MVN: Most Valuable Network

By Raider X

Special to Thoughts from the Dark Side

I would like to start off my opinion piece of the Oakland Raiders defense with what I think of Rob Ryan. Do I think there should be a change in defensive philosophy. Absolutely. Do I think there should be at coordinator? Maybe. Why not? It’s pretty simple, Rob Ryan is NOT running Rob Ryan’s defense. Rob Ryan is running the archaic Al Davis defense. You think Ryan only wants to rush the DL, play man to man coverage with the Defensive backs and the linebackers dropping into zones. I sure as hell don’t. He got one year to run his 3-4 and it was a disaster, it was more of an issue about personnel than coaching. You had career DT Warren Sapp at DE. You had Tyler Brayton a career DT/DE tweener playing OLB, You had second generation player Grant Irons out of position (like he ever had one) at OLB. There was converted corner Ray Buchanon at FS. In reality it was more of a 5-2 than a 3-4. The result was a forced move back to the vanilla 4-3 and it seemed to be working in 2006 despite being offset by the worst offensive unit since the French Army. Unfortunately, everyone’s worst fears were realized in 2007 that the Raiders defense was a paper tiger that faced offenses that scored 17 points and coasted.

Why should be Ryan be fired? He has been the leader of a below average defense in three of four years he has been here. Most importantly, Kiffin wants him gone. I can see why he wants Ryan gone. He’s a threat to his job security. Where have we seen that before in the Raiders HQ? You had Mike Shanahan wanting Al to fire then OL coach Art Shell. What happened? You had Mike White telling big Al that he could run the team better than Art Shell. What happened? Granted this is all fourth party information, mostly from links on Raidernews.com and information on Raiderfans.net.

You think Al Davis hires offensive minds to run his team for a reason? It’s because he is extremely hands on with the defense and actually tells the coaches what to do and what formations to run. Think I am lying, google news articles on John Fox, Chuck Bresnahan, and even Willie Shaw. Al’s death grip on the defense is what is holding this team back now. I would love to see Captain Caveman running an attacking style 3-4 or 4-6 but until Al gives that up. I don’t see it happening as you are going to have vulnerable run defenses because Al’s defense can’t handle it since its designed to stop the pass.

Ever notice or get bothered at why the Raiders always have so much invested in the position of cornerback? It’s because big Al wants to relive the days when Willie Brown and Skip Thomas, Lester Hayes and Michael Haynes, and even to a lesser extent, Terry McDaniel and either Lionel Washington or Albert Lewis were running on opposite sides of the field. In today’s NFL, you can’t depend on two standout cornerbacks to cover the field due to rule changes with checking and the fact that many teams run three wide receiver sets.< Leaving cornerbacks out on an island simply no longer works especially when you only rush four defensive linemen at the QB I will take a look at what I see the Raiders having to do to fix the D.

Defensive End-Derrick Burgess started the season hurt and didn’t really have an impact until the second half of the season and finished tied with a team leading 8 sacks. He let it be known last year he wanted a new deal and will probably say the same thing this offseason. He seemed to get rid of the talk that he was injury prone until this season but is still young enough to get paid. The two biggest surprises on defense this season came from the same position with Chris Clemons and Jay Richardson. Clemons was an unheralded free agent signing who came up with 8 sacks despite being a part time player who wore down as the season went on when pressed into service. He really would be a good change up with rookie Jay Richardson. Richardson seemed like a throwaway sixth round pick at first but beat out fellow rookie Quentin Moses for a roster spot that shocked and angered the Nation. He came on and was a starter for most of the year and played pretty well. He needs to develop a bit more burst and a few pass rushing moves to become a star player, but is one of the few sixth round Raiders picks to actually stay with the team and start as a rookie was just a big bonus. Tyler Brayton will go down in Raiders history as Scott Davis being drafted in the same round as the bust of a DL drafted in the same round as a great corner, being the already mentioned Terry McDaniel to Nnamdi Asomugha. Considering he played a lot and had less sacks than safety Michael Huff shows how productive he was. I can see him being cut or traded. In fact I would cut or at least try to trade him.

