Oakland Raiders Week 2: Stats Breakdown and Awards
Sep 20, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Baltimore Ravens tight end Crockett Gillmore (80) scores on a nine-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter as Oakland Raiders cornerback D.J. Hayden (25) defends at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Defense Analysis
It was pretty obvious watching the game that the defense has some things to straighten out going forward. Of the 11 starters, only 3 were awarded a positive grade. Four, if you count Aldon Smith, who played significantly more than he did last with totaling 48 snaps.
Khalil Mack: The Raiders’ not so secret weapon is just a force of nature. It’s easy to expect a guy like him to put up video game numbers every week, but remember this is the NFL and even the worst starting left tackle in the league is still one of the top players in the world at that position. Offensive coordinators and offensive line coaches are scheming against him on a regular basis, the sacks will come.
Khalil finished the game with a +3.6 overall grade, and 2 QB hurries. His number of tackles will probably be lower this year just due to the fact that people aren’t going his way as often, when the Ravens did run in Mack’s direction they were given a grade of -2.6. Mack wasn’t credited with the tackles, but he’s certainly causing disruption.
CJ Wilson: CJ Showed up big time in this game. While Wilson started, he and Edwards Jr. appeared to be splitting the duties at right defensive end. Wilson was a beast in the run game, grading a +3.2 in run defense. Because he doesn’t put up much in the pass rush, his overall grade does drop to a +2.5, but that is still a very solid score for a rotational player.
It shows me that the coaching staff is helping to get the right players on the field at the right time. His counterpart, Edwards, had an opposite day getting a positive grade in the pass rush, and negative in run defense. The two players complement one another quite well.
Neiko Thorpe: At least one member of the secondary showed on up to play the whole game on Sunday. Thorpe was the only player on the entire team to notch a positive grade in pass coverage. Thorpe was graded a +1.2 in pass coverage, and an overall of +.4. A missed tackle and some trouble in the run game lowered his overall grade. Thorpe was all over the field on Sunday, if he and Carrie can continue to grow and develop consistency together the secondary might have a fighting chance.
Next: Defense Grades