Oakland Raiders behind enemy lines: Q&A with Emerald City Swagger
By Kevin Saito
Q. What is the biggest area of need this team has to get back to being a contender again?
Again? They may be a contender now. It’s not rose-colored glasses either. Since week three, when D.J. Fluker returned to the lineup and Carroll went to a ground and pound offense, Seattle has been pretty darn good. They gave the best team in the conference, the Rams all they could handle last Sunday.
The two biggest things they need to make the next jump are health and experience, especially on defense. Getting K.J. Wright back will be absolutely huge, he’s that good. If his recovery picks up a bit, he may play in week eight or nine. That will stabilize the run defense and as well as the short passing defense on his side.
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On the experience side, look at how young the current secondary is now. CB Shaquill Griffin, FS Tedric Thompson, CB Flowers, and S Delano Hill are all 23. The “old men” players among the top six defensive backs, SS Bradley McDougald and CB Neiko Thorpe are 28. As a group, they don’t have as many games under their collective belts as most other teams. The good news about that is, both Griffin and Flowers get better each time out.