Raiders’ Ryan can’t play to ‘prevent’ losses

By Anthony Carroll  |   Tuesday, September 23, 2008  |  Comments( 37 )

Oakland Raiders
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There’s something about making the same mistake twice that touches a nerve with people.

At this point, followers of the Oakland Raiders have to be ripping their hair out when it comes to the chronic slip-ups made by defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. The late-game “prevent” philosophy has seemingly cost Oakland double-digit contests since the 45-year-old took control of the Raider stop unit five years ago.

Last week served as a perfect example. And, to add to the frustration, Ryan had called a near-perfect game up until his team got “comfortable” in the fourth quarter.

Then, as usual, Ryan’s ‘D’ played not to lose, instead of playing to win.

Up until the fourth quarter in last week’s 24-23 loss on the road against the Buffalo Bills, the Raider defense held its opponent to all of seven points (scored on a short field) and 102 passing yards. Up until that quarter, opposing QB Trent Edwards was just 11 for 21 with no TDs and one interception.

That’s because the Raiders were persistently attacking the young passer.

DeAngelo Hall, Derrick Burgess, Kalimba Edwards and Gerard Warren all took down Edwards. The Buffalo offense was abysmal on third downs for 45 minutes of the game, and it was thanks to the success of Ryan’s game plan -- to bring the heat, from all directions, regardless of where Buffalo was on the field. Linemen, linebackers, corners and safeties were all flying to the quarterback.

Then, as soon as it seemed the Raiders had the game wrapped up, Ryan and the Raider ‘D’ let up.

“They weren’t bringing their pressure because they wanted to sit in coverage a little bit,” Edwards admitted after the game. “So they kind of settled down a little bit, and we were able to hit some throws and get the ball down the field.”

The blitzing stopped, the corners laid off and the Raider secondary began getting picked part. And the 16-7 lead Oakland enjoyed heading into the fourth quarter, not to mention its 23-14 advantage with just over 6 minutes left, diminished.

It’s nothing new for Oakland. And it’s not surprising.

In Week 2, the Raiders nearly let a 16-0 lead slip from their hands at Kansas City, when second-year signal-caller Tyler Thigpen drove his team 80 yards in the fourth quarter in just nine plays -- all passes -- which included seven completions, a two-yard TD toss and a successful two-point conversion, again via the pass.

Luckily, a poor throw by Thigpen bailed the Raiders out of Week 2. But there were none of those in Week 3.

Edwards, in the fourth quarter alone, completed 10 passes for over 10 yards, none for fewer than 5 and one for over 20. Why? Not because Edwards was trying any harder than he had been for the first three quarters, but because Oakland let him get comfortable. The defensive backs stopped blitzing, the linebackers eased up and the safeties took a few steps back.

It was time to “prevent” a loss. So much for that.

Even after an 84-yard TD strike to wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins -- one that put Oakland up by nine points with 6:23 left in the game -- Ryan still opted to lay back against Buffalo’s offense. And, just 2 minutes earlier, the Bills put together a 16-play, 96-yard touchdown drive that was against the same no-pressure look that the Ryan refused to abandon. It should have been a clear-cut sign for the veteran coordinator. It shouldn’t have happened twice.

“It was the kind of play where you figure things were pretty much over with,” JaMarcus Russell told the Mercury News after the game. “You can’t really count professional guys because they’re out there playing to the best of their ability. But I thought it was something to really put the nail in the coffin.”

Not even close. Buffalo went on to score 10 effortless, sit-comfortably-in-the-pocket points in just over 6 minutes. Ryan’s bend-but-don’t-break defense broke.

“You see three quarters of us not really doing anything and then coming through in the fourth quarter with those two drives – it’s unbelievable,” Bills wideout Lee Evans said.

Unbelievable?

Hardly. If you watch the Raiders enough, it’s expected.

Anthony Carroll can be contacted at
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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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