“GRADES: Raiders Are Humbled In DC; Why Fans Should Look For a Good Raider Bounce Back Game In Denver”

Final Oakland Raider Grades @ Washington; Week 3:

Washington  27 (2-1)

Oakland Raiders  10 (2-1)

“They gave us a big slice of humble pie”, said Khalil Mack. Was that an understatement or what.

In one of the worst performances in recent memory, the Raiders were physically dominated by Washington losing 27-10 on national television. What is scary is that if you take away the two turnovers deep in Washington territory, this game should have been a shutout. The Raiders now have to go into Denver needing a win big time or they could go 2-2 in the best division in the NFL.

There was no Marshawn Lynch Dance Parties. There was no Super Bowl Talk. There was no commitment to excellence.  Below, let’s first look at the poor grades, and then at why the sky isn’t falling.

Quarterback:

Derek Carr was awful.   He had a deer in the headlights look that I haven’t seen in a while. His first bad throw was a deep ball into 2 deep coverage that was intercepted and lead to a touchdown. He also threw another careless interception later in the game and another was dropped. If you can put a pass rush on Carr, he’s just not the same QB. He was uncomfortable in the pocket all night and he was humbled big time. Maybe his worst game as a Raider.

GRADE: F

Derek was in a fog at times, and it was strange to watch. He also wasn’t ready for the snap 3 times. He was rattled by the early sacks and never recovered.

Running Backs:

It didn’t matter who was in there. Washington neutralized the running game and Marshawn Lynch especially wasn’t a factor.

Grade D-

There were few holes, and few opportunities and the running game just wasn’t working.

Offensive Line:

Washington defensive coordinator Greg Manusky was sick of all of the questions about how good the Raiders were and was offended that teams felt his team wasn’t physical enough for the Raiders offensive line. They didn’t blitz and just mostly bull rushed 4 DL and it worked.   They dominated the Raiders offensive line in a way few have. Carr had little time and the holes were not there in the running game.

Grade F

Washington didn’t even blitz. The pass rushers were straight up bull rushes that overwhelmed the Raiders and Carr. The OL’s worst game in years.

Wide Receivers:

Even playing against a team with lots of nagging injuries in the defensive backfield, the Raiders WR were no factor in the game. Carr was off, and the pass rush overwhelmed the passing game. Amari Cooper continued dropping passes as did Michael Crabtree. They both combined for 2 catches for 13 yards. The WR had few plays where they managed to get open.

GRADE: F

Absolutely awful.   Cooper is a talented but passive player but you can’t justify so many drops. Crabtree had a chest injury and the hopes are that he will be ok for next weeks game at Denver.

Defensive Line:

They started the game fairly well. Mario Edwards Jr. had 2 plays getting pressure on the QB and Khalil Mack was his usual self. After the first quarter though the Washington OL began to take over and wore down the Raiders DL. The DL struggled getting pressure on the QB and it showed with Kirk Cousins throwing for 365 yards, and their RB’s ran for 116 yards on the ground.

Grade: D

Khalil Mack played well but that was about it after the first quarter.

Linebackers:

The LB’s were exposed big time. Washington used a short passing game and the LB’s had no chance in covering their RB’s. The Raiders then put a DB on RB Chris Thompson but no one could cover him and he caught 6 passes for 150 yards. Like I’ve said, the LB’s at times are going to look awful.

Grade F

The hopes are that someone steps up out of this group but who will it be if anyone?

Defensive Backs:

David Amerson got burned deep, which was the norm last year. Outside of Karl Joseph, the DB’s really struggled tackling. Gareon Conley was never a good tackler at Ohio St. and the hopes are that his cover skills will overcome those issues. He was close on two passes but he did give up some short to medium receptions. Sean Smith struggled guarding TE Vernon Davis which was a bad look.   If your starting CB is getting beaten deep by their #2 TE, then he sure isn’t going to keep up with a WR.   Washington RB Chris Thompson overwhelmed this group when he got the ball in the passing game. Poor angles and poor tackling by the entire defense especially the DB’s.

Grade F

Just an awful game by this group.

Coaching:

Jack Del Rio needs to be called out and he agreed. It’s up to him to get the team prepared and they were in a fog. The Raiders need to stop reading the papers when they win and not get big headed. You are only as good as your last game. The Raiders know their defense isn’t good enough and they continued to blitz often which is all they can do because they still don’t have a good pass rush. It worked against the Jets, but the Jets are really bad.

Grade F

The Raiders laid a big fat egg on national tv. The coaches are doing the right thing.  Own the bad game and work hard to fix it and to be focused.

Special Teams:

Marquette King and Giorgio Tavecchio are turning out to be a good special teams combo. It’s hard to see Sebastian Janikowski in a Raiders uniform next year. King is really punting well.

Grade A

Not much action other than King’s punts.

Conclusion:

This was the worst game the Raiders have played in years. All of the overreaction to the Jet’s win is now gone. The game in Denver will lay a foundation to the 2017-18 season. The Raiders do not want to end up 2-2 with the difficult part of their schedule in their future. With Denver also not wanting to start 2-2, this is the most important game in the NFL for the first quarter of the season.

