The pink elephant in the room is richer than all of the other elephants in his jungle. He moves about on a repaired knee and with sore shoulders. Upon these shoulders, much of the responsibility has been placed for the success of the Raiders' 2008 season.
Stop the run. Penetrate. Don't wear down. Stop the run! Can he deliver on these expectations? If we're supposed to learn from history, then the answer is a discouraging "no".
In the early 2000s, when Oakland was dominating the AFC West, the team trotted out monsters like Darrell Russell, Grady Jackson, John Parrella, and Sam Adams. Thou shalt not run on us—and teams did not.
The run defense was consistently in the top 12, and Oakland enjoyed playing meaningful games in December and January.
This year's ferocious collection? Tommy Kelly, Terdell Sands, and Gerrard Warren. The problem? We had this exact same trio to begin last season. They were absolutely shredded week after dreadful week.
Along with defensive ends Derrick Burgess and Jay Richardson, Oakland returns the exact same defensive line. Somewhere, there's a shred of hope, right? I tried to find an excuse.
"Well, Tommy Kelly was hurt last year!" Unfortunately, I looked at the numbers that the opposing rushing offenses hung on us during the first seven games of the 2007 season (Kelly was injured during Week Seven).
So what did Kelly help the Raiders achieve during that timespan? Here is how each opposing offense fared in their rushing attack Weeks one through Seven:
vs Detroit 5.1 avg. 108 yards
at Broncos 4.8 181
vs Browns 4.6 88
at Dolphins 7.1 141
at Chargers 6.4 206
vs Chiefs 3.9 126
15 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Jerry Newell 10 months ago
Apparently you did not watch the Raiders last year, or you would have noted that Tommy Kelly Was a DE last year, and was replaced by Richardson after the injury. Secondly Sands had a horrible offseason in 2007(since you are so knowledgeable about the Raiders I know I don't have to go into detail here). And Finally Drafting McFadden probably was the best aquisition to stopping the run in 08, iI agree with you there.
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alex chavez 10 months ago
Richardson started at DE games 3,4,5, and 6 last season, playing plenty before Kelly's injury. Kelly was rotated between DE and DT, as he has most of his career. I'm pretty sure he's playing defensive tackle in the picture above, an early-season game against the Browns. The fact that he's moving from DE as his 2007 primary position to DT as his 2008 main one does not give me lots of hope for his run-stopping ability.
I'm not sure what you imply with your Sands comment. If having a horrible offseason in 2007 is an excuse as to why he was manhandled throughout the year, what should be our expectations for this season being that he's having knee issues and motivational issues this offseason / preseason?
I want to believe he'll man up, clog up lanes, and not have knee problems during the year. Give me a reason to believe, Jerry! :)
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Parker Keegan 10 months ago
Wow. Good writing but bad info and analysis.
Kelly was at DE and is not at DT very much last season. That's already been said but what hasn't is that he is replacing Sapp. Sapp was a bad rushing defense DT, thats all there is to it. Big Upgrade. Oh and Richardson replacing him at DE is good against the rush.
You didnt address the secondary. The addition of Gibril Wilson, the safety with the most tackles since he come into the league, will help a lot. We gave up a lot of big runs last season and he is the kind of guy to stop it. Additionally the addition of Wilson moves Huff to his natural FS position which should help with coverage allowing for the run to be focused. Along the coverage note is Hall. He and Namdi will be taking away the pass allowing up to stack the box. Finally, Hall is a great tackler which should help on the outside routes.
Oh, and dont forget the competition for the open LB spot. We have a half dozen guys trying for this and the one who wins it will be the one who is the best against the rush. Not to mention the fact that both Howard and Morrison have said they want to become stouter against the rush this offseason and with two athletes like that I will bet they improve.
LBs and safeties are a big part or any run defense, if you are going to write an article about it you should do your homework.
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alex chavez 10 months ago
Jerry McDonald also had this nuggest about #93. "Kelly has a ways to go in terms of conditioning, as witnessed by his feeble yet comic attempt at taking a lap the other night after being called for offsides."
