Raiders Defense

[BABYLON 5]

Love this film work on Nicholas Marrow i think he played decent and showed a lot of flashes for a rookie that came out of nowhere.Sure he have some things he have to work on, but with another year under his belt and if Paul Guenther and the coaching staff can get the best out him he can be real solid linebacker for us.

I don't know where his natural position should be and haven't saw much of him in coverage but I love how he hits and get threw the trash to makes plays.

Edited April 5, 2018 by BABYLON 5

[Darbsk]

1 hour ago, BABYLON 5 said:

Love this flim work on Nicholas Marrow i think he played decent and showed a ot  of flashes for a rookie that came out of nowhere.Sure he have some things he have to work on, but with another year under his belt and if Paul Guenther and the coaching staff can get the best out him he can be real solid linebacker for us.

I don't know where his natural position should be and haven't saw much of him in coverage but I love how he hits and get threw the trash to makes plays.

Thanks for posting this Babylon 5, saw a lot of positive flashes from Morrow this year and he's a player that has surprised me especially with his work in coverage - he probably matched up better on TEs than pretty much anyone we've had in a long while. He's still got somethings to work on but I wouldn't be at all mad to see him starting this season, especially if we upgrade the line in front of him to help all the LBs.

[reddevil]

Love that little spin move at 2.36ish. Nice video and agree, I'm excited to see what he can do with a full off season and some better coaching. I remember reading an article about him after we picked him up by an ex scout who thought he was going to be a player who had enough talent to succeed even though he played in such a weak conference.

[agarcia34]

Really like Morrow. Felt like he was a bright spot for a terrible unit. Paul Guenther has always done a good job getting the most and putting his LBs in a position to succeed. Look forward to seeing how Morrow works with the new defense. 

[Darbsk]

I'm going to be quite interested in seeing (if they make it to pre-season of course) guys like Calhoun and Ward playing in a more stock 4-3. Calhoun was a pretty good 4-3 DE in college and a disaster as a stand up pass rusher who had to drop in coverage. Not really sure where Ward fits but he may have a different role and for both it is last chance saloon.

[NightTrainLane]

4 minutes ago, Darbsk said:

I'm going to be quite interested in seeing (if they make it to pre-season of course) guys like Calhoun and Ward playing in a more stock 4-3. Calhoun was a pretty good 4-3 DE in college and a disaster as a stand up pass rusher who had to drop in coverage. Not really sure where Ward fits but he may have a different role and for both it is last chance saloon.

That is where Ward played in college alot as well. I think if he is healthy all  offseason we could see something there as well. But yeah they are under the microscope.

[mct288]

On ‎4‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 9:04 AM, BABYLON 5 said:

Love this film work on Nicholas Marrow i think he played decent and showed a lot of flashes for a rookie that came out of nowhere.Sure he have some things he have to work on, but with another year under his belt and if Paul Guenther and the coaching staff can get the best out him he can be real solid linebacker for us.

I don't know where his natural position should be and haven't saw much of him in coverage but I love how he hits and get threw the trash to makes plays.

Morrow very well could be what we all thought Neiron Ball was going to be after that Denver game in 2015. I remember there being a lot of excitement around him, as it was about the only time a TE didn't run wild on the D that year. It didn't work out for him, but Morrow looks to be a good find.

[Humble_Beast]

5 hours ago, mct288 said:

Morrow very well could be what we all thought Neiron Ball was going to be after that Denver game in 2015. I remember there being a lot of excitement around him, as it was about the only time a TE didn't run wild on the D that year. It didn't work out for him, but Morrow looks to be a good find.

Morrow and James both had moments last year. I like the depth with the linebacker unit, James and Morrow could emerge as starting Middle backer. James was solid until injures took him out

[reddevil]

1 hour ago, Humble_Beast said:

Morrow and James both had moments last year. I like the depth with the linebacker unit, James and Morrow could emerge as starting Middle backer. James was solid until injures took him out

Agree. I thought James looked actually very good for the first few games and then was only periodically back and didn't get enough consecutive action to play back into rhythm. Really intrigued by what we do at LB. Lots of ways to go from bringing back Bowman and/or drafting someone high or in the mid rounds and then seeing what Guenther and the coaching staff can do with what we have. 

[Silver&Black88]

Man, if we end up getting Bowman back now, we could field a decent defense.  Of course, we need our young guys healthy and to hit the ground running but after the draft, I'm cool with our defense on paper. Also think our DL has potential to be disgusting.

