For the first time in several weeks I was able to sit down and re-watch game film this week. There were several roster changes over that time and here are some items to look for week 17 as the Raiders gear up to play in Denver.
Some thoughts, from my notepad:
Changes at LB:
Since I last re-watched a game, Sio Moore is now on IR for the team and Ray-Ray Armstrong is the starter at weakside linebacker. The two are very different players.
Sio is best when he is crashing the line of scrimmage and is very good at penetrating the offensive line and putting pressure on the QB or getting to running backs behind the line of scrimmage. He is not as good when asked to operate in space and he sometimes misses his coverage assignments on passing downs. In those instances the opposing fullback, running back or tight end will sometimes go uncovered.
Ray-Ray, on the other hand, is at his best in coverage. He shows a good first step and has the speed to be able to play sideline to sideline.
In fact, Ray-Ray is so good in coverage that, versus the Bills, he played on 3rd downs over Miles Burris, who is a liability in coverage. The team did well against the Bills on 3rd down, too, holding them to only 4 conversions on 15 attempts in the game.
Armstrong is not as good as Ray-Ray when asked to blitz, although his energy level helps him there, too. Several times, he was able to provide some pressure on Kyle Orton simply because he kept rushing and didn’t give up, to his credit. He ended the Bills game with 2 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and one pass deflected and he played 68 defensive snaps (100%) compared to Burris, who played 59 (87%).
The Raiders will likely continue to have Ray-Ray line up as the linebacker on 3rd downs versus Denver, especially given how much Peyton Manning likes to throw the ball.
Ras-I Dowling at safety:
One of the interesting – and effective – techniques the Raiders employed against the Bills was matching Charles Woodson against Buffalo’s tight ends several times when they anticipated pass plays. Woodson played well against Scott Chandler, Buffalo’s primary pass-catching tight end.
Because the Raiders are light on safety, when Woodson came down and played essentially as a linebacker or nickel cornerback, newly promoted practice squadder Ras-I Dowling came in and played safety in Woodson’s stead. This seemed to work out well for the Raiders and it may be something they will continue to try, especially since Manning likes to target his tight ends.
Shake-up on the Defensive Line:
Outside of veterans Justin Tuck and Antonio Smith, both of whom have really stepped up the level of their play in the second half of the season, the Raiders are in a youth movement on the defensive line.
5th overall pick Khalil Mack is playing most of the defensive snaps these days and fellow rookie Justin Ellis continues to earn more and more playing time.
On the flip side, veteran DT Pat Sims was only in on 9 defensive snaps versus the Bills (compared to 33 for fellow NT Justin Ellis and 56 for 3-tech DT Antonio Smith).
Side note on DJ Hayden:
This isn’t a trend as much as a simple observation: Hayden had a forgettable day against the Bills. According to PFF, he allowed almost every pass that was thrown his way, probably none worse than the Bills first score, a 42 yard throw from Orton to rookie Sammy Watkins in the end zone.
It was hard for me to fault Hayden too much for that TD, however, as he was not put in a great position to succeed. The Raiders look to be playing a zone defense with no safety help over the top, although it’s possible that Woodson was supposed to play over the top and simply did not.
In the play both safties, Brandian Ross and Charles Woodson, are lined up about 10 yards deep at the snap. Watkins runs a go route, straight up the field, and Hayden runs with him. Ross’ zone is about 10 yards deep on the defensive left side and Woodson backs up at the snap before making his way to the defensive left side about 20 yards down the field.
It’s not clear if Woodson had the area for a zone or if he simply anticipated Watkins running a deep comeback route and wanted to be in position. Either way, by the time the ball arrived deep for Watkins, Hayden was a couple of steps behind him and there was no other Raiders player within 20 yards. That is a difficult position to put a corner against one of the faster receivers in the NFL.
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