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The Bears Offensive Line vs The Raiders Defensive Line
Projected Starters:
Bears Offensive line:
LT Chris Williams, LG Roberto Garza, C Olin Kreutz, RG Lance Louis, RT Frank Omiyale
Raiders Defensive line:
LE Matt Shaughnessy, DT Richard Seymour, NT Tommy Kelly, RE LaMarr Houston
Match Ups:
1) LT Chris Williams vs. LE Matt Shaughnessy
My Picks:
Run: Williams was the best lineman last week. And he should get the better of this matchup against pass-rush specialist Shaughnessy in running situations.
Pass: Shaughnessy should win the battle on passing downs. So look for him to put pressure on Cutler and possibly finish with a sack.
2) LG Roberto Garza/C Olin Kreutz vs. Richard Seymour
My Picks:
A draw. Seymour will be double teamed for as long as he is on the field.
3) RG Lance Louis vs. NT Tommy Kelly
My Picks:
Run/Pass: Kelly should dominate. Louis was manhandled against the run last week. And one-on-one against the veteran Kelly, Louis will emulate a lawn chair in Autumn, he will get folded up. Look for Kelly to be Sapp-like on Saturday.
4) RT Frank Omiyale vs. RE LaMarr Houston
My Picks:
Run/Pass: Houston will dominate against Omiyale, who fared well last week against the Chargers top pass-rusher. However, Houston is a different breed of player—unique in the spirited Raiders Tradition of mean and gritty.
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There is a fine line between blind optimism and reality, especially when it comes to the preseason in the National Football League. The Oakland Raiders have made headlines this offseason by staying out of the news for a change.
With the exception of trading for Jason Campbell, Quentin Groves and Kamerion Wimbley the Raiders have made very few personnel moves and managed to steer clear of signing the perennial underachieving, aging veteran with nothing left in the tank.
The draft was widely regarded as a complete success, and things have been looking up for the Silver and Black. Organized Team Activities saw an increase in participation and a disappearing act of the negativity that perpetuated itself throughout the locker room for the past seven years.
Training camp kicked off with Richard Seymour riding the bus into camp with the rookies, and making it clear that this year is going to be different.
Coach Cable’s soft approach to the beginning of training camp has kept his players happy, and healthier than in years past. Apparently, somewhere along the line, the coaching staff decided to carry this past the first few days of two-a-days and implement a more “injury-friendly” format for fine-tuning this year’s squad. Cable has frequently rested veteran players, and rookies alike, leaving some wondering whether the Raiders new approach will prepare them for the grueling 17 week regular season.
Even with the drastic reduction in contact during this year’s training camp, the nucleus of the Raider offense cannot seem to stay on the field. Chaz Schillens has been held out of over 50 percent of the practices, and is clearly not ready to go.
Darren McFadden is once again showing that he cannot stay away from the training room on a consistent basis and is in eminent danger of losing his starting job to Michael Bush. The Raiders are hopeful that he can have a breakout year and better utilize his dynamic skill set as a weapon in Hue Jackson’s offense.
Darrius Heyward-Bey is being held out of practice for fatigue, and sources close to the organization say that the “fatigue” is actually the return of the nagging hamstring injury that sidelined him in 2009. Of course the organization is mum on the speedster’s injury status, but the tape around his upper leg would point to the obvious.
Louis Murphy’s suffered a concussion at the beginning of camp, and has since been on the field and semi-productive.
If the Raiders are going to make a run at the division, they are going to need to find a way to keep this already thin group of receivers healthy.
The Raiders look to be drastically improved in the passing game, but still are a long way from presenting a formidable attack. Receivers have continued to drop far too many passes and this poses a legitimate reason to be concerned. The receiving corps must learn to attack the football and run crisper routes. If Coach Cable doesn’t start making his players practice through fatigue and minor injury, the receiver will struggle to get on the same page as Jason Campbell.
The defensive line looked stellar in the first preseason game and it was nice to see. The Raider run defense has seemingly been addressed, but the linebackers were seemingly exposed in pass coverage.
