Crucial game for Ryan
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Sunday, September 7th, 2008 at 6:56 am in Oakland Raiders.
It is going to be an important night for a certain Raiders coach, and it’s not necessarily the one who has less than flattering things to say about the depth on his roster and has openly questioned the performance of some of his his players.
Not long after Lane Kiffin met with Al Davis with a postseason plan that included a new defensive coordinator _ Rob Ryan had already agreed to resign and likely would have been quickly snapped up by the New York Jets _ the Raiders countered with a statement through the public relations department asking for an end to the speculation because there would be no change.
Ryan would stay and complete the final year of his contract.
In terms of how they operate, Kiffin and Ryan couldn’t be more different. Kiffin is candid and critical, unwilling to lapse into Raider cliches’ and frustrated at his inability to affect change at the rate he would like.
Ryan, by contrast, talks up all the “great” talent at his disposal. Any problem with player production is dealt with in-house. Both he and linebackers coach Don Martindale are unabashedly loyal to Davis, and wouldn’t dream of saying anything remotely critical of their boss or the organization on the record.
When Art Shell was fired, Ryan interviewed for a chance to be the head coach. At the scouting combine, I was told that when the Steve Sarkisian plan fell apart and Kiffin was named head coach, Ryan said, “(Kiffin) can do whatever the hell he wants. I’m the head coach of the defense.”
It’s a great story _ it sounds exactly like Ryan _ and it might even be true. It’s also on-point with regard to Ryan’s control of the defense where Kiffin is concerned. When Kiffin was asked the other day which defensive player other than Kirk Morrison would wear the helmet, he first said Isaiah Ekejiuba, with a P.R. staffer later correcting the coach and saying it was Ricky Brown.
While Kiffin may not have known who had the backup radio, it’s fair to assume Davis knew. Until Kiffin came along and said it for the record on more than one occasion, it has long been clear Davis has been considerably more involved with defensive football than offensive football.
You coach defense, you talk strategy with the boss. Davis doesn’t attend as many practices as he used to, but it’s been a common sight for years for him to corral the defensive coordinator for a chat after practice, something that rarely happens with the head coach or offensive coordinator.
Davis prefers four-man pressure with tight man-to-man coverage on the outside. The Raiders pick their spots when they blitz, bluffing pressure more often than they actually bring it. It’s not without merit. If you’ve got two of the best pass defending linebackers in the NFL, more often than not, you want them defending the pass instead of rushing the passer.
Which brings us to the 2008 training camp and the Monday night opener against Denver. The defense sent a lot of extra rushers in Napa, in large part because they were preparing quarterback JaMarcus Russell for what they expect him to see.
And the Raiders looked like they might have been pretty good at it. Both safeties, Gibril Wilson in particular, had their moments coming free. Defensive players were enthused with the additional pressure. They’d like to give it a try in the regular season.
“Other people when they look at us they always say, ‘Hey, sometimes the Raiders always keep a deep safety,’ ” Morrison said. “Now we’re going to try to change up with it a little bit. We know what our front four can do already. Now we’re going to try to add a little pressures here and there, just kind of keep the offense on their toes a little bit, not knowing what we’re going to do.
“We know what we have as far as the back seven, now maybe send some five-, six-man pressures at them a little bit and try to change it up because we feel like we have enough confidence in the guys on the back end that can hold it down for us.”
One thing to remember _ Ryan has a background in pressure from his father, Buddy Ryan, and he is in the last year of his contract. He has nothing to lose. It’s Ryan who calls the defenses on game day and he’ll gamble on occasion _ I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for the talk with Davis when the “drop 11 into coverage” scheme almost cost the Raiders the Cleveland game last year.
As the son of Buddy Ryan, Ryan also knows he can operate his own unit fairly independent from the head coach and succeed, just as his dad did with Mike Ditka and the Chicago Bears. The difference is there doesn’t seem to be any real animosity between Kiffin and Ryan.
Kiffin’s biggest problem with Ryan’s defense was that it seldom stopped anyone from running the ball. Ryan’s biggest problem with Kiffin’s offense is that the Raiders didn’t provide enough leads.
The two talked over those differences in a postseason meeting with Davis, and not long after Kiffin was told Ryan was staying and setting off weeks of uncertainty.
We’ll hear plenty about how big of a game it is for Kiffin Monday night, but it’s equally as important for Ryan.