 

[agarcia34]

Am I the only one that doesn’t want Bowman back? I think it would be better for the Raiders to not bring him back and allow your younger guys to get that playing time like Morrow or Cory James. 

DT will see a huge upgrade with the two draft picks and if MEJ ever gets it going again. The 3rd down passing defense in the middle will be a lot better. 

[Rich7sena]

4 hours ago, agarcia34 said:

Am I the only one that doesn’t want Bowman back? I think it would be better for the Raiders to not bring him back and allow your younger guys to get that playing time like Morrow or Cory James. 

DT will see a huge upgrade with the two draft picks and if MEJ ever gets it going again. The 3rd down passing defense in the middle will be a lot better. 

I don't think there's a starting MLB I trust on the roster. I think the team is good in nickel situations -- which the Raiders will be in most of the time -- but I think Bowman could really solidify the base look.

[Rolni]

I was definately expecting a Defensive player in the first round. I was hoping for a cornerstone guy. Gruden&Reggie went in a different direction obviously, but still managed to strengthen our defense with this draft class IMO.

We got a defensive player in the 2nd, in the 3rd, in the 4th, in the 5th and one also in the 6th round. So after all this turned out to be quite a defensive heavy draft.

All of these guys are boom or bust types like all of this 2018 draft class of ours.

PJ Hall is a small school guy, with great athletic traits and good potential. His competition level makes this pick risky obviously, but with proper coaching and a little luck this guy can be a really dangerous interior DL player.

Arden Key has big time character issues, so the risk is obvious here too. On the other hand after his 2016 season he was regarded as a 1st round prospect by most. If the staff and his teammates can get his head right, he could be a steal. He could be a really good rotational piece behind Mack and Bruce and actual could be Irvin's successor in the end.

Nick Nelson was recently injured (risk), so we got here in the 4th round. Could be a solid value pick if he can get back to 100%. I read that he is expected to be ready by TC, so we might just added a competitor for that slot CB spot. If he is healthy I like his chances.

Mo Hurst was a huge risk oviously with his heart condition. He was a first rounder a potential TOP 10 guy before that combine testing. Right now he is good to go according to himself and according to the team. As I understand he is going to be a year-to-year decision by the doctors and with little luck we can get multiple years out of him just like Michigan U. He should be a true force in the middle and could very well be a starter come day 1. 

Azeem Victor is again a character question mark like Key, but clearly Gruden and Guenther are betting on themselves to turn them around. Victor was compared to Burfict, but more so for his character issues then his play IMO. At best I see a back up LB/ST guy for 2018. 

I think Hurst, Nelson and Hall has great chance to play a lot early and also Key has solid chance if he keep himself out of trouble. That is quite a lot fresh blood.

 

We also had a these guys as FA's:

CB: Rashaan Melvin, Daryl Worley, Shareece Wright, Leon Hall 

S:Marcus Gilchrist, Reggie Nelson

LB: Tahir Whitehead, Emmanuel Lamur, Kyle Wilber

DL: Tank Carradine, Armonthy Bryant

 

Lot's of new players overall. We will have a new defense scheme wise, but pretty much personel wise too.

Let's see how our Defense looks right now!!

 

Our base defense will be a 4-3 defense, tailor after the Mike Zimmer 4-3 concept. Stout DL, creative blitz packages, man-to-man cover 2 and 4 coverages.

The scheme and the idea is clear IMO, let's see what we have for it after the draft.

 

We have had DL issues for a while now and since this D requires strong DL we had to upgrade. Now we have a stronger group then anytime in recent years. 

We have a potent DE/EDGE group and a solid interior group IMO with two guys, who can move between these groups.

DE/EDGE: Khalil Mack, Bruce Irvin, Mario Edwards Jr, Tank Carradine, Arden Key, Shilique Calhoun, James Cowser, Fadol Brown, Armonthy Bryant, Joby Saint Fleur

DT/DI: Justin Ellis, Maurice Hurst, PJ Hall, Eddie Vanderdoes, Treyvon Hester, Mario Edwards Jr, Tank Carradine, Shakir Soto

As you can see Mario Edwards Jr. and Tank Carradine are the guys who can move between these groups well IMO. It will be interesting whether we keep both of them or not IMO.

