Defensive lines of the AFC West from an Oakland Raiders' Eye View

Thoughts from the Dark Side

June 5, 2008

Defensive lines of the AFC West from an Oakland Raiders' Eye View

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Among the best known of Al Davis's mantras is, "The Quarterback must go down and go down hard." The primary responsibility for this falls on the defensive line. The other thing that the defensive line is responsible for is this little detail that the Oakland Raiders seemed to forget in the vast majority of their games last season, stopping the run. The Raiders aren't the only team in the AFC West to have problems along the defensive line last season, so lets take a look at how they stack up against the rest of the AFC West.

San Diego Chargers:

The San Diego Chargers run a 3-4 defense, so the responsibilities of their defensive line are different than the rest of the division. They get the nod at the top spot because they fill their roles well, which allows OLB Shawne Marriman to wreck havoc on opposing quarterbacks. The terrible trio of NT Jamal Williams and DEs Igor Olshansky and Luis Castillo are great at taking up blockers and disrupting the opposing running game. They aren't going to have high sack totals, but that is the nature of a 3-4 front. However, it is through them that Merriman and Shaun Phillips find their success.

OUTLOOK: Look out AFC West offensive lines. These three look poised to continue making things easy for Merriman and Phillips.

Oakland Raiders:

There is a steep drop off here, as the Raiders' D-line has a long way to go to be as well rounded as the Chargers. Derrick Burgess is one of the best pass rushing defensive ends in the game right now, despite coming off of a sub par season last year. Tommy Kelly looks to be rehabbing his injury well, and Gerrard Warren is looking good in camp. Terdell Sands has to have a rebound year. Kalimba Edwards will be pushing second year player Jay Richardson, and Trevor Scott will be looking to get into the end mix. William Joseph has to step up if he wants to make the team.

OUTLOOK: This unit is the question mark for the Raiders' defense. If they play to potential, the team will be scary good.

Kansas City Chiefs:

If they still had Jared Allen, the Chiefs would be pushing the Bolts for the top spot. Tamba Hali is strong at DE, and they got possibly the steal of the first round with Glenn Dorsey at DT. Alfonso Boone has some huge shoes to fill at DE. Ron Edwards and Tank Tyler will compete for the non-Dorsey tackle position.

OUTLOOK: With Allen the Chiefs terrorized quarterbacks, but were average against the run. Without Allen, this unit may be just average unless Dorsey way outplays his rookie status.

Denver Broncos:

Last season the Broncos' run defense was almost as bad as the Raiders' run defense. The defensive end tandem of John Engleburger and Elvis Dumervil don't put a hunka hunka burning fear into opposing quarterbacks. The Broncs really need Jarvis Moss to step up as a pass rusher to make any noise. Dewayne Robertson was a good trade from the Jets, but Marcus Robinson's off field problems could cost him some time.

OUTLOOK: Not sure if the Broncs will be able to stop the run or rush the passer.

Tired of praising the Bolts here at TFDS.

Tags: NFL, Oakland Raiders, Raiders

Discussion

19 Comments on "Defensive lines of the AFC West from an Oakland Raiders' Eye View"

Posted by Josh, June 5, 2008 5:51 AM

Great article, but Dewayne Robertson came from the Jets.

Posted by slv&blk4life, June 5, 2008 7:11 AM

Oakland will be a top 5 defense over all and #1 against the pass again(2006) just look at the tandems we've set up ,Wilson and Huff at safeties ,Hall and Asomugha at corners and by the way that should be even better than people thought Bailey and Bly were gonna be but weren't and let's not forget one of the league's best linebacking tandems , Howard and Morris(that's 10 picks last year between just them two)and oh yeah i haven't even talked about the line yet . We have Burgess and Kelley and we know what they can do ,Richardson intrigues me and i want to see him get better , i still wish we kept Clemons he was real good (you're welcome Philly)but we do need to stuff the run more but with our secondary i don't see anyone gaining big runs

and remember Raider Nation; every black cloud has a silver lining

Posted by Mad Road Dog, June 5, 2008 8:04 AM

The key for the Raiders is Sands playing better than what he has shown and staying relatively injury free.

Posted by Superbowl again, June 5, 2008 8:33 AM

Ummm, how about Spires?

Posted by Rob Calonge, June 5, 2008 9:11 AM

Josh, thanks for the catch. The article has been edited to reflect that.

Posted by Cujo, June 5, 2008 9:48 AM

superbowl is right Spires is going to be the starter opposite of burgess and from everything I've read he is playing like an animal, Kiffin is really impressed with him. Huge bonus if he can bring pressure and free up the DT's from double teams.

Posted by Diamond Jim, June 5, 2008 10:05 AM

DT is a big 'IF'. Basically, we replaced Sapp with Joseph if we keep four DT's. At DE, at least we brought in some bodies. I think we would all feel better if we brought in another two gap DT who could play the run.

