2021 Raider Depth Chart

[Humble_Beast]

14 hours ago, jimkelly02 said:

This makes me think of Marquette King telling the story of his first punt.

"The punter is BLACK! It's a fake!"

 

feels so long ago, when we were an upcoming team: Carr was looking like the MVP, Mack was dominating, we were the buzz of the NFL, even had a flashy punter that talked trash. lol 

[Dessie]

17 hours ago, drfrey13 said:

This makes me think we should have spent on a big run stopping DT.  If our starting LBs are Muse, Morrow, and Littleton get ready to watch teams go on 6-8 minute drives all day long as they just run it down our throats.  This defense will be throwing in the towel in the 3rd quarter.  We need pressure but can not give up on stopping the run.  I was already thinking we were going to have a tough time of it.  

Again you seem to be getting confused with our defense, Muse will likely be in some packages but it’s more likely in our nickel packages. Kwiatkoski is in when we run 3 LBs on run downs. 

[drfrey13]

5 hours ago, Dessie said:

Again you seem to be getting confused with our defense, Muse will likely be in some packages but it’s more likely in our nickel packages. Kwiatkoski is in when we run 3 LBs on run downs. 

The comment I was responding to said he might be wrong but those 3 were getting the starter reps.  It is early so things can change but I have seen it a few times that Kwiat is not starting in camp.  Kwiat is the only LB we have that can take on blockers.  You get an olinemen to the second level and or LBs are done.  I understand our defense but it is not setup to stop the run.  If you want to see something pathetic let Hankins go down.  We might give up 300 yards a game on the ground.  We just do not have the players to be good against the run.  We would be good against the pass but that might be from teams not needing to throw the ball.

[Bitty 2.0]

27 minutes ago, drfrey13 said:

The comment I was responding to said he might be wrong but those 3 were getting the starter reps.  It is early so things can change but I have seen it a few times that Kwiat is not starting in camp.  Kwiat is the only LB we have that can take on blockers.  You get an olinemen to the second level and or LBs are done.  I understand our defense but it is not setup to stop the run.  If you want to see something pathetic let Hankins go down.  We might give up 300 yards a game on the ground.  We just do not have the players to be good against the run.  We would be good against the pass but that might be from teams not needing to throw the ball.

In the new defense the LBs and the SS stack the box. They are supposed to be smaller and faster to get back in coverage but stopping the run is the priority.

[drfrey13]

1 hour ago, Bitty 2.0 said:

In the new defense the LBs and the SS stack the box. They are supposed to be smaller and faster to get back in coverage but stopping the run is the priority.

Yes but you still have players capable of stopping the run.  You still have a SLB that acts like a 3-4 OLB.  We do not have one on the team.  We do not even have a run stopping LB.  Kwiat is decent.  You can bring the entire defense but if they are not capable of defeating blocks and making the stop you are just going to give up big runs all day long.  We have some players that are good fits for this defense but we can not rely on our LBs to make plays against the run if our DTs can not keep them clean.  With the exception of Kwiat none of them can take on blockers and are better in pursuit.  We do not have a legit Sam but Wright could fix this and if Kwiat is not starting, the original issue, then we are looking at a potential big issue.  You can have Muse play the role of White in obvious run downs like 4th and 1 but he should not be starting unless he is replacing Littleton.  

[Dessie]

3 hours ago, drfrey13 said:

Yes but you still have players capable of stopping the run.  You still have a SLB that acts like a 3-4 OLB.  We do not have one on the team.  We do not even have a run stopping LB.  Kwiat is decent.  You can bring the entire defense but if they are not capable of defeating blocks and making the stop you are just going to give up big runs all day long.  We have some players that are good fits for this defense but we can not rely on our LBs to make plays against the run if our DTs can not keep them clean.  With the exception of Kwiat none of them can take on blockers and are better in pursuit.  We do not have a legit Sam but Wright could fix this and if Kwiat is not starting, the original issue, then we are looking at a potential big issue.  You can have Muse play the role of White in obvious run downs like 4th and 1 but he should not be starting unless he is replacing Littleton.  

Nickel looks will be the base package essentially when we want 3 LBs in then Kwiat comes in. SLB is not a ‘starter’ position. Tashan Reed covers this here https://theathletic.com/2757731/2021/08/07/letters-from-raiders-training-camp-week-2-wide-receiver-corps-appears-set-nicholas-morrows-increased-role/

4. Nicholas Morrow and Cory Littleton have emerged as the most-used linebackers when the first-team defense goes to its nickel package. As a reminder, defensive coordinator Gus Bradley essentially uses nickel (five defensive backs) as his base defense. Last season, for example, the Chargerswere in nickel for 65.3 percent of their defensive snaps according to TruMedia.

Again, it’s early, but Morrow and Littleton are in position to take the most snaps at the second level of the defense. Nick Kwiatkoski has been the third linebacker in the rotation when Bradley has gone to a traditional 4-3 base, so he’s technically still a starter, but his inconsistencies in pass coverage are likely contributing to him being used less frequently in the nickel package.

