The Reggie McKenzie Years Year 1, 2012
This post is part of a series that reviews Reggie McKenzie's first year as the Oakland Raiders' General Manager.
Here's the hub post for the entire Reggie McKenzie series : link
Here's the Overview post for the Year 1: 2012 series : link
The Safeties
For a long time, for many teams, Safeties were very underappreciated players (for casual fans, they probably still are). Their roles are often in support of other players and many times--as with the OL--their names are only mentioned when making a mistake and surrendering a TD. If a LB misses a tackle, the safety has to make up for it. If a CB is beaten, then the safety has to cover that up. If there's a long TD run or reception, where was the safety? He's supposed to make sure that doesn't happen.
For a long time, the common wisdom was that if a safety had a large number of tackles, it was an indication of a bad defense; rarely did it promote the idea that the safety was playing well. Safeties often play farther back, away from the line of scrimmage, and so on TV, most fans don't even see the safeties during a play and may not understand the roles they play.
But great safety play can transform and elevate a defense. Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, Ronnie Lott, John Lynch, Dennis Smith. These players weren't passive, back-end, safety-net players; they were active, primary, destructive weapons on defense. Defensive Coordinators would structure their defenses to FEATURE these players and set them up not only to have success, but to make an impact on the game.
In recent times, the safety position has risen in both importance and regard. The rise of the Flex Tight Ends and Seattle's fantastic defense that features the safety play of Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor have gone a long way to glorify that position.
The list of great safeties in Raiders' history should bring a smile to most Raider fans :
- Jack Tatum
- George Atkinson
- Eric Turner
- Vann McElroy
- Eddie Anderson
- Rod Woodson
- even Ronnie Lott for a year (8 ints in 1991)
During the most recent Glory Years with Gruden, the Raiders had a very complete team on offense and defense and were able to make deep runs in the post season. But those earlier teams were playing with a disadvantaged secondary due to mediore-to-terrible safeties :
- Anthony Dorsett (son of Tony), great speed, terrible angles leading to missed tackles
- Marquez Pope, ugh (Shannon Sharpe flashbacks)
- Derrick Gibson, great athlete, poor instincts
It would take Rod Woodson to stabilize that group.
Then the Raiders had another string of safeties that underperformed :
- Ray Buchanon
- Marqeus Anderson
- Jarrod Cooper
- Stuart Schweigert
The Raiders needed to upgrade this safety position group and that would start with the 2006 draft.
Michael Huff
The 2006 NFL Draft fell like this :
Pick # |
NFL team |
Player |
Pos. |
|---|
1 |
Houston Texans |
Mario Williams |
DE |
2 |
New Orleans Saints |
Reggie Bush |
RB |
3 |
Tennessee Titans |
Vince Young† |
QB |
4 |
New York Jets |
D'Brickashaw Ferguson |
OT |
5 |
Green Bay Packers |
A. J. Hawk |
LB |
6 |
San Francisco 49ers |
Vernon Davis |
TE |
7 |
Oakland Raiders |
Michael Huff |
S |
8 |
Buffalo Bills |
Donte Whitner |
S |
9 |
Detroit Lions |
Ernie Sims |
LB |
10 |
Arizona Cardinals |
Matt Leinart |
QB |
Michael Huff was a track athlete, but was also a legitimate football player, playing both CB and S at University of Texas. His measurables were fantastic :
- 6', 211 lbs
- 4.34s 40 yard
- 40.5" vertical
- 21 bench reps
and he was a high character guy. Huff was supposed to be Earl Thomas except Bigger, Stronger, Faster, and more Versatile. He showed great range and also was a very good tackler in College. He had everything you could want and should have been able to transform the defense and maybe he could have if he had started off as in a free safety role. But with Schweigert on the roster, Huff began his career as a Strong Safety.
Playing alongside safeties like Schweigert, Gibril Wilson, and Hiram Eugene, Huff would be a disappointment and borderline bust, recording 1 int in his first 3 years. His rookie contract (5 yr/$22.5-$26.5M (exact # unknown), $15M guaranteed) would take him thru 2010.
Starting in 2009, Oakland paired Huff up with SS Tyvon Branch and Huff emerged.
Year |
Stats |
|---|
2009 |
3 ints, .5 sacks, 59 tackles, 14 Pass Def |
2010 |
3 ints, 4 sacks, 94 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, 7 Pass Def |
2010 was a career year; more importantly, the safety duo of Branch and Huff was young, fast, versatile, and now productive.
