Greg Papa Offers What The Raiders Need To Beat The Patriots

It’s no secret. The AFC path to the Super Bowl goes through New England.

If the Raiders plan to reach the Super Bowl, they’ll need to crack the code and beat the Patriots – most likely in Foxboro.

Greg Papa, the voice of the Raiders’ broadcast, offered what he believes the Raiders need to do if they’re “serious” about beating the Patriots.

“You’ve got to have more of an inside rush,” Papa said on his 95.7 Game weekly show. “If you are serious about beating the Patriots, you know you’ve got to go at Tom Brady in the A-gap, right in the middle, because as good as Mack is, maybe you have to move Mack around. [Brady] is not going to be bothered by the outside pass rush. The teams that beat him come get him right in his face.”

Papa believes the Raiders should make an effort to bring in Mo Wilkerson from the Jets – ideally just before the trade deadline when his 2017 salary becomes more affordable.

Wilkerson is in the second year of a five-year, $86 million deal and has cap numbers around $20 million in each of the next four seasons. It’s possible the Raiders could squeeze Wilkerson under the cap for half a season, but they would be hard pressed to make it work beyond the upcoming season.

That said, few would disagree that the Raiders need to improve their pass rush from last season – particularly on the interior.

With the return of Mario Edwards Jr. and the addition of rookie DT Eddie Vanderdoes, the Raiders hope to see a significant jump in production from their interior line.

If the jump doesn’t happen, would Reggie McKenzie consider going off script to make a splash on Wilkerson?

twitter: @raidersbeat

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10 thoughts on “Greg Papa Offers What The Raiders Need To Beat The Patriots

  1. Greg Papa, I love you but C’Mon, Just last year it was a play here and a play there from going through Oaktown. If Derek doesn’t break his leg me thinks the Raiders would have had home field…..So NO…..Not necessarily does it HAVE to go through them sons of bitc___s. That team CAN and WILL be had, and it WILL be at OUR hands…..Period !!!

    1. Uuuummmm, didn’t DC/Raiders have 7 come from behind wins??? Raiders need to improve their def anyway they can. A huge interior D line will help that

    2. I sure hope Dan is right, but I tend to agree with Greg. Da Raidas have done a great job in rebuilding, adding true pro bowl caliber players these last few years, but I feel they are still one or two pieces away from becoming a real threat to win the Super Bowl. That being said, even though I am a huge Giant fan, I never thought they would go all the way in ’07 or ’11, so I am certainly not counting the Raiders out this year.

    3. True. If DC doesn’t go down, we beat NE, they had no pass rush last year. The only team that we should worry about is KC.

    4. Well said! Perfectly said in fact! So much reverence for that team in Foxboro with it’s suddenly porous o-line & it’s perennially & criminally overrated quarterback! The truth is that the Patriots should’ve lost their last 2 Super Bowl appearances; if not for a legendarily horrible call on 2nd & goal in the dying minutes by Pete Carrol’s Seahawks (I can still see the look on Beast Mode’s face after that mind-numbingly stupid play call that led to the turnover in the endzone that in a fleeting second turned a seemingly inevitable pending Patriots loss into a victory) and Matt Ryan’s sloppy mishandling of the football that turned around what appeared to be a Falcon’s rout in last year’s big game. The reality is that the Patriots didn’t win the past two Superbowls; their opponents quite simply beat themselves.

      This is not the intimidating force that was the Patriots of old; rather it’s an overrtly cheap, self-entitled,

  2. No need for Wilkerson my remedy is stronger production from secondary make these receivers and qbs respect and fear US. Think adding revis to add some knowledge and fire back there WE need some serious swagger to boost confidence and morale upfront are savages and hunters secure backend and there’s no escaping the onslaught each level needs great signal callers flip side offensively speaking anquan boldin would’ve brought a attitude to an otherwise elite and dynamic playmakers as well as red zone monster you need go getters to dominate the patriots they are simple blue collar guys think of em as Phil jacksons bulls every player does his job. You have to crush Brady’s will. Make em hopeless ☠️

    1. We need more complex defensive schemes more deception and confusion upfront stand em up move em all round great teams have more than just stars they’re forged through perfecting your craft and high football iqs

  3. What always upsets me is that all the prognosticators claim how bad the D was last season , but fail to mention their plus 16 turnover ratio…I can recall a couple of New England teams that were in the same situation…lots of yards, but huge turnover ratio in the plus, and that’s all they talked about.
    But of course it’s always different with the RAIDERS … NO RESPECT!!

  4. What’s up with Aldon Smith? If he’s reinstated AND stays out of trouble what a boost he could be! Haven’t heard anything about this in awhile.

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