 

[Dessie]

6 hours ago, drfrey13 said:

The comment I was responding to said he might be wrong but those 3 were getting the starter reps.  It is early so things can change but I have seen it a few times that Kwiat is not starting in camp.  Kwiat is the only LB we have that can take on blockers.  You get an olinemen to the second level and or LBs are done.  I understand our defense but it is not setup to stop the run.  If you want to see something pathetic let Hankins go down.  We might give up 300 yards a game on the ground.  We just do not have the players to be good against the run.  We would be good against the pass but that might be from teams not needing to throw the ball.

Only a couple of weeks ago you were trying to tell us that we should play a SLB in passing situations now you are complaining about our nickel package in run situations..🤷‍♂️

[Jeremy408]

4 hours ago, drfrey13 said:

Yes but you still have players capable of stopping the run.  You still have a SLB that acts like a 3-4 OLB.  We do not have one on the team.  We do not even have a run stopping LB.  Kwiat is decent.  You can bring the entire defense but if they are not capable of defeating blocks and making the stop you are just going to give up big runs all day long.  We have some players that are good fits for this defense but we can not rely on our LBs to make plays against the run if our DTs can not keep them clean.  With the exception of Kwiat none of them can take on blockers and are better in pursuit.  We do not have a legit Sam but Wright could fix this and if Kwiat is not starting, the original issue, then we are looking at a potential big issue.  You can have Muse play the role of White in obvious run downs like 4th and 1 but he should not be starting unless he is replacing Littleton.  

Technically you’re not wrong about us not having what type of linebackers that are true thumpers outside of Kwit. But I do think when you’re not playing too deep safeties and you actually have Abrams in the box full-time that does help against the run more than the way Gunther kind of did it where he kind of had the two safeties is kind of like a 2-Deep type of deal.

It also didn’t help that Eric Harris was so bad as a free safety at taking angles an open field tackling that a play that might’ve only been like 8 to 15 yards turns out to be a 90 yard touchdown just because she’s a horrible last line of defense.

Of course we can bring up how half of the fence being on the Covid list some of the weeks and just flat out injuries play the role but that’s the cliché thing that everybody knows already.

[drfrey13]

6 hours ago, Dessie said:

Nickel looks will be the base package essentially when we want 3 LBs in then Kwiat comes in. SLB is not a ‘starter’ position. Tashan Reed covers this here https://theathletic.com/2757731/2021/08/07/letters-from-raiders-training-camp-week-2-wide-receiver-corps-appears-set-nicholas-morrows-increased-role/

4. Nicholas Morrow and Cory Littleton have emerged as the most-used linebackers when the first-team defense goes to its nickel package. As a reminder, defensive coordinator Gus Bradley essentially uses nickel (five defensive backs) as his base defense. Last season, for example, the Chargerswere in nickel for 65.3 percent of their defensive snaps according to TruMedia.

Again, it’s early, but Morrow and Littleton are in position to take the most snaps at the second level of the defense. Nick Kwiatkoski has been the third linebacker in the rotation when Bradley has gone to a traditional 4-3 base, so he’s technically still a starter, but his inconsistencies in pass coverage are likely contributing to him being used less frequently in the nickel package.

 

It is nice to see the Muse getting starters reps was not a sign of the future.  Does not mean we are going to have an easier time against the run.  Chargers had better run defense personnel who where familiar with the system and they still gave up 120 yards a game last year.  They averaged 4.5 yards per carry given up and we averaged 4.6.  I am not going to judge it to much until I see it but I do not think we are going to be very good against the run and that is if we stay healthy.  Hankins goes down and we might end up the worst.  The way this works is if the offense can figure out the red zone issues and can consistently score TDs.  We have to jump out in front of teams early and force them to pass.  If not they will just play ball control and keep our offense on the sidelines.

[drfrey13]

6 hours ago, Dessie said:

Only a couple of weeks ago you were trying to tell us that we should play a SLB in passing situations now you are complaining about our nickel package in run situations..🤷‍♂️

"Nickel looks will be the base package essentially when we want 3 LBs in then Kwiat comes in."

By your own words it is not a sub-package but our base defense.  If we had personnel that could shed blockers and stop the run it would work.  We do not and have LBs that are going to get taken out almost every time someone gets a hand on them.  The scheme can work if you have the personnel but Morrow and Littleton are not it.  I hope Crosby can set an edge or we are going to be seeing a lot of Ferrell who can not get to the QB.  We are still relying on DTs that either good against the run or good against the pass but not both.  The offense is just going to look at the personnel and take what we give them because we can not force or dictate what happens.  Yes a big part of Bradley's scheme is a 4-3 under which uses a SLB that operates as a 3-4 OLB when you want to put pressure on the QB.  

[drfrey13]

5 hours ago, Jeremy408 said:

Technically you’re not wrong about us not having what type of linebackers that are true thumpers outside of Kwit. But I do think when you’re not playing too deep safeties and you actually have Abrams in the box full-time that does help against the run more than the way Gunther kind of did it where he kind of had the two safeties is kind of like a 2-Deep type of deal.

It also didn’t help that Eric Harris was so bad as a free safety at taking angles an open field tackling that a play that might’ve only been like 8 to 15 yards turns out to be a 90 yard touchdown just because she’s a horrible last line of defense.

Of course we can bring up how half of the fence being on the Covid list some of the weeks and just flat out injuries play the role but that’s the cliché thing that everybody knows already.

If Abram can play under control he will help but that is a tall order.  My point is you either need hogs up front to keep your LBs clean or LBs that can take on blockers.  If you have neither you are going to have a hard time stopping the run and the offense will keep your d on the field and wear them down.  It will also keep your offense off the field and out of rhythm.  The keys for this team is TOP and TO differential.  Especially if we can not get our red zone efficiency up over 60%.  It is not rocket science.  We will just slowly bleed out.

[Jeremy408]

4 hours ago, drfrey13 said:

If Abram can play under control he will help but that is a tall order.  My point is you either need hogs up front to keep your LBs clean or LBs that can take on blockers.  If you have neither you are going to have a hard time stopping the run and the offense will keep your d on the field and wear them down.  It will also keep your offense off the field and out of rhythm.  The keys for this team is TOP and TO differential.  Especially if we can not get our red zone efficiency up over 60%.  It is not rocket science.  We will just slowly bleed out.

“John has done everything we’ve asked him to do,” said Milus. “We asked him ‘hey John, can you come in a little bit lighter’? What did he do? He came in a little lighter. John, you guys know John, he chirps a little bit, right? Turn your volume down, just a little bit, John.’ He’s done that.

“I think it’s going to make him a better player. That’s just me. When it’s all set and done, he’s got to do it on Sundays in September to December. But John has gotten better in my opinion. Just doing the little things right, trying to get his body in the right position. You’re asking me? I think John’s going to have a great year.”

[drfrey13]

7 hours ago, Jeremy408 said:

“I think it’s going to make him a better player. That’s just me. When it’s all set and done, he’s got to do it on Sundays in September to December.  I think John’s going to have a great year.”

This is the key right here and I am happy someone on the staff said it.  We are hearing about how this person looks amazing in camp or is ready for a breakout year.  We hear that about half the team every year and those players generally do not perform well.  He has to do it during the games though.  I have said it since we brought in Bradley that I think his system will benefit Abram more than anyone else on the team.  I also think Joseph will.  Right now I am just judging this defense based upon what they did last year and how their play translates to this new system.  We are missing a couple key pieces and a player like Wright would solve some of the issues.  I am not high on Morrow and Littleton together although I believe both could play well in this system.  Just not together.  Wright with Morrow or Kwiat with Littleton would be better.  Looking back now drafting White over Ferrell would make our current situation so much better.  White would still need to improve in the pass game but he showed last year that is the direction he is moving in.

[Jeremy408]

3 minutes ago, drfrey13 said:

This is the key right here and I am happy someone on the staff said it.  We are hearing about how this person looks amazing in camp or is ready for a breakout year.  We hear that about half the team every year and those players generally do not perform well.  He has to do it during the games though.  I have said it since we brought in Bradley that I think his system will benefit Abram more than anyone else on the team.  I also think Joseph will.  Right now I am just judging this defense based upon what they did last year and how their play translates to this new system.  We are missing a couple key pieces and a player like Wright would solve some of the issues.  I am not high on Morrow and Littleton together although I believe both could play well in this system.  Just not together.  Wright with Morrow or Kwiat with Littleton would be better.  Looking back now drafting White over Ferrell would make our current situation so much better.  White would still need to improve in the pass game but he showed last year that is the direction he is moving in.

Ron Milus who has coached some real dBs over the course of his career is coaching him now and not some guy from college that has no history. But he says he thinks Abrams is going to have a good year and he got Abrams to play under control I take his word for it. 

I personally like the linebacker core and don't necessarily see how KJ fits in. 

Really anybody that was rated high on defense over Farrell back would've been better. The problem is they picked assuming that Gunther knew what he was doing and gave Gunther what he wanted. If Gus Bradley was a coordinator back then the pick is either been Burns or Allen its that simple. 

[drfrey13]

9 minutes ago, Jeremy408 said:

Ron Milus who has coached some real dBs over the course of his career is coaching him now and not some guy from college that has no history. But he says he thinks Abrams is going to have a good year and he got Abrams to play under control I take his word for it. 

I personally like the linebacker core and don't necessarily see how KJ fits in. 

Really anybody that was rated high on defense over Farrell back would've been better. The problem is they picked assuming that Gunther knew what he was doing and gave Gunther what he wanted. If Gus Bradley was a coordinator back then the pick is either been Burns or Allen its that simple. 

KJ knows the system inside and out and can play every LB position in the system.  He would start for us and we would not have to take him off the field.  Even at his age he would be our best LB.

 

I hope Abram does great this year.  I like him as a player.

Edited August 9, 2021 by drfrey13