Boardregeln » Last season for the Raiders didn’t inspire much confidence

in the makeup of the Raiders. So AJ McCarron Jersey , once again a major overhaul was coming at nearly every position. That was especially true with regard to..." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesSilver And Black Pride homepageHorizontal - WhiteSilver And Black Pridean Oakland Raiders communityFollow Silver And Black Pride online:Follow Silver And Black Pride on TwitterFollow Silver And Black Pride on FacebookLog in or sign upLog InSign UpSite searchSearchSearchSilver And Black Pride main menuFanpostsFanshotsRaidersOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 321 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Raiders StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Raiders NewsYahoo Raiders Team PageYahoo Raiders ReportYahoo Raiders Depth ChartYahoo Raiders TransactionsYahoo Raiders PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Paul Guenther having fun with ‘new toys’ on Raiders rebuilt defenseNew,45commentsPDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:Paul Guenther having fun with ‘new toys’ on Raiders rebuilt defenseTwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailPhoto by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesLast season for the Raiders didn’t inspire much confidence in the makeup of the Raiders. So, once again a major overhaul was coming at nearly every position. That was especially true with regard to the defense.The main issue was in the lack of a pass rush. Gone were sack leaders Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin and there was no one to to step up and fill in for the loss of their production. There was also a carousel at linebacker and defensive back because the positions were not properly addressed in the offseason. Basically everything but the interior defensive line needed a makeover.This meant defensive coordinator Paul Guenther went shopping. He picked up a few new pieces in free agency and several more in the draft. He’s a pretty happy man today, especially compared with what he was given to work with last season. The team’s second preseason game turned into his own game of show-and-tell. Namely blitzing, blitzing, and more blitzing. “Those are some plays that we’ll run during the season,” Guenther said of the team’s many successful blitz packages deployed against the Cardinals. “If you notice some of the guys who were blitzing; it was [Lamarcus] Joyner, [Johnathan] Abram, Brandon Marshall, [Vontaze] Burfict, they’re all new toys for me. So, those are the guys I wanted to see blitz a little bit instead of sit back in coverage all day.”Raiders film room: Breaking down the defensive pressure vs CardinalsGuenther added that he wanted to see how his new players communicate on the field and the results kind of speak for themselves – zero point and 12 net yards allowed with two sacks, and a safety for the Raiders defense versus the Cardinals first team offense.Pressure was coming from different places on different plays. Arden Key got back there around the edge, Lamarcus Joyner got the sack for the safety, the linebackers were coming up the middle on double A gap blitzes, you name it.Veterans like Joyner, Marshall, and Burfict make the defense smarter. While rookies like Abram and Clelin Ferrell add some athleticism and young talent. Guenther is downright giddy finally having players he feels can run all his plays.“It was fun,” Guenther said. “There was a lot more speed on the field. We can cover, I got guys that can blitz, guys that can play the run, so I think I told the players you kind of know what it’s supposed to look like when it’s right. We added some blitz to that the other night. So, we continue to get better and understand the details of everything that we’re doing.”The “straw that stirs the drink” as Gruden put it, is Vontaze Burfict. The veteran linebacker takes Guenther’s scheme and communicates it to the rest of the defense. “I was his linebackers coach and then his defensive coordinator so I kind of raised him from a puppy,” Guenther said of Burfict. “He’s so smart, he alerts guys, he’s a great communicator, he knows the defense inside and out Jordy Nelson Jersey , he knows the corners, the safeties, the D-line, he knows it all, we can get in and out of different defenses at the line of scrimmage, so it’s like having your quarterback you’ve coached for years running your system.”Raiders preseason week two Ballers & Busters vs CardinalsEven still, Burfict can’t do it alone. During camp, he was regularly seen yelling for his fellow defenders to talk to him. He’s feeling like he’s getting the open line of communication he wants and it’s making his job easier.