Loud N' Proud by Blitzchick
Communication (Not the Pigeon) Proved to Be Key...
I don’t think Las Vegas odds makers were very happy after watching the 19 point favorite Philadelphia Eagles fall 13-9 as they flew out to face the presumed ailing Oakland Raiders. I have to admit I don’t understand gambling much, but I have to figure that not covering the spread would be one thing, but losing is something else completely.
By the end of the game, it was the Eagles that were ailing. Not just due to the loss to the Raiders. They had a few players injured during the game. It started with offensive left tackle, Jason Peters. Right defensive tackle Broderick Bunkley was injured. Left defensive end Victor Abiamiri went down one play. Long snapper Jon Dorenbos was seen writhing in pain one time. Omar Gaither, their starting middle line backer, was hurt during the game. One play, strong safety Quentin Mikell looked like he was unsure of where he was after tackling Justin Fargas.
The Raiders had a significant injury, too. They were without Nnamdi Asomugha much of the game. He got poked in the eye one play. Coach Cable said he should be fine a couple of days. Some might think that with Asomugha being out of the game, back up Standford Routt would have seen a lot of balls thrown his way, testing him. Donovan McNabb may have thought that, at first, until Routt came from behind Jeremy Maclin and slid in front of him for a pick 6. Unfortunately, Stanford was called for pass interference, an absolutely ridiculous call. It was so ridiculous that the normally contained Raiders Head Coach Tom Cable said something he probably shouldn’t have to those guys that throw the flags as the Raiders were hit for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty immediately following the play.
I asked Stanford Routt about this play after the game. His response, essentially, “It was over with soon as the next play started.” A mature response from a player that is really coming into his own. It was Routt that had expressed his unhappiness over the predictable defense, the almost constant man coverage. One would think he’d be happy about the win, that he’d be excited he played such a big part of it. For him, it was another game, this one a win. I get the idea until we are consistently successful that Mr. Routt will not be excited. He had one tackle and one pass defended as far as statistics go. It doesn’t look impressive on paper, but that means the pass -happy Eagles didn’t want to throw his way. They were avoiding him. Stanford should be happy after his play and the win. I am glad that Stanford Routt is a Raider. He has the right attitude.
Another player with that Raider attitude I had a chance to speak to was Thomas Howard. He talked about how the defense knew they had to keep McNabb off balance, so changing up the defense was key. The blitz packages we applied made it difficult for McNabb to figure out where pressure was coming from. One thing I needed to ask him was something I had not witnessed before. I saw the defense as an ENTIRE unit discussing things after they came off the field.
I followed up on this line of questioning with Jay Richardson.
I have seen the individual defensive units discuss things, the linemen, the linebackers, the defensive backs.... especially the defensive backs. In fact mostly the defensive backs. But this game it was different. All of the defense got to together. I wasn’t sure if it was an “Atta boy” kind of thing, a way to keep the energy up or what. But it was more than that., I learned from both Howard and Richardson.
They were talking. They were letting each other know what they saw from their perspectives. They shared what they witnessed the offense doing in specific sets, with specific calls.
This could be why on a third and long play the linebackers dropped back just enough to allow a reception, short of the first and drop the receiver still short of the first. A play over the middle like that has generally seen the linebackers playing deeper and, sadly, would result in a conversion. (The Eagles converted only 2 of 16 third down plays.)
It could have helped Richardson get his sack. That is something he really enjoyed, by the way. He spoke about times he watched McNabb when he was a bit younger, almost with a reverence. Spinning McNabb down to the ground definitely made Richardson smile.
It could be why Chris Johnson positively knocked the taste out of Leonard Walker’s mouth on a pass play that went for no yards in the 4th quarter.
Because that’s how long the defense communicated with each other. All game long. The entire 60 minutes of the game. Even better, that’s how long they played.
Yeah, there were some big plays allowed. But like I have said before, I don’t care if we give up 400 yards as long as we keep them out of the end zone. We did. All game long. We haven’t kept a team out of the end zone for awhile. It felt real good to be able to stop the Eagles from getting a touch down. Again, they were favored by 19 points. NINETEEN. They couldn’t even manage to score half the points they supposed to beat us by.
There were dropped balls. There were bad passes . There were missed field goals. I can’t help but think they over-looked us, looked past us, and that was a mistake.
I am sure that somewhere JaMarcus Russell is relishing that his not quite adequate 68. 2 quarterback rating was above Donovan McNabb’s 66.8 rating. And McNabb didn’t throw a single interception.
However, while one of Russell’s interceptions was a bad decision, a ball thrown into coverage and under thrown, the other interception, while high, did go off Louis Murphy’s hands. Which means he should have had it.
