motife
12-11-2007, 02:27 AM
Rating the Packers vs. Raiders
Packers dominate Sapp, Oakland
Posted: Dec. 10, 2007
Bob McGinn
E-MAIL
Green Bay - Warren Sapp's tired old act did serve his team some good. Without Sapp, the focus in Oakland would have been entirely on just how embarrassing was the performance of the Raiders.
Even first-year coach Lane Kiffin acknowledged how his team failed to compete Sunday in a 38-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers by saying, "There towards the end it got where I was trying to make it not get worse . . . just trying to get out of there with nothing worse happening."
Residue from the Packers' defeat in Dallas evaporated over a long weekend off. They didn't miss a tackle. They were beating the Raiders to the line of scrimmage. And their advantage in toughness on both sides of the ball makes one wonder how in the world Al Davis is using his $109 million under the salary cap.
Other than cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and perhaps linebacker Thomas Howard, the Silver and Black just don't have any players.
Here is a rating of the Packers against the Raiders, with their 1 to 5 football totals in parentheses:
RECEIVERS (5)
Donald Lee has been as consistent as any player on the roster. On the third play, Lee ran right through the tackle of overrated SS Michael Huff on an 11-yard bootleg pass. In the run game, the Packers made greater use of a blocking scheme in which the play-side tackle pulled to the outside and Lee blocked down on the defensive end. Bowing his neck, he got the job done. When the Raiders got caught with nine in the box late, he burned them by shucking off two defenders and turning a 13-yard crossing route into a 46-yard TD. Other than two passes, the Packers stayed away from Asomugha. But the Raiders have other high-profile CBs in Stanford Routt and Fabian Washington, and the Packers certainly beat them. The ultimate embarrassment for Davis must have been watching Routt leap prematurely and Greg Jennings calmly take advantage, concentrate on making the catch and waltz the last 43 yards without a safety laying a glove on him. Jennings did have the only drop, a 6-yard TD pass. Koren Robinson contributed his best play of the season (37-yard catch and run). Plus, the WRs got after it as blockers this week, especially against the submissive WLB Robert Thomas.
OFFENSIVE LINE (4)
Before leaving with a shoulder injury in the final 8 minutes, Chad Clifton was impressive. He didn't have a miss in the run game, created ample movement and allowed just one pressure. Scott Wells gave up 5 inches and 40 pounds to NT Terdell Sands but double-teamed him effectively with Jason Spitz. Clifton and Mark Tauscher cut-blocked well. Active, strong-for-his-size Derrick Burgess is a tough matchup for any RT on two good ankles, but for Tauscher on one, the result was 3½ pressures. Junius Coston drew Sapp much of the day and blanked him in protection. Coston wouldn't back down physically from Sapp, either, something that would have been inconceivable a year or two ago. But it was far from one-sided. On three "bad" runs, including a failed third-and-1 play, Sapp was too powerful for Coston.
QUARTERBACKS (4)
Brett Favre's passes lacked their normal zip. Playing with a bad right elbow, he couldn't snap the ball off. His interception was the result of floating the ball too long on a vertical route to Robinson. It also was 18 degrees, and cold means a slick football. McCarthy lightened the load considerably, rushing 61% and taking the edge off the rush with four screens, including two deceptive screens. Although not sacked, Favre went down twice on low hits by Burgess. When plays were needed to be made, however, Favre made them. Without a QB of Favre's caliber, McCarthy probably would have given in on third and 18. But McCarthy gave Favre a chance and he delivered a 20-yard shot to Jennings and, a play later, the 37-yard dart to Robinson. Those completions robbed what will there was in the Raiders.
RUNNING BACKS (5)
It'd be hard to play much better than Korey Hall and Ryan Grant did. Given a chance to play more (29 snaps) than he has since Week 5 because McCarthy employed two-back sets on 68% of the downs, Hall looked like a different player. He started out cutting in the hole, then began taking defenders on high. He knocked down MLB Kirk Morrison three times, Howard twice and Thomas twice. Hall isn't big, but really looks to gore defenders. Grant broke five tackles in just more than three quarters, finishing 29 for 156. The Raiders were glad to see Vernand Morency, not Grant, in garbage time. There's no dipping or jitterbugging with Grant. He's all out, all the time. When Grant sees a hole, he takes it.
DEFENSIVE LINE (4)
Justin Fargas had been on a roll; Kiffin knew his only chance to win was to run effectively. But Fargas (15-57) generally was hemmed in. Ends Aaron Kampman (40 snaps) and Cullen Jenkins (38) were more firm than they had been the past two games, setting the point for the defense and limiting Fargas' running lanes. Inside, Ryan Pickett (36) outmuscled RG Cooper Carlisle whereas Corey Williams (34) usually stayed square against LG Robert Gallery, who appears to have lost whatever agility and fire he possessed at Iowa. Justin Harrell played 20 of his 25 snaps in the second half, used his massive bulk to hold the point adequately and showed some bull rush. Just four pressures (no sacks) against a shaky line wasn't enough.
