Raiders' Maxx Crosby is finally starting to get some help from his running mates
It seems like since he came into the league, Maxx Crosby has been begging the Las Vegas Raiders for some help on the defensive side of the ball, most notably on the defensive line. Crosby finished with 12.5 sacks last season, a career-high, and he is already one sack off, tying that with five games […]
It seems like since he came into the league, Maxx Crosby has been begging the Las Vegas Raiders for some help on the defensive side of the ball, most notably on the defensive line. Crosby finished with 12.5 sacks last season, a career-high, and he is already one sack off, tying that with five games left.
This year, the defense is solid. They are actually one of the better units in the league and certainly a unit you can say is above average. A lot of that is the defense just playing harder and being more disciplined, and Patrick Graham, the defensive coordinator, just doing his job at a high level.
The Raiders don't have any big names on their defense outside of Crosby. They don't have any other superstars or even star players on defense. However, there is one guy that's the opposite of Crosby, who just played his butt off against the Kansas City Chiefs.
We have been waiting for defensive end Malcolm Koonce to show up all year long. Finally, he was one of the best players on the Raiders last Sunday.
According to Pro Football Focus, Koonce graded out at 91.4 against the Chiefs. That was not only the best grade on the Raiders this last week but also the second-best grade among all edge rushers in Week 12.
Koonce has had flashes all year long where he showed he could be big-time. But it's been baby steps. He didn't get the one sack on Sunday, as Maxx Crosby did, but he did a lot of work that doesn't necessarily show up in a box score.
If Koonce can keep playing the way he did on Sunday, or close to that level, it will only benefit the Raiders and Maxx Crosby. In fact, it takes pressure off Crosby; now the other team can't double him as often, and it helps rookie Tyree Wilson.
Raiders’ Maxx Crosby wants everyone to know the Week 5 defense was no accident
The Raiders’ defense was stellar.