During the Dallas game, nickel cornerback Stanford Routt was victimized, and that has to leave you wondering how a sixth year player of his caliber warranted a first and third round tender during the free agency period. Tom Cable has nothing but positive things to say about Routt’s work ethic, but must be delusional if he is actually considering letting Routt start over Chris Johnson.
The bottom line is: This team is close to being a contender in the AFC West. The lack of depth and proved production from the wide receiving corps could be a stumbling block, but if Cable’s rest ‘em, don’t ruin ‘em philosophy pays off this team will give it’s steadfast fan base plenty to be excited about.
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The most effective strategy in any battle is playing to your strengths. When I examine the passing game of the Oakland Raider, there are three glaring issues that present themselves:
1) The offensive line is suspect at best, particularly at the Center position and the left guard and tackle positions.
2) Chaz Schilen, arguably the best among the receivers, has constant nagging health issues that continue to sideline him. DHB, as shown in the preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys, continues to struggle getting separation from DBs, and when he does, he continues to drop the ball. Louis Murphy seems to be the one dependable receiver, however, in his sophomore year, is he experienced enough to lead this lackluster receiving group?
3) Zach Miller: Teams will load up in passing situation against Miller—well because he is the only established pass-catcher on the Raiders roster.
The Solutions:
Jason Campbell, an excellent small-ball quarterback: Hue Jackson, the offensive coordinator, needs to take into consideration Campbell’s small-ball skills when game planning. With the pass-protection weaknesses, it is a must to design plays with safety valves which means short dump-offs to RBs.
The Oakland Running backs, I believe, have better matchups against linebackers than the WRs have against more experienced DBs. In addition, this strategy will give Campbell added protection against blitzes and keep defenses honest in coverage against Miller.
Screen passes will off-set the pass-protection issues and take advantage of the Raiders speed and Campbell’s excellent small-ball skills.
Zach Miller: Miller needs specific plays drawn up for him. With his ability to create separation from linebackers, it is imperative that ideal matchups be charted beforehand to assure that Miller is put into the right situations for success.
If these strategies are implemented, the Raiders passing-game will have immediate success. Raiders Nation, thoughts please!
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The Lions came out for warm up drills with light pads only. The legs that weren’t injured appeared to be pretty fresh. Jonathan Wade was sans cast, but would put it back on for position drills later.
The team exhibited a spirit throughout this practice that has not previously been seen with the exception of the only live contact practice that they had last week.
Could it be that training camp is coming to an end?
I found a place at the top of the bleacher next to a couple of Lions fans and Mlivers from Battle Creek. It was a fun day with Don Hughes, and Brad Bradly. Two knowledgeable fans, for sure.
Lets do this!
I noticed during the stretching exercises that the players looked somehow more focused on everything that they were doing. I later found out that head coach Jim Schwartz went ballistic yesterday over the injuries, and that the team was lax in their focus on the little things.
The players broke into their position drills. The LB’s were bolstered by the return of Deandre Levy, and the addition of Lee Campbell. They ran agility drills as did the DB’s. Louis Delmas participated in these drills but was held out of seven-on-seven, and team drills.
The QB’s were throwing out-cuts to the running backs, while the receivers worked on their “release” moves off the line of scrimmage.
The special teams worked on field goals with new kicker Steven Houschka. He looked solid, and on the last rep of the drill holder Nick Harris ran a fake run to the left edge. Nice wheels, Nick.
Then came some seven-on-seven drills where Matt Stafford put his arm on display by connecting on every pass thrown. When Burleson caught his first ball, the sidelined DB’s shouted “Happy birthday, Nate!”
Trust me, folks, Matt Stafford looks like he’s been a Pro Bowl QB for years. His release is so quick, and his passes are always on the button. It’s a real pleasure to behold. The difference in Stafford over last year is astonishing.
Drew Stanton took the remaining reps in seven-on-sevens, as well as every rep in the first team drill period. Stanton was inconsistent, at best. He was overthrowing receivers, and some of his throws looked like the proverbial wounded ducks.
