Merged: Surprises from Raiders Game

[52liveforever]

so for me on sunday there were a lot of surprises and not so surprising things i liked

1. jah reid and ramon harewood are both better than bobbie williams. let this guy and mckinnie go as soon as season is over and free up our cap space. not only are they better they are more versatile.
2. deangelo tryson has a bright future. i paid pretty close attention to him and upshaw yesterday and they both seemed close to the play and constantly making big plays. tyson is proving hes definitely worth the pick and good depth at the position.
3. cam cameron called a brilliant game. it was the raiders, but thats exactly how he should be calling all the games. even though the run wasnt working he stuck to it and it opened up the deep balls, i loved it.
4. our defense looked better than it has all season without ngata, lewis, webb, reed, mcphee, and jimmy smith. maybe it was the coaching by dean pees hes realizing how to call the defense. who knows i just hope this keeps up.

what was your biggest surprise?

[Moderator 3]

I'm surprised that I can't think of 14 toppings for my pizza tonight.

[black blood purple passion]

I think the whole O line thing is a bit of a catch 22. Jah and Harewood are far more athletic than WIlliams and McKinnie, but Williams and McKinnie are head and shoulders above Harewood and Jah with respect to football IQ and picking up stunts/weird blitzes. But of course Football IQ comes from playing in real game time situations....so its gonna depend on whether or not they can pick up on the little nuances of the game in time for the playoffs.

[nextgen_RavensFan]

I was listening to a sports talk show when they broke down ray rices percentages and i was stunned to learn that he actually runs better on the left side and middle. I was very wrong when i thought Oher was lacking as LT. Wow is all i can say. Middle has more yards per carry but not far behind was the left side.

Oher, Go ahead man.

Great game yesterday. Did not see that coming, i just hope Reed stays out til he is healed.

[Mt. Crushmore]

Oher still makes some mistakes but he is turning into a solid LT and I hope we keep him.

[BenMir]

Told you Oher is solid. He may not be a top 10 pass blocker, maybe not even top 20, but I think he's a solid run blocker. Also another thing I noticed yestarday.. he's first step is so freakin quick! No wonder he's getting called for false start so often, by the time the ball is in Joe's hands, Oher is in the middle of the second step.

[GrimCoconut]

[quote name='BenMir' timestamp='1352739268' post='1216750']
Told you Oher is solid. He may not be a top 10 pass blocker, maybe not even top 20, but I think he's a solid run blocker. Also another thing I noticed yestarday.. he's first step is so freakin quick! No wonder he's getting called for false start so often, by the time the ball is in Joe's hands, Oher is in the middle of the second step.
[/quote]
After preseason and the first game against the Bengals MO had my curiosity. Now he has my attention. I think Oher will be fine for us as a LT. I admit I lost faith in him but he has proved me wrong this year. I guess the light came on for him.

[SecretAgentMan]

[quote name='GrimCoconut' timestamp='1352739576' post='1216761']
After preseason and the first game against the Bengals MO had my curiosity. Now he has my attention. I think Oher will be fine for us as a LT. I admit I lost faith in him but he has proved me wrong this year. I guess the light came on for him.
[/quote]
Hes a good solid LT, what do you want a superstar? I like a solid tackle on the left side for the next ten years, more like a Backus.... He doesnt need to be Long lol

[beasy2487]

[quote name='GrimCoconut' timestamp='1352739576' post='1216761']
After preseason and the first game against the Bengals MO had my curiosity. Now he has my attention. I think Oher will be fine for us as a LT. I admit I lost faith in him but he has proved me wrong this year. I guess the light came on for him.
[/quote]

Honestly I don't think Oher was ever as bad as people made him out to be, he just got a ton of false starts and had to play the league's best pass rushers fairly often. His false starts were a function of his freakishly fast get-off but he's toned that down so now we're seeing him settle in. LT is [i]not[/i], a need. In Big Mike and KO we will potentially have 2 tackles that can play both positions. Just need to that Center and LG spot worked out ><.

[dirtybird10]

It hasn't been an easy ride for Oher, he has been the most shifted and moved around tackle I can remember. Right and Left tackle are not just plug and play, it takes alot to just move back and forth and actually play well. I have always thought he has under performed but mostly because of his mental errors, but even with them, I felt it was more a result of his lack of a consistent position. Really glad he is staying at one spot, and playing well. Hope it continues!

[nextgen_RavensFan]

Hehad me worried with all of the false starts which i took to mean he felt he was not fast enough and needed an edge but he is freat at the run game. What a great surprise and you guys were right.

[AsianRice]

I just hope our O-line will continue the dominating trend on the road......

[K-Dog]

Rice was a non factor and we still won and the bank did not burst into flames

[GrimCoconut]

[quote name='Mr. Irrelevant' timestamp='1352739695' post='1216764']
Hes a good solid LT, what do you want a superstar? I like a solid tackle on the left side for the next ten years, more like a Backus.... He doesnt need to be Long lol
[/quote]
Huh? Lol, what do you mean? I'm saying he's a solid player and admitting I judged him perhaps too early last year. He's impressed me since preseason. I was personally happy when we replaced McKinnie with Oher. I'm all for giving him an extension.

[quote name='beasy2487' timestamp='1352739754' post='1216768']
Honestly I don't think Oher was ever as bad as people made him out to be, he just got a ton of false starts and had to play the league's best pass rushers fairly often. His false starts were a function of his freakishly fast get-off but he's toned that down so now we're seeing him settle in. LT is [i]not[/i], a need. In Big Mike and KO we will potentially have 2 tackles that can play both positions. Just need to that Center and LG spot worked out ><.
[/quote]
Yeah, I think we misjudged him. It was frustrating hearing all of the holding & false start penalties in the beginning, but he's really impressed me a lot since preseason. I was really impressed by him that first preseason game and he's kept it up throughout the year. I admit he's given up some pressure and sacks, but nobody is perfect. I think the LG spot has been a big question mark. I hope that's settled with Jah Reid. I hope Reid can be our LG. I liked what I saw from him. I like KO at RT, and I feel he will settle in and do better with the more reps he gets. KO is not as good as MO right now, but I think he can get there. Yanda's been making a lot of bone-headed mistakes, getting stupid penalties. I hope he fixes that because that's getting tiring. I really like Gradkowski as our future center. I would've liked to see him get some snaps Sunday from Flacco in the 3rd quarter.

[Corvus]

I agree with all of the OP's points.

In regards to Oher, I never once understood all of the absolute hate and vitriol spewed towards him all since the '10 season. The guy is a definitive team player, doing exactly what the staff asked of him and not saying a word about it. As dirtybird10 said, he has been flip-flopped along that line more than any o-lineman I can even think of, but it was always "Oher is terrible, he is a bust, put McKinnie back in." If we actually leave him on the left side this coming offseason and he gets to play the same position for consecutive years for the FIRST time in his career, man the sky will be the limit for him.