Raiders Rant #2

Raiders 31-10 victory dissected


14 August 2009 No Comment


Quarterbacks:



JaMarcus Russell’s 6 of 9 for 50 yards performance in the 1st quarter was enough to ease some of the angst on whether or not he can show signs of growth in 2009. He fired the ball deep, showed some nice touch on the shorter routes, but more importantly, looked poised and assertive in the pocket. Russell went through his reads, and when he needed to use his legs, unlike what we’ve seen early on in his career, the former LSU star motored for an 18-yard gain. His decisiveness will be needed if this offense wants to become better. And with young receivers, he must deliver the ball with confidence. Bruce Gradkowski took the lead for the third string job with his 9 for 16 for 161 yards and a score. He fired the ball all over the field and moved in the pocket well. Paul Hackett must be commended for the job he is doing with the unit so far.



Running Backs:



Darren McFadden was explosive and just showed why he needs to touch the ball more often in this offense. Whether on the ground or via the air, the Raiders must find ways to utilize this multi-dimensional weapon and minimize the looks that Justin Fargas gets. Michael Bush also ran well, but his blitz pick up on one play showed why this has to be the best unit on the club – by far. Louis Rankin and Gary Russell combined for 75 yards on the ground.



Wide Receivers & Tight Ends:



Chaz Schilens wowed Raider fans with his 1st half performance. Hi s5 catches for 52 yards led the team and continued the praise that has been attached to his name since the end of last year. “Felt good, we’re off to a good start,” Schilens said. “The offense is rolling, and we’re trying to score some more points.”



Louis Murphy had his lows and highs; dropping a potential first down on 3rd and 7 when a Dallas defender jarred the ball out of his hands. He did make up for it with a nice 18 yard grab on the following drive. Darrius Heyward-Bey’s only catch for 8 yards was on a slant. Oakland attempted to go over the top with the speedster a few times, but those attempts will continue to fall incomplete as teams will just scheme for his vertical strikes. Oakland will have to teach the rookie how to get horizontal and polish his skills as a target with intermediate routes before he gains more consistency vertically.



Tony Stewart’s got wide open in the end zone to give the Raiders a lead in the 1st half.



Offensive Line:



Cooper Carlisle was flagged twice: once on a hold near the goal line that pushed the Raiders farther away from paydirt and another on a false start. Paul McQuistan’s hold in the 2nd quarter nullified a nice gain for first down yardage for Michael Bush.



Defensive Line:



A lot more work is needed on this unit. The Cowboys controlled the pace with their first unit, going to quicker snaps and dictating the tempo, which allowed Felix Jones and Marion Barber to have a decent outing on their couple of drives early. Greg Ellis was active and got his hand on a pass, Jay Richardson helped mop up some plays where they got pressure in the backfield. This unit was not impressive when the Cowboys had their first unit out there.



Linebackers:



Slade Norris tallied 4 tackles, showed toughness and had good pursuit of the football. Ricky Brown was up and down, recording a sack but at times looking lost in coverage or getting lost in traffic versus the run. He was far more successful on blitzes than Kirk Morrison, but neither was overly impressive.



Secondary:



Michael Huff recorded an interception playing centerfield perfectly in support of the back half of the field. Jon Kitna’s lob was attacked by the former 1st rounder. But Huff was also penalized on a close pass interference call in the end zone. Stanford Routt was picked on as soon as Nnamdi Asomugha left the game. Roy Williams victimized him for a 12 yard gainer and on the same drive; Routt was called for a hold against the same receiver.