Oakland Raiders: Five Players Who Need To Show Up Big In 2016
By Kevin Saito
When the Raiders sealed the deal to sign Irvin away from the Seahawks, there was a long moment of stunned silence. Which was followed by the sound of raucous cheering. With no disrespect intended for Kelechi Osemele, Sean Smith, or Reggie Nelson, the signing of Irvin could be the most impactful this season for the Raiders.
The Raiders have a quarterback killing monster in Khalil Mack already. But he frequently found himself stuck on double, sometimes triple teams as opposing offenses geared up to stop him. Arguably, the Raiders haven’t had a disruptive defensive force of nature like Mack since Howie Long entered the league back in the day.
Despite opposing teams throwing everything – including the kitchen sink – at Mack to stop him, he still very nearly won the sack title last season, narrowly losing out to Houston’s beast, J.J. Watt. Still, despite all of the adversity he had to overcome, Mack racked up 15 sacks in 2015.
And now, with Irvin and Mack pairing together, they give the Raiders a very formidable pass rushing duo. Teams will no longer be able to key on Mack and Mack alone. They’re going to have to account for Irvin – as well as the load of pass rushing help the team has brought in this offseason.
With the likes of Mario Edwards Jr., Shilique Calhoun, Jihad Ward, and Aldon Smith (when he returns), among others, Oakland is going to have a fearsome defensive front. But it will be Irvin who is going to help set the table the most.
Some aren’t convinced of Irvin’s pass rushing bona fides, given the fact that he’s racked up just 22 sacks in his first four seasons in the league. Irvin – as well as HC Jack Del Rio and DC Ken Norton Jr. – believe that relatively paltry number is simply because he wasn’t used correctly in Seattle. The Seahawks didn’t exploit all of Irvin’s talents to the fullest extent.
With the team planning on letting him cut loose as a pass rusher and not having him drop into coverage as often as he did with the Seahawks, they are gambling that his quickness and athleticism is going to pay off in a huge way – especially for Mack.
Irvin is with the Raiders to help upgrade the pass rush, but more importantly, to help shoulder some of the load with Mack. With Mack and Irvin both coming hard after the quarterback, teams are going to have to pick their poison.
But if the dreams of this quarterback killing machine are to come to fruition, Irvin will have to show out in a big way.
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