With the talent he has, Darren McFadden should be a lot more productive than he has been so far. There are a myriad of things that have impeded his growth and production. Some are his fault and some are not.
What isn't his fault?
You can't expect a guy who comes from a spread offense in college to jump right in and immediately be productive in a professional-style offense. There are many more responsibilities for a back in the professional offense than in the college spread. It takes time and patience to learn them all.
As a former coach, I looked for every possible opportunity to make my players as comfortable as possible. This theory invariably improves their play and professional players are no exception.
That being said, why not get this kid into a situation that makes him comfortable?
The more comfort he enjoys and the less he has to think about what to do, the better he'll play. That's true for any player. The Wildcat offers Darren that comfort level.
It takes more than one good back to run an effective Wildcat.
It takes the right personnel at certain key positions to pull it off. Quick, agile interior offensive linemen, wide receivers who can block down field, read holes like a back, and are comfortable receiving hand offs, as well as tight ends who can block well at the point of attack.
The Raiders have all of those.
Robert Gallery is freakishly fast for his size. Chris Morris is fairly agile and quick. Sampson Satele played in a version of the spread at Hawaii. These are linemen who can do what needs to be done in the Wildcat. Maybe even better than what they're asked to do now.
Offensive lineman requirements? Check!
Louis Murphy is no stranger to the Wildcat. He and Percy Harvin ran it at ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