Can the Raiders Bounce Back?:

I just read where some of the Sportsbooks in Nevada had their greatest weekend in HISTORY due to all of the upsets in the NFL this last weekend.   The days of the super teams are long gone, and a team can look like world beaters one minute, and then like egg beaters the next.  The Raiders are a good team and they have a good head coach.  No good team with a good head coach is going to not come back strong after such a terrible outing.

I think this loss in the long run will help the Raiders. They have won nothing and needed to calm down a bit.   They needed to be humbled so they could refocus. The Raiders have holes on defense big time and it’s not going to change any time soon.

Against Denver, look for a much disciplined and deliberate passing game with short passes being the norm. With Denvers pass rush, a quick passing game with 3 and 5 step drops are what you need to use against them. Denver is much better against the run this year, but the Raiders are going to have to try to run on the Broncos using smash mouth football. The Raiders OL will try to reestablish themselves like they did in the Denver game in Oakland. I’m sure they are up for the challenge considering how good they’ve been the last 1 ½ yrs.

On defense I am so not a Trevor Siemian fan. He can look great one game and then look like he’s overwhelmed the next. Look for Oakland to crowd the line with Joseph and dare the Broncos to throw. Their running game is a good one and I’d rather put the game in the hands of Siemian than CJ Anderson and Jamaal Charles.

I like the Raiders to come back strong next week after licking their wounds.   Good teams with good coaches bounce back from these types of games and I think both the Raiders and Broncos will be ready big time.  You can’t lose your mind if you lose badly, and you can’t let it get to your head when you win big.  This is a long, long season and you can’t get too high or too low. However, if the Raiders lay another egg, then this team is going to struggle this year.  I really do expect them to come out swinging in another hard fought game at Mile High that will make the Washington game a bad memory.  Welcome to today’s NFL.

 

 

 

“The Passing of an Oakland Raider’s Legend; Defensive Icon Charlie Sumner Dies; Tom Flores Comments”

“They handed us our asses on a tray and the tray was bent.”

Washington Quarterback Joe Theisman after Super Bowl XVIII loss to the Raiders 38-9.

 

Official Statement of the Oakland Raiders on the passing of Charlie Sumner.

“The Raiders are deeply saddened by the news of Charlie Sumner’s passing. Charlie was an esteemed part of the Raider family and was instrumental in some of the Silver and Black’s greatest triumphs. Our deepest sympathies are with Charlie’s Family at this time”.

“I remember Matt Millen going ballistic yelling at Charlie not to take him out because they couldn’t handle him. Two minutes later I look over and Matt is hoisting up Charlie screaming with joy.”

Raider Coach Tom Flores

 

Here is a great video showing Matt Millen lifting Charlie Sumner.  NFL films also doing a quick tribute to the Raiders Super Bowl team

http://www.raiders.com/news/article-1/Raiders-Statement-on-Passing-of-Charlie-Sumner/095ae53c-c10a-4650-b740-2469f29e35a4

 

“Charlie had a great overview of the whole picture.   He worked on drills and techniques, but his overall input on game day was what I thought was most impressive.  He was unique in that he could find a weakness in an offense and attack it.  He gave players the opportunity to succeed and the hopes were that they’d get it done.  Players loved to play for him and they knew they’d always be supported and prepared.”

Raiders Coach Tom Flores

Howie Long and Ted Hendricks thanked him in their Hall of Fame acceptance speeches. Raider coaches and players swore by him, and the NFL hated to go against him. Al Davis and Ron Wolf smiled whenever they talked about him.

Another icon in the family of the Oakland Raiders is gone with the passing this weekend of the great Charlie Sumner at the age of 84. His son Colin announced that he had passed away in Maui due to complications from Gall Bladder surgery.  He was a player and a coach who like Ron Wolf always wanted to stay in the background.

In my sports writing, I always try to honor and respect those successful people that many of us may not know.   I think for the most part, Oakland Raider fans do too. I LOVED getting dozens of direct messages on twitter from young Raider fans thanking me for telling them about Ron Wolf. Wolf is now in the hall of fame. I hope that I can do that for Charlie Sumner as well.

The word great is thrown around way too much these days. In regards to true greatness, the Mt. Rushmore of Oakland Raiders leadership was one of the greatest in the history of the game.   You had John Madden; the ultimate motivator and players coach. You had Charlie Sumner, a genius in game management and game preparation. There was Ron Wolf, who was probably the greatest evaluator of talent in the history of the NFL. Then you had Al Davis, the amazing leader who demanded excellence and loyalty, and is in the top 5 most important figures in NFL history.  Three hall of famers and another with hall of fame talent.

Al Davis and Ron Wolf said it constantly in regards to their defensive philosophy; the quarterback must go down and go down hard. Charlie Sumner was more than happy to accommodate them.

The offensive players in most Super Bowls get all of the attention but in reality if you look at the Raiders 3 Super Bowl wins, their defenses dominated and harassed some great offensive teams and quarterbacks. For two of those Super Bowls; and for many years; the leader of the defense was the great Charlie Sumner.

