Rebuilding the Raiders

[Byron Yatch]

Alright, this is just my opinion, I enjoy reading your write ups but I gotta throw some criticism now.

You have got to move JR MYERS to rb now, stop playing him at fb. After reading the last couple games, your offense is stalling because you dont have a consistent run game. The d comes out in whatever pass stopping d they like and shut you down cause you cant take advantage of the run defense.

With how well Scott was doing, you should have won by 14 at least, even with them getting every point they got on you and him staying out the 3rd quarter. Theres absolutely no reason anymore to keep myers at fb if you cant get the run game going with him at that position...

Also, teams are passing as much on you as they are because you're up by 2 touchdowns in the first half(17-3). They dont have time to establish a run game on you. Once a team goes down 14, they rarely run as they go into panic mode. Gotta get points and gotta get em now, so they go vertical. Same thing goes for the opposite(not always but usually). When teams are up on you by 14 points they run a hell of a lot more to take time of the clock.

To help your pass defense, you may want to start calling defensive plays on third down/4th quarter(especially if you're already up by 14 or more). If you dont call plays in anticipation of the pass, the defense coordinator wont call enough coverage because hes going off averages, not the situation at hand. A team normally uses this type of play or that formation on 2nd down... but they're not normally down by 14, your d coordinator doesnt equate for that for some reason.

Learn some dime man, and nickle or dime cover 4 to stop teams from killing you in the air. If you dont have them in your original playbook, create them during a game or in the play creator and start calling them yourself in the right situations. The DC will learn to do it soon enough(1-3 years, depends on the dc and his playcalling skill level I think).

[BrnwsBucksFanNC]

Thanks for the advice. I have been pulling my hair out...well...what little bit I have left...trying to figure this out. I have been hesitant to make the change at RB because I have Leron James and I keep thinking that "this will be the game he breaks out" but he spends more time getting tackled in the backfield than anything else.

As far as he defense goes I think I '"was to close to the forest to see the trees". I had developed a great blitzing front 7. I love the 4-3 I am running but was relying on it every play. I would be looking at defending a 3rd and 15 and was still sending my safety on a blitz. I have pretty good DBs so I will add some nickle and dime packages to sit back and let them throw into. Even if I go to a 3 man front, my LBs are good enough to get to the QB.

I hate the play creator on this game so this will be my challenge before I face Eli Manning and the Colts. If I remember correctly I have the Prevent, 1 cover-3 and 1 cover-4 in the playbook now. I can use the cover-3 some but then they start to pick that apart. So I will have to learn how to create plays. Wish me luck!!

Any advice on what plays I need to add would be greatly appreciated!!

I really do appreciate the advice. My wife teases me that I dont like to lose any part of a game and she is right. Even though I like to think I know it all She does a nice job of keeping me humble.

[Byron Yatch]

First off if this is Leron james's first or even 2nd year, he should be a 2nd rb to a more veteran rb. He doesnt know the plays so he can only rely on his ability. if hes a backup for a year though, that next year, he already knows the plays when you start to rely on him. JR Meyers might acutally struggle as much as Leron james or more so make JR the 2nd rb, and sign whoever the best impact blocker is at fb in free agency. Look at awareness as well and choose someone at least good enough in awareness while dominant at impact blocking.

Its much easier to create offensive plays so I'll let you ask for some of my plays if you need some. Defense is pretty easy if you're running a man defense. Its easy to make those plays. Its hard to place zones correctly though if you dont have a good working knowledge of how zone d is run.

But in the creator, even just take a 4-3 blitz or rush you like. Then change one or 2 lbs into your 3rd and/or 4th cb. Move them out of the box("the box is between the opponents tes or tackles) and put the player as close to the line if you want them to press. If you just want soft man coverage, about 5 yards off the line is fine(bout the depth lbs usually start at in other words).

Now you set the play up so the #1 cb vs #1 wr and so on till you have every cornerback manned up FIRST. That means 2nd cbvs2nd wr 3rdvs3rd, 4th vs 4th, even 5th cb vs 5wr/te/rb. If you want double coverage on someone make the safety cover the same wr that is on his side. SS would double wr1 or wr4(slot)/te on the right, and FS would double WR2 or wr3(slot) or te on the right).

