Negadelphia Test

So, if we're being honest, many of us were a tiny little bit worried about last week's game.  It was almost entirely a laundry issue, as Gabe covered, but there was also the issue of health (McNabb, Westbrook) and the fact that we still don't know much about this team, other than that they're pretty good at beating bad teams.

This week ... not so much.  Which means one of two things:

1)  We're starting to understand just how good this team is; or,

2)  We're in for one hell of a stomach punch this Sunday.

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And that's pretty much all I have on the Raiders, but I did want to send up a link to the NFLN's playbook feature on the Eagles/Raiders this week.  A few points:

In the Eagles' offense segment, that's the clearest demonstration of the power of outside speed you'll ever see.  Combine McNabb's ability to threaten every point on the field* with receivers who can actually get to any point on the field⁺ and you can see just how difficult this offense is to stop.^#

In the defense segment, some of the plays they show provide a very good look at the dangers of over-aggression.  At the 2:00 mark, watch the play with Mikell.  He sees the tight end (his man) blocking down, so he rushes the passer.  That's great, except that the TE then releases.  Put a QB back there with just a bit more experience and poise, and you might be looking at a long completion.

The one thing all the old hands always said about JJ was that his blitz packages, while exotic and involving huge numbers, were always, always fundamentally sound.  All those zero blitzes McD ran last week came with a much lower margin for error.

Finally, in the last segment on the Raiders' offense, sheesh.  Russell may be a terrible quarterback who doesn't care enough to make it in this league, but that's some awful, awful protection.

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* Except the short slant.
⁺ Except the end zone when inside the 20.
^# Except maybe when the weather gets bad.