Oakland Raiders: Jason Campbell and 4 Players That Must Step Up Against Texans

The Raiders roll into Houston looking to bounce back from a tough loss to the Patriots. It's a tall order facing the high-powered Texans offense even without star wide receiver Andre Johnson. 

Arian Foster will be back in action, and that will provide a sizable test for the much maligned Raider defense. They have struggled to play consistently against the run, and if given a crease, Foster can take it to the house.

The Texans defense has shown to be a strong unit thus far and they will look to test the young and confident offensive line of the Raiders. How well they protect Jason Campbell will prove to be one of the keys of the game.

Then there's Darren McFadden, leading the NFL in rushing and looking to add to his impressive numbers this week. Can the Texans 3-4 defense slow him down or will it be the battle of the backs in Houston?

It appears that this game could be decided by the ability to stop the opponent's rushing attack. The team more successful in that area will undoubtedly have a big advantage in the outcome of the game. 

Jason Campbell

Anyone who watched the game against the Patriots realized that Jason Campbell had a very rough game. It doesn't help to wonder how things might have been different if he didn't throw those two interceptions. 

Jason Campbell understands that he needs to move on. 

The Raiders signal caller will have ample opportunities to make big plays on Sunday. I expect Campbell to be ready to pull the trigger and erase any traces of last week from his mind. 

Jacoby Ford is getting healthier by the day and barring any setback he should be more involved than his lone rushing attempt last week. I do expect him to catch the ball a few times as well as some trickery. 

Darrius Heyward-Bey had a solid game last week and has shown he is capable of being much more than a decoy.

Denarius Moore disappeared for much of the game last week and I'm sure that is something Hue Jackson and Al Saunders will not let happen again. He has shown he has the talent to be a fantastic wide receiver.

The Raiders will also have Louis Murphy back. He is their leading wide receiver from the past two seasons and comes in as almost an afterthought for many. The emergence of Denarius Moore this year, Jacoby Ford last year and the improvement of Darrius Heyward-Bey means the Raiders won't have to lean so heavily on Murphy to make big plays.

Kevin Boss is at full strength and looks ready to have a break out game against the Texans. Boss has proven to be a bigger downfield threat than the departed Zach Miller. 

The Texans defense has held up well against tight ends in weaker offenses like the Colts, Dolphins and Steelers, but they were gouged by the Saints' Jimmy Graham for 100 yards.

Kevin Boss is not as athletic as Graham but the Raiders offense is much better than the Texans three other opponents. Darren McFadden and the wide receiver arsenal will draw much of the attention, leaving windows open for Campbell to connect with Boss. He could have a very big day.

Most importantly the Texans will look to get pressure on Campbell and he must maintain his focus and be at his best when things are at their worst. If he can avoid costly turnovers and use his legs to avoid pressure and scramble for some yards, it will help the Raiders put up big numbers on offense.

Jason Campbell does not yet have his full arsenal of weapons at his disposal as Marcel Reece is questionable and it looks like Manase Tonga may see his first action this week.

David Ausberry might get involved in the fun for the first time this season if he is active on Sunday. With Richard Gordon out with a broken hand there is a good chance he will be. He could prove to be yet another weapon on the heavily loaded Raiders offense.

With all of these weapons and a league-leading rushing attack I expect Jason Campbell to step up and lead the silver and black to victory 

Manase Tonga

Marcel Reece is listed as questionable but Manase Tonga took all of the reps at fullback this week. 

Richard Gordon is inactive with a broken hand. It looks like Tonga may see his first official action as a Raider.

Tonga is not going to impress anyone with his speed like Marcel Reece but he is hungry for an opportunity and eager to hit someone.

At 5'11" and 245 pounds, he has prototypical fullback size. He was an average blocker at BYU but was used mostly to carry the ball and catching passes out of the backfield. It bodes well for the Raiders that he is versatile with how they like to use their fullbacks.