If you need something to definitely double the te, I'd honestly just steal one from another team or use simple creator to see if there's a simple double te play. Then modify it so it can handle 4 wrs and a te formations by changing some linemen and lbs into cbs and/or safeties with good man coverage.

If you're gonna make a cover 4, you send the wide cornerbacks and the safeties into deep fourths. Prolly want the purplish zones for 2 people(usually olbs) if you're trying to stop deeper passing, light blue(flats) if you want to stop shorter passes/screens/swing passes, yellow if you just want to stop the ones in between those depths(hooks, curls, hitchs, outs and ins(if you have enough of them like a cover 2 does).

Cover 2 is usually 1 of 2 things, the outisde corners are in light blue(flats) or yellow(hook zones). Ouside linebackers are usually yellow(hook zones) or those purple ones for deeper coverage. The mlb is a yellow if its regular cover 2, if its tampa cover 2 it can also be a deep middle zone turning it into a different kind of cover 3 really. Usually all 4 lineman rush and all can be base rushes, you can have one side stunt, both sides stunt, them all pinch and even scoot them in.

Sending blitzes isnt about being complex but rather sending more than your opponent can handle while making sure your dbs can give your rushers time to get there. So you do something like press man on the outside(again, by placing the cb on the line of scrimmage) and then bring the safeties down and more in the box, using yellow hook zones. then just send everyone else. You can even just have all 4 guys in zone coverage using (yellow)hook zones spread out so they stop all the outside throws, close enough to the line of scrimmage to stop quick passes but not on the line so they actually use press coverage.

If you need/want to stop outside runs, use 2 guys(usually olbs) to run flat zones(light blue) on opposite sides(preferably starting closer to the middle of the field so they scrape down the line to stop any attempt to cut up field by the running back.

That or 2 guys(usually des) doing qb/rb contain assignments and rush at least 4 other people towards the middle. To stop the run its about numbers, need 6 or even 7 "rushers" and 4-5 in coverage, prolly all manned up 1-4, or 1 and 2 press man and 2 deep zone safeties, or cover 4). Some teams you should just send 8 when you think they're gonna run. Thier lines and rbs are good enough to stop a 6 man rush and the rb breaks the 7th's tackle.

If you can think of any specific situations or formations you want help with let me know.

[BrnwsBucksFanNC]

Thanks for the advice. I am going to tackle the play creator today and see if I can add at least 2 of these types of plays a week to help my DBs.

[BrnwsBucksFanNC]

Week 10 Nov 7, 2010 at Indianapolis Colts

The Raiders start the game off well defensively as they force the Colts to go 3 and out. The Colts offense is without 3 starters, RB Joseph Addai (90), WR Marvin Harrison (88) and RT Ryan Diem (90), so it will be interesting to see how they make the adjustments.

QB Scott shows his giving nature as he throws an INT with his very first pass. But TE Miller was knocked down and the Colts defense was called for PI, it was only a 1 yard penalty but it wiped out the turnover. Scott redeems himself and3 straight passes . Converted FB JR Myers bursts up the middle for a 7 yard run and follows that with another run of 13 yards. But the Raiders went to the well 1 too many times as Myers coughs the ball up on the Colts 3.

The Raiders defense does a great job of holding them as the Colts kick the punt from 7 and the Raiders get a great return to start the drive at the Colts 37. Scott hits a 31 yard pass to WR Lucas and follows it with a 5 yarder to the left flat to new FB signee Marlon Sanders for the TD. Raiders 7, Colts 0.

The Colts once again start at the 20 and Manning hits WR Gonzalez for a 25 yard strike. But the manning is picked off by CB Barney. The Raiders actually complete 6 running plays in a row as they rotate Myers, Turner and James with James getting the score on a 2 yard outside run. Raiders 14, Colts0.

The Colts once again take a knee after the kick and the Colts run 3 plays before Manning is once again giving the ball away, this time to CB Deangelo Hall. The Raiders make the Colts pay for the tunrover as Scott hits WR Bellows for the 17 yard TD. Raiders 21, Colts 0.

The Raiders kick team once again forces the Colts drive to start at the 20 and once again they hold, forcing the Colts to punt. But QB Scott feels they deserve another chance and promptly throws the ball to Colt DB Bethea at the Colts 16 yard line.

