Chronic's Raiders take

[BillsObserver]

You lost me when you said you have the next Chris Johnson hidden on your bench. C'mon.

 

Your QB is average and barely that. I call him Captain Checkdown Version 2.0. You cut the original one this preseason. And that's the difference in this game - you have a great run game that the Bills will do everything in their power to shut down. McFadden is the real deal. But lets not pretend you have a bunch of Barry Sanders behind him.

 

I've said it all along, our biggest weakness is our depth. If we get hurt, we won't be good. But right now we are healthy which means we have a great shot at winning tomorrow. The Ralph will be CRAZY. This team is out to prove a lot of people wrong.

 

I respect your team a bit but they were terribly undisciplined on Monday night and you barely won against a team that drafted higher than US. But I'll give you some credit for going into a hostile environment and winning. We did the same as well, except we smashed a team was in the playoffs last year.

[Bump]

Chiefs were not a playoff team...they were clearly pretending.

[CBD]

Raiders OL- LT Jared Veldheer had a great year as a rookie last year, shutting down some top DE's in the NFL. Last week the Bronco media were talking about how Dumvervil a top De would get at least 3 sacks.. he was shut down and drummed by Veldheer. Rookie LG Stefen Wisnewski has shown to be a great pick and has really improved that position over Robert Gallery. Weisnewski has great lower body strenght and really gets a nice push and he's very quick to get to the 2nd level to take out backers that springs the RB's for additional yards. Center Samson Satele is a average center, not great but okay- he really struggles agaisnt big 3-4 NT's one on one, but vs 4-3 D lineup he does surprisingly well. RG Cooper Carlise gets the brunt of the critics from Raider fans, but what they fail to realize is that behind Carlise last year the Raiders avg 6.9 yards a carry, thats pretty solid, and its a big reason the Raiders have kept him this long despite Raider fans calling to replace him. RT Khalif Barnes is 6'6 of stupid. When he locks onto a defender he'll win the battle but he's about as dumb as a box of rocks-I personally think the dude is deaf in his left ear considering how many false starts he gets

Thanks for the analysis, one critique. Dumervil was hurt on the 4th play of the game and barely played throughout the remainder of the game. This obviously says nothing about how Veldheer played other than it shouldn't be boasted that he shut down Dumervil last week.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Sup ladies..

 

Sup Chronic, thanks for bringin' the gouge! Love it!

 

Is there anything dumber than a poll on who's gonna win a game? You can go to any site and the results are always the same.. why? Why do it?

 

Actually there is. Have you visited Chiefsplanet? I Rest My Case. But we digress....

 

I dont know much about the Bills to be honest other than they won 4 games last year. So I'll let one of you get me up to speed on your players, draftees etc..

 

Glad to oblige. First thing to say, a lot of Bills fans regard the team as better than the 4-12 record shows. They went 4-4 to end the season, and lost a number of very tight games to playoff teams (Ravens and Chiefs in OT). We were a couple bad breaks from an 8-8 record and losing the chance to draft Marcell Dareus. So most fans figure that's the best of both worlds: we showed progress and had entertaining games, AND we got to draft high. Call us delusional - 11 years with no playoffs will do that to a fan base.

 

Players:

1) QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. After the 1st 2 games in 2010 we sent our starting QB to a long overdue well deserved packing and went with a dark-horse. This led to entertaining comments you don't hear very often from NFL announcers: "the Harvard QB, tough as nails...." (seriously!) . Fitz earned his chance to start, and earned some respect, certainly in Buffalo and emerging around the league.

Fitz' good points:

1) He's smart. He sees the field well, he makes good adjustments, he makes the most of (what was last year) a sub-par offensive line by good protection calls and aggressive play.

2) He spreads the ball around. You can't just cover the #1 and #2 wideout. You got to cover everyone, and cover them 'til the whistle blows

3) He's a gunslinger. You can think someone is covered like a blanket and he'll sling it in there and make it work

4) He really is pretty tough. He doesn't get rattled under pressure. He's the sort that will smack a DE on the helmet, say "nice hit" and get up and burn ya next play.

5) Slippery. He can make defenders miss in the backfield. He can run well enough to serve as his own check-down man at times.

Fitz' bad points:

1) His arm is questionable for an NFL starter. He'll make 2-3 "WTF? Psycho-chicken?" throws each game. Deep accuracy is questionable. That said, he has his moments.