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September 7th, 2008 at 6:57 am
Not gonna say it! Nation Love!
September 7th, 2008 at 6:58 am
Wake up all you drunk S&Bs! Sterling Sharpe gave us the win over the Donks on NFL Network AFC Playbook just now! Yeah baby!
September 7th, 2008 at 7:01 am
Jerry, apparently you and I didn’t drink enough last night. We are definately up to early man. LOL!
September 7th, 2008 at 7:02 am
Morning PA!
NFL Sunday! I know we play tomorrow, but today is X-mas!
September 7th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Fire Ryan!
September 7th, 2008 at 7:13 am
why are we up so early???
oh yeah…opening day, baby!
September 7th, 2008 at 7:16 am
Good thing I checked back. Wattup LowDown! Yeah baby opening day is upon us!!
September 7th, 2008 at 7:19 am
I’ll be back guys. Play nice with each other.
September 7th, 2008 at 7:29 am
This is the year things start to come together in a big way.
We are a very young team and its all good from here on to the SB
September 7th, 2008 at 7:32 am
Dropping 11 ? sounds like last years record. Ryan’s D better stop the run.
September 7th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Fire Al, Fire Ryan, keep Kiffin
September 7th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Heres scarys NFL power picks. Did he already share this with us?
http://www.insidebayarea.com/raiders/ci_10400772?source=rss
September 7th, 2008 at 7:36 am
He ranks us 20th
1. New England 16-0 Brady’s back, and that’s all that matters
2. New York Giants 10-6 Can’t repeat without Strahan, Umenyiora
3. Indianapolis 13-3 Biggest concern in Indy: Peyton’s bursa sac
4. Dallas 13-3 Hard to believe no playoff wins since 1996
5. Jacksonville 11-5 Jags to learn Porter is not a No.”‰1 receiver
6. Pittsburgh 10-6 Tomlin will be coach for decade and beyond
7. Philadelphia 8-8 Can’t keep Reid and McNabb down for long
8. San Diego 11-5 Super Bowl window may have already closed
9. Minnesota 8-8 DE Allen adds to run, stop-run philosophy
Rank, Team 2007 record
10. Tampa Bay 9-7 Defensively, you can’t beat the system
11. New Orleans 7-9 Determined to reclaim NFC South
12. Seattle 10-6 Holmgren’s farewell tour — until 2010
13. Green Bay 13-3 Rodgers lucky 49ers didn’t take him
14. Tennessee 10-6 Vince Young is no Steve Young
15. Buffalo 7-9 Mishandled holdout of LT Jason Peters
16. Washington 9-7 Poor at developing its own talent
17. New York Jets 4-12 It’s all Brett, all the time
18. Cleveland 10-6 Don’t buy in — a one-year wonder
19. Carolina 7-9 Rookie RB Stewart getting rave reviews
20. Oakland 4-12 Russell-McFadden era takes wing
September 7th, 2008 at 7:41 am
NE will move out of the top ten this year
Phili and TB are ranked too high.
Browns are ranked too low, I think they are better then Pitts
Jets and Panthers will be better
And the Raiders will be a top 15 team when the dust clears
September 7th, 2008 at 7:56 am
Jerry,
That was very well put. Rob ryan has something to prove as well. maybe now that he is in the last year of his contract he might be more agreesive with the scheme an show Davis what they could have been doing all along.
dont look for ryan to be retained in the offseason.
ITS TIME FOR CHANGE!!!!!
GO RAIDERSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!
September 7th, 2008 at 8:09 am
I usually wake up early after an night of drinking.
**********************
How’d I miss the debate with the donkey fan? You mean to tell me that dude really believes Royal/Cutler is going to light it up against us? Somebody check that fool please. Unless Hall is not even close to being as good as advertised, Royal is completely outmatched. If dude has to go up against Nnamdi and Hall on every snap …good luck to him and Cutler.
Cutler plays it dangerous with us. He’s too headstrong from what I saw last season. Dude just kept throwing it Nnamdi’s way. And I’m looking in total disbelief that this guy is oblivious to the fact that he’s playing with fire. Sure enough he nearly got burned on a attempted TD throw that Nnamdi got his hands on and nearly picked off. Has he learned anything - we’ll see. Hall and Nnamdi may see good action this game. And Routt is no slouch - I think he is very good as a matter of fact - very good.
