The Raiders finished off the season sweep of the Broncos with a win at home 39-23 on Sunday. They now stand at 7-7, and 5-0 in the division. They have the opportunity now to go a perfect 6-0 in the division if they are to win at KC. They need a lot of help, though, if they have any thoughts of making the playoffs by winning the division. They need Kansas City to lose this week and San Diego to lose one of the next two, all while the Raiders winning out, if that's going to happen. First of all, let's take a look at some points from the win versus the Broncos:
The running game will take us where we want to go. The identity of the Raiders lies in the running game. The simple equation is, if we run the ball better than our opponent, we are going to win. This also means that we have to do a good job of stopping the run. The times where we have run the ball well and lost, it was because the other team ran the ball better. (see Houston, Tennessee, and Jacksonville games) Campbell is a better QB when his game relies on the play-action pass.
Our offense needs to go through our play-makers. McFadden, Ford, and Reece are all players who just seem to create problems for defenses. McFadden had over 100 yards rushing and Ford had a 71 yard TD run, and Reece had a 73 yard TD catch. It's hard for teams to match-up with the speed and power of McFadden, the speed and elusiveness of Ford, and the size and speed of Reece as a FB. When all three of these players play a role in the offense, the team runs on all cylinders.
McClain is coming into his own. It was clearly evident on the first series that Rolando has started to feel more comfortable in the NFL. He saw a hole on a run play and slashed through it tackling the runner for a two yard loss. Earlier in the season, Rolando just let the game play around him, getting his sea legs. Now, the first round pick is seeing the plays develop and attacking. His development is going to determine how good this defense can be next year.
The defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage. I can't remember a time when a team in the NFL spent more time in the backfield than the Raiders did. They had what seemed like one player on every snap knife through a block to wreak havoc on a hand-off or pass play. The second half was especially nightmarish for the Broncos as they were only able to muster 15 yards rushing on 17 carries, including a safety, and only gain 68 yards in that half. The halftime pep talk really lit a fire under the team.
This is the most improved offensive team from last year. Somewhere between week 3 and week 5, the offensive line figured out how to block. This is the same line they put out there last year, minus their rookie LT Veldheer. I know that Veldheer doesn't get all the credit. Take a look at the numbers: Last year, the Raiders scored 12.3 points/game, averaged 266 total yards/game; 166 passing, and 106 rushing. This year? How about 25.2 points/game, averaging 360 total yards/game; 202.5 passing and 157.5 rushing. Those are remarkable turnarounds. Nobody else can even come close to that kind of improvement. There are reasons to be optimistic for a return to dominance.
Feel free to post your observations from this week's game.
No comments:
Post a Comment