Our Offense Playing Fixer Upper...

[Angry Pope]

Raiders offense in role of fixer-upper
Oakland needs to figure out its problems before playing Ravens

Steve Corkran

ALAMEDA - Wouldn't it be nice for the Raiders if they could look at Monday night's 27-0 loss to the San Diego Chargers as an aberration, say they got their one bad game out of the way?

Sure, the players say. The problem is, the Chargers game may just have been a primer for what lies ahead Sunday against a Baltimore Ravens team fresh from a shutout victory of its own.

The Raiders know all too well that the Ravens are lying in wait, licking their chops, eager to pounce on a team that got exposed offensively. The Raiders' task is, figuring out a way to remedy all that ailed their offense so that the Ravens don't administer another devastating blow to their sagging psyche.

"I'll chalk up (Monday night) as a wake-up call," Raiders running back LaMont Jordan said. "And we'd better wake up. If we don't wake up and realize that this is the NFL, and you've got to protect your quarterback, and you have to keep your defense off the field ... ."

And so on.

Thus, there has been an emphasis on figuring out ways to better protect quarterback Aaron Brooks and implementing plays to counter the myriad blitzes the Ravens are apt to use.

Brooks was sacked seven times in just over three quarters of action. Backup Andrew Walter was sacked twice in mop-up duty. The Ravens defense recorded three sacks and pressured Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Chris Simms into three interceptions.

"When the blitz is coming, you want to try and be able to pick it up so that you can take a shot (downfield)," Raiders coach Art Shell said. "You have to make them pay, because the idea is they're going to get to you before you can get the ball down the field to somebody."

Time and again, Raiders receivers hadn't finished their routes by the time Brooks released the ball. Several times, receivers turned around as the ball was hitting the ground or sailing out of bounds.

Teams generally try to neutralize the blitz by using an assortment of draw plays, screen passes and quick passes to receivers.

They also can use a shotgun formation, where the quarterback lines up away from the center and receives the snap from a set position in the pocket. That eliminates the time it takes for a quarterback to drop back three, five or seven steps before setting up to throw.

"You can't sit back there and hold the ball all day because they're going to get to you," Shell said.

Brooks said all he can do is go with what the coaches call. If that entails standing around until a receiver gets open downfield, so be it.

Don't be surprised if Brooks takes off running sooner and more often than he did against the Chargers. Another option involves the Raiders creating a moving pocket so that Brooks can roll out to one side of the field and away from some of the pressure.

"Anytime I can take the heat off the offensive line, that's what I'll do to help this team go forward," Brooks said.

Shell said he has simplified the blocking scheme so that his offensive linemen know what to look for and they can concentrate on executing their assignments without having to think too much.

"As bad as it was, everything is fixable," center Jake Grove said. "Obviously, we've got to get it fixed this week. We've got another great defense this week. We're going to be OK."

If not, we'll know that the first game was more than an aberration and something that can't be dismissed as a one-game face-plant.

 

[Angry Pope]

Drumming up the intensity


Sep 15, 2006

Oakland Raiders quarterback Aaron Brooks was trying to put the best face on his team's opening night disaster.

"We've got a new game plan, we're playing a new team," Brooks said. "We're looking forward to playing Baltimore."
A new game plan?

One would hope.

The Raiders made some head-scratching decisions in both choice of personnel and in their play-calling in a 27-0 loss to the San Diego Chargers, a game which had the sellout crowd booing before the end of the first quarter.

The offense, in particular, was a disaster. The Raiders gained just 129 yards, their lowest total since the start of the 2003 season and fourth time under 200 yards in that span.

The Raiders had to rally to even get into triple figures. With the score 27-0, backup quarterback Andrew Walter drove the Raiders 62 yards in 10 plays before the clock ticked to zero with Randal Williams stepping out of bounds at the 3-yard line.

Their "throwback" offense to the glory days of the Raiders in the 1970s was thrown back in their face.

The plan all along has been to soften up defenses with power running, then attack with deep pass plays.

The problem is, the Raiders seemed ill-equipped or unprepared to deal with the consequences if the Chargers -- the league's best rushing defense last season -- stopped Oakland from running.

With LaMont Jordan (20 yards, 10 carries) failing to make any headway, the Raiders were helpless. Brooks was sacked seven times before he was spared any further abuse. Walter was sacked twice.

The Raiders continued with their plan of five- and seven-step drops even as it became apparent their offensive line was unable to protect the passer.

None of their eight completions went to a running back.

And here come the Ravens, who posted a 27-0 shutout win of their own on the road in Tampa Bay.

Shell alluded to some changes, but was typically non-specific.

"You've got to be able to mix up the protections and mix up the route running," Shell said. "You can't sit there and hold the ball all day because they'll get to you. You're going to throw deep, you've got to take your shots and you've got to plan your shots. If you're going to use a three-step drop, it's a change-of-pace type thing."

Shell maintained that only two of the sacks came on plays with seven-step drops, and that Brooks was getting heavy pressure with five steps.

However, even when Brooks seemed to get something going with a pair of quick passes to Moss on three-step drops -- taking advantage of San Diego's deep-dropping secondary -- the Raiders didn't keep working the openings.

Nor did they try screen plays, draws or traditional methods of turning a team's defensive pressure against itself.

Shell admitted they didn't make any adjustments in the game plan, and instead calling out his team for its lack of intensity.