Tonga is the Raiders third option at fullback and he must step up and help the Raiders to establish the tempo of the game with their dominating rushing attack. Tonga was on the practice squad all of last year so he is well aware of what the Raiders are looking for him to provide. 

He is nimble for his size and can run inside but make no mistake, his job is to locate the first free defender and remove him from the equation. Clearing the way for Darren McFadden to hit the hole at full speed is job No. 1. 

As for job No. 2? See job No. 1.

Job No. 3 might be catching a dump off pass out of the backfield and looking to get some yardage and inflict some damage. I wouldn't count on it but it's possible. 

Tonga is a tough competitor and heart can get you a long way in football and in life. I'm rooting for Manase Tonga to take the Texans' bull by its horns and ride it to the ground. 

Jared Veldheer

Jared Veldheer has become a stalwart left tackle for the Raiders offensive line in just his second season.

Just one season after many questioned the Raiders for drafting the "small school product", he has shown to be a hard working young man determined to make a name for himself in the NFL.

Many reports talk about his dedication. He is often the last person on the practice field. Working on technique long after most of his teammates have gone to the locker room to hit the showers. His hard work is paying dividends as his pass-protection has been much better this year. Veldheer has yet to surrender a sack this season. 

He will face his most difficult test this season when he squares off against the Texans new 3-4 defense. Rookie J.J. Watt starts for the home team at right defensive end and "Super" Mario Williams is lurking at right outside linebacker. 

The left side of the Raiders offensive line has been it's strength thus far and on Sunday they can be nothing short of outstanding if the Raiders are to come away with the victory. 

The Raiders can slow the Texans pass rush much in the same way they eliminated the Broncos pass rush in week one, run the ball early and often. If they can pound the Texans with a steady diet of Darren McFadden and Michael Bush they can buy Jason Campbell a little more time to utilize his play-action ability. 

Veldheer is a big strong young man and is eager to prove himself capable of handling the challenge the Texans will provide. The Raiders cannot allow early pressure on Campbell. If Williams, Watt or any other Texans defender can hit Campbell when he's in the pocket it could mean a turnover and the Raiders cannot afford to lose that battle again. 

Veldheer has stepped up to meet each challenge head on since he arrived in Oakland and I don't expect this to be any different. No matter how it works out on Sunday I take comfort in the fact that I know this young man will leave everything on the field. 

Demarcus Van Dyke

The Raiders secondary is seriously depleted. Chris Johnson has been ruled out and Chimdi Chekwa suffered a "set back" in practice Wednesday and is likely out as well. 

Michael Huff should be back as long as his ankle doesn't give him too much trouble. He has passed all of his post-concussion tests and looks like he will be a go for Sunday. I wouldn't doubt him playing corner full time with the Raiders so vulnerable at the position. Even if Huff starts at corner opposite Stanford Routt the Raiders will lean heavily on Van Dyke and Joe Porter.

Van Dyke was subject of pretty harsh judgement in the preseason. He was routinely in great position running stride for stride with receivers but allowed completions because he would not get his head around to locate the ball. 

He is long and athletic and most of all he's Raider fast. Rod Woodson has done well to have his corners prepared for the task at hand. I believe Chekwa and Van Dyke will be solid in the near future and this is a great opportunity for Van Dyke to show that he belongs. 

It's true that Andre Johnson is inactive for Sunday but that doesn't mean Matt Schaub will be without options at wide receiver. The Texans have four veteran receivers that will look to exploit the lack of depth in the Raiders secondary.

Kevin Walter, Bryant Johnson and Jacoby Jones are all big-bodied wide receivers at 6'3" and over 212 pounds each. Bryant Johnson was a limited participant at practice on Thursday and did not participate Friday, he is listed as questionable. David Anderson is smaller at 5'10", 190lbs. but also has over five years of experience. This group of receivers will prove to be quite the challenge for the Raiders. 

If Van Dyke can step up and show that he can hold up well in coverage it will make the Raiders that much stronger when Chekwa and Chris Johnson return to action. Van Dyke is very athletic and Rod Woodson remarked about his fluid hips as one of the reasons the Raiders felt so strongly about drafting him out of Miami. 

