Rebuilding the Fear - Oakland Raiders M13 CCM

[Gronk4M13]

Oooh, Rob Bell is tough.

[KBLover]

Tale of Two Halves Ends in Tight Game
Raiders Hold On As Defense Rises in the Clutch,
Win 27-24.

The Raiders started out on fire, getting a strong balanced attack from both Taukei Griggs and Schumacher's arm. Denarius Moore looked in usual form and Justin Blackmon was there as well.

Chris Johnson put up a touchdown, the first points of the game. Then, Schumacher found Blackmon for a score. Next was Taukei Griggs getting a touchdown.

After that, the offense went cold. The Dolphins stepped up the pass rush, leading to a lot of hurried throws and off-target passes. Schumacher took a couple sacks as a result and would later throw would could have been a pivotal interception.

In the second half, Robb Bell started warming up. He threw 2 TDs in the second half and started looking better at the end of the first half, when he got a TD on a long pass to make it 24-7 at the time.

The Dolphins closed to 24-17 after a FG and a TD pass to WR Lunior Marsh, who beat Peterson along the sideline and made the catch at the back of the end zone.

The Raiders run game got going again after falling victim to the stepped up pressure from the Dolphins in the second half. Taukei Griggs did a lot to prove he can be reliable, doing most of the work on the drive.

The Raiders picked up a FG to make it 27-17, after Schumacher again faced a stiff pass rush, and then the Dolphins picked up a TD pass to Reggie Bush where he just barely made it in after a McClain hit. This drive came after the aforementioned Schumacher pick.

That made the score 27-24. Griggs continue to run pretty well, helping the Raiders eat the clock. The Raiders defense got their own pass rush going, to slow Bell down. The coverage was also strong again after a few adjustments and that slowed the Dolphins' attack back down. When they tried to sneak in some runs with Bush, the linebackers were on top of it. McClain got revenge coming in on a nickle blitz to smack Bush in the mouth on 3rd and short to stop a drive.

The Raiders, though, couldn't get going consistently, and in their next to last drive proceeded to commit two costly holding calls that prevented any sort of clock management.

Dolphins got the ball back with over a minute left and two timeouts. They also were near midfield, thanks to the penalties backing the Raiders up and a decent return on the punt.

But the defense stepped up and forced a 3-and-out. On the downside, it was just 3 incomplete passes, so the Dolphins still had 2 timeouts.

The Raiders forced those time outs to be used and punted back. Bell tried to get some offense going, but the Raiders' pass rush continued to work. On first down, McClain eyed his second sack. Bell rushed the throw to an open WR and the throw went out of bounds. Davarius Bullock did get the sack to force a 3rd and long situation, coming off the edge from the base defense. Dolphins spiked the ball, and on 4th and long, Ndamukong Suh picked up his second sack of the day to end the game.

"Wasn't pretty, but we held it at the end like we know how, " McClain spoke.

Defense didn't get many opportunities to some hitting with the Raiders coming out to the big lead and holding the ball for much of the first half. It was mostly a game for the pass rush and the corners to do their thing. Shaquille Carillon was the target, and he shined nicely with a team-leading 4 passes defensed.

The offense dropped off immediately after Justin Blackmon left with an injury. There is some concern over the severity of the injury as he did not return.


Box Score:

Oakland Raiders at Miami Dolphins
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Oakland Raiders (10-3-1)	10	14	0	3	27
Miami Dolphins (8-6)	0	7	7	10	24

Team Stats Comparison
	OAK	MIA
Total Offense	366	278
Rushing Yards	159	19
Passing Yards	207	259
First Downs	20	11
Punt Return Yards	47	43
Kick Return Yards	84	99
Total Yards	497	420
Turnovers	1	0
3rd Down Converstion	8-19 (42%)	5-17 (29%)
4th Down Conversion	0-1	0-2
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	2/1 (100%)	1/0 (100%)
Penalties	3-30	1-10
Posession Time	36:04	23:56