LINEBACKERS (4½)
For a little guy, Nick Barnett can be an intimidating presence with his glowering visage and reckless hitting. Twice he ran through the line and made terrific tackles, once on third and 1. Barnett refused to ask out of the second half with an eye injury that required additional tests Monday. Against a poor QB and receivers, coordinator Bob Sanders blitzed on 46% of passes, the most since Week 8 in 2006. Barnett came through with two smashing hits on Josh McCown. They were the kind of shots that QBs everywhere cringe to see. A.J. Hawk knocked Fargas from the game late in the third quarter with a rib injury, showed his speed to the perimeter against run and pass and made some hard, low tackles.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (4)
A naked pitch almost always works, and it would have worked Sunday if not for Nick Collins. In perhaps his most impressive play of the season, Collins read the pitch to Fargas on fourth and 1, showed stunning acceleration and went a long way to make a textbook low tackle in the open field for minus-2. Collins also made a stellar break on a long bootleg pass that resulted in Atari Bigby's interception and blew up a screen. Collins wasn't always in great position against play-action. Bigby should have had two interceptions but dropped an easy one. He kept his head up on a blitz and dropped LaMont Jordan in the backfield for minus-3. Charles Woodson set a physical tone, trashing WR Ronald Curry on the Raiders' first run and making a hard tackle on Fargas. Al Harris didn't jump at all in the end zone and Jerry Porter took the ball right away from him for a 25-yard TD. He has given up way too many big plays in the last month.
KICKERS (2½)
Mason Crosby was 1 for 3 on long field goals, made an extra point lengthened to 35 by penalty and averaged 58.1 yards and 3.58 seconds of hang time on seven kickoffs. The second kickoff was one of his rare mis-hits. Jon Ryan averaged 36.5 (gross), 35.0 (net) and 3.43 (hang time) on two punts.
SPECIAL TEAMS (5)
For the first time in 21 years, the Packers scored two special-teams TDs in one game. Both were by Will Blackmon, who shot through on a punt return for 57 yards and then showed superb ball skills by keeping Tim Dwight's fumbled punt alive in front of him before falling on it in the end zone. Jason Hunter forced the fumble. Blackmon, however, also fielded a punt at the 7 (he might have broken that one, as well, but ran into Morency's back) and then turned a 4-yard return into minus-1 with excessive dancing. Unless Robinson shows greater resolve on kickoffs, it might be time to pair Blackmon with Tramon Williams. The Raiders have many big, athletic backup players, but the Packers' inspired coverage teams dominated. Hall had five tackles.
OVERALL (4½)
Packers dominate Sapp, Oakland
Posted: Dec. 10, 2007
Bob McGinn
Green Bay - Warren Sapp's tired old act did serve his team some good. Without Sapp, the focus in Oakland would have been entirely on just how embarrassing was the performance of the Raiders.
Even first-year coach Lane Kiffin acknowledged how his team failed to compete Sunday in a 38-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers by saying, "There towards the end it got where I was trying to make it not get worse . . . just trying to get out of there with nothing worse happening."
Residue from the Packers' defeat in Dallas evaporated over a long weekend off. They didn't miss a tackle. They were beating the Raiders to the line of scrimmage. And their advantage in toughness on both sides of the ball makes one wonder how in the world Al Davis is using his $109 million under the salary cap.
Other than cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and perhaps linebacker Thomas Howard, the Silver and Black just don't have any players.
Here is a rating of the Packers against the Raiders, with their 1 to 5 football totals in parentheses:
RECEIVERS (5)
Donald Lee has been as consistent as any player on the roster. On the third play, Lee ran right through the tackle of overrated SS Michael Huff on an 11-yard bootleg pass. In the run game, the Packers made greater use of a blocking scheme in which the play-side tackle pulled to the outside and Lee blocked down on the defensive end. Bowing his neck, he got the job done. When the Raiders got caught with nine in the box late, he burned them by shucking off two defenders and turning a 13-yard crossing route into a 46-yard TD. Other than two passes, the Packers stayed away from Asomugha. But the Raiders have other high-profile CBs in Stanford Routt and Fabian Washington, and the Packers certainly beat them. The ultimate embarrassment for Davis must have been watching Routt leap prematurely and Greg Jennings calmly take advantage, concentrate on making the catch and waltz the last 43 yards without a safety laying a glove on him. Jennings did have the only drop, a 6-yard TD pass. Koren Robinson contributed his best play of the season (37-yard catch and run). Plus, the WRs got after it as blockers this week, especially against the submissive WLB Robert Thomas.
OFFENSIVE LINE (4)
Before leaving with a shoulder injury in the final 8 minutes, Chad Clifton was impressive. He didn't have a miss in the run game, created ample movement and allowed just one pressure. Scott Wells gave up 5 inches and 40 pounds to NT Terdell Sands but double-teamed him effectively with Jason Spitz. Clifton and Mark Tauscher cut-blocked well. Active, strong-for-his-size Derrick Burgess is a tough matchup for any RT on two good ankles, but for Tauscher on one, the result was 3½ pressures. Junius Coston drew Sapp much of the day and blanked him in protection. Coston wouldn't back down physically from Sapp, either, something that would have been inconceivable a year or two ago. But it was far from one-sided. On three "bad" runs, including a failed third-and-1 play, Sapp was too powerful for Coston.