2) He's small, only 6'1" or 6'2". This may partly drive #1 above: he throws to where he expects the receiver to be, because once the DL is on the move he lacks height to see the field over them.

3) He's a gunslinger. Sometimes the high-risk throws he takes burn him with INTs, especially when we're behind and he's trying to make it happen. He'll force it to make a play. We forgive him because he's an upgrade to Trentative Edwards, Captain Checkdown.

4) He's too tough for his own good. He'll throw serious, up-end-the-DB type blocks. He'll put his shoulder down and drive for the extra yards. Fitz. Calm down, boy. Slide. Run out of bounds. Do one of those sissy QB shoves. But the O loves it. He lifts their play.

5) Historically, he's been inconsistent. He'll lead the NFL in QB rating one week, and make 3 turnovers the next.

2) Run D. Last year, "what run D"? The addition of rookie DL Marcell Dareus to pro-bowler Kyle Williams, the return of Ravens discard-for-injuries Dwan Edwards from injury, and some key upgrades at LB with the addition of Merriman, Barnett, and Morrison and the development of 2nd year players Batten and Carrington, are hoped to lead to a much-improved run D. Have they succeeded? Looked good last week. Ask me this Sunday at 4 pm. Oakland is a key test, I think. Weak spots: Kelsay setting the edge. Look for Oakland to be running at #90 all day until/unless we stop it. Silver lining: Kelsay looks much improved this year, especially with Merriman and Dareus deservedly drawing attention. Still a weak spot until proven otherwise. Depth is also a weakness. The #1s go out and there's a distinct fall-off.

3) Physicality. Historically, the Bills were built for speed at the expense of strong, physical play. All the back-tackling drove me nuts. Chix and Nailey set out to change that. I liked what I heard last week. Is it enough culture change to match Oakland? Ask me Sunday at 4 pm

4) The Goon Squad. Unknown WR and TE corp that takes pride in showing they've got NFL chops and all loyal to Fitz. They can all get open, they can all burn ya when they get open. Fitz will take shots and give them a chance to make plays and they'll come through. Boo-ya.

5) Defensive secondary. We didn't have to have one last year, because we didn't have a run D and we didn't have good pressure. Teams just ran on us all day. Last year also, we couldn't cover a TE if he sat in a saucepan and handed over the lid. This year, I give us odds at least. We've lost our starter, McGee. Rookie Williams looks promising yet will have a learning curve. Veterans Byrd, Scott, Florence, and Wilson seem to have stepped up their game. Do we have a defensive secondary this year? Ask me after Week 3.

6) Freddy Jackson at RB. He's not big. He's not fast. He's just Money. He gets the down. He can block. He can catch. Like Fitz, he can make the most of what (historically) has been a mediocre run-blocking line which allows penetration. Underestimate him at your cost, and if the OL keeps playing like last week, he's even more of a weapon. We laugh when we hear Raiders fans or National media compare McFadden and Spiller, 'cuz Spiller is #2 around here by a mile. We lose FJ, we're in trouble 'cuz Spiller, no offense meant to a talented kid, isn't fit to carry Fred's jockstrap right now.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Jason Campbell- Not a SB calibre QB by no means. But its finally his 1st time in his career that he has the same OC 2 years in a row. He's a capable QB and can make the throws, but his long ball sucks- it really is bad. <...> I personlly wish we had a better arm QB, but I'm okay with Campbell as long as he manages the game and dont turn the ball over

 

I really think Campbell is underrated. I think Raiders got a steal taking him from Washington for a 4th round pick. He's a quality, capable, consistent QB. Teams have won Superbowls with QB no better than Campbell and some with worse. The long ball is great for oooohs and aaaaahs but give me an accurate QB who can make the quick read and throw over the middle and who doesn't throw too many stupid INTs or make many mistakes. Raiders could win a Superbowl with Campbell. I don't see why they couldn't. In the N'Orleans preseason game against starters, he looked like a genuine 1st round pick.

 

The question I have about Campbell is the number of sacks he takes. I haven't seen much of his play, but it seems strange for a team with such a strong OL. Is the OL just built for run blocking and questionable at pass protection? Does Campbell hang onto the ball too long? Do the WR have trouble getting open? Is he scared to throw into coverage? Is it the style of offense (a la Mad Martz, whose system is brutal on QBs)? Appreciate any insight you might have.