Khalil Mack is the cornerstone for this defense obviously and he will be an everydown player. Bruce Irvin will slide into full time DE, but could see a heavy rotation on early downs with Edwards/Carradine IMO. The Mack-Irvin duo is a dangerous one and if Key can contribute, we should have a fresh and fearsome outside pass rush. Calhoun and Cowser will have to really work for that 53 man spot this time and neither is a lock.

At NT Ellis is the starter, but since he is a 2 down player we need lots of bodies at DT. Vanderdoes could miss the season opener and a good part of the season, so we needed these rookies badly. Hurst, Hall and Hester with the Mario/Tank duo would make a pretty deep group IMO. (Vanderdoes after another knee injury could head behind Jelly at NT in the long run.) The nickel/dime DT duo is the biggest question mark, but now we have multiple guys who fits what we need and who can really have a good TC battle about it. Hurst, Hall, Edwards, Hester and Carradine could all play inside on these downs. I like our chances with them and with PG and Trgovac coaching them up.

I see something like this right now:

Base DL--> Mack-Jelly-Hurst-Irvin/Edwards   Hall and Tank as rotational guys

Nickel DL-->Mack-Hurst-Edwards/Hall-Irvin   Key as a rotational piece

 

LB group looks like the weak spot again to me. We added Whitehead, who ideally can lock down the SLB spot and we have some young guys with potential, but this group looks weak. 

We don't really know what they think about M.Lee, C.James, N.Morrow, but the fact that they didn't signed big name FA to the position and only drafted a guy in the 6th round tells me they feel good about them. Bowman could still arrive as a base/2 down MLB obviously.

Right now I think Lee is the back up for Tahir at SLB, James is our MLB and Morrow is the WLB. Lamur could be a key depth guy at SLB and WLB too. I really like Morrow so with Wilber and Victor also in the mix at WLB depth we could be alright. Nothing fancy, but alright, especially if the DL plays well.

Cory James is a guy with solid potential IMO, but his injury history makes me a bit worried at MLB. Lee could help him some against the run and Tahir can also play some MLB if needed, but still MLB is a big question mark.

It will also be interesting who stay on the field with the nickel group. Morrow and James could be the pair, but Tahir was a priority FA signing, so he might also stay on the field for most downs. 

Base LB-->Whitehead-James-Morrow

Nickel LB-->Whitehead/James-Morrow

 

Our secondary will look different and based on our 2017 track record that is a good thing. 

Melvin and Conley will be the starting duo. Worley, Nelson, Hall, Wright and McDonald will have an intense battle behind them IMO. If Worley can keep himself "clean" and Nelson can get healthy we could have a solid young quartett going forward. That 5th and 6th(?) spot will come down to ST IMO, so Dexter and the other young guys will have a chance to beat out Hall and Wright IMO. 

Base CB-->Melvin-Conley

Nickel CB-->Melvin-Worley/Nelson-Conley

At S it seems like Karl and Obi will get their chance. Marcus and Reggie are here as fall back/ER options IMO and the Luani-Harris duo will have to really show up on ST to stick around. If Karl and Obi looks comfortable I absolutely think that Reggie will get cut in the end and Marcus stays as the veteran in the group. I think we will try to really use Obi on TE's, so we will see the Marcus-Karl duo in the back end from quite some time with Obi close to the LOS guarding TE's. 

Base/nickel S-->Karl, Obi with Marcus in the mix

This Obi on TE watch logic could also answer the lack of LB pick up. I can see us use Obi around the LOS against TE's and RB's almost like a nickel LB with Karl and Marcus guarding the deep halves/quarters.

This would give our nickel formation a little twist and that could help us hide the lack of quality cover LB's...

 

What do you think?

[Roninho]

On ‎29‎-‎04‎-‎2018 at 9:18 AM, agarcia34 said:

Am I the only one that doesn’t want Bowman back? I think it would be better for the Raiders to not bring him back and allow your younger guys to get that playing time like Morrow or Cory James. 

DT will see a huge upgrade with the two draft picks and if MEJ ever gets it going again. The 3rd down passing defense in the middle will be a lot better. 

Well i would like to see Bowman back, and preferably sign another vet lb or 2 to the roster. Guys who played a bunch of snaps last year, like Conner Barwin or jonathan Cassilas.

If they are done cut them in TC, but at least bring someone in that these younger guys actually have to beat somebody to get on the field.

[oakdb36]

3 hours ago, Rolni said:

What do you think?

I'm looking forward to the impact our new dlinemen will have. I like how we've adressed this weakness throughout the offseason. That's the unit that will make or break our D. We potentially have a solid rotation to complement Mack.