Last year the Raiders wanted former first-round pick Clelin Ferrell to bulk up and add weight in the offseason. This year, it seems they have pushed him to do the opposite.
Ferrell told members of the media on Thursday that he is stronger than he was a year ago, but is about 7-8 pounds lighter. He said that if the season started today his playing weight would be around 268 pounds.
Additionally, it sounds like Ferrell’s role under new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley could be a little different than it was a year ago. According to league insider Mike Silver, Ferrell has not been getting first team reps during the first week of training camp as he has been lining as a defensive end and defensive tackle with the second-team groups.
With the costly signing of Yannick Ngakoue, the Raiders will do a lot of juggling along their defensive line this year. Ngakoue is not a stout run defender, but has been an elite pass rusher through the his career. Ferrell has developed into a stout run defender, but the Raiders obviously wanted him to add a little quickness in the offseason to boost his sack totals.
Ferrell is entering his third year in the league and has recorded 6.5 sacks through two seasons with the Raiders. Health and injuries have been a factor in Ferrell’s first two years, but every indication is that he is at full strength going into the 2021 season… albeit as a backup through the first week of training camp.
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I like the move of having Ferrell working with the second unit. Absolutely nothing will motivate a player to become better than a perceived demotion. Too bad that logic doesn’t apply to coaches. While every team heads into any new season with optimism, what will determine a teams success is the adjustments that they make from one season to the next. Of course, in football, youth movements are inevitable but what has been a proven formula for success is a mix of veterans and young players. Therefore, it would have made sense for the Raiders to have offered Justin Houston a one year deal, this year, after his demonstrated effectiveness at rushing the quarterback. Not that the Raiders could use a proven commodity on the defensive line or anything like that. Taking a quick look around the league, it seems that in the AFC, the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills have righted their respective ships and are destined for double digit wins for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, only the most optimistic of football fans believe that this is the outlook for the Las Vegas Raiders any time soon given their roster additions and subtractions. Whenever negative comments are made about this team, those comments are always attributed to “the Raiders” and not the person at the helm. Psychologist call this tactic a dissociative principle. Surely, given “the Raiders” won / loss over the past three years point to some individuals that “the Raiders” need to disassociate themselves with. Teams that have been perennial losers had to make substantive changes to their betterment and are now reaping the rewards of those decisions, all except the team now residing in Las Vegas. The only question is, Will another losing season make the need for more changes even more readily apparent?
Picks, you mean…Edwards also in the same situation.
Why did the Raiders pull the idiot move to get rid of Mo Hurst? He was great when they let him play. He was better than Ferrill in my opinion! Gruden and Mayock have been a disaster in the draft and free agency! With all the high draft picks these two have had to work with since they were brought on . . . they should have improved the team drastically by now. Instead they have taken steps backward every year! If the Raiders don’t end up in the playoffs this year Gruden and Mayock . . need to get run!