 

I got nothing to add on your RB evaluation. McFadden is a beast, no question. And the Raiders have quality depth, no question. We will lose some big runs

 

Raiders OL- Rookie LG Stefen Wisnewski has shown to be a great pick and has really improved that position over Robert Gallery. <...> RT Khalif Barnes is 6'6 of stupid. When he locks onto a defender he'll win the battle but he's about as dumb as a box of rocks-I personally think the dude is deaf in his left ear considering how many false starts he gets

 

Great gouge here, answers a lot of questions. How would you rate RT this year vs last? How does Barnes hold up on pass protection? He earned the nickname "Khawiff" with Jax, everyone can improve though. Is this a weakness that can be exploited? Expect optimal conditions for false starts. The fans are psyched and the Ralph will be partying like it's 1991. You ain't seen loud until you've seen the Ralph in a party.

 

Puzzling questions to me - again, if the Raiders OL is so good (which I believe they are) why does Campbell get sacked so much and why did his completion slip >5% between 2009 (Wash) and 2010? Is it the system? Is it his decision-making? Is the line built for the run and poor at pass protection? Why was the 3rd down conversion so low (1/3) against a mediocre Denver D? Why so many field goals, instead of being able to "punch it in" the Red Zone? Seems paradoxical here. Would like to understand.

 

Got nothing to say about your analysis of the Raider's DL. I agree, they're good. I swear I saw one of them making up a bed and frying chicken in the Denver backfield last Sunday 'cuz they sure looked as though they were living there.

 

Raiders LB-... Rolando McClain 2nd year MLB is good, and has really blossomed in pass coverage <...> Kamerion Wimbley led all OLB with 9 sacks last year- big fast kid that excels in pass rushing, evident of his 9 sacks last year. Quentin Groves sucks open ass. He did last year, but surprisngly played pretty well on monday night, def the weak link in that backer corps.

 

Raiders secondary- The Raiders had two guys in the top 6 in burn %. Raiders 2 corners Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson. Routta statiscally had as a good a year as Revis. Routt was thrown at 99time last year and allowed just 37 catches- thats extremely good. Huff, Branch, Mitchellare all good decent safeties- not pro bowl players, but decent enough and can make plays- they'll disappear for a couple games then all of a sudden the Raiders safeties will get 3 int's in a game. Just an up and down group. I believe they are really the beneficiaries of the Raiders great pass rush, that rush cause bad throws and sometimes the Raiders safeties get a couple gifts

 

Fair enough. So overall, how would you rate the LBs in pass coverage? Another of my puzzlement questions has been, with such a great DL and 5 sacks, how did Orton manage to pass for >300 yds? I didn't see that much of the game. Was the secondary burned? Was it dink and dunk stuff burning the LB? Did Denver manage reasonable protection that just broke down 5 times?

 

And lastly, as you note, new coaches.....what's your take on Saunders and Woodson so far?

 

Here's hoping for a good, tough game - not looking for a blowout either way!

Edited September 17, 2011 by Hopeful

[Rockinon]

I can't wait to see what Marcel and Kyle will do to Stefen Wisniewski tomorrow.

[Bump]

Thanks for the analysis, one critique. Dumervil was hurt on the 4th play of the game and barely played throughout the remainder of the game. This obviously says nothing about how Veldheer played other than it shouldn't be boasted that he shut down Dumervil last week.

 

 

Veldheer blanked Hali last season....does that say anything?

 

Veldheer put on 15 pounds this offseason. He is looking like a furture franchise LT. I guarantee you whoever the Bills throw at him will be completely irrelevant.

[Mike in Syracuse]

East Coast? I seriously doubt 1 day of prep will make much of a difference- Oaklands gonna play "their" game- they're gonna make the Bills play the Raiders game. Hue changed the practice to 7am this week

 

Raiders WR... Bro- the Raiders had Heyward Bey and Murphy last year and beat the Chargers TWICE. The Bills are not even near as good as the Chargers

 

The Raiders have proven they can beat quality teams.. the Bills have yet to prove that

 

The Bills beat the Lions, Browns, Bengals and Dolphins last year

 

Lets be serious here now mkay?

 

 

Yes EAST COAST. You lost every game you played East of the Mississippi last year. The Raider's record in the last 10 years on the east coast is one of the worst in football.

