During the 19th century, initialization became more and more popular for European and American corporations to shorten or abbreviate their names in places where space was limited for writing. Such as on the sides of railroad cars (e.g., Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad → RF&P), on the sides of barrels and crates, and on ticker tape and in the small-print newspaper. These days more and more people are bringing a reverse abbreviation to their names, extending their names with clever descriptive words or phrases.
For example, if I were to reverse abbreviate my name, I might say something like Bright, Resourceful, Enlightening, and Thoughtful– all words I would like used when describing me. If someone else were to reverse abbreviate my name, like my wife, she might say Bonehead, Repetitive, Egocentric, and Too Stubborn. Yes, it’s a bad joke, but the point is this:
Today I started thinking what words I would use if I had to write an acronym for the Raiders this year. Something they could use to describe what type of team they need to be in order to meet their expectations for the upcoming season.
This is what I came up with.
R is for Run.
Plain and simple, the Raiders did not run the ball enough in 2009. Running the ball is a good way to wear out the opponent’s defense and keep the opponents offense off the field. The Raiders have to potential to be one of the better rushing teams in the NFL in 2010. If they can get the ground game going, life will be a lot easier for Jason Campbell, Zach Miller, and company.
Tom Cable’s line knows how to run block and that was evident against the Cowboys in their first preseason game. Michael Bush has proven that he is one heck of a ground threat whenever they give him the ball and he boasts a career average of 4.6 yards per carry. However, Bush has only started seven games and has only gotten 15 or more touches five times in his career. Darren McFadden is a multi-dimensional break-away threat, but if the Raiders want to find consistency on the ground in 2010 it has to come on the legs of their 245 pound wrecking ball, Michael Bush.
A is for Articulate.
I recently posted a video of new starting QB Jason Campbell talking to a local news channel. They asked him some pretty ruthless questions like: “You mention this offense like it’s a position of strength, where as outsiders and the critics of this organization would say it’s a position of weakness. For instance, why do you think Darrius Heyward-Bey, who had nine catches in his rookie year, will be better with you at quarterback?”
Campbell’s answer: “Football is all about opportunities, not just for me but for everybody. Hue Jackson has come in here and (he is) trying to build this offense and I think he’s trying to prepare us to be in situations where we will have opportunities. And the second thing is when you’re a rookie coming in, your head is spinning, there (are) a lot of things going on and the object of the game is to get better from year to year and it hasn’t started off greatly for everyone in their careers.”
Under the video posting, OregonRaider wrote, “WOW, a quarterback that is articulate, serious about the game, and pumps up the players around him. What a breath of fresh air! I can’t wait to see what he can do here.”
I don’t have to mention the contrast from last year’s QB, most of you already know. However, I will say that a word that is often associated with articulate is calculated. Articulate and calculated people are often prepared to handle many different situations. They are often accurate and effective, habitually cunning and brave in the face of danger, and they are regularly prepared to deal with circumstances beyond their control. These are qualities that the Raiders could use in 2010.
I is for Intelligent.
What do I mean by intelligent? I mean not turning the ball over excessively, not committing stupid penalties, and overall just not shooting yourself in the foot. This was too often the problem with the seven-year plague of Raiders losing. It is too often the case with all teams that lose a lot of games. Consistency is big also, but the staff is entering their second full season together and Tom Cable is going into what could be considered his third season in charge of the team.
There is no doubt there has been a change in the atmosphere around the locker room and practice field for the Raiders. Now it’s a matter of just focusing on the small things that need to happen to make the conversion from the practice field to the playing field. Cable has said that is an area where the coaches are focusing their attention this year and after the Cowboys game, Cable made a big deal about the four false start penalties the Raiders took during the game. The Raiders have to play with intelligence in 2010.
D is for Defense.
Defense wins championships and a championship caliber starting defense took the field to play against the Cowboys last Thursday night. They held the Cowboys to just three points in the first half while holding the Cowboys to 16 rushing yards on eight carries when the starters were in the game and picked up five first half sacks.
The defense played tight on a talented offense all night, although the Cowboys haven’t exactly had much success on offense thus far this preseason, you can sure bet they were looking to get on track against the Raiders run defense. But the Raiders were in a giving mood.
The beefed up their front seven in an obvious attempt to be more physical at the point of attack and there is no reason to believe that it wasn’t a good idea. The staff took a defense that showed positive flashes in the 2009 season and added a ton of depth while keeping the same John Marshall conceived scheme in place to let the starters from last year grow in and develop their skills.
E is for Even-keeled.
The Raiders cannot let their emotions get the best of them this year. There will be times when they are feeling down on their luck. There will be times when things are not going according to the game-plan.
It is of the utmost importance that they stay the course. They must keep doing what they have been doing all along; film study, weight training, working overtime. Getting into a discouraging mindset could be harmful or fatal to a team whose confidence is already fragile.
On the other hand, they cannot get too happy either. If they get the feeling that they are a really good team then they may start to slack off and the effects of that could be just as detrimental to the team. That’s why I, for one, am glad that the offense did not do all that well against the Cowboys. They got knocked down and notch and now they know that there is still work to be done. It’s good to get that taste of defeat in your mouth, that taste of scoreless in your mouth. It keeps you hungry. The Raiders have to stay even this year to be successful.
R is for Random.
This team has got to be able to mix it up this year. One of the things Donovan McNabb said after the win over the Philadelphia Eagles last year was that the Raiders showed things the Eagles offense had not seen on tape when studying to play against them. The result: six sacks and a 13-9 victory against the best scoring offense in the NFL at that time.
The Raiders will need to come out this year and show teams like the Chargers, Broncos, and Chiefs things that they have not seen over the past year or two. They will need to show teams like the Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers that they have the ability to out-defense them, teams like the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars that they can out-run them, and teams like the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts that they can out-score them.
The key to random for the Raiders will not be trying to emulate their opponents, but to be show different styles from week to week. So far, one thing that stands out is the coach’s willingness to move Nnamdi Asomugha around the field. The opposing offense used to be able to just look to their right and see Nnamdi over there and avoid him. If the “Free Nnamdi” campaign takes effect, then they will have to get used to looking around before the snap to find out where he is. This is the type of move that affects the opponent’s game-plan. Affecting their opponent’s game-plan is the type of thing that the Raiders must find more creative ways of doing.
S is for Savvy.
This word reminds me of Captain Jack Sparrow from The Pirates of the Carribean. How fitting that the last letter in my reverse Raiders acronym should end with a pirate reference. Captain Jack walked and acted like he was drunk all the time, and he may have been, but what savvy means to me via Sparrow is smooth and instinctive; naturally gifted.
The Raiders are extraordinarily loaded with talent, or naturally born abilities. One of the keys to using this talent effectively is going to be figuring out how to put it all together and make it run like a well-oiled machine. This trait is going to rely heavily on the abilities of the coaching staff. Luckily, it is an extraordinarily veteran coaching staff to show the ropes to an extraordinarily youthful roster.
The Raiders do not have to be spectacular or sensational. They simply need to be smooth and steady…savvy. And if they could mix a little smash-mouth in there somewhere, that too would be splendid.
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