That's another thing that was evident last season. The DL would usually come out firing in its first two series, then break down over the course of the game. Lack of offense is partially to blame, but the knee problems of Sands and his weight issues, along with Kelly's knee surgery this offseason is certainly reason for pause.
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EndZoner 10 months ago
Good writing but you forgot to include Warren Sapp into the DT rotation. Also, the poor tackling from the FS position (notably Schweigert) helped skew these averages.
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alex chavez 10 months ago
Sapp was light against the run. Kelly was a DE most of last year. If Sapp was being replace by a behemoth run-plugger, I would be a little more optomistic. But he's being replaced by a guy who played DE and was part of the defensive line that was shredded week after week. Not all runs are up the middle, so Kelly at DE last year, facing offensive tackles mostly one on one, still couldn't man up against the run.
Basically, there's no proof that going from Sapp to Kelly is a big upgrade.
As for the linebackers, you're looking at basically the same three, with perhaps a slight upgrade depending who wins that OLB job. All players can say they want to become better at run defense. I need to see it first.
Valid point with Wilson, though if he's making the run tackles, the majority of the times it means our defense has already been sliced. He'll reduce the number of long runs, certainly, but run defense still begins with your front four.
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alex chavez 10 months ago
Either way, I'm excited about tonight's game. Huge test and we'll see the starters on D a little longer - eager to see how they do against a top rushing O.
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Jeff McMaster 10 months ago
Don't let the tone of of the comments get you down Alex. But I also suggest you listen to the crux of their critiques with an open mind and not get defensive. Good constructive criticism can found regardless of how it is presented to you. Your piece had a negative tone to it based on information that was not accurate. You know us Raider fans, when someone attacks, we attack back, even when it's another Raider fan...lol
Kelly was not a full-time tackle last year, he is this year, and by the look of the penetration he got against Frisco, I'd say he's going to be a huge improvement over Sapp. Getting in game shape will take some time, but he doesn't have to be an every down player right now, he has time to build it up.
Sands had a family tragedy last year that really kicked his ass. It's not for us to decide how a person responds to that, everybody's family dynamic is different. He has improved this year, his weight is down and his strength is up, and again, by the look of the tape in the Frisco game he seems to have a bit more of a nasty disposition to him. Hopefully his knee issue isn't one that will greatly affect him.
Joseph, Warren, and Josh Shaw are fighting for a position next to these guys. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top. Richardson was a rookie last year and he has gained in size and experience. He was a rush defender first and showed some promise. Burgess is also bigger and stronger.
The other comments addressed the added run support from the secondary, and I think they were pretty dead on that Wilson and Hall are big improvements over Schweigert and Fabian. A key, in my opinion, will be whether or not Morrison and Howard can keep their running lane discipline a bit better than they did last year. If the SAM LB spot competition brings us an upgrade I am sure that our run defense will be greatly improved.
Don't pin all your hopes and opinions on tonight's game. It's a work in progress we have two more opportunities after tonight to get a cohesive run D in place before the season starts.
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Dan Ferranti 10 months ago
Hey don't be so hard on the turds run defense! Their passing game is going to suck also. It's like they have half a team. Good run game and pass defense but lack run defense and pass game.
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Jeff McMaster 10 months ago
We weren't talking about the Chargers Dan. Your team is one injury away from having no offense at all. LT is getting old and doesn't have anyone to lead block for him, your QB is an inconsistent emotional head case, your coach is the has the intensity of a junkie after a fix. I have never seen a team more ready to crumble under weight of their own egos.
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Dan Ferranti 10 months ago
I wasn't talking about the Chargers either. I was pointing out that the Raiders run defense is not their only weakness. You were the one that brought up last years league leader in rushing YDS and TD's, the QB with a 27-9 record as a starter and the coach whose offense doesn't use a blocking fullback.
