Tag: playmaking

This is a Giant Game

If I scroll down my bleacher report team stream far enough I can see stories from two weeks ago about how good the Raiders Defense was playing, and how they had hopes for the playoffs. Scroll up a bit and the Raiders collapse against the Eagles has taken the headlines.

At first glance the raiders big loss could be attributed to the Raiders overlooking a struggling Eagles team. Frankly, The Raiders just didn;t match up with the Eagles well.

At the beginning of the season many picked the Raiders to be the least talented team in the league. Well the Raiders are stacked with intelligence and work ethic, even I wouldn’t argue they are stacked with talent. The Eagles on the other hand are a struggling team with tons of speed and athleticism.

I think the Raiders were just over matched all over their field. On defense, players had their hands on their hips. They failed to get any real pressure on quarterback nick foles. The Defensive backs were stumbling all over the place. And the worn out defense failed to stop the run and limit big plays.

On offense a make shift offensive line could not provide Pryor any real time. The recievers and playmakers of the raiders failed to counterreact the high octane Offense of the Eagles. While they were able to get yards, there defense just couldn;t get any real help. But its a new week and the Raiders have no time to waste as they face another struggling athletic team.

I don;t think anyone would argue that Eli Manning and his two superbowl rings are more consistent than Nick Foles. Combine that with the big physical receivers of Hakeem nicks and Victor cruz and there are elements for a similar debacle if the Raiders don’t bring an A game. On the Defensive side the Raiders will also have to do a much better job at pressuring Eli, so that he can be forced into interceptions.

Offensively the Offensive line face Jason Tuck and Pierre Paul. They have the speed and explosiveness to pressure Pryor and keep hm contained. Pryor needs to recognize blitzes and get the ball out. He needs to not have happy feet trying to perserve the play. Manelik Watson will make his starting debut, and pryor should be able to trust is offensive line. Running lanes should be there if he chooses to scramble but that should only be after his first or second read. Lastly, someone is going to have to step up and make a play for pryor. 2010 Mcfadden is not going to be on the field, so the raiders will take playmaking ability from anyone. It is time for one of the Rookie tight ends to step up and make a play. Otherwise Reece or Moore seem the most capable of providing the offense a needed spark.

This game against the Giants will tell a lot about Dennis Allen and this Raider team. Allen has already been quoting as saying this team won’t collalpse like last season. Well this will be an indicator of progression or regression for this Raiders team. The Giants have won two games and  are playing every game to win like a scrappy boxer. If the Raiders don’t want to knock the hope out of their playoff pipedream than they need to have an A game against the giants.

The Raiders Dark Horse

pryor

After mini-camp, The Oakland Raiders have taken a lot of criticism over their quarterback play.

Anyone who has played football, knows that it is way too early to make assumptions about the Raiders play as they are still shorts and tee shirts. However the amount of ducks and inaccurate throws by the teams three quarterbacks has given precedent to experts being skepical of the 3’s ability to play. Reporters even labeled the Raiders mini-camp as one of the worst showings of NFL mini-camps ever.

Espn’s Jaworski labeled Matt Flynn the worst starting quarterback. This comes a year after Flynn lost his starting job with the Seahawks to Russell Wilson. Fourth round selection, Tyler Wilson has shown flashes of ability but his lack of experience and reliance on physical ability instead of mechanics caused him to fall to the fourth round. And then there is Terrelle Pryor. Pryor was one of the most decorated quarterbacks entering his senior year at Ohio State, before he was the face of one of the NCAA’s biggest recruiting scandals. The previous regime felt the Ohio State stand out was still worthy of a third round pick in the NFL’s Supplemental draft.

Coach Dennis Allen, has since said that Matt Flynn is the starting quarterback until the competition dictates otherwise. While Flynn is the highest paid of the group, I would caution Allen of putting all his eggs in one basket. Allen may not feel pressure to play Pryor because he did not draft him, but I would think otherwise.

The NFL stands for Not For Long, and if Allen thinks he will be safe after another year of mediocrity, he has another thing coming. The fact of the matter is the Raiders are not the most talented of teams, and they need to find ways to win games. I find it hard to believe that a 6’4 , 4.5 running quarterback doesn’t give this team its best chance to win. Pryor is probably the second or third most explosive play-maker on the entire team. This is why many people are urging the quarterback to change positions, but I disagree. In a league where athletic quarterbacks, gimmick offensives, and options are dominating the competition, the Raiders best bet it is to jump on the train before they get left. Pryor has had his best seasons in a run option spread system similar to what Cam newton, Tim Tebow, and RGII are having success with. His size and athleticism open up even more dimensions and wrinkles to the Raiders Offense. Defenses around the league will have to respect both Pryor and Mcfadden in the option. Meanwhile his size and athleticism make him a threat to tuck it or chuck it from the pocket.

Sure Pryor has tones to learn in terms of becoming a quarterback at this level, but so do the other two people in the group.  I mean what is the worst thing that could happen? Many people already predict the Raiders to walk away with #1 pick, but atleast pryor will fill a few more seats, and get a few more highlights. Playing Pryor and them losing will show Allen exhausting all of his resources. If Allen elects not to utilize Pryor, many fans and officials will call for the coaches jobs as he will be quilty of not exhausting all of his resources, and that is what every coach is hired to do. I for one, just want to see what the young player is capable with, so that we can move along. I know Pryor is a competitor and gamer just as much as he is an athlete and the god given ability should have some translation to on the field results. So don’t forget about Pryor when you think about the Raiders QB competition, as his ability combined with great coaching could be scary for opposing defenses.