Week 6 - Raiders@ the Saints

speedkills21
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Notes vs NO

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1. Richardson started at LDE for Burg who did not play. #98 started ok but at a crucial point in the game, Bush got wide of him twice in a row for good gains. After that, having proved they can physically beat us, NO is free to do other stuff.

2. Edwards at RDE, same thing. Made some plays vs run, but in the long run NO could do pretty much what they wanted.

3. K'ers Dome. Jano began with his 7th TB, then 8th, this year. Then, no more KO's. His FG, 24 yards, was his first all year that wasn't down the middle. Even the 70 yarder vs SD was straight. The FG in NO pushed L, woulda been a miss from 40.

4. D starts the day with a 3-and-out, SS Wilson making all 3 stops. 3rd down was a fake screen L, sreen R, to TE, well set up. SS was excellent skinnying thru traffic and tackling 2 yards short.

5. JLH ad libs horribly, horribly on KOR's. Fundamentals all over the field, yes. But the 2, off the top my head, that make Coaches just go ballistic is making any kind of block once ball is past. And---any kinda hesitation, delay on KOR. Fundamentals there scream---you get one cut, that's it, hit it as hella hard as you hecka can---that's it. And follow your blockers---PR L or R or center, for instance. JLH bounced his first PR 34 yards up the sideline, followed as he should, good job. But every KO. You see, JLH is the kinda kid who once he tastes success starts losing fundamentals. I've seen this all year. Specifically, I think vs DN, he ad libbed a KOR, hesitated on the 20, found something, took it---and I knew then he was not gonna hit another lane all nite. SF's Kevin Barlow was very much like that. JLH's too-many KOR's vs NO reached the 25, 16, 28 and 21 yard lines. He stopped running on most if not all. Branch got one KOR, stopped worse, a stand still, even---then he's gonna redirect?! It's totally true. I see a KOR'er hesitate, inside the 25, I hear a ST's Coach going BALLISTIC in my R ear, 100 times, and that was 10 years ago, I've seen 1000 KOR's since---if a KOR'er slows down even inside his end, 99% of the time he's dead. JLH's fundamentals are HORRIBLE.

6. NO is 46% on 3rd downs, behind only DL and AZ.

7. Fargas airborne, 1st run---a healthy sign.

8. Red zone imperative. Perhaps avoid red zone. 1st and 10 on NO's 24, opening drive, after JLH's PR, before Jano's lonely FG. An excellent shot at the endzone. Fake stretch, straight dropback. Perfect pocket. Miller on the post, open on the 2. Not difficult. Sail. Russell AGAIN sails. Specifically, nose of ball up, STILL RISING as it SAILS over TE's head. Another half dozen sail in NO. This kid has got to get the ball down. He followed this first missed TD (Schilens was the other)---3rd and 7, two plays later---QB got THAT ball down, Curry had to dig it up---good job! +11 yards to the 10.

9. Red zone imperative. 2nd and goal on the 6. Shotgun. Good pocket. Late throw to TE on the 2, separated from the ball by a big hit. 3rd down was a pop slant to JLH, R slot---really well timed, nicely set up---pass hi and half a step behind, lets CB break it up.

10. NO rushed 4 each of our 5 passes that opening drive, protection was excellent.

11. 4th straight game we got a short FG on our opening possession. I get lots of this stuff from Radio Papa/Flores.

12. NO is #4 O, #1 passing in the NFL.

13. Brees was brilliant. All day. One of the most underrated players in the game. 16 of 16 in H1, which D somehow mostly survived.

14. NO's 2nd drive started on the 20. Bush beat Ho on a bomb, split wide, on 1st and 10, for +21. No one beats Ho deep. Til Sunday. Underled fade. Beats best CB's. Brees. When NO can do that, they can do what they want.

15. Our 1st blitz, 2 plays later---Wilson. Perfect play call screens TE that side, lumbers +28. NO's easy resort to TE at ANY time is more sign---they can do what they want. TE's killed us all day, all ways. Was the bomb that EXPOSED Huff a TE?

16. After that blitz for +28, Ryan went next down to 3-4. Alston, OLB on D's R, forced the sweep, forced the hold.

17. John Stinchcomb is NO's RT. Annihilated Trevor Scott on 2 straight sweeps R by big bruiser McAlister in Q2 for +8 and +9. The next play, Ryan flipped #91, and Deuce swept L---Scott stuffed him this time for no gain.

18. Scott's first appearance on D since KC, if not DN.

19. Two plays after Alston drew a flag, Edwards got spun on a 3-man rush, drew another.

20. NO's new K'er missed his first ever try, a 31 yarder. 4th miss by a foe this year---Kaeding botched 2, Lindell one.

21. Our next play on O, after NO's missed FG, our 2nd possession---a bomb to JLH is the call, very aggressive. Protection is great. QB eventually throws it away.

