Bleacher Report - Articles by Rick Faller

Raider-49er game "is what it is" and Brett Favre

Rick Faller — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:14:48 -0400

Raiders-49er game “is what it is”

It has been a few months since I have attempted to put words to paper. During the long summer I have had trouble getting my interest up. Now that we have our first preseason game in the books I’m starting to get a bit jazzed up.

Friday night’s game between the Raiders and 49ers is what it is or should I say was what it was? Two words, Its Preseason!

Going into the game I thought the Raiders would be able to run the ball and they did. I thought the 49ers would have trouble scoring and they did. No crystal ball here. The 49ers had trouble most of last year scoring, and the Raiders for the most part ran the ball well last year.

There was a lot of gushing over McFadden and Bush going into the game. They both did fairly well as did Justin Fargas with five rushes for 25 yards for a 5.0 YPC. JaMarcus Russell did not throw the ball all that much so it still remains to be seen if he has what it takes in that category.

It appeared that the game plan while JaMarcus was in the game was run, run and run some more. RB Louis Rankin (un-drafted FA) ran up a lot of yards for the Raiders against some guys that probably have a better chance selling peanuts at a game during the regular season than actually playing in a game. Again, no Kool-aid drink here, it was a practice game that means nothing. Well it’s better to win than lose I suppose.

Worth noting; Terdell Sands showed great hustle getting down field to recover a fumble. Word is he came into camp much more dedicated and about 65 pounds lighter this year. Andrew Walter shows he may be the best passer on the team as he entrenches himself as the back up to JaMarcus Russell. Todd Watkins is a surprise, as was the play of Kalimba Edwards DE and Trevor Scott DE and Jake Grove C. (I'm sure there were others)

For the 49ers team, I don’t know that much about the players as one should if he is to write about them.

I do know enough to be impressed with Josh Morgan WR. He looks to be a good draft pick. J.O’Sullivan QB looks real nimble and has some zip on his passes. He may also have a little Tuiasosopo in him. That is, they always give the other team a chance to win the game. Chalk it up to trying too hard I guess, that interception deep in Raider territory was not pretty. Did I mention it’s a Pre-season game?

Next week the Raiders go to Tennessee. Ronald Curry WR and Rick Brown LB will see action for the first time. We will see if more passing packages will be in the plan for JaMarcus Russell,

Late news is the Raiders just signed Sam Archuleta to give the defense a little more depth. I doubt he will do more than help on special teams as he is a great tackler and has a nose for the ball.

I have to add a little something about Brett Favre. I mean everyone else has had something to say so why not I?

Brett has been one of those guys that have helped put the NFL where it is today as a multi-billion dollar industry. I will never forget how he torched the Raiders one night on the same day his father passed away. He is a fans player and a gunslinger that almost commands us to stop whatever we are doing and watch when he is in the game. He will always excite you. He will also always give the other team a chance to win and that is the mystery to his make up as a star in this league.

Having said all that, I believe the news coverage has been just a bit over the top.

Brett has threatened retirement, retired, and came back three times. The Green Bay Packers did the right thing in trading him. The Packers had (after a tearful staged retirement performance on television by Brett) set up their future plans and their 2008 draft based on his Brett's actions.

Brett is now a New York Jet and I could care less. Well until he plays the Raiders that is.

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Al Davis Gets Defensive about Raiders' Darren McFadden Pick

Rick Faller — Sun, 25 May 2008 10:32:40 -0400

The Raider organization, along with its headmaster Al Davis, is often the team many football fans love to hate.

Football experts and sportswriters just can’t stand it when Al baby goes against their words of wisdom. There are many that think the Raiders blundered in taking McFadden instead of Dorsey or Gholston to help the defense.

Grading any draft until after the first year is a futile exercise at best. Rest assured that no matter the outcome of the Raiders draft or upcoming season, Al Davis will never get credit for anything good and for sure will be blasted if it turns to dung.

Poring over the 2007 stats, I thought we needed to pick defense with our No. 1 pick. After stepping back and examining the pick, I concluded that Al Davis did in fact help the defense with this year's pick. Now before you all accuse me of smoking the drapes, I offer a few little nuggets to support my theory.

We all know Al Davis loves numbers and that he depends on such measurable stats such as height, weight, and speed at the combine each year. He also pores over each game stat until late into the evening after every game.

I’m sure he understands exactly what our biggest weakness was last year in terms of winning ball games. To the average fan, the assumption was the defense and our inability to stop the run was the problem. I think he found out something else that was at least as glaring. What I noticed was that we lost seven games that we should have won.

Detroit L-21-36, Note we did not score in the first half. Three touchdown passes by Kitna and three turnovers by us late.

At Denver L- 20-23 TIME OUT! Scored three points in the first half.

