Blitz of Cardinals just a sample of new look
NAPA >> Vanilla is out. Paul Guenther can call plays like a real defensive coordinator.
There isn’t a lot to be gleaned from an exhibition game, but a 33-26 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night provided a window into the future that includes a willingness to send extra pass rushers.
“It was fun,” Guenther said Saturday following a morning practice. “A lot more speed on the field. We can cover. We’ve got guys that can blitz, guys that can play the run. I told the players, you know what it’s supposed to look like when it’s right and we had some glimpses of that the other night.”
Arizona’s first-team offense never crossed the 50 when rookie quarterback Kyler Murray (3 of 8, 12 yards) was in the game. And resisting the natural impulse to keep things under wraps, Guenther dialed up some blitzes, choosing instead to work on plays his defense will use in the regular season.
There was Johnathan Abram flying in from the outside, Vontaze Burfict and Tahir Whitehead pressuring as a tandem on either side of the center and a corner blitz from Lamarcus Joyner that resulted in a safety.
The frequency with which the Raiders came at Murray was striking to former Raiders coach Jack Del Rio, an ESPN analyst who talked about it in a studio segment.
“They brought the kitchen sink. I think Guenther was auditioning for a head job or something,” Del Rio said. “They brought the house. Nine up, eight up, bringing safeties off the edge. It was something I’m sure young quarterbacks haven’t seen.”
Guenther didn’t necessarily bring the house or the appliances within it, but he thoroughly enjoyed taking some of the new parts of his defense out for a spin.
“If you noticed, some of the guys we were blitzing — Joyner, Abram, Brandon Marshall, Burfict — they’re all new toys for me,” Guenther said. “Those are the guys I wanted to see blitz a little bit and not just sit back in coverage all day. Some of the stuff I sent was just basic little things.
“But I wanted to see those guys have to communicate, do different things.”
Even with the exotic looks, Guenther estimates playing only “three or four” coverages during the game.
Last season, with a dearth of talent and an aging secondary, the Raiders simply didn’t have the personnel to leave cornerbacks or safeties exposed one-onone. They ended the year with 13 sacks and blitzed infrequently.
Burfict, who played under Guenther in Cincinnati, said the Arizona game was more along the lines of Gunether’s M.O.
“I think that’s just the way we run the defense,” Burfict said. “Some plays we blitz, some plays we don’t. Some plays we sit back and just control down and distance. It’s been like that since I’ve been with Paulie G. Nothing new to me.”
Whatever the Raiders gave up in terms of intelligence for using blitzes in an exhibition game, they got back film of themselves using those maneuvers in a practical way in live action.
“Blitzing is obviously a key part of football because usually you call it on down and distance and that’s key in the game,” Burfict said. “It’s fast-paced. Sometimes the ends are dropping, the tackles are dropping, you have to communicate. I think it’s great we got it on film, get to coach it up and obviously we’ll get it in film study.”
More notes and observations from the 14th and likely final practice from Napa (practices are now closed to the media other than warmup drills):
• Guenther on Maxx Crosby, the defensive end who re-entered the Rams game with a broken right hand.
“He’s a great kid, he’s got tons of energy and I really admire him trying to get back in the game,” Guenther said. “He really wanted to get back in there.”
Crosby had a plate surgically inserted and will begin the regular season playing and practicing with a cast.
• Burfict, given a leadership mantel as middle linebacker, said he’s getting plenty of help from Joyner in the defensive backfield.
“He’s what you want out of a nickel back,” Burfict said. “He puts his hands on receivers, don’t let them get free access and obviously I have to communicate with him before presnap. It does wonders for me. It takes a lot of stuff off my plate to have him next to me.”
• Josh Mauro, a base end whose primary job is as a run-stopper, sat out the Arizona game with a hamstring strain and probably won’t face Green Bay, either.