Oakland Raiders: Biggest Winners And Losers From Training Camp

Loser: Sean Smith

Even before being charged with two felonies for assaulting his sister’s boyfriend, things were rough for Sean Smith. That just seemed to be the icing on the cake, really.

Brought in as a high-priced free agent from Kansas City, it was believed that Smith would lock down one side of the field while David Amerson locked down the other.

Unfortunately, it hasn’t yet worked out that way for Smith or the Raiders.

Smith’s problems last year have been detailed ad naseum. Suffice it to say, he was burned often last year. But although his critics and detractors refuse to acknowledge it, Smith’s struggles on the field aren’t entirely his fault. For one thing, he played half the year with an injury that was serious enough to require surgery during the offseason.

The second is that he’s playing in a system that not only doesn’t play to his strengths – it completely exposes his weaknesses. In a great write up about that very topic, Carl Cockerham of S&B Pride sums it up well for us.

"“The problem is Norton doesn’t try to adjust his scheme to fit the players he as. He’s trying to get bump-and-run cornerbacks to play off-man and zone. Norton is trying to duplicate what the Seattle Seahawks did with a different type of cast.”"

The square peg/round hole non-fit of Smith to the Raiders is entirely on DC Ken Norton Jr. He knows, or at least he should know, what his players are capable of and what their limitations are – and then tailor his scheme to fit them rather than trying to shoehorn them into some preset ideology.

Let’s put that another, simpler way – these Raiders aren’t the Seahawks and they never will be. And the sooner Norton figures that out and tailors the defense to suit the actual skillset of his players, the better off the Oakland defense will be.

Given the lack of depth and experience, Smith is more than likely going to be starting on the outside to begin the year. But he’s going to be on a very short leash, given his struggles and less than optimal performance. Although his difficulties aren’t entirely on him, Smith is going to need to step up his game in a big way.