QUARTERBACKS (4)
Brett Favre's passes lacked their normal zip. Playing with a bad right elbow, he couldn't snap the ball off. His interception was the result of floating the ball too long on a vertical route to Robinson. It also was 18 degrees, and cold means a slick football. McCarthy lightened the load considerably, rushing 61% and taking the edge off the rush with four screens, including two deceptive screens. Although not sacked, Favre went down twice on low hits by Burgess. When plays were needed to be made, however, Favre made them. Without a QB of Favre's caliber, McCarthy probably would have given in on third and 18. But McCarthy gave Favre a chance and he delivered a 20-yard shot to Jennings and, a play later, the 37-yard dart to Robinson. Those completions robbed what will there was in the Raiders.
RUNNING BACKS (5)
It'd be hard to play much better than Korey Hall and Ryan Grant did. Given a chance to play more (29 snaps) than he has since Week 5 because McCarthy employed two-back sets on 68% of the downs, Hall looked like a different player. He started out cutting in the hole, then began taking defenders on high. He knocked down MLB Kirk Morrison three times, Howard twice and Thomas twice. Hall isn't big, but really looks to gore defenders. Grant broke five tackles in just more than three quarters, finishing 29 for 156. The Raiders were glad to see Vernand Morency, not Grant, in garbage time. There's no dipping or jitterbugging with Grant. He's all out, all the time. When Grant sees a hole, he takes it.
DEFENSIVE LINE (4)
Justin Fargas had been on a roll; Kiffin knew his only chance to win was to run effectively. But Fargas (15-57) generally was hemmed in. Ends Aaron Kampman (40 snaps) and Cullen Jenkins (38) were more firm than they had been the past two games, setting the point for the defense and limiting Fargas' running lanes. Inside, Ryan Pickett (36) outmuscled RG Cooper Carlisle whereas Corey Williams (34) usually stayed square against LG Robert Gallery, who appears to have lost whatever agility and fire he possessed at Iowa. Justin Harrell played 20 of his 25 snaps in the second half, used his massive bulk to hold the point adequately and showed some bull rush. Just four pressures (no sacks) against a shaky line wasn't enough.
LINEBACKERS (4½)
For a little guy, Nick Barnett can be an intimidating presence with his glowering visage and reckless hitting. Twice he ran through the line and made terrific tackles, once on third and 1. Barnett refused to ask out of the second half with an eye injury that required additional tests Monday. Against a poor QB and receivers, coordinator Bob Sanders blitzed on 46% of passes, the most since Week 8 in 2006. Barnett came through with two smashing hits on Josh McCown. They were the kind of shots that QBs everywhere cringe to see. A.J. Hawk knocked Fargas from the game late in the third quarter with a rib injury, showed his speed to the perimeter against run and pass and made some hard, low tackles.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (4)
A naked pitch almost always works, and it would have worked Sunday if not for Nick Collins. In perhaps his most impressive play of the season, Collins read the pitch to Fargas on fourth and 1, showed stunning acceleration and went a long way to make a textbook low tackle in the open field for minus-2. Collins also made a stellar break on a long bootleg pass that resulted in Atari Bigby's interception and blew up a screen. Collins wasn't always in great position against play-action. Bigby should have had two interceptions but dropped an easy one. He kept his head up on a blitz and dropped LaMont Jordan in the backfield for minus-3. Charles Woodson set a physical tone, trashing WR Ronald Curry on the Raiders' first run and making a hard tackle on Fargas. Al Harris didn't jump at all in the end zone and Jerry Porter took the ball right away from him for a 25-yard TD. He has given up way too many big plays in the last month.
KICKERS (2½)
Mason Crosby was 1 for 3 on long field goals, made an extra point lengthened to 35 by penalty and averaged 58.1 yards and 3.58 seconds of hang time on seven kickoffs. The second kickoff was one of his rare mis-hits. Jon Ryan averaged 36.5 (gross), 35.0 (net) and 3.43 (hang time) on two punts.
SPECIAL TEAMS (5)
For the first time in 21 years, the Packers scored two special-teams TDs in one game. Both were by Will Blackmon, who shot through on a punt return for 57 yards and then showed superb ball skills by keeping Tim Dwight's fumbled punt alive in front of him before falling on it in the end zone. Jason Hunter forced the fumble. Blackmon, however, also fielded a punt at the 7 (he might have broken that one, as well, but ran into Morency's back) and then turned a 4-yard return into minus-1 with excessive dancing. Unless Robinson shows greater resolve on kickoffs, it might be time to pair Blackmon with Tramon Williams. The Raiders have many big, athletic backup players, but the Packers' inspired coverage teams dominated. Hall had five tackles.
OVERALL (4½)