Defensive Tackle-Warren Sapp has retired. He will be missed more for his leadership role than his production this past year. Luckily there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that light will be the 5 million or so in cap savings that will be netted for his retirement. Trades happen within the division about as often as Hillary Clinton has something nice to say about Barack Obama but the Raiders picked up Gerard Warren from the Broncos. I was skeptical of this move first, but he really played well in his first season as a Raider. He netted four sacks and should move into Warren Sapp’s position of being the pass rushing starting DT if the AD D stays or if the Tampa 2 comes into fruition. Bust is a word that gets thrown around a lot and if there was a bust to be found on the Oakland Raiders, it was Terdell Sands. After a 2006 where he finally came into the season in shape, it looked like had turned the corner and became a productive player on the verge of stardom. Instead, he reverted back to a guy with no intensity or production. The Raiders signed him to a big deal and can’t cut him and so far there are no takers via trade. Then there is Tommy Kelly who I think is more of a natural DT due to his strength but needs to be paired with a space eater DT to be next to him. He, Warren and someone like Glen Dorsey, Sedrick Ellis, Albert Haynesworth, or Corey Williams would be a great way to do something they haven’t in awhile, be a good run stuffing D. There are many options to fix this problem. Will get to that later

Linebacker-Thomas Howard has developed into a ball hawking playmaker that is a sideline to sideline threat on every play. His tackling improved in his second season and he is close to becoming the first Raider drafted linebacker to make the pro bowl since what has to be Matt Millen. Kirk Morrison is just as close as Howard and nearly made as many big plays as Howard. The only thing he lacks is pure bulk to stand up and push back runners. However, getting some run stuffers in front of him will protect him better. Now really, which MLB doesn’t want that? The other OLB is Robert Thomas who just seems to be out there, doesn’t make any plays. An upgrade should be looked at to see if there is one to make this core elite. Sam Williams is a nice special team’s player with starter’s experience. He is another guy I would keep as a decent back up. Ricky Brown is becoming a stalwart in the mold of Tim Johnson on special teams; however seeing him on goal line situations makes me cringe. I would love to see another back up middle and SAM linebacker added.

Cornerback-It starts with Nnamdi Asomugha. I hope to god it doesn’t end anytime soon with him either. He has developed into the prototype cornerback. Sorry Champ, you should change your name to Silver. I hope Al puts the biggest tag you can, the exclusive rights tag on him and prevent him from escaping while completing a long term deal before free agency starts to avoid tagging him altogether. On the other side, you have either the undersized Fabian Washington or the overfast Stanford Routt. This is another place the man defense comes back to bite you in the ass. Why the hell is Fabian Washington covering 6’5 inch Vincent Jackson near the goal line? Fabian seems like the prototypical cover 2 Cornerback in the mold of Rhonde Barber or Brian Kelly. Routt was a project when taken and it would be just dandy if he would develop into a Nnamdi clone. Duane Starks is a nice backup to have at the league minimum area. Chris Carr? As a corner, he’s James Trapp without the world class speed. As a safety, He’s Bob Sanders without the playmaking or hitting or coverage ability. As a returner, He’s Tim Dwight without the vision or cuts. Getting my hint yet?

Safety-Stuart Schweigart is the Hilary Clinton of players. How many people just want someone else for the sake of having someone else? There will be a replacement and we already know who it is. Michael Huff. Huff has been out of position at strong safety. Wow, a Raiders draft pick playing the wrong position….Nah… never happens. Stu is still a cheap starter/backup who could be dealt to a team that needs a light tackling, no hitting, and a step out of position Free Safety. Maybe Al could trade him to the Jets for their first round pick. Hiram Eugene is not better than Stuart Schweigart but got more love because he wasn’t. He got ran over just as much as SS. There was about a two week love affair with him until people realized it was more of the same. I cannot wait for Huff to go to FS to see what kind of playmaker he is. The bad thing is that this is a bad safety draft and a worse free agent class. Gibril Wilson anyone? For a team that spends so many picks on DBs, historically the depth has stunk especially at safety. Jarrod Cooper better come back healthy because with him, the Raiders cost the Broncos a win by kicking to Devin Hester, without him, they gave up the first 2 punt returns in the glorious career of Shane Lechler. Hopefully the knee heals and he can come back to being the only resembling a tough enforcer type player on the Raiders D.

Special teams-After week one, I had the one thing I have never had in Sebastian Janikowski, confidence. Considering most of misses were from 50 plus including two of the most impressive misses ever against Denver and the one for the record. Shane Lechler set the NFL record for net punting and a major reason that I have already discussed is the play of Joe Condo. If you look at the history of rebuilding football teams, developing excellent special teams is a pivotal place to start. A new returner is needed. I would love to see the Raiders draft Felix Jones or Darren McFadden or sign someone like Andre Davis from the Texans. New coach Brian Schneider did an excellent job and will get only better as more talent arrives.

Next up, a realisticish look at the Raiders in free agency.

Raider X is a friend and fellow Raider Fanatic who occasionally comes out of his cave to provide posts for Thoughts from the Dark Side to share his wit and wisdom.