Hard to blame Ryan for Raiders’ woes

By Anthony Carroll | Friday, November 18, 2005 | ( 0 )

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When the Oakland Raiders signed the son of NFL legend Buddy Ryan to coach their struggling defensive unit, they had high expectations for the future. But it's a year and a half later and the Raiders are still struggling on both sides of the ball. Despite these ongoing struggles, it's very difficult to place the blame exclusively on the shoulders of defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.

For the past two seasons Ryan has had the convoluted task of combining a young, inexperienced secondary, with a misplaced defensive line and a less-than attractive linebacking crew. Put into perspective, Ryan has had the luxury of working with players such as Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, Grant Irons, Marques Anderson, Travian Smith, and�well, the list goes on�

If you asked any regular NFL Sunday viewer to name off as many Oakland Raiders defenders as they could, you would probably get a list close to: Charles Woodson, Warren Sapp, Ted Washington, and perhaps Derrick Burgess. That's four of eleven starters-one of which is hurt (Woodson) and one who sees limited playing time (Washington). However, for Oakland that doesn't mean that the remaining players are poor defenders to any extent, it means that they are simply unproven at their position.

Last year, Ryan attempted to work in a 3-4 defensive scheme that lacked the talent up front to get the job done. Warren Sapp was out of position as a defensive end, Tyler Brayton was taken off the line entirely and made into a linebacker, and Danny Clark was the only deserving starter at linebacker. This year, Ryan made the correct move by admitting his faults by switching back to a more conventional 4-3 scheme. To say the least, the defense is playing better than last year-but not good enough to win games down the stretch.

Every area of the Oakland Raiders defense is performing at a higher level than last year-not necessarily a great accomplishment considering their status last year. However, with time, Ryan can turn a young, unproven defensive unit into an elite squad. He already started the progress this year by greatly improving the defensive line and linebacking crew.

Next on the agenda: Tackling clinic with the secondary.

Any comments on this article? Contact Anthony Carroll at acarroll@realfootball365.com

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	About Anthony Carroll Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal...
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