22. Russell beat a blitz, hit Walker for +7 on 3rd and 5---the kinda strong hands, you remember, that woulda got JLH a TD about 5:00 ago.

23. Curry converted his second 3rd down, a +8 on 3rd and 2, to midfield.

24. 1st and 10 there, the first of 7 passes thrown by Russell direct to D. Dropped.

25. 3rd and 14, after a FS vs Miller---reverse roll L, bomb to Lelie---a prayer, nowhere close.

26. 4-man DL vs NO's 3rd possession. Sands, who, again, actually shows up (I mean, actually in the play) on TV.

27. 2nd blitz---Routt. WR Moore +12 on 2nd and 11.

28. NO goes no huddle in the red zone. Very effective. Caught us with 12-men once. We went no-huddle at the end, got our 2nd FS---Green.

29. NO's O is really good. It aspires to specialize in everything. With Deuce and Bush it's naturally inside/outside. Its TE game is like Stabler's. It screens. And Brees is an outstanding bomber, his forte. He was without Colston, Patton and Shockey. Still, we're completely off balance, have really no idea what O is gonna do.

30. 3rd and goal on the 7, we get a stop. But Edwards is OS.

31. Bush's 1st TD, 3rd and goal on the 3---Ho, stacked that side, oh, my, driven straight back 8 yards into the endzone by TE, all over him---really, really bad. Nam got buried by FB, his job, a force. Next inside is RB, who's cut off on the goal line by inside-bunch WR. RDE, probably #98, is ok. This one's all on #53.

32. K'er's PAT barely stays in. His KO goes OB.

33. Lechler vs Bush: 42 yards, forcing FC on the 14. 40 yards, 8 returned to the 45. A 54 yard TB (good). His 65 yarder at game's end was FC'd by Moore.

34. Cable calls TO 2:09 before HT so McFad can run a draw outta shotgun on 2nd and 10, goes +3.

35. Russell beat a blitz on 3rd and 7, missed Walker on a fade.

36. Too, too, too many fades. Just prayers. You guys, what, hitting 70% of those in practice, or something? We can pass protect, at least a little.

37. Jano's 57 yarder was long enough, he pushed it L---expected it to hook in. Way too early for that one, Coach. NO's set up on the 47 with a red hot O and a QB who hasn't yet missed and almost 2:00 to go.

38. Even Jano's 70 yarder vs SD was straight. In the Dome, all 3 went crooked.

39. Starting near the 50, almost 2:00 to go, Brees hit WR's vs zone for +17 and +18, back to back. It's really our LB's QB is attacking, there. We're asking too much of our LB's is what those plays are saying.

40. I did not see a completion to a WR that was vs man, all were zone. We played very little man.

41. We're running a 3-man DL, using Alston's and Ho's speed vs NO's outside game.

42. Ryan blitzed 2 from his 3-4, making 5 rushers, on NO's next 2 plays. Alston broke up that same bomb to Bush (see what Brees is doing?)---no PI. Then, a hot rush forced intentional grounding. That K'er hit from 44, making 3-10.

43. Hurryup, still Q2, Russell found JLH short, who ran for +35. Vs 3-man rush, sloppy zone.

44. Lelie drew a PI, good call.

45. Russell threw his 4th dropped int.

46. A 59 yarder at :11. Ok. :11. Not 2:00. Still waiting for that hook that doesn't come, getting closer, still L.

47. I'll bet you good S&B dollars (which is worth, well, even less than a share of GM) that if Jano got 3 more tries in the Dome...

48. He's gonna get that RAIDER record, anyway. Which used to be worth something.

49. H2 starts with an indecisive KOR by impressario JLH. To the 16. Two tough Fargas carries make 3rd and 2. Russell stares down Walker on a hook---dropped int #5.

50. Lechler's 2nd punt was worse than anything Jano did---40 yards, 3.5 hangtime (Papa's a hangtime freak, obviously loves his stopwatch). To Bush. RB and Scott hustled some fine coverage, tackled at +8.

51. Deuce, who's had four 1000 yard years, is NO's alltime leader, ahead of George Rogers.

52. Mo, Ho and RB played horribly in NO.

53. How many 3rd and 1's? NO so far has faced 3rd and 8, which they didn't get. 3rd and 20, no. 3rd and 1, yes. 3rd and 1, yes. 3rd and 1, yes. 3rd and goal on the 3, Bush's TD which wiped out Ho. 3rd and 8, the intentional ground. Halftime. 3rd and 2, yes. 3rd and 1, yes.