The Donkey fan was also touting Selvin Young, who isn’t even an every down back, and some other backer over our RB corp. That’s not even debatable.
We stop their run game - we win - period!
They stop our run game - they could win - but not as convincingly …in other words they can still lose.
Don’t sleep on JR and the passing attack. They are not primed yet but Kiffin and the Oline got a lot out of that AZ preseason game. AZ brought the kitchen sink almost every snap and JR handled it pretty well and the Oline got more practice with it. So I wouldn’t expect JR or the Oline to be rattled if he has to drop back to pass. Kiffin & Co have been smartly prepping them for it.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see a better performance through the air given a more balanced call sheet. If the Raiders protect the ball and play good defense its hard for me to envision them losing this game.
September 7th, 2008 at 8:43 am
“Ryan’s biggest problem with Kiffin’s offense is that the Raiders didn’t provide enough leads.”
So 6 leads going into the fourth quarter last season wasn’t good enough for Rob Ryan? He is delusional and a poor representation of the Ryan family’s defensive legacy.
It’s simple. Everyone talks about Lane Kiffin’s faults and failures, but the bottom line is that if Ryan was competent at his job, the Raiders would have been 10-6 last season and entered the playoffs instead of 4-12.
If the Raiders can’t stop the run against Denver, fire Ryan, IMMEDIATELY!
September 7th, 2008 at 8:46 am
way to tell ‘em Kush…Ryan has not done ANYTHING since he’s been here. We were no. 1 against the pass 2 years ago, but that’s because nobody HAD to pass because they had leads.
We can’t stop the run and that is Ryan’s and Al Davis’ fault.
September 7th, 2008 at 8:48 am
If I judge Kiffin’s performance based on the fact that Al and Ryan run the D (as stated by Ryan himself) then Kiffin is doing a good job.
Our running attack went from 29th in the league to 6th. We had NO QB and STILL won 4 games and had the lead in the 4th quarter in 6 loses. That is a good job in my book.
September 7th, 2008 at 8:50 am
CopenhagenFan..
and ad.. 72 sack to some 40 sacks..
September 7th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Look we don’t have Sapp anymore. That right there will improve our run D. Take Stu out of the picture and insert Gibril Wilson. Move Huff to free safety. We only need a SAM linebaker. Ryan’s D or Al’s D will stop the run this year.
Biggest question: Will our O line pass block?
September 7th, 2008 at 8:52 am
LMN..good one!
By the way, I joined the NFL manager for TV2…I didn’t read the rules and goofed up my team already ha ha
September 7th, 2008 at 8:53 am
RaiderKen..I have the feeling that Morrison has been living on his rep and not really getting the job done in the middle. I lot of guys here have made comments in the past about him being soft.
I’ll be watching Captain Kirk!
September 7th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Cope when you get Kiffins panties out of your mouth I might start listening to what you say. Our O was just as pathetic as our D. The O could run good the D could defend the pass. The O sucked at the pass good the D sucked at stopping the run. Both Equally pathetic quit sniffing panties dude.
September 7th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Kush - excellent point. One I am sure is not lost on Kiffin, which is why he wanted to get rid of him, and totally lost on Davis
September 7th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Hell Yeah!
can’t wait for tommorrow night and see the new era of Raider Football. I really believe that JRuss is gonna take us back to the top. Bona Fide Superstar in the making.
enjoy the games today!
Cheers!
September 7th, 2008 at 9:09 am
What up Nation? Are we ready for some Football?
September 7th, 2008 at 9:09 am
This is the day we all have been waiting for. The season has started! Yeaaaaa Raider Fans!
September 7th, 2008 at 9:16 am
The Raiders will tank again this year. 2 easy wins for the Chargers.
September 7th, 2008 at 9:23 am
CopenhagenFan..
cool, my manager team has Kitna of all QB’s as starter LOL, lets see how our superteams fare =) LOL
September 7th, 2008 at 9:27 am
RaiderKen..
“the D could defend the pass.”
well not really, our LB’s was good in pass defense, Nnamdi wasn’t tried, because they knew they could fire at will opposite Nnamdi.. so overall our Pass D wasn’t good..
September 7th, 2008 at 9:28 am
FOOOOOOOTTTTTTBAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!
GO RAIDERS!!!!
