Oakland Raiders: Week 1 – Pressures, Hurries and Knockdowns
By Justin Smith
PRESSURE
Raiders Secondary
No area of the team got more attention or love from McKenzie this offseason than the defensive secondary. That’s because last year it was a secondary only a mother could love, with the Raiders ranking 26th in the NFL overall pass defense despite Khalil Mack’s 15 sacks and constant QB pressure.
McKenzie had a lot of money to use this offseason, and he spent quite a bit to bring highly regarded corner Sean Smith from the rival Chiefs and ball-hawking safety Reggie Nelson — who played for Del Rio in Jacksonville as a young player — from the Bengals. He also drafted heat-seeking missile Karl Joseph, the strong safety from West Virginia expected to do big things sooner than later.
This secondary is much improved on paper — the pressure lies in bringing that to the field.
Smith is a shutdown corner, ranking as the 12th best corner in PFF’s ranking system. The Raiders received high-level corner play from just David Amerson last season — now they have someone to pair him with.
At 6’3″ with long arms, Smith excels at disrupting receivers by jamming them at the line, and has the speed and savvy to turn and run with them when required. He gave up a catch-rate of only 53.2% while snagging two picks and deflecting eight passes in 2015.
Nelson has the second most (21) interceptions over the past five years, trailing only Richard Sherman (26). That’s impressive. Nelson made the Pro Bowl last year after leading the NFL with eight picks, and has always been a playmaker.
Joseph is currently second to veteran Nate Allen — back healthy after missing parts of last season with a knee injury — on the depth chart, but don’t expect that to last. Joseph is both a ball-hawk — he had five interceptions through four games for the Mountaineers last season before tearing his ACL — and one of the hardest hitters out there.
Drew Brees just signed a huge contract extension, and the New Orleans defense was historically bad last season. While they made improvements in the offseason, they continue to be plagued by injuries and will bring a depleted unit to the field on Sunday.
As such, expect the Saints to take to the air and try and score a ton of points to stay in this game. The Saints defense gave up an NFL-worst 45 touchdown passes last season, and Carr and Cooper look poised to take advantage of that.
Mark Ingram is a great running back, but it’s unlikely the Saints will be ahead far enough for the Raiders to worry about Ingram carrying the ball a ton of times. More likely Brees will throw it 40+ times, and he owns the Raiders.
In Brees’ last seven games against the Silver & Black, he is 7-0 with 16 TD’s and 0 INT’s. That’s owning a team, and that puts a lot of pressure on the secondary.
All those factors make it seem as if the Saints will throw the ball a ton against the Raiders perceived weakness. But the Raiders feel the secondary is now a strength.
The new pieces in the secondary are under pressure to produce as expected, and the unit as a whole must keep Brees honest and cover long enough to allow Mack, Bruce Irvin and company to get home and turn Brees into jambalaya.
If Brees can pick them apart as usual and the Raiders improved secondary isn’t, in fact, improved as of yet, then this team will have a long plane ride home while the Saints celebrate on Bourbon Street.
Starting with a loss would be devastating this season considering the expectations, and the winnability of this game. The pressure is on the secondary to stop Brees from taking their lunch money yet again.
Next: Hurries