Raiders Rock'Em, Sock'Em Defense
The defending Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers offensive juggernaut rolled into Oaktown in a "must win" game. The Steelers offense scored 38 points last week against Atlanta by ringing up 5 TD passes and 0 interceptions for a total of 473 yards. The previous week, the Steelers stomped on the Chiefs for 45 points, 457 yards, and 0 interceptions. In this "must win" game for the Steelers, the Raiders defense delivered countless body blows, stiff jabs, game altering upper hooks, and a final knockout.Here is the anatomy and breakdown of the Raiders Rock'Em, Sock'Em defense:
The Steelers offense had 13 possessions. On 12 of the 13 possessions, the Raiders defense made at least 1 big play each series that altered and impacted the final result.
Series 1: Punt/3 and out. On 3-9, LB Howard makes a solid, open field tackle on RB Hayes well short of the 1st down marker.
Series 2: Interception by Fabian Washington. On 3-7, Washington picked off Roethlisberger on a deep pass intended for WR Washington.
Series 3: Interception by Nnamdi Asomugha ran back for 24 yard TD. Oakland 7 - Steelers 0.
Series 4: Punt. On 3-12, Roethlisberger is sacked for a 6 yard loss by DE Burgess.
Series 5: Held to a FG. On 3-7 from the Oakland 16 yard line, the D holds Pittsburgh to 5 yard gain. Oakland 7 - Steelers 3
Series 6: Held to a FG. On 3-1 from the Oakland 19 yard line, LB Morrison tackles RB Davenport behind the line of scrimmage for a 2 yard loss. Oakland 7 - Steelers 6.
(1st series of 2nd half; Raiders 10 - Steelers 6)
Series 7: Punt/3 and out. On 3-4, Roethlisberger is sacked for a 9 yard loss by DT Kelly
Series 8: Punt/3 and out. On 3-12, Roethlisberger is sacked for a 3 yard loss by Kelly and Burgess.
Series 9: Interception by LB Morrison. On 4-1, Morrison picks off a short pass intended for Hines Ward.
Series 10: Interception by DB Carr. On 3-7 from the Oakland 7 yard line, Chris Carr made the play of the game intercepting Roethlisberger at the goal line and taking it 100 yards for a TD. Oakland 20 - Steelers 6
Series 11: Steelers TD Drive. 25 yard TD pass to RB W.Parker.
Series 12: Goal line stand/Take over on downs. One of the unsung heroes of this game was situational LB Robert Thomas. The Steelers had the ball on the Oakland 1 yard line, 1st down. 1st play was a run by RB Parker for no gain (tackle Thomas). On 2-1, RB Davenport ran off of right guard. Thomas shot through the backfield and tackled Davenport for a 4 yard loss. On 3rd down, the Steelers were called for a false start backing them out to the 10 yard line. On 3-10, Roethlisberger completed a short pass to WR Ward for 7 yards. On 4-3 from the goal line, Morrison breaks up a pass intended for WR Holmes.
Series 13: Pittsburgh's last gasp. On 2-10 from the Oakland 44 yard line with 20 seconds remaining in the game, DT Sapp sacks Roethlisberger for a 9 yard loss.
Summary: The Raiders defense accounted for 5 sacks, 4 interceptions, and 2 successful goal line stands. A fierce pass rush, sticky pass coverage, and rock solid tackling were the recipe for a dominating, lights out defensive performance. Take a bow Caveman. Your young and hungry troops are on the cusp of greatness.
"We're in the making of something great," Raiders linebacker Robert Thomas said. "The dangerous thing is, we can get better. I've played on some great defenses. This one, talent-wise, it's all there."
S&B Forever Readers: If you have any suggestions for a nickname for the Raiders defensive unit or any particular defensive player, please send your ideas via the comment box or to chbraidernation1@sbcglobal.net Some possible nicknames to consider: "Ryan's Renegades",
"Rob's Robbers".
Nickname Update: Here is a list of some of the nicknames submitted for our defensive unit: "Nation of Doom", "Jail Break Defense", "Black Death Defense", "Skull Patrol", "Darkside's Finest", "Nation of Domination", "Deadly Squadron", "Silver Hammer", "Blackstop", "Black Reign", "Show Stoppers", "11 Angry Men", "Sack Pack", "Pilfer & Sack", and "The Cavemen". Keep the nickmanes coming Raider Nation! Calico Jack
posted by Calico Jack at 7:02 PM
12 Comments:
Raiders D: The Blackstop
KNBR AM 680 in SF had a great show this afternoon. In the Razor and Mr. T slot, Mr. T (Tom Tolbert) was off for the day, replaced by fill-in Lincoln Kennedy. It was one of the best shows I'd heard in ages.
First, Lincoln is one of the most intelligent, articulate former football players out there. His comments about the current team, personalities and coaches were excellent. Second, he didn't mind dishing out criticism where it is still due. Also, he was way too professional to take Barbieri's cheap shot bait on sensitive internal Raider business. Finally, they interviewed Chris Carr, who showed he is easily the classiest guy on the team. What a gentleman, particularly in the face of what he did yesterday. No ego, no B.S., just business.
Hope: Our D is among the best in the league right now.
Concern: Our O is right there with the 9ers with few immediate signs of hope. In fact, the O-line looks like the old one that forced Steve Young out of the game and into early retirement. Not a good sign. It's easy to bag on Wal-Wal (Walsh and Walter), but in fact the line is so poor, AW doesn't stand a chance right now.