When 2010 ended, there was a real worry of the Raiders losing Huff :
- Huff was one of the top FS in 2010
- Raiders' Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan's contract expired and he was going to Dallas
- Huff's hometown was Dallas and he went to school at University of Texas
- Dallas desperately needed a FS to replace Ken Hamlin
- Huff's rookie contract expired and he was now an Unrestricted Free Agent
- Raiders placed the Franchise Tag on Richard Seymour
Davis made sure Huff would stay a Raider with yet another big contract : 4 yrs/$32M contract, $8M Avg.
In 2011, Huff's play would regress for a number of reasons, perhaps in part due to scheme change when Davis died. Regardless, after Huff made the Divine Interception against Houston, he would be terribly inconsistent for the rest of the season, that was highlighted against Green Bay when the entire secondary had trouble just lining up correctly.
Huff's $8M per year was Eric Weddle/Antrel Rolle-type money, but the production was just not there.
Tyvon Branch
In the 2008 NFL Draft, the Raiders had previously traded away their 2nd and 3rd round picks (2nd rounder for CB DeAngelo Hall, 3rd rounder for OT Mario Henderson) so the wait after Darren McFadden in the first round was a long one. When the Raiders made their pick in the 4th round (#100), the announcement was "Tyvon Branch, Cornerback, University of Connecticut." There may have been a collective sigh and facepalm among the Raider Nation "NOT ANOTHER CORNERBACK!"
He was a typical Al Davis athlete :
- 6', 210 lbs
- 4.3s 40
- 38" vertical
- 19 bench reps
- Small School, UConn (that would later produce Sio Moore)
But more importantly was that not only did he play CBs, but he was a Safety and a Kick Returner. While the NFL Draft announced Branch as a Cornerback, the Raiders intended to use him as a SS and KR, two positions that they had desperate need.
While it's easy to point to Al Davis' failed picks in the early rounds, Davis had a number of successes in the later rounds and Tyvon Branch was one of them. Branch received a 4th round rookie contract (4yrs, $2.6M), which was a tremendous relief to a cap that was ever-growing. Branch was a very good player and his versatility was very nice.
The one main criticism of Branch was that he was tended to play a bit too fast and out-of-control. Pat Narduzzi (former Mich St DC and current Pitt HC) says that DBs need to "go to Cool School", ie., to stay calm and relaxed under pressure, but Branch had top-tier potential and was growing on the field.
He spent 2008 on the bench (behind Gibril Wilson) and took over the starting SS job in 2009. When Branch and Huff paired up the Raiders' pass defense went from #10 in 2008 to #7 in 2009 to #2 in 2010. Branch's stats in those years :
Year |
Stat |
|---|
2009 |
1 sack, 119 tackles, 2 force fumbles, 8 pass def |
2010 |
4 sacks, 1 int, 101 tackles, 1 force fumble, 2 fumble recovers (1 TD), 2 Pass Def |
2011 |
1 sack, 1 int, 107 tackles, 1 fumble rec, 4 Pass Def |
With injuries, player turnover, new scheme, and other distractions, the Raiders' pass defense dropped from the #2 (in yards) ranking in 2010 all the way down to #27 in 2011.
Branch had a career year in 2010, but his performance dipped in 2011. If his contract had ended one year earlier, Branch would almost certainly have signed a Huff-like mega-contract, but in 2012, Branch now faced a fiscally sensible GM with a long-term view. Reggie McKenzie would have to decide on Tyvon Branch. How much was he worth to a cap strapped team who already had a top-10 paid safety?
Mike Mitchell
Much of this is an aside, focusing on Mitchell's role in the NFL's and Raiders' draft history. But this background leads into why Davis may have placed so much importance on keeping the group together
Mike Mitchell will forever be ingrained into NFL fans' mindshare for being the definition of a headscratcher or "reach" pick. But it may have been an inspired pick and may have had a major impact on the Bears.
In 2009, the Raiders already had their expected starting safety tandem. Huff had been drafted in 2006 and Branch was just drafted the previous year. While neither had really established themselves yet, neither was the team ready to move away from them yet.
At this time, the Raiders were looking at a starting DT tandem of an underperforming Tommy Kelly and 30-year old Gerard Warren. The Raiders needed a DT.
In a rare tradedown, Al Davis swapped 2nd round picks with the Patriots, dropping from #40 to #47 and picked up a 4th (#124 used to draft WR Louis Murphy) and a 6th (#199 LB Stryker Sulak). The Patriots drafted the best DT on the board : Boston College, Ron Brace (6'3", 330lbs).
When the announcement for Mike Mitchell came across, immediate reaction was stunned silence : No one knew who he was.
