Avoid the Christmas Rush

By MikeBullock  |   Wednesday, December 23, 2009  |  Comments( 6 )

Oakland Raiders
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans!
When the Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns take the field this weekend, both teams will be led by bottom of the statistical barrel quarterbacks. Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson and JaMarcus Russell have combined for 186 completions on 403 attempts with five touchdowns and twenty interceptions, giving them a combined passer rating of 46.1%.

That’s hardly a shootout in the making.

Conversely, with Cleveland’s Jerome Harrison coming off a 286 yard, three touchdown performance against Kansas City last week and Michael Bush riding on his 133 yard one score outing against Denver, it’s easy to imagine both coaches rolling out a run heavy game plan.

But wait, there’s more. Consider the defenses that will try to stop these two running backs, not to mention their cohorts of Justin Fargas, Darren McFadden and Joshua Cribbs. Oakland’s defense is 27th ranked overall and 28th against the run. Cleveland’s defense, run by ex-Raider defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, is currently 31st overall and 29th against the run. Meanwhile the two teams rank in the top twenty in rushing offense.

While Cribbs isn’t a running back, he does hold a seven yard rushing average on trick plays, such as reverses and those run from the wildcat. You can expect Oakland’s defense to face him more than once on the ground.

The two teams might have a better chance allowing Cribbs and McFadden to run wildcats for most of the game. If nothing else, it would be exciting.

Anyone looking to see a Charlie Frye versus Derek Anderson shootout will not only be greatly disappointed, but might just be the only person on earth hoping for such a thing. While it would take an army of NFL statisticians to prove it, I’d wager this QB battle is in the top five when it comes to terrible performances by opposing signal callers.

The funny thing is, when you talk about a run heavy game, you seldom expect high scoring. But with the combination of these running backs versus these abysmal run defenses, the final score could very well combine at over fifty points. While the threat of the pass won’t scare either defense, the knowledge the run is coming won’t help them either.

If the Raiders can keep it close, we may yet see another last minute victory, but if Harrison has another performance like he did last week, expect Oakland to fall to 5-10, securing their seventh straight double digit losing season.

On the other side, Cleveland head coach Eric Mangini is coaching for his life now. With the news Mike Holmgren was just brought in as team president, you can expect Mangini to be under the microscope and looking over his shoulder at the Holmgren coaching tree candidates salivating at the chance to lead the Browns next season. While Mangini didn’t take over a great team when he landed in Cleveland, he’s done little, if anything, to improve the men in orange. Trading away the few star players they had, and bringing in Rob Ryan didn’t help his cause either. But taking Ryan away from Oakland may be the best thing Mangini ever did as far as Raider Nation is concerned. While many may say Ryan is up for some payback against this old team, the reality is that he still has no answers when it comes to shutting down the run.
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans! (6)

Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report