 

You did beat the Chargers twice, congratulations. That seems to be the ONLY team you beat last year that didnt' suck out loud. You barely beat an autrocious Broncos team this year who was at the bottom of the league last year in almost every category last year. The Broncos were far worse than the Bills last year yet you just barely squeaked out a win. You're also conveniently overlooking the fact that you also LOST Zach Miller, Robert Gallery, Thomas Howard and most importantly Nnamdi Asomugha.

 

Your "we beat quality teams argument is silly". If the Chiefs truly were a "pretender" last year then that makes the Raiders record look even worse. In fact, your entire season stands on 2 wins against the Chargers. Your wins are against St. Louis, Seattle, and two against Denver, the aforementioned worst team in the league. Seattle wasn't far behind.

 

You are right though, the Bill weren't good last year. You'll find out tomorrow if they've improved but clearly, the Raiders have regressed.

Edited September 17, 2011 by Mike in Syracuse

[Hapless Bills Fan]

I don't think it will be a blowout but it wouldn't shock me if it was. Then again, I'm a Bills fan and I wouldn't be shocked if we somehow managed to lose by 20.

 

And that, my friends, is Life as a Bills Fan, summarized in two sentences.

 

Veldheer blanked Hali last season....does that say anything?

 

Don't know. Our LT put the glove on Hali last week... does that say anything?

 

Veldheer put on 15 pounds this offseason. He is looking like a furture franchise LT. I guarantee you whoever the Bills throw at him will be completely irrelevant.

 

Cool - what's your guarantee? Case of beer? All you can eat Wings at the Anchor?

[Mike in Syracuse]

Veldheer blanked Hali last season....does that say anything?

 

Veldheer put on 15 pounds this offseason. He is looking like a furture franchise LT. I guarantee you whoever the Bills throw at him will be completely irrelevant.

 

 

LOL, Tamba Hali weights 275lbs tops. Marcell goes about 330. You better get your boy Veldheer some help or he's gonna spend Sunday looking at the sky.

 

 

 

God I wish I could figure out a way to send this post to Marcell.

Edited September 17, 2011 by Mike in Syracuse

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Good points. As for the Raiders' vaunted running game, the Broncos had the 2nd worst run defense last year and did nothing to improve it over the off-season.

 

Doesn't drafting Miller count as an improvement?

[Doc]

IF McCluster doesn't fumble on the opening kickoff.......

 

IF Colquit doesn't have pathetic punts of...27, 34 and 36 yards...from deep within their own turf.

 

 

Things could have ended-up very differently....

Really? The Chefs only scored 7 points. The Bills could have scored all FG's and still beaten them.

East Coast? I seriously doubt 1 day of prep will make much of a difference- Oaklands gonna play "their" game- they're gonna make the Bills play the Raiders game. Hue changed the practice to 7am this week

 

Raiders WR... Bro- the Raiders had Heyward Bey and Murphy last year and beat the Chargers TWICE. The Bills are not even near as good as the Chargers

 

The Raiders have proven they can beat quality teams.. the Bills have yet to prove that

 

The Bills beat the Lions, Browns, Bengals and Dolphins last year

 

Lets be serious here now mkay?

And outside the weak AFC West, the Raiders beat just the Seahawks and Rams. As I said before, had they played in the AFC East, they'd have gone 1-5 in the division, at best. And I was rooting for the Raiders to do well, because I wanted that 1st rounder they traded for Seymour to be as late as possible.

Your QB is average and barely that. I call him Captain Checkdown Version 2.0. You cut the original one this preseason. And that's the difference in this game - you have a great run game that the Bills will do everything in their power to shut down. McFadden is the real deal. But lets not pretend you have a bunch of Barry Sanders behind him.

I don't know how great it is. Outside of 3 runs by McFadden and a couple by Bush, they barely averaged over 3 YPC. Against a lousy run defense.

Chiefs were not a playoff team...they were clearly pretending.

Yet there they were. And again, I was pulling for you guys to win the division.

Thanks for the analysis, one critique. Dumervil was hurt on the 4th play of the game and barely played throughout the remainder of the game. This obviously says nothing about how Veldheer played other than it shouldn't be boasted that he shut down Dumervil last week.

Good point. Not to mention Champ Bailey was lost for most of the 4th quarter.

Veldheer blanked Hali last season....does that say anything?

Sure "Veldheer blanked Hali." I guess every one of those 3.5 sacks came against someone else, right?