CJ, keep posting the best blog on the web!
CJ,
I was at the game and the D looks truly special. It was great to see Tommy Kelly come alive finally. I think we are one or two d lineman away from true dominance.
Seeing the game live I could focus on the secondary coverage was fantastic. Even Schweigert who I have been down on seems to have his timing down.
I saw a comment of yours about Robert Thomas replacing Williams---right on to that. Thomas is a play maker. When he shot the gap at the end of the game to plant Davenport it was awesome.
Offense---another story, I do not want to dwell on this too long and be a downer. However, can it get much worse. My question, is the offensive line this bad or just needing a season to jell etc. You could see the blitzes coming on third down every time and no adjustments were ever made. Walter seems to have taken a step back and needs to take some responsiblity.
I rode the Bart to and from the game and it was great seeing all the Steelers fans before and then after when they were all humbled.
Regards
Florida Raider
Regarding nicknames: Since the Raider defense is scoring all the points, let's call them "The Raider Offense." Of course, that means we need a new name for the Offense. Since they stink and are hard to look at I vote for "The Bloody Stools."
Regarding the offensive line - I dismiss the "give them time to gel" plea. Nobody ever told Jim Otto, "Hey, we hope that sometime around midseason you can pull your head out of your ass and block somebody." These guys are in the NFL. They've been taught their whole lives how to block. They just spent a week watching the other team on film. Their targets are huge men lined up right in front of them.
No wonder the Raider defense can play with such energy. They scrimmage against the Raider offense. Every week is a bye week for the Dogs of War.
How about "The Show Stoppers," because they sure put a stop to the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive fireworks!
I'll always think of the Raiders defense as "11 Angry Men".
I know it's oldschool, but it still works for me.
The offense, however, seem to be "11 confused men".
But I am not to down. They just do not have all the pieces in place right now.
They need a FB, TE, some O-linemen, & maybe even a speedy all purpose halfback.
I think Walter will turn out to be the real deal once he has some good weapons around him.
Raider00:
I agree. I think that this offensive group just needs a few more players. Still, I think this current group will get better. I believe that with this defense, if we can find 17 points a game on offense, we'll win every time. Maybe Shell ought to set tangible goals for them. "Give me 17 points today. That's all I ask."
an email forwarded from J. Booher:
I think they ought to go by "Silver Hammer". As in..."Bang, bang Ryan's Silver Hammer came down, upon his head....bang bang Ryan's Silver Hammer made sure he was dead"
I know it's a Beatle's reference, but it works. Right now, they are hammering people...running backs, QB's, receivers in crossing patterns, O linemen....and I think the name fits. Now, if only our offense could be come the Anvil and drop on opposing D's like in a Roadrunner cartoon...
Very clever Jeff. I like it. A nice suggestion from Tooz 72 too ("Blackstop") and RaiderRealist ("Show Stoppers") plus Raider00 ("11 Angry Men").
BlandaRocked: If the offense could produce 17 points per game, I would gladly take our chances. Here's a breakdown of our scoring:
vs SD (27-0) - 0 pts
at Balt (28-6) - 6 pts. (2 FG)
vs Clev (24-21) - 14 pts. (2 TD)
(* 1 defensive TD S. Williams)
at SF (34-20) 20 pts.- (2 TD,2 FG)
at Den (13-3) 3 pts. - (1 FG)
vs AZ (22-13) 20 pts - (2 TD,2 FG) (* 1 defensive safety Huff)
vs Pitt (20-13) 6 pts. -(2 FGs)
(* 2 defensive TDs; Asomugha, Carr)
Final Tally:
O:(6 TDs,9 FGs)69 pts/9.8 avg
D:(3 TDs,1 safety)23 pts/3.2 avg
Early Bird prediction on the game vs. the Sea-Chickens: Huff Daddy will have a break-out game on MNF. Huff Daddy will be a vital cog in containing the Sea-Chickens 4 WR packages.
Keep the nicknames & "W"s rollin'!
More suggestions forwarded via email from Newler@aol.com:
Al's Pals
The Sack Pack
Pilfer and Sack
and
Zero Yardage
"Pilfer and Sack" has a nice pirate ring to it! Keep em comin'!
i like "Nation of Domination" but lets shorten it and throw out the "of" and then reverse it!! DOMINATION NATION. it's got a nastyness to it.
Calico,
Could you give a breakdown on 2nd half TD's scored by our offense.
It must be something super low like 1, or 2.
It's a key stat as alot of games are won, or lost, in the 2nd half.
Just curious
Raider 00 - You bring up a very pertinent point. The Raiders offense has really struggled this season but in particular the 2nd half. Here's the breakdown on the 2nd half offensive production:
Game Offense TDs Offense Pts.
SD 0 0
Balt 0 3
Clev 0 0
SF 1 7
Den 0 3
Ariz 0 3
Pitt 0 3
That is 1 TD and an avg. of 2.7 pts. per 2nd half. Not a pretty picture. This data lends itself to the arguments about OC Walsh not being competent to make adjustments at half time.
Rock'Em, Sock'Em and Stick'Em, baby!
The best defensive nicknames of all time include The Steel Curtain (a take off on the Russian Iron Curtain) and The Purple People Eaters (from the Wooley song).
Since we like to call Ryan by a neanderthal name, how bout calling this defense "The Cavemen"? Then Rob would be "Capt. Caveman".
Hey, the hair fits - LMAO!
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