54. It's now 3rd and 7 on our 8, early Q3. Brees is naturally no huddle. He's just thrown his first incomplete, an out, R side, goal line, to Moore---which Hall got a solid hand on. Brees on 3rd flips to Stecker, R side, who accelerates clean, scores. What happened: RB got dominated in front. Hall's sealed on the goal line. Mo's late to react, then can't get over, held up on the goal line by TE.

55. On D, I see: LB's. On O: QB.

56. NO's H2 possessions: 55 yards to Stecker. 17 yards to Bush, after David's totally telegraphed int. 64 to a FG. 32 to a 2 yard TD to TE, beating Huff (after Russell's fumble). 17 to a punt. And a first down to run off the clock.

57. Huff, who gave up 1, maybe 2 TD's, and zero bombs, his first 2 years as SS, has already yielded 18 points in 08, including the bomb vs cover 2, the missed tackle on the sideline, in the opener vs DN. Vs WR Henderson---on 3rd and 2---Huff's somehow zoned up vs a WR, essentially man-on-man, 50 yards deep? He has NO chance. Huff is total toast in coverage (vs WR's). We've known that since DT last year. He is physically incapable. Brees found it, the D which had no chance. Flores raves about Brees the bomber.

58. NO can do anything it wants.

59. Int waiting to happen. Shoulda scored.

60. Two downs later, NO's 2nd and 8 on the 15---TD pass to Bush. RB and Wilson have inside/out---it's Wilson who's badly beat. Where's S support on that play, you ask? It's Wilson. Can't blame Huff. He's over the top, other side, perfect on TV replay, whose doing his job takes him outta the TD to Bush.

61. At least Wilson's 2nd TD given up this year---the first by Cutler, Royal, was #28, not #23.

62. No M Bush. Til he dropped a pass on 3rd and 10.

63. Russell's putrid, sail-happy play vs SD specifically cost us a game so close. He was horrible in BF, same thing, a contest as close as a tie.

64. The refs played us totally fair in the Dome. I'm very surprised, what with all the piling on.

65. The refs cost us BF: bogus PI vs Hall, and uncalled clip (2, actually) on 70 yard KOR.

66. The refs cost us SD. Green's hold which denied us a 4th down TD which woulda made 19-0 was pure imagi-genda. No hands on the play, none. Just rotate and plant a submarining DT with all R shoulder. And the uncalled clip (Branch) on Sproles 70 yard KOR immediately after Jano made 18-18.

67. 2 FS's in NO. No holds. Lots of passes. 2 sacks. First: Green and QB (not just cuz he fumbled). Second: all Harris.

68. A fine game by pass protectors, overall. Hugely improved from where we've been. Pass protection is the S&B phase of Raider football which has stepped up THIS year. As run blocking did in 07. As pass coverage did in 06.

69. QB has graded, sorry, a flat F so far in 08. He stares guys down, rarely looks off, also can't see the field. His ability to SEE coverage is close to zero. As a pure passer, you can see ability---but his propensity to SAIL, again, pass too hi, yet STILL lifting---he's been nothing short of wild since KC. And then there's that EYES thing, which is also very worrying, but different.

70. His passes sailing is one thing. He knows that the instant the ball leaves his hand. I'm talking, now, something else. You remember that first just-barely overled bomb to wide open Curry, +25, vs DN. That's not sailing. That pass he missed to Curry, a bomb just too far---that's the throw he INTENDED to make. He's either misjudging the distance or Curry's speed. He did it twice again that nite vs DN.

71. And you saw that bomb to wide open Schilens, #81, Q4, in NO. What's that? QB is actually gesturing to WR. He clearly SEES. There's no D, nowhere near QB, none by WR. Russell is SEEING that wrong. He seriously needs to have his eyes checked.

72. In addition to his other problems. But just as pass protection is showing, really, some impressive strides, at least compared to where we've been, Russell was MUCH better in the pocket in NO than he did vs SD, when he lost his head.

73. A play after Huff yielded +51 to Henderson, Richardson forced Bush on a sweep, went down, got up and made the tackle for minus 1. Next down, Warren smelled a screen, hustled out, broke up the pass. On 3rd down, Scott almost got his first sack, ran around behind QB, chased down an up the middle scramble 5 yards short. Those guys at least haven't quit. Score was 3-24.

74. A play after Miller +23, QB has Curry on a seam, R side, for +20---pass sails.

75. McFad is protecting the ball really well---excellent.

76. The 6th dropped int, QB rolls R, has 10+ yards easy running room, instead throws to THREE Saints, well short of JLH.

Professor Eyepatch