Edited September 17, 2011 by Doc

[CSBill]

The only thing I would confidently say the Raiders have an edge in is their D-line versus our O-line, other than that, I would say the Bill are equal in the run game, and better in everything else. Just saying!

[Bump]

 

Don't know. Our LT put the glove on Hali last week... does that say anything?

 

Hali still had a sack didn't he?

 

 

 

what's your guarantee? Case of beer? All you can eat Wings at the Anchor?

 

As long as it isn't some exotic microbrew lol

 

Unfortunately, I couldn't collect my all u can eat wings, I'm in North Carolina since Feb

 

I would've taken you up on that offer if I was still in NJ. Never had anchor wings... Buffalo still is a haul from Nj but I always said one day I'd try them

[5 Wide]

Veldheer blanked Hali last season....does that say anything?

 

Veldheer put on 15 pounds this offseason. He is looking like a furture franchise LT. I guarantee you whoever the Bills throw at him will be completely irrelevant.

 

Just tell Veldheer to stand back after the whistle so we can all see the lights out dance.

[Bump]

Really? The Chefs only scored 7 points. The Bills could have scored all FG's and still beaten them.

 

So... u don't think going in the whole 14 points in the first quarter changes the complexion of a game completely? My whole point was...if McCluster doesn't fumble and Colquit punts worth any NFL punters weight in salt.... They might have scored more than 7 points!

 

Yet there they were. And again, I was pulling for you guys to win the division.

 

So was I, zing!

 

Good point. Not to mention Champ Bailey was lost for most of the 4th quarter.

 

Not to mention Champ got injured because he was trying to avoid getting trucked by Dmac

 

Sure "Veldheer blanked Hali." I guess every one of those 3.5 sacks came against someone else, right?

 

yes lol... in the 2 games of those 3.5 sacks, 1 came against Veldheer. Veldheer pancaked Hali about 5 times in the overtime matchup.

[Chronic]

The only thing I would confidently say the Raiders have an edge in is their D-line versus our O-line, other than that, I would say the Bill are equal in the run game, and better in everything else. Just saying!

 

*facepalm*

 

Raiders are the 2nd best rushing team in the NFL

 

The Bills are the 18th best rushing team in the NFL

 

Raiders are the 6th highest scoring team in the NFL

 

Bills are almost dead last at 28 in scoring

 

Raider rush avg is 5 yards a pop

 

Bills are at 4.3

 

Raiders had 19 rushing TD's

 

Bills had an abysmal 6 rushing TD's last year

 

Stop doing this to yourself...

[Bump]

Just tell Veldheer to stand back after the whistle so we can all see the lights out dance.

 

Merrimans knees did the Lights Out dance 3 years out...

 

Merriman is scaring nobody...very impressive one tackle game last week

 

The only thing I would confidently say the Raiders have an edge in is their D-line versus our O-line, other than that, I would say the Bill are equal in the run game, and better in everything else. Just saying!

 

Our backup runningback had more TD's than the whole Bills rushing offense...

 

Yea...I'd say the Bills RB's are =

 

 

lol

Edited September 17, 2011 by Bump

[5 Wide]

Merrimans knees did the Lights Out dance 3 years out...

 

Merriman is scaring nobody...very impressive one tackle game last week

 

Our backup runningback had more TD's than the whole Bills rushing offense...

 

Yea...I'd say the Bills RB's are =

 

 

lol

 

Well played... the guy does look fresh this year though. He had a great camp and great preseason, there were actually very few times he rushed the passer last week. He was setting the edge in the run game all day, and then didn't even go back in the game most of the 3rd quarter and all of the 4th b/c the 2nd teamers were put in. I know he had a bad couple years, but the guy has some burst back.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

And outside the weak AFC West, the Raiders beat just the Seahawks and Rams from the pathetically weak NFC West*.

 

Fixed.

 

*where the Division winner and runner up had losing records

[Bump]

Well played... the guy does look fresh this year though. He had a great camp and great preseason, there were actually very few times he rushed the passer last week. He was setting the edge in the run game all day, and then didn't even go back in the game most of the 3rd quarter and all of the 4th b/c the 2nd teamers were put in. I know he had a bad couple years, but the guy has some burst back.

 

The Chargers fans were saying the same thing in '09. I mean, the last thing I want to see is Merriman have some epiphany on the rehab trail. In a loss, it would just make it exponentially worse. Because I had to witness some very bad losses at the hands of that awful celebration.