"Strategy wasn't changed," Shell said. "I challenged them at halftime because I thought it was embarrassing, the way we played. We had all those fans out there rooting for us and we didn't play good football."

With the Ravens promising to bring pressure, might the Raiders alter their strategy to keep their quarterback upright and effective?

"I don't know," Brooks said. "I guess we'll have to wait on that one. That's all the coach's call. We're going to work on what we have up to this point and see how it goes."

 

[Angry Pope]

Offense needs run to get anything done

Jerry McDonald


Screens, draws and three-step drops are all fine ideas, but the prevailing notion among the Oakland Raiders coaching staff seems be there's nothing wrong with the offense that wouldn't be cured with a series of simple 4-yard runs on first down.

"You get 4 or 5 yards on first down, it changes how you play the game," coach Art Shell said Friday.

Sounds great in theory, but actually putting it into practice against the Baltimore Ravens Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium will be considerably more difficult.

The Raiders are coming off their worst offensive performance in recent memory, gaining 129 yards in a 27-0 loss to the San Diego Chargers.

It was the first time Oakland had been shut out since 1997 and was the lowest yardage output in the team's 13-36 freefall since the start of the 2003 season.

Former NFL coach Dick Vermeil, working the ESPN broadcast, said, "I have never seen an offense this inept."

For many Raiders fans, the result confirmed their fear that Oakland's retro offense is hopelessly out of date. Shell hasn't coached in the NFL since 2000. Tom Walsh, the offensive coordinator, was last on an NFL sideline when the Raiders were in Los Angeles in 1994.

Unable to get the Chargers adequately blocked, the Raiders found themselves mired in a down-and-distance nightmare. Running back LaMont Jordan had 20 yards on 10 carries with a long gain of 4 yards. Oakland's average distance to a first down on second down was 11 yards.

The Raiders were criticized for too many deep drops and for not utilizing tactics that offset pressure such as quick-timed passes and screens.

Only on a few occasions did the Raiders drop and throw quickly — with Aaron Brooks delivering stop routes to Randy Moss for 10, 5 and finally 20 yards. But as the game disintegrated, Brooks more often wound up in trouble deep in the pocket.

Shell said only two of the nine San Diego sacks came on seven-step drops, but acknowledged the Raiders will need to tweak their strategy against a Baltimore defense that is coming off a 27-0 shutout win of its own against Tampa Bay.

Based on what Walsh said in training camp, don't expect any major changes in philosophy. He's a disciple of the same Sid Gillman system Al Davis learned with the San Diego Chargers in the early 1960s and thinks offense in 2006 is merely an offshoot of the Gillman fundamentals.

"No disrespect to any other coach out there, but the majority of what you see in the game today has some form or element in the same things Al was doing when he was coaching for Sid," Walsh said. "Power off-tackle, throwing the ball downfield, it's all those traditions that have come down, really, for decades. We have to get back to that."

One of Walsh's beliefs, according to his training camp interview, is that quarterbacks will have their say. He doesn't want programmed, "joystick" quarterbacks.

"Too much of the era of this age has turned into where these little technocrats think that they're out there coaching people like they're watching video football," Walsh said.

However, when Brooks and backup quarterback Andrew Walter were asked whether there might be some different ways to attack defensive pressure, the quarterbacks made it clear that wasn't their department.

"I don't know. I guess we're going to have to wait and see on that one," Brooks said. "It's the coaches' call. We're going to work with what we've got and see how it goes."

"I think that is a question for a coach more than me," Walter said. "Yes, we did get pressure, and after having that happen, you have to learn to adjust. These guys have been around in the NFL longer than I've been alive. I'm sure they're going to adjust."

Shell said adjustments will be more subtle than radical.

"You have to mix up your protections and mix up the route running," Shell said. "You can't sit back there and hold the ball because they're going to get you. If you're going to use three-step drop, it's a change-of-pace type of thing."

The problem, as Shell saw it, was the Raiders didn't stick with the run enough.

Even against San Diego, Shell said the film showed instances where a block here or there would have resulted in drive-sustaining gains, including one in which Jordan would have gone for huge yardage.

"We have to finish blocks, finish the job," Shell said. "Finish the job. It's not just getting in there and touching the guy and saying, 'OK, I'm done.'"


EXTRA POINTS: CB Nnamdi Asomugha (foot sprain) and LB Sam Williams (ankle) both missed practice for the third consecutive day, meaning the two defensive starters are unlikely to play against Balitmore. Shell said Friday, however, he had a hard-and-fast rule that players had to practice in order to play. Asomugha remains listed as questionable, while Williams was downgraded from probable to questionable. ... Tyrone Poole is expected to start in place of Asomugha, while either Robert Thomas or Grant Irons would replace Williams. ... Also listed as questionable is defensive end Kevin Huntley (ankle). ... Return specialist Chris Carr got in some work Friday and is listed as questionable. Shell said Carr's availability would be a game-time decision. If Carr can't play, ReShard Lee will return kickoffs and Poole punts. ... LT Robert Gallery was downgraded from questionable to out. Chad Slaughter will start, with Gallery making the trip as one of Oakland's seven inactive players. ... Shell said he had not determined whether WR Jerry Porter will be active.

 

[Angry Pope]

All of quarterbacks in our first preseason game were dropping too far back. That eventually changed in the second game, I believe. The play calling was also more creative so I am hoping that is the case here on Sunday.

We had a play where three receivers were bunched together with each going different distances. That would be nice to see on Sunday also.