Bowls, we think Kamerion Wimbley was cheated of going to one last year.  He didn’t make a tremendous amount of splash plays but he was consistent.  He led the Raiders with 9 sacks, and tallied 57 tackles with 1 forced fumble from his outside linebacker spot. Those numbers on a higher ranked defense and he may have been in Hawai’i.  These 2 men were 3rd and 4th in tackles for the silver and black in 2010 and should be around for years to come.  Before the lockout, the Raiders re-signed Wimbley, formerly of the Cleveland Browns, to a one year deal designating him a franchise player for 2011. Expect a big year from him because he knows a multi-million dollar deal awaits with another performance like 2010.  These two are stellar yet need some help.  Teams have been able to get offensive linemen on them because of the leaks up front. Better play by the DTs up front and their numbers could go way up.  Raiders are playoff ready at linebacker.

Secondary: With the impending free agent loss of Namedi Asougmha looming, the Raiders quickly moved to pick up CB DeMarcus VanDyke and Chimdi Chekwa as possible replacements. VanDyke, from the U, is similar in build to Namedi, at 6-1, 180 lbs.  He has long arms and should prove to be disruptive in jamming receivers.  Along with special teamer Chris Johnson #37, they should have a succession in place.  Johnson started 4 games last year and had 16 tackles, defended 9 passes and had 2 interceptions. So this isn’t a stab in the dark. If the rookies aren’t ready don’t be surprised or disappointed if #37 is starting at one of the corner spots.  The other corner is Stanford Routt #26 who quietly had a good season with 54 tackles, 13 passes defensed, and 2 interceptions. They’ll be fine at the corner.

At safety they might be too beat up to pick off any passes.  SS Tyvon Branch and FS Michael Huff led the team in tackles with 101 and 84 tackles respectively.  That is far too many plays getting past the front seven.  These two were active and were effective blitzers with each tallying 4 sacks. Some have been disappointed with Huff from a fan’s perspective but he seems to make enough plays for me.  Last year he defensed 7 passes and had 3 interceptions. If the defensive front keeps opposing ball carriers from running at him full speed, he can concentrate on the pass where is numbers there will improve.  As a defensive foursome this group is going to get an above average ranking even with the loss of the aforementioned #21. They have 3 corners to replace him and Johnson is a cousin to former Raider’s running back Kenny King, so he has family ties within the organization.

Violator and the crazies in the Black Hole

Overall: The Raiders should be improved from 2010 and the next step is at quarterback. Campbell has to be told that he’s the starter so he can play without fear.  All those groans from long balls that don’t connect needs to go away for you can’t hide your quarterback.  The question is can he move from being a quarterback playing not to make a mistake, to one thats trying to win the game? Will he improve with his downfield reads and let fly? If he does this the Raiders challenge the Chiefs for the AFC West crown with 10 or 11 wins.  If he doesn’t the Raiders will know what to draft first starting the 2012 season and a 7-9 or 8-8 season awaits.  The other factor is if they use the money they didn’t pay Namedi to get some defensive line help.  They have to improve against the run for the aforementioned development of Campbell to get them to the playoffs. Can they?? Will they??