No team in the NFL has completed fewer passes this season than the Oakland Raiders, and frankly, it's not even close. That's probably not all that shocking to you, seeing as how JaMarcus Russell is a second-year quarterback, and the Raiders are, for the most part, a running team blessed with a deep backfield including Justin Fargas, Darren McFadden and Michael Bush. Naturally, like any team, they're going to stick with their strength. Still, Russell has struggled at times, while also showing flashes of the potential that made him the No. 1 overall pick a year ago. Perhaps one of the problems he's dealing with this season is the fact his wide receivers are, well, for lack of a better word -- terrible.
Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee pointed out today that the Raiders haven't had more than one wide receiver catch a pass in a game in four weeks, and that Michael Bush, a 245-pound running back -- who is now playing fullback -- is second on the team with 18 receptions.
Sounds pretty bad. But it gets worse.
As a group, Raiders wide receivers have combined to catch only 56 passes through their first 11 games. Just for comparisons sake, there are 17 individual wide receivers around the NFL who have caught at least 56 passes this season. The Arizona Cardinals, for example, have three.
The good folks over at Football Outsiders track the catch percentages of receivers in the NFL, and here are the results for the Raiders:
Ronald Curry: 44%
Ashley Lelie: 28%
Javon Walker: 47%
Chaz Schilens: 40%
Johnnie Lee Higgins: 40%
If you want to include tight end Zach Miller, who is leading the team with 32 receptions, his percentage is currently 64%.
Obviously, those numbers are not just a reflection of the receiver, Russell -- or Andrew Walter -- also plays a role. But in the case of a guy like Lelie, who is hauling in passes at an abysmal rate, even for Raiders standards, there's obviously a problem at the position. Especially when guys like Walker and Curry are combining to make $16 million this season.
Clearly it's one of the many positions for the Raiders that is in serious need of an upgrade this offseason. I hear there's a pretty good wide receiver at Texas Tech that could eligible for the NFL draft this April. In the meantime, if I were Raiders head coach Tom Cable, I'd be calling Zach Miller's number on just about every pass play.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-30-2008 @ 2:29PM
Bill said...
True, the wide reciever core of the Raiders is not the best. Last weeks game against the Broncos was a game in which the recieving core and the QB looked in sync for the first time this year. Take away Javon Walker who is out for the season now and it seems there is a little hope at the end of a really long, dark tunnell. Plus, you have to look at the Raiders front seven. They have been horrid for the most part this season. Up until last weekends performance in Denver, they were on their way to allowing more sacks this season than in the 06 season under Art Shell. But, when Jamarcus is protected like last week, This team plays decent through the air. Bottom line, it all starts up front with the line. If the line can protect the QB then I think you will see all those percentages go up, drastically.
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12-06-2008 @ 10:37AM
Steve said...
A problem I have noticed is these receivers are not adapting to catching a "hot" ball. I remember an interview with Sterling Sharpe where he talked about the extra work they had to put in to adapt to Brett Farve, things like having your hands up as you make your break in your route, otherwise your too late, catching the ball away from your body, if it hits your pads forget it, and all the broken fingers and crosshair welts, when spending time after practice to nail down timing. JeMarcus has a lot of development he must still achieve to be an NFL quarterback, but I don't want to hear he needs to learn touch. That howitzer he has for an arm is what can, and hopefully will, set him apart. It gives him smaller windows to throw, and often passes that just can't be defended, like Farve, Marino and Elway. I was at the Bills games in Buffalo and couldn't beleive Johnny Lee Higgins had that big pass play. I said to my fellow Raider fans sitting near me, he had to have caught that pass in self defense, because while he has blazing speed as a wide out, I sometimes wonder if those are broomsticks for hands. I saw the replay when I got home, and if you watch that play, if he didn't catch that pass, they probably would have had to cart him off. Bottom line, these receivers need to adjust, or get some who can. Of the crew they have now, I think Schillens needs more playing time. During the pre-season, working with the second and third string offenses, I noticed he made some nice catches on poorly thrown passes. He's a rookie so let's hope huh. As a Raider fan for the last 36 years, it's all I can do.
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