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The game is different now Art Shell (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Bri
- Start date
The only thing different from when Shell was last a head coach is that the rules are now skewed even more in favor of the Raiders' traditional vertical passing attack. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to have an offensive line that will protect his QB for long enough to hit the deep throws consistently. That's a problem that takes a long time to fix, but being a former great offensive tackle, Shell has as good a chance as any head coach to find a remedy.
M
mojorizin
Guest
No Bo Jackson and/or Marcus Allen?
Portis 26
Madden Freak
And the only thing that hasn't changed since Shell was head coach before is he's still as dumb as ever. It's a whole different world out there, and particularly defensively. The zone blitz, for example. Do I need to go on? You can't just have your QB taking 7 step drops and attempt to fling it deep now. Your QB will get whacked.
5-ish Finkle
Footballguy
When asked for a comment on his chances for finding a remedy for the Raiders' ills, Art had this to say:
LawFitz
Footballguy
Everything in moderation amigo. There's nothing wrong with 7-step drops as long as they are set up properly by mixing in them into a wider game plan that includes shorter drops, consistent running, screens and slants and other measures to keep defenses off balance.What's disturbing about the 2006 Raiders is the coaching staff's complete inability to adjust to the viscious pass rushes they saw from SD and Baltimore. WTF. From our arm chairs any one of us on this message board could see that adjusted playcalling to burn those pass rushers was necessary. Yet we did not see one screen or three step drop.It's a complete joke and so are Art Shell and Tom Walsh. I feel for the Raiders and anyone who was unlucky enough to overpay for their fantasy players.I'll be watching closely to see if they adjust at all in the Browns game. If not, Shell should fire Walsh asap or risk being one and done at the end of this year. BTW, for those of you that don't know, Walsh got Shell fired for running this very same offense 12 years ago (it was outdated back then too) and seems to be well on his way to doing so again this year.
I haven't watched every snap and broken down film or anything, but one thing sticks out like a sore thumb. Lamont Jordan isn't getting any passes thrown his way.
It seems like Oakland is failing to throw into the flat, whether it's a hitch pass to the WR or a swing or screen to the RB. Those sorts of plays do a few thigns for you as an offense. First, they draw the corners closer to the WRs at the line of scrimmage. That helps two ways - first, it allows WRs a better shot at getting open deep, and second, it is easier for them to engage the corners on running plays. Another thing the swings and screens do is curb the blitz - if you get blitzed from the right and you're throwing a swing left, the ball will go over the head of the non-blitzing LB, and the RB and the safety are essentially in a one-on-one matchup which, if the safety wins, means only like a 6-yard gain, but if the safety loses, is a huge play.
Aside from curbing the blitz, it opens up running lanes in the middle of the line. If you're an OLB in a zone, and you need to cover the flat, but nobody has been throwing passes there, you cheat over. If the ball is going out there, you have to start running to the outside on the snap or risk giving up the corner to a player out of the backfield. That makes it easier to run in the middle.
It seems like Oakland is failing to throw into the flat, whether it's a hitch pass to the WR or a swing or screen to the RB. Those sorts of plays do a few thigns for you as an offense. First, they draw the corners closer to the WRs at the line of scrimmage. That helps two ways - first, it allows WRs a better shot at getting open deep, and second, it is easier for them to engage the corners on running plays. Another thing the swings and screens do is curb the blitz - if you get blitzed from the right and you're throwing a swing left, the ball will go over the head of the non-blitzing LB, and the RB and the safety are essentially in a one-on-one matchup which, if the safety wins, means only like a 6-yard gain, but if the safety loses, is a huge play.
Aside from curbing the blitz, it opens up running lanes in the middle of the line. If you're an OLB in a zone, and you need to cover the flat, but nobody has been throwing passes there, you cheat over. If the ball is going out there, you have to start running to the outside on the snap or risk giving up the corner to a player out of the backfield. That makes it easier to run in the middle.
Josh the FunkDOC
Footballguy
You can hate on Shell and Walsh for a million different things, but not throwing to Jordan isn't one of them. The guy is simply not that good of a receiver out of the backfield.
Don't believe me? Football Outsiders has stats based on the play-by-play logs of each game, comparing everyone to the average on each play. Overall, Jordan rated as a below-average receiving back. Two key reasons why:
1. Most of those 70 catches were short gains that did not really help the team. 3-yard gains on 3rd and 8, etc. In FO's stats, these types of plays are essentially worthless.
2. He dropped 12 passes, the most of any back.
Obviously the team could use someone to throw those screens and such to, but it ain't him.
This is the main reason I was down on him around draft time, btw. I had figured that his targets would drop significantly, and that was a big chunk of his fantasy value last year. Without that he is just a slightly above-average rusher on a terrible team...
Don't believe me? Football Outsiders has stats based on the play-by-play logs of each game, comparing everyone to the average on each play. Overall, Jordan rated as a below-average receiving back. Two key reasons why:
1. Most of those 70 catches were short gains that did not really help the team. 3-yard gains on 3rd and 8, etc. In FO's stats, these types of plays are essentially worthless.
2. He dropped 12 passes, the most of any back.
Obviously the team could use someone to throw those screens and such to, but it ain't him.
This is the main reason I was down on him around draft time, btw. I had figured that his targets would drop significantly, and that was a big chunk of his fantasy value last year. Without that he is just a slightly above-average rusher on a terrible team...
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Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
Randy Moss will score two TDs this week... one of them from 50+ yards.
Jordan finding success might take a little while longer.
Jordan finding success might take a little while longer.
I gotta disagree with you there. Jordan was a good receiver with the NYJ. A bad receiver at RB doesn't get 70 catches at all, and 12 drops on 70 receptions doesn't sound bad at all. Plus, over a third of his catches went for a first down - a high number for an RB. Eight yards per chatch is also very respectable.But really, is there any other team in the league whose primary back is capable of catching, but who has zero receptions this season? It's really strange, b/c Marcus Allen caught a ton of passes under Shell, with three seasons over 60 catches.
Couch Potato
Footballguy
The plan this year was to replace those RB catches with the TE, but Courtney Anderson has been miserable. He has 3 catches in 7 targets in the two games they've played, and three of the four incompletions were drops that would have been 1st downs. I don't know if they'll keep trying to go to him, go with R Williams more, or go back to Jordan, but it's a killer when your TE is the immediate cause of three punts.
