“We want that flag to be the dominant flag over the sports world.”—The words of the immortal owner of the Raiders, Al Davis, as he ended his chat with Sirius radio on Tuesday night.
“This is the best I’ve felt about a Raiders team in years.”—The words issued by one of the more respectable ESPN reporters, John Clayton.
“Two years ago, I forecast a seven- or eight-win season based on an easy Raiders schedule. That prediction turned out wrong as Oakland finished 5-11. What I saw on the practice field Monday indicates that — regardless of the schedule — the Raiders are headed in the right direction,” said Clayton.Clayton made three key observations in his article:
- 1. The defensive front seven is the best the Raiders have put together in years.
- 2. I love the Hue Jackson addition.
- 3. Most improved player: Darrius Heyward-Bey
Let me start with Clayton’s first point: the improved defensive front seven. Now this is in my opinion, if you’d like to read what Clayton wrote, follow the “said Clayton” link above. The front seven has been completely overhauled from last year’s starters with the only exception being Tommy Kelly. I am not including Richard Seymour because for one, he switched to being exclusively a defensive tackle this year and two, because he was not a part of the Raiders training camp, so this is his first full year, in my opinion.
The overhauled front seven was designed with one sole purpose: shut down the opponents running game. The Raiders were atrocious against the run in 2009. In fact, the rushing defense has been pretty pathetic for a long time now. You have to assume, based on the new faces that this issue was priority number one for the coaching staff.
Meanwhile, the passing defense ranked 7th overall in the NFL. Thus, the defensive backfield was left untouched for the most part. Some, however, speculate that the reason the passing defense looks so good on paper is because teams did not have to pass to score. The Raiders are banking on that no longer being the case. And now, the team is looking to make All-Pro cornerback, Nnamdi Asomugha, a more mobile and active player.
Point number two of John Clayton: The Hue Jackson edition. Right from the start of mini-camp this year, you could tell Jackson was a special edition to the team. Immediately, Jackson took pressure of head coach Tom Cable which will allow Cable to watch the team from a distance and be more apt to find the crucial little mistakes that mean so much. Also, Jackson’s role will allow Cable to help develop the offensive line, which includes impressive with high upside rookies, Jared Veldheer and Bruce Campbell.
Right from the word “break” in the first huddle of mini-camps, Jackson had his offensive players hurrying to the line of scrimmage. What’s the return value on the extra emphasis on speed? Execution; the hope is that by practicing fast from the get go the team will ultimately learn to do things faster than their opponents do on game day.
“Coach Jackson coming in here and being around Baltimore and being around Ray Lewis and a playoff team,” Charlie Frye said in May, “He brings that moxie and that swagger with him…demanding…that ‘hey this is how we’re going to do things and we’re going to do them fast; we’re going to do them right.’ We got out there and…it’s a very demanding up tempo practice. He keeps guys doing a lot of thinking out there right now, but once we stop thinking, we’ll be able to play a lot faster.”
Finally, point three of Clayton’s reasons: Improved DHB. Darrius Heyward-Bey is almost night and day compared to the guy who showed up on the field for the Raiders last year. It’s justified too, DHB has worked very hard dating back to the end of last season to get to where he is right now. Sure, there are the occasional drops, but it’s not the dropsy’s—oh no, no. This is the occasional drop that even the most veteran receivers incur during normal plays sometimes.
One thing that all of the new quarterbacks on the squad (Jason Campbell, Colt Brennan, and Kyle Boller) have mentioned during interviews is the speed of the Raiders receivers. If DHB can convert his practice-self into his game-self, then suddenly the Raiders become a very dangerous team on offense with speedy teammates Louis Murphy and Chaz Schilens also working other defensive backs, the threat of Zach Miller one-on-one with linebackers, and the dangerous combination of Darren McFadden and Michael Bush, who are both also good receivers, coming out of the backfield.
Clayton makes some good points. These three things he stated are all good reasons why the Raiders are a potential sleeper for a playoff berth in their conference. But Clayton left out one thing that when you think about the Raiders you should never overlook: Special teams.
The addition of players like Quentin Groves, Jacoby Ford, Travis Goethel, Marcel Reece, Walter McFadden, and Jerome Boyd along with veteran players like Jon Condo, Shane Lechler, Sebastian Janikowski, and Tyvon Branch make this special teams unit something special in 2010.
“I think we’re a very talented team, but if you don’t have all three phases clicking at the same time, it can be tough,” said punter Shane Lechler on Tuesday. “When things get really bad, I hope the team knows that they can rely on us. Whenever the offense is down, we try to pick them up. When the defense is down, I try to put them in the best situation I can put them in.”
“That three points is important,” said Janikowski. “You know, win the game is three points, so hopefully I can do that and deliver.”
“We’ve got our eyes set on some pretty achievable goals, I think,” said Lechler. “We just have to put all three phases together. It looks like we’re headed in the right direction.”
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