Huggy Bear Jr Is Superfly
Raiders 20 - Chiefs 17
Calico Jack's Six Pack:
1. Huggy Bear Jr. is Superfly!
Justin Fargas was simply a man possessed today (22 carries, 139 yards, 1 TD, 6.3 yards per carry). What I love and admire about Huggy Bear Jr. is that he is completely fearless on the football field. The guy runs with such a reckless abandon and fights for every yard like his life depended on it. In today's contest, Fargas was very decisive in his reads and ran with complete authority. Fargas was responsible for 12 rushing 1st downs. It was fitting that Huggy Bear Jr. iced the game. Facing a critical 3rd down and 11, Raiders up 20 to 17 with 1:54 to go, Fargas found a seam on the right side of the line and burst for a game ending 21 yard run.
2. Raiders Run Defense Is Broken
The Raiders run defense was gashed ... again. KC rookie running back Kolby Smith ran the ball 31 times for 151 yards. It is perplexing to try to figure out why our run defense consistently plays so poorly. There is no question that in the off season there will be a strong need to upgrade the talent level of our defensive front 7. Drafting Glenn Dorsey (DT, LSU) or Chris Long (DE, UVA) would be enticing to shore up this weakness. Signing a veteran SS in free agency and moving Huff to FS would also be worth considering. Clearly the Raiders miss the presence of DT/DE Tommy Kelly. The Raiders were adversely affected by having SS Michael Huff focusing on covering TE Tony Gonzalez instead of being in the box supporting the run defense.
3. Efficient QB Play = Good Game Manager
Culpepper had a solid, mistake free game. This is the type of QB play that Kiffin has wanted since day 1. In this game, Culpepper was highly efficient (15 for 22, 170 yards, 0 Ints, 0 fumbles) in managing the game. He was decisive in his reads and accurate with his passes. When the team needed a few big plays, Culpepper connected with Porter (3 receptions, 75 yards), Miller (4 receptions, 38 yards), and Curry (6 receptions, 39 yards). When the team was down 17 to 13 late in the 4th quarter, Culpepper showed the poise that you would expect of a veteran by leading his unit to a go ahead touchdown drive.
4. Brave Heart McNasty rises to the occasion.
The Raiders run defense was gashed ... again. KC rookie running back Kolby Smith ran the ball 31 times for 151 yards. It is perplexing to try to figure out why our run defense consistently plays so poorly. There is no question that in the off season there will be a strong need to upgrade the talent level of our defensive front 7. Drafting Glenn Dorsey (DT, LSU) or Chris Long (DE, UVA) would be enticing to shore up this weakness. Signing a veteran SS in free agency and moving Huff to FS would also be worth considering. Clearly the Raiders miss the presence of DT/DE Tommy Kelly. The Raiders were adversely affected by having SS Michael Huff focusing on covering TE Tony Gonzalez instead of being in the box supporting the run defense.
3. Efficient QB Play = Good Game Manager
Culpepper had a solid, mistake free game. This is the type of QB play that Kiffin has wanted since day 1. In this game, Culpepper was highly efficient (15 for 22, 170 yards, 0 Ints, 0 fumbles) in managing the game. He was decisive in his reads and accurate with his passes. When the team needed a few big plays, Culpepper connected with Porter (3 receptions, 75 yards), Miller (4 receptions, 38 yards), and Curry (6 receptions, 39 yards). When the team was down 17 to 13 late in the 4th quarter, Culpepper showed the poise that you would expect of a veteran by leading his unit to a go ahead touchdown drive.
4. Brave Heart McNasty rises to the occasion.
Paul McQuistan got the start today at RT in place of injured Cornell Green. Excluding a holding call and a sack allowed, McNasty played very well. Some of Fargas' biggest (and most important) runs were behind McNasty & OG Carlisle. McNasty did a good job allowing Fargas to get to the 2nd level of KC's defense by sealing of KC's DE Hali.
