Post by TheShadow on Sept 30, 2012 13:21:53 GMT -5
www.sfgate.com
by Vic Tafur
Denver --
The play stops, and Carson Palmer starts walking to the line of scrimmage. He goes over the four or five plays in his head, as offensive coordinator Greg Knapp's voice emanates from his helmet's earpiece.
The Raiders quarterback thinks about what the defense showed the last play, as his teammates run back to their spots for the next hike. The opposing defense doesn't have time to sub in players against the no-huddle offense, so Palmer flashes to a certain matchup he likes.
With about 15 seconds left on the play clock, Knapp shuts up. Palmer gets behind center Stefen Wisniewski and looks at what the defense is trying to sell him.
The Broncos, who practice against no-huddle maestro Peyton Manning, will wait as long as they can Sunday, trying to disguise their coverages against Palmer and the Raiders.
"You need to have some experience and you need to have seen a number of things and experience different pressures, different bluffs," Palmer said. "A big thing you get in a no huddle is bluff coverage and bluff pressures."
Palmer will take all that into consideration and locate the safeties when he starts his audible, though he is not really calling a new play, just one of the four or so original choices - or "built-in outlets for hots," if you want to use the coach-speak.
"When we go to the no-huddle stuff, we have a series of plays that we use," Knapp said. "If we have that look, we go to this call; if we have this look, we go to that call. So there's that kind of audible, but it's built into the system."
With about eight seconds left on the play clock, Palmer calls a play.
"If you don't have a call in by eight seconds, then you're going to be in trouble," Knapp said.
Palmer got the calls in last week against the Steelers, to great success. Using the no-huddle, the Raiders scored on their final five possessions (three touchdowns and two field goals) en route to a 34-31 win.
"I love the no-huddle," Wisniewski said. "It gives us a huge advantage. It keeps us out of bad plays - Carson is always getting us into good plays. Defenses start to get tired, they get worn down."
Wisniewski also said that defenses get on the back of their heels sometimes, as they're not sure if the quarterback is reading the defense or actually calling a play.
The main thing is that Palmer's 10 teammates know what he's doing, and they do.
"His hand signals," Knapp said, "along with the way he commands at the line of scrimmage and his voice, he does handle it very well."
Palmer said he is just getting comfortable with the new offense and doesn't know how much he can run the no-huddle Sunday, on the road with a loud, hostile crowd.
"Totally different," he said. "Our crowd does such a good job of being quiet when we're on offense. You'll go to some home teams where their offense is on the field and it's still pretty loud. Our fans get it. They understand football.
"As soon as you get on the road, it really changes everything, makes it a lot more difficult."
Sounds reasonable, unless you ask Knapp. He said the opposite, so maybe they think the Denver Broncos read The Chronicle.
"Because of Carson's experience, I don't see (a road game) any more difficult than any other game," Knapp said. "He's really proven to me that the way he manages it, not just in this last week but in training camp, he's got a real knack for it.
"It's something that's hard to teach as a coach, he does it naturally."
Manning is, of course, the master of the no-huddle and started using it 10 years ago with the Colts.
Former Ravens coach Brian Billick, now an analyst for Fox, saw it firsthand many times. Manning will show the defense nothing while he is reading everything.
"The three-wideout personnel and formations may not change, but Manning will simply count the box and respond," Billick said. "If there are six people in the box he will run, and if there are seven people in the box he will throw. He finds the right matchups."
Manning, in a conference call with Bay Area writers, said this is not Indianapolis and he is just another quarterback in his first year with a new team.
"We're still, you know, kind of forming our identity a little bit here," Manning said. "It's a new team, we've got new players, a new system and we're trying to get things going in the right direction here. So I still think it comes down to execution.
"Whether you huddle or you don't huddle, you still have to be able to execute. That's really the key to moving the ball, I think."