QB Manning starts to slice and dice the Raiders defense as he methodically moves his team down the field. The only bright spot for the Raiders was when DE Tony Bake dropped Manning for a 6 yard sack, but Manning brought them up to the line and found WR Reggie Wayne for the 17 yard TD to put the Colts on the board. Raiders 21, Colts 7.

Colts kicker Adam Vineteria doesnt have the leg he used to as most of his kicks only get to around the 15, on this kick, WR Bellows made him pay by taking the kick back 82 yards for the score. Raiders 28, Colts 7.

The Raiders force the Colts to punt with less than a minute left in the game. Scott is able to orchestrate a drive that finds the Raiders at the Colts 18 yard line as the clock winds down to end the half. The Raiders call time with 1 second left on the clock and send Janikowski out for the 35 yard attempt. It sails wide right! So the teams go into the locker room, Raiders 28, Colts 7.

The Raiders start the 2nd half by going 3 and out. But once again the defense comes to the rescue as they force a WR Kelly fumble and Rivers recovers it at the 45 yard line. The Raiders are able to get inside the 5 but the drive stalls so Janikowski 23 yard FG. This one is good so the Raiders increase lead Raiders 31, Colts 7.

The teams trade punts a few times and then finally the Raiders are able to move the ball into scoring position, but the drive stalls again and Janikowski is called on for the chip shot FG, a 19 yarder, Raiders 34, Colts 7.

The Raiders defense keeps the Colts from being able to move the ball after they force another 3 and out. QB Scott hits WR Williams along the left sideline and he flies down the field for a 69 yard TD. Raiders 41, Colts 7.

The Colts once again rely on QB Manning as he drives them down the field, the only pause was caused by a DT Gilbert sack, but the drive was completed by 4 yard TD pass to WR Kelly. Raiders 41, Colts 14.

The Colts tried an onside kick but it was recovered by the Raiders. One odd thing, I had been running the ball as they burned their TOs to kill the clock, they called time with 4 seconds on the clock and I was in short FG range so I thought, what the heck, I will let Janikowski redeem himself, but no, he misses this 23 yard FG as well. I am not sure why they called time then.

So we made it through the rough road games and we head home, 9-0 to face the Tennessee Titans in a Monday night game.

[BrnwsBucksFanNC]

Week 10 Reflection

Overall I was very pleased. I wasnt able to add any new defensive plays before I played the game, bit the Cover 3 helped alot and I used some man plays on 3rd and long. So I will continue to work on those.

The bad...nothing was that bad actually. Janikowski missed 2 easy FGs and after Myers had a great 1st half running (except for the fumble) he was not productive in the 2nd half. So that is a work in progress as well.

The good...Manning didnt shred the defense. Our 3rd downs were great (70% vs 25%). The running game contributed when I needed it to. Once again the defense comes through. 3 sacks, 2 INTs and a FF. I have to even admit the penalties were better, 3 for 25 yards. And Bellows hits the big one on the return.

In roster news, RB Hall was released to allow for the signing of FB Marlon Sanders from Army.

[JeffHCross]

Quote: Originally Posted by BrnwsBucksFanNC

those tests dont grade themselves

This made me laugh out loud. Very loudly.

Quote: Originally Posted by BrnwsBucksFanNC

Thanks for the advice. I am going to tackle the play creator today and see if I can add at least 2 of these types of plays a week to help my DBs.

Check playbooks2012.com out. They've taken all the playbooks in NCAA 12 and put them on a website. There's a lot of plays I love from NCAA that aren't in Head Coach, so that site has become invaluable when I try to think of what plays I want to create.

[Byron Yatch]

Love readin your write ups as they try to add a lil life to the situations. Liked the line where scott wanted to give the ball back to the colts so he threw an int to bethea! Thats good stuff...

If you're losing production in the 2nd half, you're goin to the well one too many times(using money plays or even just the same TYPES of plays too much). If you want to continue running a lot, you have to learn a lot of different runs in different formations. Gotta have like 10 inside runs and 7 outside runs, at least 5 counters, a couple draws, and at least 2 good pitch plays(4 would be better though).

