I wrote an article last Friday voicing concerns that Coach Tom Cable was perhaps being too cautious with our players, holding them out of practices for seemingly benign reasons and putting the pads away in favour of shorts and shells for the majority of practices.
I was concerned that as this team has been terrible at tackling and all the fundamentals that go along with it, it would be prudent to work harder on our weaknesses.
Of course, personnel has changed, but I was still feeling like Cable was erring too far on the side of caution and actually running a camp detrimental to the team.
I was pushing for more padded practices to work on tackling and live-action game scenarios, because I felt that this team has been very weak in that area for years.
I am happy to say that after Saturday's game, these worries seem unfounded or at the very least overblown. As many of you said they were in the comment section of my article prior to the game. So kudos to all of you.
Although I didn't get to see the game, in reading the recaps and watching the highlights, it is patently obvious that fundamental defense is not a major issue for this team any longer.
The pass rush is beastly, with Kamerion Wimbley showing 2008 form in rushing the passer and accumulating four sacks on his own in the first half of Saturday's game. That makes 12 sacks in two games, and coming from a variety of spots; without even blitzing our extremely quick defensive backs thus far.
Even big Tommy Kelly got in on the action on Saturday with a sack up the middle. The speed, strength and pass rushing of this defense is all over the field, ensuring match-up nightmares for offenses throughout the league.
The run defense, with the exception of the 89-yard run surrendered to Matt Forte on Sa...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
