Success of Raider ‘D’ starts up front, with Sands

By Anthony Carroll  |   Tuesday, August 05, 2008  |  Comments( 17 )

Oakland Raiders
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans!

Tommy Kelly is the one Oakland Raiders defender who took up most of the outside attention during the offseason. That’s what happens when you sign a $50.5 million contract.

But Kelly’s not the player the Raiders need taking up most of the attention on the field this season.

That important task goes to the mammoth Terdell Sands, a 6-foot-7, 335-pounder who earned his payday a year prior to Kelly. The former undrafted free agent inked a four-year, $17 million deal in February of 2007. Though not nearly as big as Kelly’s deal, Sands’ performance from '07 still left much to be desired.

After a promising 2006 campaign that saw Sands rack up a career-high 41 tackles (30 solo) in just two starts, the 28-year-old followed up with a disappointing 23-tackle performance last season. Despite starting 11 games, Sands recorded just 17 solo wrap-ups on a D-line that ranked 31st versus the rush and last in yards against per carry. The veteran lineman’s numbers were nearly identical to those he posted back in 2004, when he started zero games and was used purely as a rotational DT.

To the Chattanooga, Tenn., native’s credit, though, there were some reasons behind the major drop-off in production.

Sands lost his mother in February of last year, and, as he told the Sacramento Bee, everything else in his life took a backseat.

“I wasn’t doing cardio like I should and conditioning, so I kind of got behind in my workouts and stuff,” Sands said last week. “So it was a big part of last year.”

Oakland let its ’07 opponents rush for a 30th-ranked 121 first downs last season, something the Raiders expected Sands to help remedy when locking him into a long-term deal.

“I take [responsibility for] it all, because they look for me to be a big part of it,” Sands added. “And like I say, I wasn’t mentally in it, so I did some gap responsibility and all my true effort wasn’t out there. I thought I was. But when I watch film, it really wasn’t like I was the year before. So I take responsibility and put it on myself.”

This season, Sands expects that effort to return, and the loss of “a bunch of” weight, as he puts it, should make things a bit easier for him.

Several early reports, though, have former first-rounder Gerard Warren slated as the starter alongside Kelly, who’s added about 30 pounds to his frame since last season. Still, that’s no lock, particularly considering the team hasn’t yet played its first preseason game. Last week, both tackles spent time on the sidelines at camp; Warren rested after suffering a thigh injury on Wednesday and Sands had his knee drained Friday. The two will likely battle it out for the remainder of the summer for the title of “starter.” Though, both will see plenty of action this season.

“I see myself in shape,” Sands said. “I’m running to the ball more, and I look good. I’m slimmer.”

Even with a slimmer frame, Oakland can only hope Sands is as scary as he was in 2006. That could mean a major rebound for the Raider run ‘D’ in 2008.

Anthony Carroll can be contacted at

Training Camp: An entirely new kind of fantasy game!
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans! (17)

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 ...
read more
Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report
CommentsComments: 17  |  Sign Up  View all comments
Avatar
No.1
04:02 AM
08/05/2008
Welcome back good ol A.C!, anyway the defense will be just fine, it's the o-line that scares the crap out of me, i have not seen ...
Avatar
No.2
The Shape		04:32 AM
08/05/2008
A.C., holy crap you escaped from Os Davis's bondage cell. Good to have you back. Mr. Sands you better step up this year big time ...
Avatar
No.3
06:33 AM
08/05/2008
The Nation never sleeps. I feel that this year secondary will change ever thing on the front line. You have to understand that ...
Team News  |  View All Raiders Content
So long, Greg Knapp ...
So long, Greg Knapp. We hardly knew you. No, literally. We hardly kne ...
1 day ago   |   So long, Greg Knapp ( 5 )
10 offseason Raider predicti ...
OK, so the Oakland Raiders posted their best season since 2004 this pa ...
1 day, 21 hours ago   |   10 offseason Raider predictions ( 10 )
Who’s the coach, Uncle Al? ...
While many a hometown fan enjoys the schadenfreude-heavy firing of an ...
3 days ago   |   Who’s the coach, Uncle Al? ( 16 )
Raiders’ 2009 UFAs: Who can ...
With the Oakland Raiders’ 2009 offseason officially underway, it’s abo ...
6 days, 18 hours ago   |   Raiders’ 2009 UFAs: Who can go and who can’t ( 19 )
And the Raiders’ top player ...
OK, so this one may be a stretch. But if this was September, not Janu ...
1 week, 1 day ago   |   And the Raiders’ top player in 2008 was … ( 22 )