Week 3: Oakland Raiders

Diehard · 09-27-2009, 06:16 PM

We pretty much beat them down on both sides of the ball. It was nice to see our OL open up holes in the running game despite the improvements Oakland has made to their DL. Our two-headed running attack looks very dangerous - hopefully by platooning Buck will hold up the whole season

Orton played well... actually looked like a legit QB out there. Of course, it helps when your point of comparison is Jamarcus Russell. <grin>

Timbathia · 09-27-2009, 06:47 PM

Bit worried about the o-line. What is the status with the injuries?

Red-zone offense still has improving to do, but Orton is doing a great job at not turning over the ball. Nice to see Marshall getting more involved. Moreno runs hard - this is good. I still think their is a lot of improvement in the offense. The schedule has been kind to us in that we have had weaker teams while they are getting on the same page. I also think that the ball control of the offense is helping the defense immensely - the short completions and running plays ensure the def stays fresh.

Kick-off coverage has been really good too. It is nice that we havent been giving away good field position which we always seemed to in the past.

Timbathia · 09-27-2009, 10:51 PM

While listening to the game on the radio, the announcer stated that Doom sacking Russell looked like a "terrier taking down a water buffalo". I love it!

Diehard · 09-28-2009, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by njx9

pathetic red zone playcalling like that was why i was happy to see shanahan gone (well, one of the reasons).

Agreed. I don't understand why they don't go for the play-action pass to the TE or FB on 1st/2nd down. Oakland wouldn've been immediately burned as they were selling out against the run.

Quote:

it would also be nice to see someone (orton, mcd, whoever) try to get royal involved at some point. i mean, i know jabar gaffney is really good and all, but it would be nice to try to get royal the ball on something that isn't a stupid wr screen play.

IMO, Royal is struggling a bit right now for a number of reasons:

a) With Marshall playing catch-up I think opposing defenses have identified Royal as our top receiver (e.g. he had Nnamdi covering him yesterday). Now that Marshall seems to be getting up to speed, there should be some more opportunities for Royal.

b) Royal would seem to be well suited for slot receiver, which is a very productive spot in this offense, but instead Gaffney got the nod with Stokely out... which indicates to me that perhaps Royal just isn't there yet in terms of knowing the system.

c) Lastly, that #2 WR spot in the offense seems to be used to stretch the defense and draw DB's away to open holes for the slot guy. Certainly an important role, but not particularly productive.

CT Bronco Fan · 09-29-2009, 01:47 AM

Looking forward to Dallas next week. We'll see how legit we actually are.

Timbathia · 09-29-2009, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CT Bronco Fan

Looking forward to Dallas next week. We'll see how legit we actually are.

I have no idea how many games we will win in these next 6 "tough" games - I just hope we are in the contest with a chance to win in all of them.

the decider13 · 09-30-2009, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timbathia

Bit worried about the o-line. What is the status with the injuries?

Kick-off coverage has been really good too. It is nice that we havent been giving away good field position which we always seemed to in the past.

As of today, Harris and Hamilton are still both not in practice. Three other players didn't participate today(A.Smith, Hillis, and Larsen). Not sure how they are looking for the weekend at this point though.

Felix Jones won't be playing on sunday, that's one less thing to worry about.

Matt Prater was named special teams player of the month. Surprising after he was so meh last year. Dude has a helluva leg though.

Timbathia · 09-30-2009, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the decider13

As of today, Harris and Hamilton are still both not in practice. Three other players didn't participate today(A.Smith, Hillis, and Larsen). Not sure how they are looking for the weekend at this point though.

Felix Jones won't be playing on sunday, that's one less thing to worry about.

Matt Prater was named special teams player of the month. Surprising after he was so meh last year. Dude has a helluva leg though.

Prater really worries me. He just seems to have concentration lapses or something.

Right now he should be special teams player of the month though, if only for the unbelievably high number of touchbacks he is getting from kickoffs. This is key for our special teams and defense, especially when we play teams like SD, as guys like Sproles average 30 yards on kickoff returns.