September 7th, 2008 at 9:29 am
post 21 RK,when you say sam lb,I assume you mean a Strong Side Linebacker,we have one Ricky Brown.”Will” meaning-Weak Side Linebacker
September 7th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Wow! San Diego Superchoker. Yeah you can take that cucumber out now. Norv can’t coach Turner. Merriman can’t use roids and has a bad knee. Lt where’s my mommie I can’t play in the biggest game of my career. The list goes on, but as your going Down we’ll wave our middle fingers as we pass you by. Oh! and by the way hurry up and get the Nation a new stadium we can trash down there.
September 7th, 2008 at 9:35 am
LMN
Pass D encompasses everything not just one corner and a sorry free safety. It is the rush of the line, the LB’s ability to drop into coverage, SS ability to slow down two great TE. Everything and considering everything I don’t know how you can say it wasn’t good.
September 7th, 2008 at 9:42 am
I have to respectfully disagree with Jerry. This game and this season for that matter, is much more crucial for Kiffin than it is for Ryan.
If Ryan is fired, he will land a NFL DC gig almost immediately. When Kiffin is fired he will be lucky to land a job at Jack in the Box.
Just Win Baby.
September 7th, 2008 at 9:46 am
“We only need a SAM linebaker. Ryan’s D or Al’s D will stop the run this year.”
we have all the bakers we need =), sorry couldn’t help myself =)
well I think we have the Sam and Will in Morrison and Howard.. I think what we need is a real MLB..
September 7th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I’ve seen like 6 new entertaining commercials already!!!ITS here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!And yes,even when you thought it just couldnt get any better,WE OWN MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
September 7th, 2008 at 9:46 am
This is happening this year. We are back.
September 7th, 2008 at 9:49 am
take the chiefs and the points
September 7th, 2008 at 9:51 am
[...] Read more. Posted in Blogs | [...]
September 7th, 2008 at 9:52 am
LMN Kitna is good value! He could go off.
RaiderKen…considering the limitet number of talented players on the offense last year, no playmakers at WR , a rookie at TE and a makeshift OL I think Kiffin did well running the ball and trying not to turn the ball over. If you expected more out the offense last year with the guys we had, then you’re drinking coolaid!
September 7th, 2008 at 9:53 am
LMN post# 37
Your absolutely correct. Problem is finding a good MLB Mike is hard to do.
also LMFAO @ baker my bad that’s my job and I’m at work now.
September 7th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Cope
When you decide that Kwami Harris is the answer at LT, and it’s OK to start Green at RT then your drinking COOL AID!
September 7th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Cope
Post #42
Great point dude! Watchin the Iggles against Rams. Pacifier until tomorrow night.
September 7th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Looks like the Chefs just took out Tom Brady. He took a shot to his left knee & was being helped off the field.
September 7th, 2008 at 10:26 am
It looked just like when the Steelers took out Carson Palmer a few years ago.
September 7th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Philip Buchanon just returned a pick for a TD. I always thought we pulled the plug on him a lil’ too early. Even though he got roasted numerous times (and his horrible night against Green Bay after Favre’s daddy died), he took chances and reminds me a lot of D’angelo Hall. Hell, we stuck with Derrick Gibson for a lot longer than that guy, so I don’t know why we didn’t ride with Buchanon longer…..
September 7th, 2008 at 10:36 am
Yo, CopenhagenFan..
does it look weird to you too?
billedet er totalt mærkeligt, jeg er nød til at lave det om til 16:9 stretched..
September 7th, 2008 at 10:36 am
Raiders don’t stand a chance against the Donks. The Donks are a much inproved team and tons better than the Raiders.
Taste the Rainbow B-itches
September 7th, 2008 at 10:37 am
The Pats wont make the playoffs and we will knock them out of contention.
September 7th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Falcons are kicking butt.
September 7th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Oh oh. I am watching the queefs game and i uttered tom’s foot going to get hurt again. Well, it was more than a foot. Should have tucked!!!
September 7th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Favre is looking goodfor the Jets. They just went for it on 4th and 13 and scored a TD. Of course it is against the fins.
September 7th, 2008 at 11:07 am
THE JETS HAVE NO KICKER;they have 2 go 4 it on all 4th downs
September 7th, 2008 at 11:08 am
punter,sorry
September 7th, 2008 at 11:16 am
The Rams look like the worst HS team in the nation (whoever they are)!!