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Wade Schumacher 18/39 (46%) 234 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Taukei Griggs 30 113 3.8 1 Chris Johnson 11 46 4.2 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Denarius Moore 8 118 14.8 0 Justin Blackmon 3 45 15.0 1 Dwayne Allen 2 22 11.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Rolando McClain 6 1 0 0 Steven Barker 5 0 0 0 Jake Olsen 5 0 0 0 Shaquille Carillon 5 0 0 0 Davarius Bullock 4 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Sebastian Janikowski 2/2 49 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Shane Lechler 8 328 41.0 2

Miami Dolphins PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Robb Bell 25/46 (54%) 304 3 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Reggie Bush 14 19 1.4 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jerrico Cotchery 5 91 18.2 0 Reggie Bush 5 13 2.6 1 Glenn Banks 4 95 23.8 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Darius Jones 13 0 0 0 Devin McCourty 8 0 0 0 Wayne Thomas 7 2 0 0 Moise Fokou 5 0 0 0 Randy Starks 4 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Terrence Seastrunk 1/1 54 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Brandon Fields 10 435 43.5 1

[Gronk4M13]

Good, tough win.

[KBLover]

Week 17 - Midweek News

NCAA Football News:

Nevada QB Austin Duncan won the Heisman Trophy this year as he continues to defy expectations.


NFL News:

WR A.J. Green caught 2 touchdown passes in a Bengals' win last week.

The Rams sacked QB Kurt Warner 8 times last week.

HB Adrian Peterson moved passed Curtis Martin on the all-time rushing yards list.

Dwight Freeney has passed DeMarcus Ware on the sacks list with 134 in his career.


Raiders News:

NFL Standings - Updated: Week 17
AFC WEST	W	L	T
Raiders	11	3	1
Broncos	9	6	0
Chargers	8	6	1
Chiefs	8	7	0

The Raiders clinched the division last week, but might not have a top-2 seed locked up yet.

The Jaguars also won to go to 11-4. The Jets and Patriots are 10-5, with the Jets on a 5-game win streak. Jags and Steelers clinched their divisions as well.

The Panthers actually lost, but sit atop the NFC with an 11-4 record. Vikings have lost 3 straight now.

Raiders' Next Game: Colts (8-7) @ Raiders (11-3-1)

Injury Report:

Raiders Injury Report
Pos	Player	Injury Note
HB	Julio Caulder	Out 1 weeks (jaw)
TE	Karl Kruger	IR (chest)
C	Sergey Wainwright	IR (fibula)
WR	Sidney Rice	Out 2 weeks (shoulder)
WR	Bryan Mills	IR (chest)

HB Steven Grant returns from his injury.

WR Justin Blackmon will be available this week. He was cleared by doctors on Wednesday.


Notable Progression:

LG Aaryn DePriest
RBK: 88 to 89

RG Cale Welch
IBL: 88 to 89

FB Marcel Reece
RBK: 88 to 89

WR Denarius Moore
RTE: 86 to 87

RT Jeff Otah
PBK: 83 to 84

DT Ndamukong Suh
FMV: 76 to 78

WR Justin Blackmon
AWR: 68 to 70

CB Patrick Peterson
PRC: 82 to 83

HB Taukei Griggs
SPM: 81 to 82

LB Davarius Bullock
FMV: 58 to 59


Scouting:

WR Reginald Thomas (Wisconsin) might be interesting...if the team can look past his focus issues. He is a natural route runner that looks like he has top-end speed with decent enough hands. If this all pans out, his biggest weakness might be the mental lapses he suffers from and his lack of focus in certain situations. Projected to be a late 3rd round pick.

Central Michigan WR Brenton Richardson is almost the opposite. He doesn't have the physical gifts of Thomas, but is much more "head in the game." He does have solid hands, but his route running is not very fluid. His cuts are rounded and he doesn't move with definition out of his breaks, leading to confused throws.

[KBLover]

McClain Threatens Hold Out if 3-4 Sticks

It was long thought that the resistance to the 3-4, a defense where four linebackers play in the box, was the coach Ander Lyle. However, after this latest announcement, right when the team is preparing for the playoffs, that seems to have been false.

"Man, I'm so sick of hearing this **** about the team needing to put four linebackers out there. I get that you might want to give some of the not as good guys some playing time once in a while, but if you have me, why are you going to put someone else out there? They don't have two of me, so it's not going to work, " McClain spoke.