I know the screens are difficult to learn with many teams/qbs and causes sacks early in careers. But when you're up by 28 already, you gotta start learning those so if you have a bad play, it doesnt hurt you while you still learn them. Once you start using them, they'll make it an option in gameplanning. Screens can work amazingly if you learn them to mastered(minus the middle screen, it NEVER WORKS)

As the years add on, offense isnt about having a couple money plays you use over and over again, because teams adapt and adjust. They start to use plays to stop the ones you call too often in any situation. Offense becomes about diversity of attack after 2 or 3 seasons. Being able to run on 1st is nice but once you establish a pattern(always rushing inside on 1st), cpu sends 7 or 8 to stop you all the time on first. So always be looking to do something different than you normally do when you can.

Glad to see the three headed monster started to work for you, , especially the new fb. If thats micheal turner, make him the starter. He's the veteran you need to be the number 1 guy. From there, you can even use leron james as the starting 3rd down running back. Myers would be the #2 for both. It will give your running game a boost because your rbs dont ever have to try to run when too tired. It will keep all three very fresh throughout the game(and even season/career).

One last thing, in a year or so, its gonna get boring/too easy(you're already 9-0). so what I do is let any rfa get matched by going with the suggested tender or one lower than I think I should get for them. That will make sure someone tries to steal them, take the picks. There are only a few guys I ever keep and its cause I cant replace what they bring to the team(xavier cox would be an example of irreplaceable)

Anyone who's in their last year of their contract thats not an rfa, trade em away(unless they're one of like 5 people you want to keep "forever"). Then try to tank your 3rd or 4th season(i tank the 4th) in the league by "bad gameplanning"(like working on run plays when your opponent has a monstrous run d) or bad play calling(draws on first down), any means necessary other than pissing off starters you wanna keep by benching them.

You want to miss the playoffs at least so like 8-8 or 9-7 max(just beat your rival and the games the fans want you to win. Then you can release your best coaches to become head coaches and coordinators FOR THE WORST TEAMS, not the teams in the playoffs already. If you go to the playoffs(even wild card round sometimes), the worst teams will miss out on being able to sign them.

This adds new life to the game Ive found. Nothing better than building a guy up to a 99 overall position coach or coordinator and then letting him get on a ****ty staff to try and turn them around. Replace them with a new coach to develop and release in another 3-5 years. Rinse repeat.

[BrnwsBucksFanNC]

Thanks for the advice! Keep it coming because I must be starting to be a creature of habit! (See below) So I want to try and mix things up more. I like the idea of dropping off so the coaches will leave. I had a Browns game that got so boring because we made it to the playoffs every year and all of the coaches ended up being 99's. I knew if I fired them though I was going to get coaches that did not have any potential.

[BrnwsBucksFanNC]

Week 1, Monday Night, Nov 15, 2010 vs Titans

This was a game I was dreading because I know Vince Young loves to scramble and I know that is something I struggle with. But the game started off well as the Raiders defense forced a 3 and out. The Raiders got the ball at the 48 and were aided by a Titans Mike Jenkins Pass Interference call for 20 yards. But the drive stalled at the 5 and I faced a Defining Moment. I took the safe way out and opted for the Janikowski 25 yard FG. Raiders 3, Titans 0. My approval dropped to 88.

The Titans were once again unable to move the ball and the Raiders put together a methodical drive that was capped by FB Pryor going up the middle for the 1 yard score. Raiders 10, Titans 0.

This time the Titans found their rhythm, but the drive was finally stopped by OLB Rivers catching Titans QB Young in the backfield. Titans kicker Mike Vanderjat kicked the 46 yard FG to get the Titans on the board. Raiders 10, Titans 3.

The Raiders start their drive on the 20 and are able to move down the field, but once again the drive stalls and Janikowski comes out and kicks the 27 yard FG. Raiders 13, Titans 3.

The Titans are once again forced to punt and the Raiders were able to move down into scoring position and Janikowski once again is called on as the drive stalls and he kicks a 23 yard FG to end the half. Raiders 16, Titans 3.

The 2nd half turned into a defensive struggle as the Raiders offense was unable to mount a drive and the Titans offense was unable to keep one going. The Titans did get into scoring position, but QB Young coughed the ball up and it was recovered on the Raiders 7 by DE Rucker.

I once again faced a Defining Moment and elected to blitz on a 3 and 6 from the Titans 9. We were able to stop the conversion and my approval jumped back to 97.

So the Raiders get ready to face the Kansas City Chiefs with a 10-0 record.