5. A Nice Flight Home
5. A Nice Flight Home
The Raiders seemed very well prepared for this game and played fundamentally sound football. There were very few major breakdowns (1 fumble, 2 sacks, a few missed tackles). The offense showed a more diverse set of playcalls. There was a desirable balance to the offense (run 153 yards, pass 159 yards). The running plays had a nice mix of inside & outside; left, middle, right. A tell tale sign of how well the Raiders offense is executed is the number of 3rd and longs. For this game, the Raiders only faced four 3rd and longs. This game vs. KC was a good overall effort by all 3 units for all 4 quarters. In my book, that is the definition of a TEAM win.
6. Play of the Day
6. Play of the Day
KC was facing a 4th and 1 at the Oakland 23 yard line, down 20 to 17 with 4:26 left in the game. Instead of attempting a tying field goal, Herm Edwards elected to go for it on 4th down. The Raiders defense came up HUGE. Both LBs Howard and Morrison penetrated the interior line and stopped RB Smith for a 1 yard loss.
Up Next: ShanaRat brings his Donkeys to the House of Thrills.
posted by Calico Jack at 3:38 PM
6 Comments:
CJ,
It seemed a win motivated you in getting the blog out early. Excellent analysis. I would add two comments. Fargas seems to be running more controlle dthis year with lower pad level, he is learning. Offensive line was half way decent even Sims did okay against Allen.
My questions:
1. Culpepper playing well the last two games shoudl they avoid getting Jamarcus into the mix.
2. Is Higgins so bad that Dwight has moved ahead of him in the lineup. Are you a little depressed about the pst years draft (Richardson looked terrible against the run, Moses is gone, Henderson has nto been activiated, Bush is on PUP and Bowie is nowhere to be seen)
Thanks for all the great blogs and thanks Raiders for making it easy to get out of bed this morning.
Regards
Florida Raider
Great read! I love the picture of the Hug!
Calico:
I think the D started with as they usually do, over running their assignments in order to make something happen. Smith, then, accounted for 61 yards on the first KC drive of the day. But when the offense showed up, the D settled down. Smith only got 89 the entire rest of the day.
If the offense can hang on to this, and Kiffin continues to "play to win," there could be at least a couple of more wins in our remaining schedule, and I'm starting to get pumped for next year.
hey man nice post. I wonder how long till we see Russell though...If u get a chance stop by my blog:
http://yayarearaider.blogspot.com/
-yayarea_raider
this was a big win for our pride. that said, another win this weekend could possibly rebuild our pride.
our run defense is broken, and i don't understand why ryan just doesn't let the linebackers play a shoot the gap zone, and the corners play man. i know, i know, the danger in that is the play action pass; but let the safeties step up, and cover the play action, and the screens.
i'm still a little worried about our pass rush too. it's time to get a little creative in how we play defense, just like we are getting creative in our offense. just a thought.
Florida Raider: It certainly is more fun blogging when the Raiders win! I was very pleased with our Oline's run & pass blocking vs KC. As far as your questions:
(1) I would like to see Russell play either an entire quarter (ie. 2nd quarter) or a series in each half starting with the game vs. Denver. In the final 4 games I would like to see an increase in his playing time to the point where he starts the last 2 games.
(2) Higgins is a project while Dwight is an ideal veteran, 3rd WR in the slot. I would like to see Dwight resigned for 2008. I like his gritty play, toughness, ST play, attitude.
Memdf: Glad you liked the photo of original Huggy Bear. I hope you will be a regular visitor to SBF.
BlandaRocked: I have loved reading Kiffin's post game comments. This was a watershed game in his career especially the realization to attack more on offense and put more trust in the offense. His attitude seems to be "If you are going to go down, go down blazing!"
Yayarea Raider: Keep up the good work with your blog. I think we might get a glimpse of Russell vs. Denver for a series or 2. It will be electric when #2 step on to the field at the HOT.
Raider Nate 75: I'm with you on the D. Ryan needs to find a way to get more creative with the schemes & packages to maximize his personnel. Our pass coverage and pass rush vs. KC was good and we gave up very few big plays.
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