With all the reps that Stanton got in practice today, I am beginning to wonder if his days are numbered in Detroit. He was intercepted three times this morning. Dre Bly, Randy Phillips, and DeAndre Levy got in on the feast. Even Amari Spievey broke up a Stanton pass.
Perhaps the Lions are putting together a film package for Stanton (who worked on special teams again) to take to job interviews.
With the brutal cuts coming up soon, I’m afraid that Drew Stanton is a luxury that the Lions can no longer afford.
Newly acquired DE Laurence Jackson, who might turn out to be yet another Martin Mayhew coup, arrived in the middle of practice in street clothes. He received a warm welcome from teammates, new and old. He introduced himself to his defensive line mates and hung out with his newest best friends.
Lo-Jack, as he’s known, was a 2008 first round pick from USC. He went 28th overall. The Lions got him for a sixth round pick in 2011.
Now, when you consider that this sixth round pick was originally a seventh round pick (The Lions flipped a seventh rounder to the Eagles in the Sims/Scheffler trade for the sixth rounder from Philly), the Lions got what appears to be another steal from Seattle.
How could Pete Carroll, who coached Jackson at USC, let him go so cheap? The answer is that Carroll has installed new offensive and defensive schemes. This made OG Rob Sims, and now Jackson expendable.
Any time you can get starting caliber talent that cheap, you jump on it. Thanks, Pete! Do you have any spare linebackers that you want to give away to the Lions?
Speaking of the LB’s, the Lions ran the 3-4 exclusively during team drills today. Vinnie Ciurciu didn’t participate. They played Julian Peterson, and Isiah Ekejiuba (LOLB), DeAndre Levy, and Landon Johnson (LILB), Lee Campbell, and Zack Follett (RILB), and Caleb Campbell, and Ashlee Palmer (ROLB).
Lee Campbell appeared to be much more comfortable in today’s practice.
The special teams drills focused on kick, and kick coverage. Instead of launching balls from a “jugs” machine the new kicker, Steven Houschka got a good long look.
Houschka’s first kick was fielded at the seven yard line. All other kicks were fielded at the goal line, or in the end zone. A very fine leg. Houschka’s field goal work was perfect, and the Lions even worked an onsides kick. Houschka’s onsides kick was perfect.
The team drills focused primarily on short yardage situations. Willie Young jumped offsides once, but may have been drawn off. On another play he cleanly beat Jon Jansen for what looked to be a certain sack.
T.J. Rushing, the newly acquired CB looked like Amari Spievey. Inconsistent.
CB Jonathan Wade was standing beside Louis Delmas on the sidelines. When WR Derrick Williams streaked down the field near the two DB’s, Wade took off in hot pursuit! The crowd loved it!
Practice broke up early. On the way home I listened to a radio interview by Karsch and Anderson of 97.1 The Ticket with OT Jon Jansen. Jansen raved about the work ethic of Ndamakong Suh.
Suh questions the offensive linemen about his own performance. What can I improve upon? Are my angles correct? Am I showing too much chest? Am I tipping off my intentions in any way?
Jansen said that any time you have a rookie going to those lengths to get the little things right, you have a very, very special player.
Well, everybody, I hope that you enjoyed my Detroit Lions Training Camp series. It was a ball to watch our Lions in such an intimate setting, among the Lions faithfull.
The lessons learned, the observations made, and the real improvements witnessed have made the experience priceless.
I also wish to thank each and every one of you who participated in our energetic and thought provoking discussions.
Thanks again!
GO LIONS!!!
Mike Sudds is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. Mike is also an analyst and correspondent for DraftTek.com.
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After an uneven performance against Dallas in its preseason opener, I’m not going to say that Oakland has turned the corner on a seven-year run of bad football, but things are starting to look a little brighter for the silver and black.
Changes are happening in Oakland, but it’s not all focused on the glamour positions.
Certainly, Jason Campbell has proven to be an upgrade over JaMarcus Russell, but after just one preseason game, the defense has stolen the show—especially if the new schemes and personnel continue to work.
For starters, the defense allowed just 66 yards rushing, which looks to be a huge improvement from years past, when Oakland ranked near the bottom of the league in that department.
