Oakland Raiders Front Seven is Another Team Strength

Aug 23, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders linebacker Nick Roach (53) sacks Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) after Cutler bobbled the snap during the second quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Roach

Middle linebackers aren’t known for their quarterback sacks but Tarver loves to use his whole front seven to pressure the quarterback. And Nick Roach showed he is good at blitzing through the middle with his 5.5 sacks in 2013 that were second on the team. Roach already has a sack this preseason as he won’t be called on to blitz too much but make each opportunity count. Roach is also excellent in coverage and that’s mainly what he’ll be doing while his two outside linebackers will do most of the blitzing. I expect his sack numbers to be the same which is a pretty good number for an outside linebackers. The improvement of his supporting cast will free him to make it count again as already shown this preseason. What I’m really expecting from Roach is to be the Raiders’ leading tackler and best coverage linebacker. He’s the quarterback of the defense—getting everyone lined up and letting them know what’s coming. The linebacker position is really something for Raiders fans to get excited about for the 2014 season.