For most, this is the long-lasting impression of Mike Mitchell, an Al Davis reach pick that no one else knew about and who was probably going to be an undrafted free agent.
But this is interesting for a couple of reason.
The Raiders dropped from #40 to #47, two spots ahead of the Chicago Bears who were selecting at #49. Once the Raiders selected Mike Mitchell, the Bears traded out of their pick (allowing Seattle to move up and select C Max Unger).
After the draft, some reports surfaced that the Bears were interested in Mitchell. It was a throwaway thought at the time, but in retrospect, it's perfect. Mike Mitchell was a small school player (Ohio University) and had some great measurables :
- 6'1" 220 lbs
- 4.39s 40 yard
- 37.5" vertical
- 22 bench reps
With his size and style of play, Mitchell was a potential LB/S hybrid. He was aggressiveand big hitter. He also had great speed, explosiveness, and range. Bears' GM Jerry Angelo and HC Lovie Smith may have been interested in Mitchell as a Tampa-2 middle linebacker to replace Brian Urlacher. Urlacher--a former S/LB out of New Mexico--was 31 years old and approaching the last few years of his career and Mitchell looked like he may have been a nice fit. Mitchell did not have Urlacher's size (6'4", 250 lbs), but he was certainly Shelton Quarles-ish size (6'1", 220 lbs).
File under "What Might Have Been" : Lovie Smith grooms Mitchell for 2-3 years and when Urlacher retires, Mitchell steps into the shoes of former Bears' greats at the MLB position.
But Al Davis stepped in and disrupted that. Instead of going to Chicago and being the next great Bears' MLB, Mitchell went to Oakland to be a backup safety.
Al Davis had similar thoughts of using Mitchell's hybrid skills and his role on the team was going to be more important than his depth chart ranking might indicate.
The AFC West offenses have traditionally had mismatch players TEs like Kellen Winslow I, Shannon Sharpe, Tony Gonzalez, Tony Moeaki, Antonio Gates, and even Travis Kelce and Julius Thomas. Flex RBs like LaDainian Tomlinson, Jamaal Charles, and Dexter McCluster. The Raiders had Dave Casper, Todd Christensen, Zach Miller, Marcus Allen, and Charlie Garner who all caused matchup problems as well.
The NFL in general has moved to flex tight ends like Jimmy Graham, versatile RBs like Matt Forte, and 3 WRs formations to gain a matchup advantage over defenses. LBs were placed under terrible stress.
Al Davis' solution was to build a hybrid defense.
Typically when "Hybrid Defense" is mentioned, it is reference to the defensive front playing a combination of 1- and 2-gap responsibilities.
In the Raiders' case, the defense was building a backend populated with 3 versatile safeties :
- Michael Huff : Safety/CB hybrid
- Tyvon Branch : Safety/CB hybrid
- Mike Mitchell : LB/Safety hybrid
In 2010, the Raiders acquired Kam Wimbley from Cleveland and he would become the teams' only pure pass rusher, but in the 4-3 Base Defensive package, Wimbley was set to play SAM, which was a terrible waste of his talents.
When the Raiders went to Nickel package, Wimbley moved to his more natural Rush DE position and a 5th DB came in. Normally, this would be a CB against 3 WR offenses, but against a Hybrid Offense, the Raiders were set up to use a "Big Nickel" as their base defense. This meant Wimbley playing RDE and the 3 main safeties on the field at the same time, providing the ability to support the run as well as matchup in man coverage.
2010 was a brilliant year. Huff looked like he had a breakthru, Branch was an epiphany, and Mitchell was also making an impact (1 int, 1 force fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, and 47 tackles); the pass defense's #2 ranking was a testament to the defensive backfield and it looked like Al Davis' plan was working.
With this defensive structure, Davis could not afford to lose Huff. Without his 3 safeties, the Raiders would have to re-design their entire backend. The Raiders had already lost Elite #1 CB Nnamdi Asomugha--who was perhaps the real key to that defense--when his contract auto-voided and if they lost Huff, the team would almost certainly struggle. With Huff back in the fold, at least the Raiders had a chance and Al Davis--short on time and long on money--gave Huff the big dollar deal to bring him back.
2011 was a struggle all over. Injuries, age, lapsing performances, poor Defensive scheme and design by Chuck Bresnahan all contributed to a defense that fell apart, especially at the end of the season. Going forward, the Big Nickel safety group would almost assuredly not stay together. While safeties were valuable, Reggie McKenzie would not be able to justify the kind of expenditures to pay Branch a top-safety salary, keep Huff at his high pay, and manage to keep Mitchell in his the nearing free agent year.