September 7th, 2008 at 11:17 am
lets trade, Andrew Walter to the patsies stat!
September 7th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Trade Tui maybe, but something happens to JR (horrible to even think it) AWs all we got!
September 7th, 2008 at 11:44 am
post 52 AM wow they are looking good
September 7th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Jerry,
Basically, we have two teams with two head coaches. So we have a situation kind of like the two boats in the “The Dark Night”. Both coaches have a transmitter and either one can pull the trigger and annihilate the other. Or both can do their jobs and live happily for the rest of this season. With all this “talent” we have on defense, if Ryan makes another stupid decision- like “drop 11 into coverage” -and we end up losing games, then Ryan will be the one who blew up the team. If Kiffen can’t fool anybody with a vanilla offense and we can only score 13 points or less a game, then Kiffen will be the culprit. Kiffen has less tools to work with, if you believe the rhetoric coming out of his mouth regarding the players’ talent on his side of the ball. I personally believe, if we fail, it will be because of Ryan. I have not been impressed at all with choke Ryan’s (I’m mean coach) defensive schemes in do or die situations. The record speaks for itself. Albeit, he was not loaded with the “back 7” talent he has this year. I just hope both coaches do their jobs and we ecstatically cruise into the Harbor of Superbowl-ville!
September 7th, 2008 at 11:51 am
I try not to dump on our team, usually. But, I must admit, that when Ryan dropped 11 men back during the Cleveland game, I almost had a heart-attack. I remember the game clearly, and I must admit it comes down as the “dumbest defensive play” in the history of football. Nice going, you jacka&& RYAN. Just quite and offer your signing bonus back, like Walker did. Four years of Ryan is punishment enough. Get rid of Ryan and bring in Monte Kiffin next year. A father and son coaching team would be great and the communication between the two would be beneficial.
September 7th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
The last time that fader nashun was committed to excellence otis sistrunk hadn’t left for Mars yet, leisure suits and polyester were the rage, and John Travolta and the Bee Gees were staying alive. Well, everyone but fader nashun has moved forward. greasy al is the laughing stock of the real world. If fader nashun would dump old syph face they might even see the other side of .500. (You do know what that means don’t you looooosers?) At the rate you guys are going you won’t get past .500 till the day grease ball dies or All the Bee Gees come back to sing disco again. As that old corner back with the pine tar fingers would say: Tha-a-a-a-t’s a-a-a-a-ll f-ol-ol-lks!
September 7th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
ive watched many games where the blitz worked. then in crucial moments they chose not to. they have the talent to blitz and get there. lets get back to the raiders of old and tear some freakin heads off
September 7th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Meh, nothing new here
September 7th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Whats up ya’ll peepis. Fist of all GO RAAAIIDDDDERRRRSSSSSS!!!!. Anyways i am with everyone who says to hell w/ RYAN. Man that guy doesnt have the balls to go up against AL like Kiffin. What kind of ssshht is that? Rumors are he doesnt blitz because AL says not to. I would be like wtf if you dont let me do my job, here are the keys, you drive and i would get the heck out of there. He is messing up his reputation, well should i say his father’s reputation. I bet his father is like, dude wtf, i dont know you as my son for that type of defense played.
anyways raiders 27 denver 14
September 7th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
san-deigo,squaws loose,we can have a full game in the WEST tommorrow!!!
September 7th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
CopenhagenFan Says:
September 7th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Fire Ryan!
I AGREE!
September 7th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Can you imagine what would happen if the faders were alone at the top of the standings? It would upset the balance of nature. The BIG ONE would hit the West Coast on Tuesday morning. It’s better not to fool with Mother Nature. The faders better stay in the cellar where they belong. Where the whole country has grown accustomed to seeing them.
September 7th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Ryan should have been kicked to the curb a long time ago. He SUCKS! AL needs to shut the hell up and let the coaches coach. I agres with kiffin to get rid of him this yr. Ryan’s play calling is pathetic, and the D-LINE we have just makes it worse. I’m tired of having an embarrassing D-line. We are going to give up alot of yards on the ground again until we bring in some help. I hope they bring in some more D-linemen this season, other wise it’s going to get ugly.
September 8th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Let Ryan go, there is a better D-Coordinator that Kiffin knows from his USC days, Ken Norton, Jr, Linebackers Coach at USC.