Posted by inonewordraider, June 5, 2008 10:54 AM

Good call Superbowl, Spires will win the starting nod and along w/ Burgess who will start the season healthy will be getting to know opposing qb's very well. G Warren and Kelly will hold their own inside with G Wilson helping in the box allowing our linebackers to do what they do best, play the pass

Posted by darren, June 5, 2008 11:12 AM

Burgess Kelly G.Warren Spires

Edwards W.Joesph Terd Richardson

Scott Scott

GRADE B-

LB Howard Morrison Thomas

Ricky Brown Hartwell Alston

Iseah Ijekia

GRADE B+/A-

DB Aso DHall

Routt Bowie

(prolly forgot somebody for CBs)

G.Wilson Huff

Tyvon Branch H Euge

Coop

GRADE A/A+

#10

Posted by slv&blk4life, June 5, 2008 11:58 AM

just keep in mind for as good as people want to paint the chargers to be last season this top defense let a rookie(Adrian Peterson) set an NFL rushing record on them now granted i admit AP's talent but still and Patrick your dead on about Dever and Dorsey is a steal i think , i watched all his games at LSU and he is everything they say but it's not enough not for this team right now but i will say this for the chargers front 3 they are good at what they do when you have consistancy like that you can run the 3-4 not everyone can thanks great article

#11

Posted by LDizzle, June 5, 2008 4:02 PM

Getting 2nd place here is not a huge accomplishment. I think the Raiders get it by default simply because the Broncos Run defense was actually worse than ours last season and the Chiefs traded away Jared Allen.

#12

Posted by LDizzle, June 5, 2008 4:10 PM

darren who is Iseah Ijekia?

#13

Posted by Kevin, June 5, 2008 5:16 PM

Actually the Broncos were one rank better in the run department, but when both teams were that bad who is counting. Denver is poised to have their worst year in a while, I think the Chiefs will finish ahead of them due to a late push as their rookies get some experience...

It should be comical to see the donkeys and chiefs try and throw agianst us.... question is, will it be equally comical for them to run against us??

Silver and Black baby!

#14

Posted by Idaho Raider Fan, June 5, 2008 5:56 PM

The Raider Defense looks good on Paper.

The DL with Burgess rushing and one of the best tackling DT's in the league in Tommy Kelly a real diamond in the Rough...the D-line looks good. You are correct on Sands stepping up and Richardson maturing will help the line even more. The LB core that can defend both run and pass. The new Silver Blanket of Nnamdi, D-Hall, Wilson, and Huff finally playing in his original spot with the absence of Slowgeirt and with Routt playing nickel...Scary good is Right.

Isiah Ekejiuba is one of the second string LB's. He can hold is own....but he is no Morrison or Howard. Good Special Team player as well.

#15

Posted by pat T, June 5, 2008 7:24 PM

I think our run stopping ability will improve TREMENDOUSLY... Not so much because of the likely guys like Tommy Kelly, Terdell Sands, Gerard Warren, and/or William Joseph... I think it'll be Gibril Wilson that will help... I dont remember the last time the Raiders had a physical in your face, in the box type safety... This guy enjoys hitting... Thats awesome... I would love to see him NAIL Ladanian Tomlinson when he tries his stupid stiff arm... Cant wait until the season starts...

GO RAIDERS!!!

#16

Posted by J Griff, June 5, 2008 8:33 PM

Ur grades for our D line seem a little high. Don't get me wrong, I'm drinking the Kool-Aid, I really believe that Kelly will thrive in the 3 technique and be a singificant upgrade over Sapp, especially against the run... but only if he's healthy and can stay healthy. Burgess is as good as any pass rush end in the biz, but also coming off sub-par injury season. Warren plays very well when he wants to, but really takes too many plays off... something i think will be remedied if indeed Kelly and Burgess are back at full force, and the guy you omitted, Gerg Spires, could be the best of all our free agent picks, especially dollar for dollar. Spires is a hard-nosed, all out workhorse and is exceptional against the run. He's not in his prime but hopefully his work ethic and demeanor will rub off on teammates. Joesph and Sands are nothing but dissapointments and while I hope one of them steps up and shines as a slightly better than servicable rotation DT, I'm not getting my hopes up. There's a Lot of 'ifs' in this bunch, so much so that there is a very good chance our DL is the worst of this group yet again. But unlike Denver and KC, if the stars align right for the silver and black (and I can't help but feeling this is the year they actually might) this DL could be actually be a dominant force, and one of the best in the AFC. As for my expectations? I'd say Spires surprises everyone and is our most consistent D-linemen. Kelly and Warren both show flashes of greatness, while maintaining good but not quite star level production (which in and of itself is a Huge upgrade over last year), and Burgess returns to form with 10-14 sacks and another Pro Bowl season. Were not gonna be compared to the fearsome and dominant front 7 of the San Diego's of the world, but certainly average if not slightly above. A move from 31st against the run to somewhere in the range of 12th-18th would be more than enough to give us serious and realistic hopes for making, gulp... The Playoffs. That's right, pour urselves a nice big glass of the Kool-Aid, and sit back and relax Here's to hoping the stars align for all Raider Nation! After all we've endured the past 5 season, we deserve it.

#17

Posted by draiderfan, June 5, 2008 10:05 PM

Top 5 Defense? Not with that DL. Raiders have two PB type CB's too bad that DL will put little pressure on the QB. And run D? Forget about it. Raider LB's take on too many OL to be effective.The biggest weakness has been the DL for the last 3 or 4 years yet the Raiders have done nothing to address it.

Dead last against the run and middle of the pack in overall D.

#18

Posted by Bill, June 6, 2008 1:11 AM

I was really enjoying myself reading this post. I was actually feeling better about the Raiders D. Then I read draiderfan's post and reality sets in. Dammit!

Burgess is our best D lineman and he does not play the run that good. I do not see any upgrades on our D line. We can talk up Spires all we want, but remember when we signed Hamilton, Washington, Sapp, Johnstone, Adams? We need to develop our own talent. Some of our best D linemen were guys we drafted and then let go for someone else's castoffs. Bring back Grady and Rod and cut who ever don't make the grade.

#19

Posted by Skeptic, June 24, 2008 3:49 PM

Seems like every position you have "critiqued" Oakland is either first or second. Hmmm why is their record so bad then? Wait I know you're an Oakland fan so all of this "information" is a work of satire!