“It’s great,” said Burfict. “We have so many leaders on our defense so there’s not too much stuff on my plate than I can handle because I got Lamarcus, I got Tahir [Whitehead], I got Karl [Joseph], I got Abram behind me. It’s exciting, obviously less stress on my plate, I can just go out there and do my job an execute and make sure I’m running the defense.”Rookie safety Johnathan Abram’s name gets brought up a lot. He stepped into the starting safety role in OTA’s and is making a strong early impression on his veteran teammates. Of all the new toys Guenther has to play with now, Abram is having the most immediate impact. As much or more so than the new veterans.“He has extreme confidence,” Burfict said of Abram. “I love it though. He shows it in the film room and in film study. Like today we had a play and he opened his mouth up and said something in front of the defense that kind of gave me the chills. I don’t want to say because it’s kind of in-house study, but he’s going to be a great player for us.”Abram is one of what figures to be six new defensive starters this season for the Raiders along with fellow rookie first round pick Clelin Ferrell, and veteran additions Burfict, Marshall, Joyner, and Josh Mauro. And this time it’s not a stretch to say they’re all upgrades from what the Raiders fielded at those positions last season.Follow @LeviDamienFollowing league wide trend, Raiders coach Jon Gruden limits Derek Carr to 13 preseason snaps For the third game of the preseason, it is common to see the first unit play to halftime and even a series into the third quarter. However, extended playing time for the starters has not been Jon Gruden and the Oakland Raiders’ plan this preseason. Quarterback Derek Carr has played in just two of the preseason games, didn’t play against the Los Angeles Rams, and has played in just one series in each of the games resulting in a total of 13 preseason snaps. Maybe Gruden is worried about Carr getting hurt considering the situation at tackle right now and Carr’s history that includes breaking his leg, finger and bones in his back over the past two seasons. Or it could just be that Carr is entering his fifth season as a starting quarterback and doesn’t need to waste his time in the preseason. After Friday’s game, Gruden did give a brief explanation into why Carr was pulled so early against the Green Bay Packers. “I have seen enough. There isn’t much more for me to see Johnathan Hankins Jersey ,” Gruden said. “The battle for us is who is behind Derek [Carr]. I wanted to get Connor [Cook] first team all offensive line for a couple series. But we have a pretty good idea who our starters are on offense. I was really pleased with Derek [Carr] on how he started the game.”Some may be skeptical of this approach, but not Carr because of the intensity that Gruden brings to practice each and every day. “Obviously, it’s different because I don’t play as much as before, but we get so many things done in practice,” Carr said. “It’s very tough, it’s game-like and the kind of things I need to see and feel. Going out there today and being able to get hit a couple times, move in the pocket and find throws. You don’t need too much of that in the preseason, but just to get a few plays in here and there is good. If we practice at speed the way that we do, I feel that you can go out there in preseason and play a couple plays and be ready for the season.”Carr also sees no reason to worry about his rapport with his receivers. “We get a lot of practice reps, especially the way Coach Gruden designs his practices, it’s all around the quarterback,” Carr said. “He’s setting it up so I can be the most prepared in his mind, it’s not my mind. I feel good about it and if the coach feels good about it, you can guarantee the players feel good about it. I feel in good rhythm, I feel in synch with those guys. I have guys that are easy to throw to, they’re easy to talk to, so it makes it a lot easier.”On a more macro-level, limiting the starters snaps has been popular around the entire league. The Packers didn’t play Aaron Rodgers and the Rams didn’t play their starters in Week 2 either against Oakland. Games that you would have previously expected to see starters.Carr thinks the new strategy is due to the loss of important starters to injurybefore the regular season. “Well I think that you’re seeing a lot of guys getting hurt,” Carr said. “You see a lot of key guys getting hurt. I turned the TV on yesterday and Tyrod Taylor, a starting quarterback, dislocates his finger, so is it necessary? All those things, it’s tough. It’s for everyone above me to decide. I planned on playing a lot but you know coach said, ‘That was good.’ You start to see the trend which is to not play people, and I think that’s going to be a trend that sticks. They’d rather have their guys week one of the regular season.”Limiting Carr’s snaps until Week 1 kicks off in Oakland against the Rams could prove to be a wise move. Everyone remembers what the team looked like without Carr two years ago in the playoffs and for a few weeks last season. It wasn’t good. So everything must be done to limit Carr’s injury risk as he is the one who will determine the franchise’s success.