1st year Special Team Coach Ted Daisher needs to get his coverage units in gear. As stated in my post yesterday, our special teams coverage units were gouged by the Browns which allowed a commanding 21-3 lead to slip away. The coverage & return units are vital elements in the important field position battle. The Browns starting field position was well inside Raiders territory on 3 occasions due directly to the shoddy play of the special teams. Below is a breakdown of the Raiders coverage unit's statistics through 3 games.
| Kick Return Coverage | Ranking | Average |
| Atlanta | 1/32 | 17.7 |
| League Avg | n/a | 22.9 |
| Oakland | 32/32 | 36.3 |
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| Punt Return Coverage | Ranking | Average |
| New England | 1/32 | 1.5 |
| League Avg | n/a | 8.7 |
| Oakland | 30/32 | 13.7 |
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1st year Special Team Coach Ted Daisher needs to get his coverage units in gear. As stated in my post yesterday, our special teams coverage units were gouged by the Browns which allowed a commanding 21-3 lead to slip away. The coverage & return units are vital elements in the important field position battle. The Browns starting field position was well inside Raiders territory on 3 occasions due directly to the shoddy play of the special teams. Below is a breakdown of the Raiders coverage unit's statistics through 3 games.
2 Comments:
Hey CJ,
Yes, its sad to see that data on special teams, it seemed like they were playing well in the prior games; clearly they helped sink us this time. I said it in your last blog, so bear with me again; Walsh has to go, the collective loss of confidence in his capabilities is dragging this team down. First he dragged down the offensive team - that was in the first 'real' game of the season. Randy Moss is like a canary in the mine, when he goes stiff and quiet (you seen him run routes, my fat 43-y/o ass could move faster downfield) you know there is trouble; now the special teams has lost all their vimm. Do I blame them? I mean special teams requires a 'ball-out' hit-em effort, its when most injuries occur, it takes a pumped up psyche...why should they bother if its all for nuthing with a sh*tty offense, why risk getting hurt. Next will be the defensive team. Same mentality. If the offensive and S.T. counterparts are just 'going through the motions' why should they be the only ones busting their ass? Ryan had really formed a great unit, which has been playing great. But if you and I can see Randy Moss just jogging out there (missing 4 - 5 catchable balls a game), don't you think the defense sees it (standing just 5 feet away)? And there is Joey Porter, our leading reciever of late, in his sweat pants, laughing to the bank on the side-line, I bet he is encouraging. Remember when Art sat Marcus Allen for years on the bench, you tell me that was a good decision.... do you see the similarity here? Is it any better now? I love my silver & black, but damn, they need to shake things up, dump Walsh (hell have the T.E. coach take over), play Porter, bench Brooks for Walters, and give Fargas 40% of the runs, and let it 'rip.
--SFRAIDERMIKE
SFRaierMike:
I agree with most of your points. In particular, I would like to see Fargas get 8-10 carries a game.
Losing is a vicious cycle that leads to a crisis of confidence. Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions. It is shaping up to be a rather dismal season where there is plenty of blame to go around (individual players, units, and the coaching staff.) Football is the ultimate team sport. Each unit has a direct impact on the other units and the teams success (or in the Raiders case, lack of success)
It is my hope and expectation that some of the young players will continue to improve (ie. Walter, Huff, Howard, Washington, Boothe) and form a nucleus of solid, hard-chargin' players to build a better team in the near future.
My heart, mind, and instinct tells me that Walter could become a really QB for us. He has a combination of good phyical tools, pocket awareness, leadership qualities, intelligence, and poise. Everything I've seen, read, and heard about Walter confirms my belief in him. The interviews, press conferences, and live action shows a QB who has his act together in spite of the chaos and ineptitude around him.
Granted, he has a long ways to go and his stats so far have not been stellar. Nevertheless I would love to see him go through hell this year to gain valuable experience and be ready for the 2007 season.
The "why bother" syndrome could best be answered by if you have to ask the question, find another occuaption or at least another team.
Looking forward to hangin with you 11/12 vs. the Donkeys.
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