Kansas City L 10-12 AGAIN we are shut out in the first half!!!!!!!!!

At Tennessee L 9-13, Shut out in the second half.

Texans L- 17-24, AGAIN, AGAIN we are shut out in the first half.

Bears L- 6-17, Just two field goals by Sea Bass?

Colts L 14-21, Inept offense and turnovers hurt our chances.

Okay, I think you know where I’m going with this. We won four games and we should have won seven more that had nothing to do with the play of our defense!

It is easy to see if you continually fail on offense and you continually ask the defense to save your ass because you cannot make first downs, score points and or keep the other team’s offense off the field. It is a recipe for disaster.

Too often, the enemy just called running plays over and over, not worrying if they made it or not because they did not fear us on offense. Punting to us was nothing to fear and was probably part of the game plan.

Here are some numbers to support where I’m going with this. We averaged 17.7 points per game, 26th in the league. We passed for a net 164.4 yards per game, 31st in the league. Our total yards were 294 per game, 25th in the league. This more than offset being ranked sixth in rushing. Time of possession was decent at 31:06.

With the 2008 draft in the rear-view mirror, there has been much speculation and interpretation of the Raiders No. 1 pick Darren McFadden. Will he take the pressure off JaMarcus Russell? Will he be used occasionally as a wideout or even throw a few passes?

With the addition of McFadden in the backfield, along with Michael Bush and Justin Fargas, we will improve greatly the numbers on offense. That will benefit the defense more than any other area. If we just add six points per game and two minutes of time of possession it will help our defense in ways you can’t imagine.

This will also help knock off as much as six points allowed per game. Last year, we gave up 25.4. With McFadden, I believe this is a distinct possibility. I know some will say I’m drinking the Kool Aid. I assure you my drink of choice is Heineken, very cold. As far as the drapes go, if you got ’em, light 'em up!

Al Davis: Speed or Need in This Draft?

Rick Faller — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:38:16 -0400

Rumors seldom affect Al Davis' decision making when it comes to his Oakland Raiders.

Rumors run rapid this time of year, with much speculation about what Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders will do in the draft with the fourth-overall pick.

I believe that Al Davis can see a super-fast Marcus Allen in Darren McFadden, and although we can't be sure of his true beliefs, he probably understands that the Raider's greatness of the past is entwined with the Marcus Allen era.

Darren McFadden would certainly bring some much-needed excitement to the Raiders and their fans. The question is however, would he bring more wins?

Running the ball was not the problem last year. The Raiders ranked sixth overall in the NFL in rushing. So let's speculate with DMac that we move up five places to first in rushing. Would we win more games?

With the many needs of the Raiders, DMac may be a luxury we cannot afford. Keep in mind the optimum shelf life of RB is about five years. Having said all that, don't forget we have Michael Bushm, who basically red shirted last year. He could be a special player given the chance this year.

The defense was ranked dead last in stopping the run in yards per carry and in yards allowed per game. Now if we really stretch our imagination and believe that Terdell Sands, newly acquired William Joseph, Kalimba Edwards, a rehabbing Tommy Kelly, and often injured Gerard Warren can do the job, then McFadden is a good pick. If you think this is not the case, then a DT or DE to occupy the minds of our opponent's offensive coordinator should be the pick.

Chris Long, Glenn Dorsey, or Sedrick Ellis would be the safe way to go if available. I can’t help think that a good offense may get you to the playoffs; however, it’s a great defense that wins championships. Ask the Patriots!

On Todd McShay, I agree with his assessment. We need either a game-decider DE or DT. The WR position was addressed in free agency (quite an upgrade from last year). A sleeper that is already on our roster coming off IR could be Johnathan Holland, if he can stay healthy. The kid is a missile!

Strong-side LB could use an upgrade, however, a good D-line, like the one at Baltimore or at Jacksonville, would protect our LBs with overwhelming play that allows the ordinary LB look like a pro-bowl player.

So fix the D line, and you will improve the LB position also.

After all is said and done, I would not be surprised to trade out of the fourth spot for more picks in the first, second, and third rounds. Dallas, New England, or even Cincinnati probably would love to jump into our spot if DMac is available. I would love to see the Raiders switch first-round picks with Cincinnati, plus they can throw in WR Chad Johnson, and we could still get Sedrick Ellis out of USC in their position.

No matter who big Al picks, the Raiders will gain an excellent player that will help tremendously with the upcoming season.

My overrated players, or those that have a chance to be busts, it is hard to say. History shows there are no favorites when it comes to overrated players. The problem as I see it, is there is too much put on the measurables, and not in the real fact that this guy is a football player.

Matt Ryan, Dominique Rodgers-Crommartie, Ryan Clady. All played well in college. The difference in some divisions in college and jumping to the NFL is much like comparing a Peugeot with a Cadillac. Only time will tell on these players.