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Coordinator states case in Raiders disappointing defense
Ranked No. 3 last season in yardage allowed, the '07 Raiders rank No. 26
Article Last Updated: 12/27/2007 05:11:56 PM PST
ALAMEDA — Rob Ryan stood in there and took on the questions, one-by-one, giving predictable responses if no clear answers.
As the defensive coordinator, Ryan oversees the alleged strength of the 2007 Raiders. Instead, it’s been a season long tire fire, although it’s possible expectations were unfair to begin with.
Ranked No. 3 overall last season in terms of yardage allowed, the Raiders have plummeted to No. 26. When the Raiders scored 12 offensive touchdowns last season, the coaching staff on that side of the ball paid for it with their jobs.
When Al Davis and new coach Lane Kiffin were finished, not a single member of the offensive staff remained.
At the mere suggestion of his job security, Ryan’s blue eyes were ablaze.
``I’d be out of a job for two minutes,’’ Ryan said Thursday. ``I mean, who are we kidding? I’m not worried about it. (I) love the Raiders, if that happens, so be it. I’d be out of a job for two minutes.’’
It’s easy to see why Ryan engenders such loyalty among his players. On the infrequent occasions he does meet with the media, Ryan acts as size XXX flak jacket, taking all criticism and refusing to blame any player in public.
While Kiffin is prone to frank assessments of offensive failings, as he did with top draft pick JaMarcus Russell, Ryan talks his players up, saying he has ``great players all over the field’’ in defiance of all logic or rational analysis.
``Our young players are really developing — Thomas Howard, Kirk Morrison, Nnamdi Asomugha and Jay Richardson, those guys have played great. We’re excited about them,’’ Ryan said.``Overall, did we think we’d be where we are statistically? No, or as a team. We thought we’d be in a hell of a lot better shape than we are, but that’s life in the big city.’’
Ryan says Terdell Sands is playing hard. Michael Huff is playing hard. Never is heard a discouraging word.
Warren Sapp is fond of saying that ``stats are for losers,’’ but the Raiders have the stats of a losing team. They’re 31st in the NFL in rushing yards allowed and have given up 4.9 yards per carry, the worst figure in the league. They have given up 24 rushing touchdowns, the most in the league and six more than anyone else.
Opponents have averaged 6.3 yards per play on first down, the most in the league. Ryan seemed most disturbed by the amount of big plays the Raiders have surrendered. On running plays alone, teams have gained 20 or more yards a league-high 18 times and 40 or more yards give times, tied for the most in the league.
The Raiders briefly had fourth-quarter leads against Detroit, Denver, Kansas City, Tennessee, Chicago and Indianapolis only to have the defense give it back each time.
A lot of the problems go back to the mirage of 2006. As the Raiders stumbled to a 2-14 record under Art Shell, the ability to keep opposing teams relatively under control defensively became like an oasis in the desert.
They gave up 284.8 yards per game, their best figure since the 1970s and better than in any of the playoff years from 2000 through 2002. Their pass defense gave up 150.8 yards per game and was ranked No. 1.
Ryan bristled when it was suggested that perhaps those figures were askew because opponents realized the Raiders couldn’t score and were essentially working to kill the clock once they had a lead in the second half.
Something about it being ``negative’’ and ``B.S.’’ (although he didn’t actually say B.S.)
Ryan said he saw the same thing happen in New England, the year after the first Super Bowl.
``We felt really good, wearing the hardware, and came out and stunk up the joint with the same players, then followed up with a Super Bowl year, and won a Super Bowl with a great defense,’’ Ryan said. ``That’s the NFL. If you think people are going to take it easy on you, you’re damn crazy in this league.’’
Kiffin, choosing his words carefully, said the entire team is to blame for a 4-11 record but noted, ``We definitely felt the defense was going to be the strength of our team this season, coming off last season and hoping we’d improve into this season. But it all goes together.’’
When asked about a defensive staff purge similar to the gutting of last year’s offensive staff, he said, ``I haven’t made any decisions yet. I’m continuing to evaluate everything and look at everything and make us as good as we can be.’’
Talk of Ryan’s job security hits home among defensive players. Ryan has had the players in his corner since he arrived and this season’s disappointment hasn’t changed that.
``It’s tough. Rob-O is our guy,’’ safety Huff said. ``Rob-O brought me here. I love playing for him. So any time you hear all this stuff, when you don’t know who is going to be here next year and all that, you feel bad for him because he’s a great defensive coordinator and a great guy. Hopefully we can play well for him this week.’’
Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha didn’t want to talk about whether or not Ryan would return, but inadvertently may have stumbled upon one of the Raiders’ biggest problems when talking about how changing the coordinator would affect the comfort level.
``There’s always the fear of the uncertain and the fear of the unknown with a new guy in place,’’ Asomugha said. ``I think we’re pretty comfortable with what’s going on right now.’’
If Kiffin thinks the Raiders defense is comfortable under Ryan after being pushed around for 15 games, expect him to lobby Davis to give his defensive coordinator the 2-minute warning at some point next week.