Still, it’s only preseason and not much can be gained from that.
To be convincing to the doubters, the defense needs to show that it can play at this level week in and week out. A new defensive front, along with the concept of allowing Nnamdi Asomugha to freelance in the secondary, could make this defense as fearsome as something found only in depths of the Black Hole.
Moving Richard Seymour to the inside, with a slimmed down Tommy Kelly at nose-tackle, has allowed single blocking for the Raiders’ youthful ends. With the type of speed Oakland has here, it’s essentially a free pass to the quarterback.
Both Lamarr Houston and Matt Shaughnessy received high praise for their efforts against the Cowboys last Thursday night—as each racked up a pair of sacks on the bewildered Cowboys line.
In a new twist, two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha will now get to roam free in the secondary and cover the opponents’ best receiver with regularity. We’ve heard of “Revis Island,” now we’ll see if the Raiders shut-down corner is up to par with his counterpart in New York.
Asomugha says that the fans will finally see what NFL coaches and personnel men have known for a while.
“There are so many times when I feel like I’m having the game of my life and no one knows it,” Asomugha said. “That’s rough. No one sees it. The offenses see it, the people that watch film see it but the fans don’t see it.”
The national media hasn’t lost sight of the team’s defensive upgrades. ESPN.com senior writer John Clayton said linebacker Rolando McClain and Houston have both performed as expected throughout the first week of preseason. And SI’s Peter King had this to say about the Raiders in his latest edition of Monday Morning Quarterback:
“The Raiders looked better than we all thought. Smart to keep Tom Cable and give the team continuity, and smart to play an attacking style of defense from the first preseason series. I also hear nothing but good things about the job Hue Jackson’s doing as offensive coordinator.”
OK, I get the fact that Oakland’s NFL-worst 29-83 record over the last seven years is an embarrassment. And it’s not just the media who remains skeptical about the new and improved Raiders, it’s everyone. It’s time to put up or shut up.
Success for the Raiders hinges on many things. It’s not hard to envision things going south— the offense may have a huge melt-down without a clear No. 1 running back.
Michael Bush should be the guy, but Darren McFadden is the top pick from two seasons ago. If Campbell doesn’t find early success in the passing game, panic could set in—Cable could be fired and Oakland could easily wind up going 6-10.
On the other hand, if this defense continues to develop and Campbell is not forced to shoulder the burden of winning games with his arm, Oakland may have a formula for success, à la the 2000 Baltimore Ravens.
Getting back to Campbell, he went 7 of 13 for 49 yards and had a passer rating of 62.7 in his debut. Reaction: Meh…That was basically what he did as a Redskin.
In his postgame remarks, Campbell was optimistic about building a better rapport with this young but talented group of pass catchers, saying the deep ball was there.
“We missed it by a half-step. That shows you that there is a reason to be confident about things,” he said.
In camp, the connection with Zach Miller is undeniable, but will the rest of the Raiders receivers catch on?
Specifically, all eyes have been on No. 1 selection Darrius Heyward-Bey and to a lesser extent, standout Louis Murphy.
Last week in Dallas, there wasn’t much to see from either receiver. Campbell threw in Heyward-Bey’s direction in the first series but came up empty. Saturday at Chicago, expect the Raiders to find Heyward-Bey early and often.
More importantly, it’s now time for Bush to solidify his position as the team’s starting tail back. In 2009, Bush led the Raiders in rushing with 589 yards and three touchdowns. Some will argue that he did it without getting the ball nearly enough. But it’s hard to run the ball when you’re behind on the scoreboard.
Still, 14 is a key stat to remember with this power runner. That’s the number of times Bush carried the ball in his two 100-yard performances in ‘09. Oakland will need more of the same this season.
Cable and Hue Jackson may be tempted to get McFadden heavily involved in the power running game—just to see if he can provide a spark—but that would be a mistake, given McFadden’s injury history.
Yes, he has homerun capability, but the fourth-overall pick from 2008 isn’t nearly as durable a runner. Bush is the real work horse in this offense and has to start proving it soon.
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