Remember all those comparisons and running tallies of Khalil Mack’s sack numbers and the Oakland Raiders lack of them as a whole?
From Week 1 to 16 last season, there was a running count of No. 52s QB takedowns vs. the Silver & Black’s total number. They were disparaging and revealed a hard truth: The Raiders sent their best pass rush weapon to a loaded Bears’ defense and the results weren’t surprising — 12.5 sacks by Mack, 13 by Oakland as a whole.
Then came Josh Jacobs with pick No. 24 — the selection Oakland got from Chicago in exchange for Mack. And now, there’s a new comparison.
Dig it:
- Josh Jacobs: 811 yards and 7 touchdowns on 168 carries through nine games (all starts).
- Bears entire team: 725 yards and 5 touchdowns on 205 carries through nine games.
Josh Jacobs’ individual stats are wholly more impressive than the Bears as a group. I sent the figures out as a tweet this past Monday and got varying responses. The “it’s not fair to compare an entire team to one player” sentiments caught my attention the most because, when I fired back with “where was this argument when no one said a single word about Mack being compared to the entire Raiders’ defense?” query and got no response.
Pillaging Podcast: Oakland Raiders 2019 Mid-Season Report Card
That’s what I thought. Here’s an apt acronym if you find the comparison asinine: FOH.
Speaking of …
Lack of Mack
A pair of former Chicago Bears defenders aren’t pleased with what they’ve seen from Mack. To say no punches were pulled would be a gross understatement.
“Where the hell was Khalil Mack?” hall of fame defender Dan Hampton asked. “This guy has turned into a thief…any team has got to have a certain leader, a guy that you look at and say that’s the guy we’re gonna emulate and follow,” and Mack has not been that guy, according to Hampton.
His cohort Ed O’Bradovich also chimed in:
“Is he a great football player?” O’Bradovich asked. “Yes, he is…Can you have a bad game? Yes, you can. Yes, you can. But you can’t have five bad games. Not when you’re making $141 million dollars for six years, which brings it to $23.5 million a year…if he plays about 50 plays a game, that’s roughly…he makes about $30,000 a play,” O’Bradovich noted. “He had better walk on water, which he has not been doing,” O’Bradovich said.
Chucky Knows
Rail on Raiders head coach Jon Gruden all you want. One thing I do know, if the Raiders are up 33-14 in the 4th quarter, Gruden isn’t going to have quarterback Derek Carr drop back to pass and get lost for the season — unlike a certain coaching staff did in 2016.
Call Gruden’s offense conservative all you want. I call it intelligent.
Five Cents
Raider Nation is all about Derek Dimes, and rightfully so. But what concerns me is: Who is playing nickel now that Lamarcus Joyner is hurt?
Joyner is horrid in pass coverage but he makes a difference against the run game tackling from his nickel spot. Gruden noted the defensive back that mans the slot/nickel duty must be a willing and sure tackler. Nevin Lawson appears to be the next man up at the spot, but I have my reservations.
Big Cock Mayock
That’s what the Raiders general manager is affectionately referred to by many in Raider Nation. Look, I questioned it when he was hired, but Mike Mayock has a clear influence on the team’s draft, despite me thinking it’s all Gruden. Mayock sold Gruden early on Jacobs and look what happened. The team is armed with two first-round selections this coming draft in April and one of them (the Bears’ pick) has a chance to be in the Top 10.