Staff writer Jerry McDonald can be reached by e-mail at jmcdonald@bayareanewsgroup.com
http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_7822925
Ranked No. 3 last season in yardage allowed, the '07 Raiders rank No. 26
Article Last Updated: 12/27/2007 05:11:56 PM PST
ALAMEDA — Rob Ryan stood in there and took on the questions, one-by-one, giving predictable responses if no clear answers.
As the defensive coordinator, Ryan oversees the alleged strength of the 2007 Raiders. Instead, it’s been a season long tire fire, although it’s possible expectations were unfair to begin with.
Ranked No. 3 overall last season in terms of yardage allowed, the Raiders have plummeted to No. 26. When the Raiders scored 12 offensive touchdowns last season, the coaching staff on that side of the ball paid for it with their jobs.
When Al Davis and new coach Lane Kiffin were finished, not a single member of the offensive staff remained.
At the mere suggestion of his job security, Ryan’s blue eyes were ablaze.
``I’d be out of a job for two minutes,’’ Ryan said Thursday. ``I mean, who are we kidding? I’m not worried about it. (I) love the Raiders, if that happens, so be it. I’d be out of a job for two minutes.’’
It’s easy to see why Ryan engenders such loyalty among his players. On the infrequent occasions he does meet with the media, Ryan acts as size XXX flak jacket, taking all criticism and refusing to blame any player in public.
While Kiffin is prone to frank assessments of offensive failings, as he did with top draft pick JaMarcus Russell, Ryan talks his players up, saying he has ``great players all over the field’’ in defiance of all logic or rational analysis.
``Our young players are really developing — Thomas Howard, Kirk Morrison, Nnamdi Asomugha and Jay Richardson, those guys have played great. We’re excited about them,’’ Ryan said.``Overall, did we think we’d be where we are statistically? No, or as a team. We thought we’d be in a hell of a lot better shape than we are, but that’s life in the big city.’’
Ryan says Terdell Sands is playing hard. Michael Huff is playing hard. Never is heard a discouraging word.
Warren Sapp is fond of saying that ``stats are for losers,’’ but the Raiders have the stats of a losing team. They’re 31st in the NFL in rushing yards allowed and have given up 4.9 yards per carry, the worst figure in the league. They have given up 24 rushing touchdowns, the most in the league and six more than anyone else.
Opponents have averaged 6.3 yards per play on first down, the most in the league. Ryan seemed most disturbed by the amount of big plays the Raiders have surrendered. On running plays alone, teams have gained 20 or more yards a league-high 18 times and 40 or more yards give times, tied for the most in the league.
The Raiders briefly had fourth-quarter leads against Detroit, Denver, Kansas City, Tennessee, Chicago and Indianapolis only to have the defense give it back each time.
A lot of the problems go back to the mirage of 2006. As the Raiders stumbled to a 2-14 record under Art Shell, the ability to keep opposing teams relatively under control defensively became like an oasis in the desert.
They gave up 284.8 yards per game, their best figure since the 1970s and better than in any of the playoff years from 2000 through 2002. Their pass defense gave up 150.8 yards per game and was ranked No. 1.
Ryan bristled when it was suggested that perhaps those figures were askew because opponents realized the Raiders couldn’t score and were essentially working to kill the clock once they had a lead in the second half.
Something about it being ``negative’’ and ``B.S.’’ (although he didn’t actually say B.S.)
Ryan said he saw the same thing happen in New England, the year after the first Super Bowl.
``We felt really good, wearing the hardware, and came out and stunk up the joint with the same players, then followed up with a Super Bowl year, and won a Super Bowl with a great defense,’’ Ryan said. ``That’s the NFL. If you think people are going to take it easy on you, you’re damn crazy in this league.’’
Kiffin, choosing his words carefully, said the entire team is to blame for a 4-11 record but noted, ``We definitely felt the defense was going to be the strength of our team this season, coming off last season and hoping we’d improve into this season. But it all goes together.’’
When asked about a defensive staff purge similar to the gutting of last year’s offensive staff, he said, ``I haven’t made any decisions yet. I’m continuing to evaluate everything and look at everything and make us as good as we can be.’’
Talk of Ryan’s job security hits home among defensive players. Ryan has had the players in his corner since he arrived and this season’s disappointment hasn’t changed that.
``It’s tough. Rob-O is our guy,’’ safety Huff said. ``Rob-O brought me here. I love playing for him. So any time you hear all this stuff, when you don’t know who is going to be here next year and all that, you feel bad for him because he’s a great defensive coordinator and a great guy. Hopefully we can play well for him this week.’’
Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha didn’t want to talk about whether or not Ryan would return, but inadvertently may have stumbled upon one of the Raiders’ biggest problems when talking about how changing the coordinator would affect the comfort level.
``There’s always the fear of the uncertain and the fear of the unknown with a new guy in place,’’ Asomugha said. ``I think we’re pretty comfortable with what’s going on right now.’’
If Kiffin thinks the Raiders defense is comfortable under Ryan after being pushed around for 15 games, expect him to lobby Davis to give his defensive coordinator the 2-minute warning at some point next week.
Staff writer Jerry McDonald can be reached by e-mail at jmcdonald@bayareanewsgroup.com
http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_7822925