Sumner started his coaching career when Al Davis came to Oakland in 1963.   He began as the defensive backs coach.   He then went to Pittsburgh and was one of the coaches that helped start the Steel Curtain era. He was fast becoming a hot commodity in coaching and the lowly New England Patriots called him to run their defense.

Within 2 years the Patriots defense greatly improved and they had their first non losing season in 8 years. Within 3 years of Sumner arriving, the Patriots were in the playoffs for the first time in over a decade and they lost a controversial game in Oakland against the Raiders. Mike Haynes who became a star with New England, has given a lot of credit to Charlie Sumner helping him to become a good player. The Patriots were big and physical.

He returned to Oakland and he continued to show a cerebral approach off the field, and a physical one on it. He helped lead an amazing run in 1980 that lead to a Super Bowl win; the first Super Bowl title for any Wild Card team.

At times the Raiders offense struggled that year and the defense kept them in the games that they did. It was during a high scoring era with the San Diego Chargers “Air Coryell” attack leading the way with an electric and explosive offense. The Raiders found ways to win though.

In the playoffs the Raiders stunned the NFL by beating the upstart Cleveland Browns “Cardiac Kids” in a frigid game 14-12. The game was saved by an amazing interception by Mike Davis. “River City” Sam Rutigliano was the Cleveland Browns coach and he was known for taking risks. Sumner had anticipated this and had the defensive backfield play up; ready for the pass; just in case the Browns decided to throw the ball.

The next week the Raiders stunned the NFL again by beating the heavily favored San Diego Chargers 34-27 in San Diego, in what is probably the Chargers greatest team in their proud history. The Raiders seemed destined to win early. On their first drive Jim Plunkett threw a probable interception that bounced off a Chargers players hands and right into the hands of Raiders tight end Raymond Chester who happily coasted to a 65 yard touchdown. The Raiders defense held the mighty Chargers to only 3 fourth quarter points for a 34-27 win.

In the Super Bowl against Philadelphia, the Raiders again were an underdog by 4 points against a very physical Eagles team that had dominated the Raiders and quarterback Jim Plunkett earlier in the year with a 10-7 victory in the city of brotherly love.

In the Super Bowl, the offense was good but the defense was better. Sumner began mixing occasional blitzes and putting pressure on Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski. The Raiders pass rush made Ron Jaworski rush many throws and the vaunted Eagles running game with Wilbert Montgomery was stifled to an amazing 69 total yards as a team.

Rod Martin had the greatest defensive game in the history of the Super Bowl with 3 amazing interceptions. Charlie Sumner’s defense was so dominating, the Raiders won 27-10 with Plunkett only completing 13 passes in 21 attempts. Two touchdowns to Cliff Branch sealed the win.

Charlie Sumner’s shining moment was in Super Bowl XVIII. The Raiders were playing the highest scoring offense in the history of the NFL up to that time in Washington. The Raiders had lost to them @ RFK Stadium in week 5 by a score of 37-35 in a classic thriller.

Washington was first listed as an amazing 10 point favorite and many said the Super Bowl was actually played the week before. They had beaten Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers @ RFK to win the NFC title game. Most felt they would handle the Raiders fairly easily and if they did, they would be the GREATEST team in football history.

Charlie Sumner changed up his tactics in the Super Bowl and went after quarterback Joe Theisman. The Raiders would get an amazing 6 sacks during the game, including 3 in the fourth quarter. Washington’s brilliant rushing attack with Joe Washington and John Riggins running behind the famous “hogs” was grounded and held to 2.8 yards per rush.  No one ever dominated Washington’s offensive line the way the Raiders did.

Al Davis hated to blitz but Sumner brought the very rare cornerback blitz as a constant weapon.  He had surprised teams in the post season with it.   Davis had one rule; if it works and you win, then I’ll stay out of it.  He did.

Late in the first half of the Super Bowl, Washington called time out.   They had the ball deep in their own territory. To the amazement of an unhappy and very angry Matt Millen, Charlie Sumner replaced him with backup linebacker Jack Squirek who was good against the pass. Sumner remembered in week 5 that Joe Theisman ran a screen to Joe Washington in the same part of the field late in the half. It went for a long pass play that lead to a late touchdown.

Sumner told Squirek that he was sure that they would run a screen and he told him to shadow running back Joe Washington who was the best pass catching running back in the NFL. Then he grabbed him and said, “Don’t drop the interception”. In true Super Bowl lore, it happened exactly the way Sumner said it would. Theisman lofted a pass to Washington and Squirek jumped in front of the pass and scored a touchdown to put the Raiders up 21-3 at halftime. Matt Millen lost it and grabbed Charlie Sumner and lifted him up in the air screaming with happiness.

Amazingly the Raiders held the greatest offense in history at that time to ZERO points in the final 24 minutes of the game for a 38-9 demolition of the supposed GREATEST team in NFL history.

Charlie Sumner was the greatest defensive mind to ever lead the Oakland Raiders. His defenses were designed to rush the quarterback and stop the run which is a huge key to any team that wants to win the Super Bowl. He was a big part of the success of the Oakland Raiders dynasty and will always hold a rightful place as a key player in the greatness of the Oakland Raiders.