Once again, Reece delivers results
He accounts for almost half of Raiders’ offense
OAKLAND — Marcel Reece is listed on the Raiders roster as a fullback because, well, he has to be listed as something. Calling him a jack- of- all- trades might be a more apt description.
On Sunday for the second straight game, Reece shifted into running back mode out of necessity and responded with 193 yards rushing and receiving in the Raiders’ 38- 17 loss to the New Orleans Saints at the Coliseum.
Then again, this shouldn’t come as a surprise, given Reece played wide receiver in college and even spent some time at tight end early in his Raiders career before settling in at fullback.
“He has come in and not missed a beat, filled the shoes and done everything we’ve asked him to do, at a very high level,” fellow fullback Owen Schmitt said. “It almost seems at times that he takes the whole game on his back, making plays when we need him desperately.”
Reece, 6- foot- 1 and 255 pounds, did just that against the Saints, rushing for 17 yards on the first play from scrimmage and combining for 47.8 percent of Oakland’s 404 yards offense overall.
Fans always are clamoring for more Reece, knowing full well that he tends to deliver when called upon.
They got their wish the past two games as a result of high- ankle sprains to Nos. 1 and 2 running backs Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson.
For his part, Reece shrugged off the impressive yardage total and wondered what more he could have done to make a difference.
“There has to be something more because we didn’t win,” Reece said, not impressed by his workload or stats. “We’ll go back to the film, look at it, and see what else I could have done to try and help this team get some wins.”
Reece’s teammates are quite content with what he accomplished Sunday. They just wish that they could have done more.
“We went about this game plan, whether Darren was back there or he was there, and we were going to stick with the run and try and grind it out,” quarterback Carson Palmer said. “But he’s a football player and he just makes football plays, over and over again, every week. You feel like you can’t get the guy the ball enough. … Marcel’s special.”
Right offensive tackle Khalif Barnes said Reece’s performance is even more impressive considering he was forced to shoulder the load with McFadden and Goodson on the sideline.
“Oh, man, Reece was a soldier, man,” Barnes said, shaking his head. “He went out there and did exactly what he’s been doing, basically, all season long. … He’s picking up a lot of slack, and he’s been doing a hell of a job.”