Seahawks Pass Rush Versus Raiders Pass Protection
Just as in every other game for the Raiders this year, protecting the QB needs to be a priority of preparation. The Raiders are currently 28th in sacks allowed (20) and 27th in sacks allowed percentage (8.5 through week 6).
Seahawks are currently 7th in sacks with 19. They are led by DE Chris Clemons with 5.5. The Seahawks get their pressure from a variety of spots and they are certainly not afraid to blitz. SS Lawyer Milloy is second on the team with three sacks.
These blitzes will likely be aimed at taking advantage of the Raiders Tackles. Most of the protection breakdowns have come from the outside. As long as C Samson Satele is ready to go after suffering a concussion, Jared Veldheer will get his second start of the year at LT. Veldheer did excellent in pass protection last week, but didn’t have to deal with many blitzes.
Veldheer, as you’d expect with a rookie, has struggled at times this season picking the right person to block. His awareness will likely be tested this game. As will RT Langston Walkers foot speed. Walker has shown he will have a hard time getting in front of a speed rush.
The Raiders will have several options to slow down the Seahawks pass rush. A few well-executed and timed screen plays usually slow down a blitzing attack. The Raiders have utilized bootlegs and unbalanced line formations to assist in giving their QB time.
The Raiders will also have to decide how often to keep their backs in to block and how often to send them out in routes. All of the Raiders backs have shown the ability to chip off a blitzer, but they are all valuable weapons in the passing game.
Of course, the most effective weapon will be to try and establish the run game, which I am sure will be a matchup we get into later.