Games on TV
49ers at Jets, 10 a.m. Channel: 2 Channel: 40
Raiders at Broncos, 1 p.m. Channel: 5 Channel: 13 Channel: 46
Saints at Packers, 1:25 p.m. Channel: 2 Channel: 40
Giants at Eagles, 5:15 p.m. Channel: 11 Channel: 3 Channel: 8
Raiders (1-2) at Broncos (1-2)
1:05 p.m., Channel: 5 Channel: 13 Channel: 46 (105.3 FM)
Spotlight on: Cornerback/safety Michael Huff really struggled last week against the Steelers while making his first start at corner due to injuries to starters Ron Bartell (on temporary injured reserve) and Shawntae Spencer. He gave receivers too much cushion on some plays, got beat badly on others and missed a few tackles. The coaches are confident he'll be much better this week because he's become more comfortable out on the island. Peyton Manning will definitely find out quickly.
Injury notes: Raiders - T Khalif Barnes (groin), CB Shawntae Spencer (foot), WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (concussion) and TE Richard Gordon (hamstring) are out; TE Brandon Myers (concussion), RB Mike Goodson (hamstring) and WR Rod Streater (neck) are questionable; Broncos - S Quinton Carter (knee) was placed on injured reserve Saturday; G Chris Kuper (forearm) is doubtful; LB Nate Irving (concussion) and WR Matthew Willis (hamstring) are questionable.
Big 3
-- The Raiders need their front four to step up. Defensive tackles Richard Seymour and Tommy Kelly have combined for only seven QB disruptions on 156 attempts, according to Pro Football Focus. Defensive ends Lamarr Houston and Matt Shaughnessy have combined for only eight QB disruptions on 162 attempts.
-- Peyton Manning is 5-for-13 on deep passes. Carson Palmer is 0-for-9 on passes of 21-plus yards in air. He completed 16 in nine starts last year.
-- The Broncos are holding opponents to just 2.63 rushing yards per carry, fourth lowest in the NFL, and 71 yards per game, seventh lowest. Raiders RB Darren McFadden has rushed for 508 yards and three TDs in Oakland's last four games against Denver.
by Vic Tafur
Denver --
The play stops, and Carson Palmer starts walking to the line of scrimmage. He goes over the four or five plays in his head, as offensive coordinator Greg Knapp's voice emanates from his helmet's earpiece.
The Raiders quarterback thinks about what the defense showed the last play, as his teammates run back to their spots for the next hike. The opposing defense doesn't have time to sub in players against the no-huddle offense, so Palmer flashes to a certain matchup he likes.
With about 15 seconds left on the play clock, Knapp shuts up. Palmer gets behind center Stefen Wisniewski and looks at what the defense is trying to sell him.
The Broncos, who practice against no-huddle maestro Peyton Manning, will wait as long as they can Sunday, trying to disguise their coverages against Palmer and the Raiders.
"You need to have some experience and you need to have seen a number of things and experience different pressures, different bluffs," Palmer said. "A big thing you get in a no huddle is bluff coverage and bluff pressures."
Palmer will take all that into consideration and locate the safeties when he starts his audible, though he is not really calling a new play, just one of the four or so original choices - or "built-in outlets for hots," if you want to use the coach-speak.
"When we go to the no-huddle stuff, we have a series of plays that we use," Knapp said. "If we have that look, we go to this call; if we have this look, we go to that call. So there's that kind of audible, but it's built into the system."
With about eight seconds left on the play clock, Palmer calls a play.
"If you don't have a call in by eight seconds, then you're going to be in trouble," Knapp said.
Palmer got the calls in last week against the Steelers, to great success. Using the no-huddle, the Raiders scored on their final five possessions (three touchdowns and two field goals) en route to a 34-31 win.
"I love the no-huddle," Wisniewski said. "It gives us a huge advantage. It keeps us out of bad plays - Carson is always getting us into good plays. Defenses start to get tired, they get worn down."
Wisniewski also said that defenses get on the back of their heels sometimes, as they're not sure if the quarterback is reading the defense or actually calling a play.