I can’t fault Murphy much, though. No one can say he doesn’t give it his all. Knowing that the tendency of his qb is to throw low, Murphy spent extra time with the Jugs Football Machine having it directed to get balls to him at his feet. Being too low wasn’t the issue when he was reaching for the ball he tipped to the Eagles. He threw two excellent blocks on the longest play from scrimmage the Raiders have seen in 25 years. Zach Miller said he hasn’t seen a wide receiver ever do what Louis Murphy did. He threw one block. Knowing that wasn’t enough he flew down field catching up with Zach, who stutter stepped to let Murphy throw a tremendous second block, and seal off the lane from a third Eagle trying to get to Miller.
I don’t know though, if even that can top JaMarcus Russell’s run. Let’s face it, not too many people can effectively pirouette on grass, in cleats, let alone a 265 pound quarterback not really known for his mobility. That he left Chris Gocong grasping at air? Too sweet!
But he couldn’t have done it without having the lane left open to him by the offensive line.
In fact he couldn’t have done a lot of what he did without ,yes, that word again, communicating.
The offense did its fair share, too. They played to their strengths.
As one of the people that has come down hard on Justin Fargas and Russell, I have to say I couldn’t be happier to eat my words regarding how both played today.
Fargas used that crash test dummy running style he’s known for with an extra twist, hurdling. He’s done that before, but he was just so successful today! Okay, so he didn’t have 100 yards, but those 89 rushing yards contributed to the success of the offense. Looks like I was wrong in August saying Fargas should go. Fargas provides that veteran leadership the offense needs so dearly.
He also had to have followed blocks, and that includes that of a man that was cut before the season started, but agreed to play for us when we had to waive Oren O’Neal due to injury, Gary Russell.
But the blocking isn’t what made everyone take notice of the Russell with 22 on his jersey. The other Russell, the one with only one 2 on his jersey, connected with him for 5 out 5 passes for 55 yards, averaging 11 yards a reception. I can’t help but wonder if Darrius Heyward-Bey was playing decoy on some of these plays. It seems that Darrius had the cornerback playing opposite him backing up 10 yards. This opened up the screen and swing passes that Russell was catching.
The only one that had more receptions than Gary Russell has been a favorite target of JaMarcus’ for awhile, the only player to see the end zone in this game , Zach Miller. He had 6 receptions for 139 yards, with a long of 86 yards. Again, it needs to be mentioned this is the longest offensive play since Marc Wilson was our quarterback. JaMarcus also completed a pass to TE Tony Stewart, when I swear I thought he was going to get sacked. He threw the ball away when Johnnie Lee Higgins was the intended receiver. Johnnie had two Eagle players on him, either which could have either jumped the route or nailed Johnnie hard enough to make him cough up the ball. Either way, it avoided a potential turnover.
That doesn’t mean that our offense is perfect. Far from it, in fact. They struggled. The left plays unfinished. They should have scored more than 13 points. The offense still has a long way to go. We need Shilens and Gallery back in the worst way and where is Kaliff Barnes?
But this game, when the coaches came to talk to JaMarcus Russell on the sideline , he seemed to pay more attention. When they were joined by Gradkowski, Frye and receivers, Russell listened.
I have been wanting Russell benched for his lack of production. Maybe having 3 active quarterbacks today was enough to make Russell realize that he isn’t untouchable. That’s what I wanted from him. To see how he responded . He threw better, some of the time. Some of his passes were still too low. Some of them were way outside . But it was an improvement even thought he missed a game-clinching touchdown pass to a wide open Murphy.
There was improvement on special teams coverage , too. Shane Lechler and Sebastian Janikowski were the dynamic duo they have always been, but they can’t remain successful if huge returns are allowed. DeSean Jackson averaged only 10 .9 yards on punt returns, while Quentin Demps average just above 18 yards per kick off return. Their longest returns were 14 yards and 25 yards respectively. That’s a big improvement.
We still need to get the blocking Jonathan Holland and Johnnie Lee Higgins needs to be able to be effective. I can hope that’s an area we continue to work on ... it does need it.
Even the pigeon that seemed to be a 12th man for the Eagles throughout most of the game, turned coat on his feathered friends and was flying downfield covering the outside lane on one of the last punts the Raiders had. We still can make new fans, even if the are of an avian nature. Head Coach for the Eagles, Andy Reid, had to admit the Eagles were out coached and out played. That could be why the pigeon switched sides?
While this pigeon that saw significant air time is starting at the bottom of our fan base, the communication the team had started at the top, with the coaches. They kept after the team, telling them what they had to do, almost willing them to execute during practices as well as during the game.
This gave the team the guidance it needed.
For a team that was pushed aside as having no leaders, there were plenty today.
Don’t get me wrong, the Raiders are far from perfect. But we proved something today. We can play. We can compete. We just have to keep those lines of communication open.
Here’s to communication and more victories this season.
As ever,
Win, lose or tie, RAIDERS til I DIE!
BlitzChick
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