"Mark my words, " the linebacker continued, "I absolutely will not play next year if this **** stands. I didn't sign up for this, and I want nothing to do with it. And you can forget me signing an extension. You can franchise me all you want and pay me to sit and watch the fail."

Perhaps to make a point, Lyle has announced that he will use this defense in the season finale...and McClain will not play.

"I'm not having this **** when we are trying to get geared up for another Super Bowl run. He will not play this week, call it a team suspension, " Lyle spoke.

There was no word from McClain's agent or anyone on his staff when asked about the actions of his player.

"I think Rolando has forgotten what team he's on, " one analyst spoke, "This team seems to draft a top level prospect every year and make some linebacker signing that works or provides starter-quality depth. This is the last team to pull this on. Maybe he thinks they don't have the stones to do anything but give in. Me? I have Olsen playing out of position, Ash coming in only now and then, Wright on the bench, Wagner on the bench, and the draft right around the corner? Rolando wouldn't have to worry about it, because his...you know what would be grass and I would be the lawnmower, chopping him from the roster."

"The team was, what, 3-1 with him hurt? I mean come on. They could just go trade back for Tanner Bailey or something. I mean...whatever, Rolando. Shut up and play, and good move by coach Lyle already saying about as much and not playing him AND using the 3-4. It's like, 'Now how you gonna act, bro? I'm doing all the stuff you said not to. Now what?' " A sports radio host spoke.

Looks like McClain isn't winning with the talk crowd or the analysts, and his coach has already challenged him. We'll stay on top of this story, and see how it unfolds.

[KBLover]

Offense Contributes at the Last Minute, Literally
Defense Falters After Having to Do All the Work,
But Moore Saves the Day, Again. Raiders Win 22-18.

The defense was obviously upset at McClain calling them "not as good." They came out hitting and hitting hard, and hitting all game long.

Until they got worn down in the 4th quarter. Thanks to the offense doing nothing for 3 quarters and most of the 4th.

But before that, the defense was jumping on anything that moved, or didn't move.

The first two possessions for the Colts went: Sack-Fumble, recovered in end zone for a safety, interception.

Then later the picked-on Patrick Peterson got revenge and grabbed a pick-six. That was the first, and only, touchdown in the game for a long time. In fact, the safety was the only score in the first quarter.

Peterson strikes "the pose" after taking his interception
to the house for six in the second quarter.

Both defenses were out there hitting. Schumacher was chased and hit all day. He didn't take too many official sacks, but if hurries were tracked, he'd probably be over a dozen, not counting the hits. He also threw 2 interceptions, something he was avoiding in spite of the pressure.

The running game did nothing for the most part as well, until some room opened up in the second half. That didn't help Schumacher any as he could not exploit much in the way of play action.

On the Colts' side, they could go nowhere fast. Jacquizz Rodgers was basically shut down and up until the 4th quarter, rookie QB Cooper Ballard was shut down as well, taking sacks from the relentless barrage of blitzes. Six different Raiders picked up a sack in this game, including Keiwone Walters, who finally got to play in passing situations with Ash at outside linebacker.

But with Schumacher, and later a Griggs fumble, turning the ball back over the Colts, the defense didn't get much rest. Combine that with the pick six early on and the blitzing wore the team down. In the fourth, the pass rush was significantly diminished in effectiveness from both the lack of rest and the increasing confidence of the Colts.

Ballard threw two touchdown passes in the 4th, keying an 18-point rally that gave the Colts the lead. Yes, the lead, at 18-15. This after 45 minutes of doing nothing and looking like the Raiders were on their way to a shutout.

But, somehow, this team finds a way. This time in a manner that's been seen many times before.

Find Denarius Moore.

Schumacher did just that. He had about 35 seconds and all timeouts, and needed to get into field goal range from his own 23 yard line.

After two incompletions, he hit Moore on the sideline with a pass and Moore got his feet down and then hopped out of bounds to stop the clock. The next play was Schumacher's arm paying off. He threw an aggressive pass to Moore running a post. The cannon-armed quarterback threw a laser that looked to lead Moore past the corner, Vontae Davis, in trail position.

