Although the defense was hardly immune to making mistakes on Friday, they appeared to have the upper hand in the Napa Valley heat. There were numerous would-be sacks of Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart and a couple interceptions. The linebackers and secondary didn't allow many, if any, big passing plays. The only offensive player of note was Darren McFadden.
McFadden moves quickly to the edge and is such a weapon in the passing game as well, but even he was bottled up at times and the linebackers were quick to put a body on him in coverage
The linebackers as a group had a good day. Philip Wheeler is an extremely active player and is almost always around the ball. Wheeler has also been spending a lot of time pressuring the quarterbacks. Miles Burris defended a few passes in the flat and made sure they could go for no more than a short gain and also intercepted Matt Leinart thanks in large part to good pressure from the defensive line.
Rolando McClain also had one of his better days of camp as he made at least two plays in coverage and also did a good job of bottling up the run. McClain's success against the run could also be attributed to good work by the defensive line.
Matt Shaughnessy appeared to be getting quickly into the offensive backfield and the entire pocket appeared to collapse around Palmer and Leinart. The pressure, combined with good coverage, likely attributed to some issues completing passes to wide receivers.
Shawntae Spencer had another good practice and ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