I trust that Rod Woodson has been able to impart his wisdom to the young corners of the Raiders. It helped Nnamdi when Woodson was there to guide him so why not with Chekwa and Van Dyke. This time Woodson is not dealing with being a player himself.

Hue Jackson has done a terrific job surrounding himself with quality assistant coaches-for the most part-and I have total confidence that he will not allow this team to fail. Now, to the grand finale..... 

Rolando McClain

As long as Rolando McClain continues to play "soft" he will be #1 on this list each and every week. 

It's time for No. 55 to step up his game and start hitting some people. He needs to start playing like he's 255 pounds instead of 190. 

I challenge Raider fans to key on him on every defensive play. I DVR the games and watch them over and over again just to see what he's doing sometimes. I watch him consistently "drift" towards the line of scrimmage on running plays instead of being decisive and attacking the ball carrier. 

He consistently gets caught out of position and blocked out of the play. He appears slow because he is rarely running anywhere near full speed. It was embarrassing in the Buffalo game watching how slow he was running in pursuit of Fred Jackson. He was lacking effort and that was unacceptable.

Hustle is the one thing that everyone is capable of no matter what their skill level. I'm not going to bring up how much money they're getting paid to work their tail off. I'm going to talk about pride. How can you sit in a meeting room with your teammates and watch tape of yourself not playing hard and fast?

Take McClain's stats and throw them out the window. Watch him during the game and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

Quentin Groves may not be great but he's vastly improved from last year and he makes some impact plays. I see him flying up to stick his nose in there and make a play. I would rather have someone who is aggressive and trying to make plays than someone who comes in on a tackle to pad their stats.  

McClain hasn't even tackled well. His weak attempt at an arm tackle on Ladanian Tomlinson in Week 3 led to a huge gain for the Jets. His failures as a linebacker are a huge part of the Raiders' failure as a whole on defense. He needs to look for opportunities to hit people hard. He needs to start meeting running backs in the hole and bringing the lumber with him. 

Anyone see what I saw in the Patriots game? The Patriots knew what they saw on the game tape and used Julian Edelman and Deion Branch on a couple of running plays to block McClain out of the play. That's right, inside of five yards he allowed tiny receivers to keep him from making the play. How does a 255 pound MLB fail to demolish a WR in that scenario? They should never want to block him again. 

I believe Rolando McClain has all the tools to be a stud MLB and that is why it's so frustrating to watch him play the way he is. I have no idea what it will take to wake him up and light a huge fire under his rear end but it needs to happen right now. It's time for Hue Jackson to get in this kid's ear and get him moving. 

As long as he continues to play the way he has, the Raiders defense will struggle. I hope this is the week that it begins to click for him because the Raiders really need him to make an impact. 

In Conclusion

The Texans will get a heavy dose of McFadden on Sunday, and I don't think they're ready for what's coming down the tracks. 

It remains to be seen if the Raiders problems containing the run are repairable in one week. The team seems determined to prove themselves capable and that bodes well, but Arian Foster is one heck of a running back when he's healthy. The Raiders have their work cut out for them.

I hope the Raiders are looking at using Richard Seymour at defensive end in the absence of Matt Shaughnessy and getting John Henderson in the middle to limit the space Foster has to work with. If they go with a rotation of Trevor Scott and Jarvis Moss at defensive end they will get exploited by the run.

Shifting Seymour back inside to use Moss and Scott on passing downs makes all the sense in the world but much of the rotation will be determined by conditioning. If Henderson gets worn out, the Raiders are susceptible. If the defense can play well and get off the field in a timely fashion, they could keep Seymour, Kelly and Henderson fresh.

Raider fans cannot doubt the passion and determination of Hue Jackson or what he is capable of. He has turned this team around, and with a few guys stepping up on Sunday, they will take another step toward being the bully he predicted.