Raiders Offense False Starts
OAKLAND 3 - DENVER 13Calico Jack's Post-Game Observations:
In a low scoring game kept close by the Raiders defense, the Raiders offense sputtered it's way to a mere 3 points. Offensive possessions were stalled by undisciplined penalties, poorly designed 1st down plays, and an ineffective rushing attack. 2 key potential scoring drives came up empty due to costly turnovers.
- 3 Cheers for the Defense:
The Defense played a solid game for 4 quarters holding Denver to 13 points. The Raiders edge in Time of possession (31:36 to 28:24) and the fact that the Broncos didn't start 1 possession inside Raiders' territory helped the D's cause. Plummer only passed for 102 yards and no TDs. RB Bell was held to 83 yards on 23 carries (3.9 avg). Bell's longest gain for the evening was 10 yards. The D played the run very effectively due to their disciplined gap control and improved tackling. Excluding a 54 yard pass completion to Javon Walker, the Raiders secondary did a nice overall job covering the Broncos' receivers. Kudos to the D for pitching a shutout in the 2nd half.
- Careless and Undisciplined Football:
The Raiders committed 13 penalties for 95 yards. Of the 13 penalties, 9 were committed pre-snap (8 false starts; 1 encroachment). Chad Slaughter committed 4 false start penalties just by himself.
- North and South, not East and West:
Why on earth were the Raiders calling for so many outside running sweep plays on 1st down against the Broncos? Jordan isn't fast enough to get around the corner against the Broncos D which is known for having the fastest set of linebackers in the entire league. Every run play should have been power running between the tackles going North and South not East or West especially when Justin Fargas was injured early in the game. Most of the outside running plays by Jordan off tackle resulted in negative yardage which created 2 and long situations.
- Drive Killers:
The 2 turnovers that the Raiders committed in the game were both on drives inside Denver territory.
- Turnover #1:
With 3:54 left in the 2nd quarter, the Raiders had the ball, 2-10 at the Denver 28 yard line. QB Walter threw a deep out to Moss. It looked like Walter was throwing to a spot on the sideline and Champ Bailey beat Moss to the spot. Bailey's interception was on the 2 yard line. Instead of going into halftime down 13-6 or 13-10, the Raiders were down 13-3. When your team gets inside the opponent's 30 yard line, it is imperative to come away with points.
- Turnover #2:
With 4:35 left in the 4th quarter, the Raiders had the ball, 2-8 on the 27 yard line. Walter threw a short swing pass to Jordan who turned it up field. Jordan fumbled the ball when hit by a Bronco defender. This was an inexcusable fumble by Jordan since he saw the defender approaching and had time to not only secure the ball but to put the ball in his left arm away from the defender.
Walter's Performance:
A-Dub showed a nice touch on some of the short and intermediate passes. He had a 51 yard bomb hook-up with Moss in the 2nd quarter. Overall, he was ok (13/26, 189 yards, 1 int) but I think the deck was stacked against him because of the numerous offensive penalties and ineffective run game (Jordan 23 carries for 60 yards). His biggest mistake of the game was forcing the pass to Moss that was picked off by Bailey.
Dubious Distinction:
The Raiders are the only winless team in the NFL. Ugh.
Up Next:
Arizona Cardinals at Oakland
John Madden will receive his Hall of Fame ring at this game. A big game against the Raiders by Cardinal QB Leinart will be pouring more salt into the wounds.
"I'm sorry to see you here, but if you'd have fought like a man you needn't hang like a dog." -Anne Bonny
posted by Calico Jack at 8:57 PM
13 Comments:
I, too, was tripping out on the lateral running. They were on Jordan before he could even square his shoulders in the right direction.
Running the ball on virtually every first down didn't help from predictability standpoint. By my count, and beginning with our first drive, we called run plays on 16 consecutive first downs before trying a pass on a first down.
Meanwhile, the Broncos opened the game with the following plays on first downs: pass, pass, run, pass, run, pass, run, pass.
In other words, in terms of offensive playcalling, we're still in elementary school.
CJ,
Good to see you are up and about right away with a blog.
My observations:
1. I agree with you on play calling. I think we recently disagreed on the coaching staff. I say again Walsh is awful. As you noted the choice of running plays is mind-blowingly bad. Also there is no rythm to the passing game, they will call screens, smart dump-offs and slants for one series then come back in the next series and throw three bombs to Moss. Get rid of Walsh immediately and let's give Shell till the end of the year. The only reason Shell gets a pass is because half the team is three years or less, and many players are in new positions re o-line. However the lack of intesity and numerous penalties is his responsiblity.
2. Walter the jury is out. Positives he is tough in the pocket no happy feet and he has an arm. Reading defense and finding the open man he has along way to go
3. The D is looking strong. My only suggestions
a) when Washington is healthy, keep starting Rout, bench Schweigart and move Ashmhgou to free saftey
b) bench Brayton immediately,move Kelly to end. Bottom line the only impact player on the D-line is Burgess this poition really needs to be addressed. No pass rush
3. Slaughter I like this guy and that is not easy to say this morning. Beyond his 22 false starts, he at least is nasty and I believe stroinger than Walker, in pass protection he is not a liability
4. Randy Moss, a diva and incredibly selfish. However I love watching him, he is so talented, and it showed with the Broncos triple covering him the entire game.
