Asking the Enemy

Rec it

Quick take, the top 2 are about expected and the rest are almost all better than expected.

He can do it all. He is a tough runner inside and out, he can catch and he can pass protect. The only question mark with him is rather or not he can handle being a lead back. Last year his conditioning came into question and he has the injury concerns.

He and McFadden have had no problems sharing the load and maybe one day they’ll both be healthy at the same time to really test this.

DHB has been getting lots of looks.

it is hard to tell it’s the same guy. That being said, he is still a ways away from being a legit #1. He needs to learn how to use his body and catch with his hands better. He also needs to stay healthy.

Among things he improved this year is his strength. He is tough to bring down after he catches the ball.

The offensive line is WAY better at run blocking and vastly improved from last year.

The biggest difference in McFadden has been his health. Of course, that left last week. Also he is running behind his pads and has shown much better balance this year. I doubt he plays this Sunday though.

will tell you Morrison was not good in run support. There were some that felt given improved D-tackle play he could be, but he had shown time and time again the inability to get off of or avoid a block. He also had the maddening habit of overrunning plays. While he racked up the tackles, he failed to make many at or near the line.

McClain had been progressing nicely. He had a solid game in Week 3. Then Week 4 came and he looked very Morrison like. It was a step back for sure, but overall fans have been pleased with his aptitude and ability. It’ll be interesting to see how he bounces back against the Chargers.

Coming into the season, his biggest question mark was in pass coverage. It had been solid until last week when Arian Foster exposed him a bit. The Chargers would be wise to isolate him in pass D on a RB.

There was no denying that the team played better with Grad. I actually went back and reviewed every passing play from the Rams game when they made the switch. The bottom line is, Campbell was making bad reads, he was too cautious, and he looked unprepared.

Grad runs the offense more the way the coaches would like. Grad struggles with accuracy and over aggressiveness, but he is a baller. His fire, competitiveness and clutch factor wins him a lot of fans.

That being said the Raiders would be foolish to not look for a franchise QB. Still, as it sits right now, they need to fix their pass protection first or any QB is going to struggle.

See above for McClain. Overall, the rooks have been solid. Houston has been a decent DE and Veldheer seems ahead of where you could expect a D-2 Tackle to be at this point.

All facets of the running game have improved and it is harder to stack the box without the fat deuce in the backfield. Like I said earlier, I doubt McFadden will be available on Sunday, which will be a blow as Bush may not be ready to go for more than 20 carries and the Bennett the third string back will probably be out as well.

The Raiders Pass D has been great. Nnam is as good as ever and Stanford Routt has solidified the #2 DB spot. SS Branch has struggled in coverage in the few times the Raiders do go to a zone, which they have done too often in the redzone. Branch is better in man against TEs than he is in zones, but no one can stop Gates 1 on 1 and the Raiders don’t often double. The Texans leading WR last week was a TE, and it is likely the Chargers will be this week.

There was no love lost for Hanson, the coach who got the broken face.

He was also awesome last week.

However, Gates is going to be so overwhelmed by the Raider defense that he will end up 0 catches and 11 drops! 7 of which will wind up as INT’s. Did I mention I don’t place money on my Raiders predictions?

All of last year and most of this the blocking has been abysmal. Rookie Jacoby Ford is lightning though and he had a 60+ return last week with the blocking slowly improving.

How was the Chargers coverage last week?

Oh the game is already sold out. All Raiders games sell out…. Actually I imagine there are tens of thousands available.

He is a converted college WR. He is a real match up problem. The Raiders like to get him in the flat on the screen and he also ran a couple of wheel routes in the pre-season.

His blocking is improving. He is not going to blow people up, but he seems to be getting in the right position to interfere. He has been a nice find at with his rate of improvement at FB, the guy has a high ceiling.

At this point, I don’t thing many fans want Campbell to start. There is the perception that Campbell would be better for the Raiders with a better O-line. As for understanding the offense, Campbell had way more reps in this offense than Grad.

Grad has a history of injuries, so I am sure Campbell will have a chance to show if he has improved. He’ll have to come in and play well before he has much a backing to start again.

He lives near Cerritos close to the park and he’s a 6’3" 315lb Mexican with no emotion and a pair of Desert Eagles.

It is a prerequisite.

Of course they aren’t! All the Raider fans I associate with would be embarrassed and enraged at that kind of behavior.

Every team has stupid fans. I went to a pre-season Charger-Seahawk game (I live in Seattle) and on the way two opposing fans were in a knock down drag out fight.

That combined with a smart draft and the hiring of an offensive coordinator instilled hope. The 1-3 start and getting torched on the ground last week has really began to erase those positive vibrations however.

Nice quote, Holmes.

I assume you mean D? When they were healthy, they were rock solid. John Henderson’s injury has been a big set back as he is the biggest run stuffer and the only thing resembling a 0 tech guy.

Seymour also has battled a hamstring, but seemed close to %100 last week and Seymour has been beastly this year when healthy.

They aren’t racking up sacks, but they have all had their moments of pressure.

It was only against Larry Fitzgerald that Nnam has moved and then it was to shadow Fitz. Nnam is playing better than ever though. He has only given up two catches for about 20 yards and had one illegal contact penalty.

I’d be surprised if you see him do anything but line up at right corner against the Chargers.