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Jeff McMaster 10 months ago
And as usual, you are a Charger fan living in the past. Before last season your group of fans had mailed in the Super Bowl trophy and were building a room for it. How did that work for you? Norv inherited a great team and managed to get it to underachieve. The track record for coaches like Norv isn't to bounce back, it's to continue to take a team down the road of decline. Look at Bill Callahan for instance. He took Chucky's team to the Super Bowl in year one, and fell off the face of the earth in year two.
I am well aware of Norv's offensive *genius.* He was a genius when he had Aikman, Emmit, Irvin, Novacek, and four pro bowl offensive linemen. Has kind of dumbed down since then in Washington, Oakland, and SF.
Your team has won with defense and a great running back. There are lots of chinks in your offensive armor, and you yourself wrote an article on LT being an injury away from making your team pretty average.
FYI, the Raiders starting D, both run and pass, looked pretty damn good tonight, without Nnamdi and DeAngelo Hall on the field. JaMarcus looked pretty damned good too. Oopsies, methinks you don't know what you are talking about.
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alex chavez 10 months ago
San Diego has reached their plateau and will begin their decline soon enough. Nothing drastic, but no more 12 win seasons. They are a 9-7 team by next year. Raiders have a high number of talented players at age 27 or younger. The Chargers have some youth too, especially on defense, so I see both of these teams set up to battle it out for 10 wins each of the next five years.
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Dan Ferranti 10 months ago
After a 1-3 start (in which the coaches were learning to use their layers and making adjustments) the Chargers finished 12-3 including an 8 game win streak. In the off-season they lost a backup CB and RB and a FB that by the end of the season was only in for 10-15 plays per game (which is why he asked for his release). In the final 8 regular season games Tomlinson rushed for 817 yds, 10 tds and had another 227 yds receiving (this includes not playing the second half of the Lions or Raiders game). Am I to believe that in the 6 months since the end of the season he has let himself go? Where is the sign that the team or Tomlinson is on the decline? There is none.
You are continuing to peddle the Tomlinson is old he must be declining myth. At age 29, Barry Sanders rushed for 2053 yds and 1491 at age 30. Jerry Rice had four of his best years from age 31-34. By your age argument both of the Turds mediocre starting WRs (Walker and Curry) should see their numbers decline because they also are 29.
"But, but, but Tomlinson got injured at the end of last season, so now he is an injury risk." But what...one injury does not make an injury risk player especially for someone who has been adept at avoiding big hits. If one injury makes an injury risk player, Bush, McFadden, and Walker have all sustained much worse injuries in their past than Tomlinson's MCL strain. Wouldn't that make them much higher injury risks?
Alex, the Raiders have 11 starting players age 27 or younger, the Chargers have 13 plus their punter and kicker. That is 15 players that are not only young but good enough to help their team go to the AFC Championship game last year. That includes 4 of 5 players on the offensive line (3 of which are pro-bowlers) and 2 of 3 on the defensive line.
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Raider Card Addict 10 months ago
Dan, do you want it sugar coated, or right between the eyes?
The Chargers have a history of coming apart, after 4-6 years. Look at their entire history. heck, you don't have to look out of this decade, just back to 2000. 1-15. Then 5-11. Even since 2004, you've had 3 out of 4 playoff years, and for those, two were one and done.
If you really want a point of contention, look at your team's overall record, dating back to 1960. 5 games under .500. In the post-season, you're 9-14, with 2 of those wins coming last year....before that, 7-13....still ugly.
Now, for the hard part. In the days of Dan Fouts, how long was the Charger's resurgence? From 1979 to 1982.....A Hall of Famer, who couldn't get it done. Then, from 1983-1991, no playoffs.
After a short stint, in 1992-1995, with their only Super Bowl appearance, and a thrashing, they were gone from 1996-2003.
So, there's the windows for two small hopeful teams. And before Fouts showed up?
San Diego didn't have a playoff berth, from 1966-1978....A long time of waiting.
I wouldn't question a Raider fan for his faith.....but more, ask yourself, how you got snookered into believing the last 4 years made up for almost 40 years of futile effort.
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