Davis went up to pick the ball off, looking to seal the win for his Colts, but the pass had too much velocity and Davis was late getting his hands up.

But Moore's hands were on time and he grabbed the pass and sprinted for pay dirt. Davis' momentum was lost from the attempted interception, and the Colts came with safety pressure, leaving Davis on an island. Moore found the end zone, and the Raiders had a 22-18 lead.

With the energy back in the Coliseum, the defense looked to end it. Peterson nearly had his second interception, and then, fittingly, two sacks ended the game, both from Lamarr Houston.

While the defense faded, overall, they played exceptionally well, especially considering there was no McClain out there. Bobby Wagner got the call and came through. He picked up 7 tackles and a sack. He also forced two fumbles, though one was overturned, also taking away a fumble recovery from Bullock. Davarius Bullock picked up 9 tackles and 2 sacks. Steven Barker is showing a strong tendency for being a run support and tackling safety. He picked up 9 tackles as well. Jake Olsen racked up 8 tackles.

The concern shifts over to the offensive side. Schumacher again looked rattled and unable to face the pressure. While the offensive line did not do a good job, Schumacher's throws become terrible under pressure. One throw where he missed a wide open Chris Johnson by throwing the ball 3 yards behind him on a simple drag route serves as a microcosm of Schumacher's struggles when he reads the blitz.

The lacking running game lately is also a concern. Aside from the fumble, Griggs didn't do too badly, though he's still not at Caulder's level overall just yet.

The team will have a week off to figure things out. But it looks like the 'new' defense is here to stay after pitching a shutout for 3 quarters, and it wasn't even close to breaking until the load just got to be too much.

Several Colts were injured in the game, three of which look to be severe. That had a lot of Colts players up in arms after the game about the the hits, especially on Greg Jennings, who broke his collarbone...and was the receiver who caught 2 TD passes in the 4th quarter.

Box Score:

Indianapolis Colts at Oakland Raiders
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Indianapolis Colts (8-7)	0	0	0	18	18
Oakland Raiders (11-3-1)	2	10	3	7	22

Team Stats Comparison
	IND	OAK
Total Offense	282	303
Rushing Yards	46	100
Passing Yards	236	203
First Downs	18	13
Punt Return Yards	22	33
Kick Return Yards	68	100
Total Yards	372	436
Turnovers	3	3
3rd Down Converstion	6-19 (31%)	5-15 (33%)
4th Down Conversion	2-3	0-0
2-Point Conversion	1-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	2/1 (100%)	0/1 (50%)
Penalties	2-20	1-5
Posession Time	36:30	23:31

Indianapolis Colts PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Cooper Ballard 22/42 (52%) 287 2 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jacquizz Rodgers 27 35 1.3 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Coby Fleener 5 80 16.0 0 Greg Jennings 5 69 13.8 2 Wayne Blissett 5 58 11.6 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Vontae Davis 8 0 0 0 Antwon Russell 6 0 0 0 Robert Mathis 5 0 0 0 Drake Nevis 5 1 0 0 Dwight Freeney 4 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Steven Hauschka 1/2 34 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Pat McAfee 6 267 44.5 3

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Wade Schumacher 14/33 (42%) 225 1 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Taukei Griggs 19 60 3.2 0 Chris Johnson 6 25 4.2 0 Wade Schumacher 3 15 5.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Denarius Moore 8 174 21.8 1 Justin Blackmon 3 37 12.3 0 Chris Johnson 1 9 9.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Davarius Bullock 9 2 0 0 Steven Barker 9 0 0 0 Jake Olsen 8 1 0 0 Bobby Wagner (1 FF) 7 1 0 0 Shaquille Carillon 6 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Sebastian Janikowski 2/2 54 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Shane Lechler 5 196 39.2 1

[JHeyBraves]

McClain is about to send himself out the door

He can come play in my 4-3 any day of the week.

[KBLover]

Quote: Originally Posted by JHeyBraves

McClain is about to send himself out the door He can come play in my 4-3 any day of the week.

Heh yep. Would be totally evil to trade him to a 3-4 team...or if I cut him and he gets signed by the Packers or some other 3-4 team.

He'd be like: