Just Blog Baby » Larry Fitzgerald

Injuries Provide Opportunities for Oakland Secondary

Chris Shellcroft — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 02:27:29 +0000

Before anyone starts the pity party let’s remember we’re talking about paid professionals here. That being said it is bad timing for the injury bug to bite seemingly every member of the Raiders’ secondary except for Stanford Routt and Tyvon Branch.

Michael Huff is still dealing with a concussion issue. Chris Johnson has officially been ruled out. Rookie DeMarcus Van Dyke has been dealing with a knee issue. Not nearly as important but both Matt Girodano and Jermoe Boyd have also suffered “dings”.

But as Hue Jackson says: “next man up”. Just like when the receiving corps was limited in Buffalo Denarius Moore stepped up and stepped into a starting gig.

Who’s going to be the Denarius Moore of the secondary?
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Raiders Should use Terrelle Pryor Everywhere Except Quarterback

Chris Shellcroft — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 01:03:00 +0000

This is not your dad’s NFL. Gone are the days of players being plugged in at one position with one role and one responsibility. Like the trailblazer he’s always been Al Davis borrowed from John Wooden’s defensive philosophies, grafting basketball principles onto defensive backs. Well here we are some three decades removed and the game of basketball is still having a profound affect on pro football.

Look no further than the position of tight end and you’ll see a very direct link to hoops. In modern football the position of tight end has been transformed from extra offensive lineman to hyper-productive pass catcher. Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates and one-time Raider Rickey Dudley all came to the NFL with a basketball background. But it’s not just the tight ends. We’re seeing bigger, stronger and faster wide receivers that can simply use their height to win 50-50 balls in the back of the end zone.

You see it’s not just the size and skill set hoops offers in way of making a great NFL tight end or wide receiver. It’s also the very hoops-centric idea of exploiting matchups that makes the receiving positions so valuable these days.

Put a slow plodding linebacker on an athletic freak likes Gates and it’s a bigger no contest than Albert Haynesworth in court on assault charges.

Put any 5’9” corner on Larry Fitzgerald in the red zone and watch that DB’s 45-inch vertical mean less than Donovan McNabb’s contract in Washington.

Which brings us to the newest toy in Al’s collection – Terrelle Pryor.
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Battle of the Bay: Gameday

Chris Shellcroft — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 16:40:39 +0000

We’re just hours away from the opening kick at Candlestick. For many Raiders today’s game is going to be pivotal in their chances of earning an increased role or simply making the cut. These preseason games have a very different feel thanks to the lockout. Normally teams would have had more opportunities to evaluate talent during the OTAs leading up to camp. Instead training camp and the preseason games themselves have become the only chances for guys like Derek Hagan to show what they’ve got.

Here are a few things to lookout for this evening.

- Hagan is in the middle of one of the most compelling battles coming out of Napa. Injuries in the receiving corps have created a potential roster spot. Shaun Bodiford, Chad Jackson and the aforementioned Hagan are all in the mix for a spot on the 53-man

- David Ausberry can be thankful the Raiders didn’t keep him at receiver. If he were still lining up out wide the former Trojan would be in the middle of the receiver scrum. Instead Ausberry is making a smooth transition to tight end and his chances of making the active roster are looking better by the day.

- If you want to learn a little more about the Niners before the opening kick then take a moment to read yesterday’s post in which I tossed a few questions at Eric Melendez of Niner Noise. For good measure I answered a few of his questions about the Raiders.
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