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Middle linebacker looking like a weakness for the Raiders

Heeney-OAK
Heeney-OAK

With the third preseason game in the bag, we can start taking a deeper look at this Oakland Raiders team before the season starts. As we all know, the fourth preseason game is mostly about the final players to make the 53 man roster as the starters may not even play. So we probably have as much information about this team before the year starts as we will have. With that in mind, one of the things that has stood out to me consistently throughout all three preseason games has been the play of the middle linebackers.

Through the first couple of games, I was not making too much of it. As I have noted many times, the preseason is hard to take much away from. These guys are playing in a new defense (yes, Ken Norton, Jr. does appear to be doing things differently on defense this season) and with a ton of new starters, including the middle linebackers.


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With Norton running mostly a 3-4 defense this preseason, we have seen the Raiders rolling with two middle linebackers, a new starter in Ben Heeney, and a starter moved to a new role in Malcolm Smith.

To be honest, the move to a 3-4 made sense to me mostly because of the middle linebacker situation. Neither Smith nor Heeney is you prototypical linebacker as both are a little bit on the small side and not the kind of player who can clog up the middle of the field on run defense by themselves. But with two middle linebackers, you don’t need that prototype middle backers. But you do need better play than what we have seen out of Smith and Heeney so far.

The problem for both of these guys is their inability to shed blocks, a huge issue for a middle linebacker to have. Watching them take on blocks this preseason has been borderline painful. We’ve seen Heeney go full steam at a blocker with no fear, only to see him flattened and miss making a tackle. We’ve also seen Smith take an alternate strategy and try to run around blockers, taking himself completely out of the play in doing so.

Part of that will be helped if the defensive line starts playing better. If guys like Dan Williams and Justin Ellis get better at eating blockers, Smith and Heeney can run more freely to make plays, which is what they are good at.

In my opinion, the Raiders have two 4-3 weakside linebackers trying to play middle linebacker. Both Heeney and Smith are better tracking the play that goes away from them than they are dealing with a play that comes right at them. Both have good range and good instincts that allow them to make good plays in pursuit. But when they cannot run freely because of blockers, their efficiency is just demolished and that’s what we’ve seen all preseason.

Once again, things could look incredibly different once we start seeing more of Ken Norton, Jr.’s scheme and play calling, but so far, the middle linebacker position looks like a major area of concern for this Raiders defense.

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