Lions' Dan Campbell has high praise for Raiders' Maxx Crosby
The Las Vegas Raiders do indeed have a good roster on paper. They don't have an amazing roster or one that will compete for a Super Bowl, but they do have pieces on both sides of the ball that should at least have them in that conversation of an average team. But they aren't talked […]
The Las Vegas Raiders do indeed have a good roster on paper. They don't have an amazing roster or one that will compete for a Super Bowl, but they do have pieces on both sides of the ball that should at least have them in that conversation of an average team. But they aren't talked about in that way.
Instead, they are talked about as a team that is bad, and rightfully so, because they are a bad team. The defense just let the Chicago Bears, one of the worst teams in football, if not the worst, and they were without several starts, including their starting quarterback. Instead, McDaniels was out-coached by Matt Eberflus, and Brian Hoyer was out-played by an undrafted rookie Division Two quarterback.
Now they play the Detroit Lions, who, despite the beatdown they took from the Baltimore Ravens last week, are one of the best teams in the league. Beating them won't be as easy as it used to be. Their head coach, Dan Campbell, has a lot of respect for the Raiders, though.
"This is a dangerous opponent," Campbell told reporters on Thursday. "Like what we feel, what they just went through last week does not indicate what this team is. This is a dangerous team. They have weapons. 17, 16, that tight end, Jacobs, Crosby is obviously a game wrecker, so we have our hands full."
Crosby is absolutely a game wrecker, as he is having a Defensive Player of the Year type of season that he won't win because of the Raiders being a bad defense overall. The Lions have no idea how they will stop Crosby.
"What does he not do well? I mean, I would start there." Campbell continued. "I don't know," Campbell said with a sense of seriousness. "I don't know what that would be. He's very active. He's slithery; he can bend, explosive, quick fist steps. His motor, I mean, he just doesn't quit. This will be a big challenge for our whole offensive line. He moves around. This is going to be a war now. It really is. This is going to be the most disruptive player we have played all year."
Crosby will get his, no matter what. They really don't have to worry about just stopping Crosby because it likely won't happen. However, if they can shut down everyone else like the Buffalo Bills did in Week 2. They doubled-teamed him and let everyone else beat them, and when you do that, you exploit the Raiders' biggest weakness – their defensive line in general.
Hopefully, we see defensive coordinator Patrick Graham draw up ways for Crosby to get free against a great Detroit Lions offensive line. Only time will tell, but you love to hear the praise from Campbell.
Raiders HC Josh McDaniels wants to ‘put to bed’ one conversation being had
The Raiders lost to the Bears on Sunday.