CJ, Do you still say give the coaches a pass after last night, I say heads need to roll. You seem to be going light on them until today's post. Beyond point 1 above how about this final peice of evidence. Why is Alvis Whitted starting ahead of Curry---inexcusable
Regards
Florida Raider
Florida Raider -
Over the past 6 weeks I have been critical of the coaching staff and players. No one has been given a "free pass". Far from it. Everyone in the organization needs to be held accountable.
As far as "heads rolling", I would not be opposed to finding a replacement for Walsh sooner rather than later.
Questions
Where was Curry???
Why is Whitted starting?
Is Morant a bad practice player??
Oh well at least we are 1 week closer to our first win.
CJ, just letting off some post-game steam...
I agree with a guy named Coach Madden. You may have heard of him. He called the game on Sunday night with Al Michaels. I understand he also coached some team long ago that did nothing but beat the @#$% out of opponents and rack up the highest win % in professional sports.
His comment at the end of the game summed it up: The problem is lack of discipline. He's right. In his day, D-backs didn't blow position and give up massive yardage. O-lineman knew the snap count. W-receivers ran their routes hard. And caught passes. And didn't argue with the coach. Or the owner. Running backs understood what a lateral pass was. And how to hold onto the ball.
AND IF ANY THIS HAPPENED ON HIS WATCH, YOU CAN BE SURE AS @#$% THAT COACH MADDEN WOULD @#$%^& BE IN THE FACE OF ANYONE WHO DID IT. COACH MADDEN WOULD NOT SIT THERE LIKE A @#$%^& BUMP ON A LOG, QUIETLY MARKING HIS @#$%^& CLIPBOARD, BARELY SHOWING SIGNS OF LIFE LIKE "COACH" SHELL.
Madden was a Coach. Shell is a placeholder until replaced by next year's new placeholder. That's why he doesn't invest himself in this team's fortunes.
I will muster every ounce of energy I have to will the team into a win for Coach Madden next week against the Tards, who just folded spectacularly against Chicago tonight.
I can't handle Tom Walsh and Art Shell's blank faces anymore. They look like Forest Gump and Bubba Blue. Why don't those two go in together on a Shrimp Boat and leave the rest of us to worry about next year's draft pick?
What's the diff, even if the Raiders do change coaches at yrs end.
It'll just be a loser like Jim Fassell anyway.
What good coach wants to have half their staff picked for them ?
Until I see Whitted off the starting lineup, I won't be optimistic for a Raider win. It's baffling. Really baffling. Was Curry even on the field last week?
Has anyone asked Shell to explain the Gabriel trade? I'd like to hear the misguided logic behind it. If the rumor is true that he was given up for only a 5th round pick, it's more evidence that coaches and personnel people need to be fired. If it turns out to be a conditional pick, that's a different story....kinda....because the Raiders could still really use him right now.
I swear, you guys that claim Coach Shell doesn't show enough emotion kill me. Denny Green showed plenty of emotion last night after his team lost AGAIN. Tony Dungy hasn't shown ANY emotion and his team is 5-0. Emotional coaches are overrated! That act wears out quick, ask Ray Rhodes. If Shell acted like Denny Green after every loss, you'd say he needs to be LESS emotional, and coach better! JUST STOP IT! A 13-40 team is not going to get better over night. When one of your 1st round draft picks from 2002 gets cut by the Texans mids-season, what does that tell you about the level of talent on this team? Get a grip people! OUR TEAM SUCKS! Its going to take time to get better, but this constant bitching and moaning isn't helping. If it makes you that mad, just get off the bandwagon and find another team. As for me I'm sticking with the Raiders win, lose, draw, or hell freezes over. I'm not happy with how things are going, but give Coach Shell a damn chance to turn things around. Walsh can go, but do you really want to have this team learn a new system in the middle of the season?
Bucky o'Grog: You are a funny guy!
"Shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it."
Calico,
There's also shrimp Fassel.
I'm really worried now that Jim Fassel is on the loose.
He's just the kind of sad sack coach that Al Davis loves these days.
I live in NY, and watched him coach the Giants, let me tell you
HE SUCKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Raider 00 - What is truly sad is that Fassell would be a major upgrade over Brokeback Walsh. At this point, I would be happy if they promote Schoop and install him as an interim OC to see if things can get on track.
All is well. Why? I was getting off the escalator last night after work and literally ran into Jim Plunkett. I stood there like a stupid teenage girl who just saw Elvis for the first time. What followed was quite possibly the lamest fan encounter he'd ever had. I share it here for your riducule. Still, it was Jim Plunkett. He looked great, real fit.
Tooz 72: "Jim Plunkett!"
Jim Plunkett: "Yes?"
Tooz 72: "I'm a great fan!"
Jim Plunkett: "Thank you."
Tooz 72: "What brings you to our neighborhood tonight?"
Jim Plunkett: "To see some friends."
Tooz 72: "Have a great night."
Jim Plunkett: "Thanks, you too."
Later, as I reflected on his career, I remembered a washed up former Heisman Trophy winner/Patriot/49er who couldn't scramble to save his life. All I knew in the late '70s was he had no chance of success and only started because Pastorini got his leg broken in the middle of a game. I missed Stabler, Lamonica, Blanda.
Well, all Plunkett did in Oakland/LA was take charge, lead, throw great passes, and win two Super Bowls, becoming one of the best QB's in the history of the team and game.
So, maybe our new QB who starred in college and has yet to fully prove himself in the pros, and who can't scramble to save his life... just maybe he can develop, Plunkett-like, into something greater. I say we start the guy the remainder of the season.
"Coach" Shell has enough problems. I really don't think QB is one of them. Let's develop AW and see how he improves this year.
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