The main thing is that Palmer's 10 teammates know what he's doing, and they do.
"His hand signals," Knapp said, "along with the way he commands at the line of scrimmage and his voice, he does handle it very well."
Palmer said he is just getting comfortable with the new offense and doesn't know how much he can run the no-huddle Sunday, on the road with a loud, hostile crowd.
"Totally different," he said. "Our crowd does such a good job of being quiet when we're on offense. You'll go to some home teams where their offense is on the field and it's still pretty loud. Our fans get it. They understand football.
"As soon as you get on the road, it really changes everything, makes it a lot more difficult."
Sounds reasonable, unless you ask Knapp. He said the opposite, so maybe they think the Denver Broncos read The Chronicle.
"Because of Carson's experience, I don't see (a road game) any more difficult than any other game," Knapp said. "He's really proven to me that the way he manages it, not just in this last week but in training camp, he's got a real knack for it.
"It's something that's hard to teach as a coach, he does it naturally."
Manning is, of course, the master of the no-huddle and started using it 10 years ago with the Colts.
Former Ravens coach Brian Billick, now an analyst for Fox, saw it firsthand many times. Manning will show the defense nothing while he is reading everything.
"The three-wideout personnel and formations may not change, but Manning will simply count the box and respond," Billick said. "If there are six people in the box he will run, and if there are seven people in the box he will throw. He finds the right matchups."
Manning, in a conference call with Bay Area writers, said this is not Indianapolis and he is just another quarterback in his first year with a new team.
"We're still, you know, kind of forming our identity a little bit here," Manning said. "It's a new team, we've got new players, a new system and we're trying to get things going in the right direction here. So I still think it comes down to execution.
"Whether you huddle or you don't huddle, you still have to be able to execute. That's really the key to moving the ball, I think."
Games on TV
49ers at Jets, 10 a.m. Channel: 2 Channel: 40
Raiders at Broncos, 1 p.m. Channel: 5 Channel: 13 Channel: 46
Saints at Packers, 1:25 p.m. Channel: 2 Channel: 40
Giants at Eagles, 5:15 p.m. Channel: 11 Channel: 3 Channel: 8
Raiders (1-2) at Broncos (1-2)
1:05 p.m., Channel: 5 Channel: 13 Channel: 46 (105.3 FM)
Spotlight on: Cornerback/safety Michael Huff really struggled last week against the Steelers while making his first start at corner due to injuries to starters Ron Bartell (on temporary injured reserve) and Shawntae Spencer. He gave receivers too much cushion on some plays, got beat badly on others and missed a few tackles. The coaches are confident he'll be much better this week because he's become more comfortable out on the island. Peyton Manning will definitely find out quickly.
Injury notes: Raiders - T Khalif Barnes (groin), CB Shawntae Spencer (foot), WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (concussion) and TE Richard Gordon (hamstring) are out; TE Brandon Myers (concussion), RB Mike Goodson (hamstring) and WR Rod Streater (neck) are questionable; Broncos - S Quinton Carter (knee) was placed on injured reserve Saturday; G Chris Kuper (forearm) is doubtful; LB Nate Irving (concussion) and WR Matthew Willis (hamstring) are questionable.
Big 3
-- The Raiders need their front four to step up. Defensive tackles Richard Seymour and Tommy Kelly have combined for only seven QB disruptions on 156 attempts, according to Pro Football Focus. Defensive ends Lamarr Houston and Matt Shaughnessy have combined for only eight QB disruptions on 162 attempts.
-- Peyton Manning is 5-for-13 on deep passes. Carson Palmer is 0-for-9 on passes of 21-plus yards in air. He completed 16 in nine starts last year.
-- The Broncos are holding opponents to just 2.63 rushing yards per carry, fourth lowest in the NFL, and 71 yards per game, seventh lowest. Raiders RB Darren McFadden has rushed for 508 yards and three TDs in Oakland's last four games against Denver.