Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden comfortable with zone-blocking scheme – NFL News
Oakland Raiders’ failure to run the ball cost them big during their 13-35 loss in Week 2 game against Miami Dolphins. Many analysts pointed fingers towards running back Darren McFadden’s inability to adjust into the new offensive system.
However, McFadden denied having any of such problems during a recent news conference. He said:
"I'm very comfortable in this scheme, I just feel like we have to get going. Like I say, you hit one or two runs here, three-yard runs here, and eventually it's going to start popping."
McFadden’s stats clearly indicate that he did not have a considerable influence in the first two games of the season.
The running back rushed for a total of 54 yards during the two games. In the last game against Dolphins, he got 11 carries for 22 yards. That was not the expected output from the player, who had covered more than 1,000 yards and got seven touchdowns in 13
games during the 2010 season.
Raiders’ new offensive coordinator Greg Knapp has put on a new scheme that does not look much supportive to McFadden’s style of play. McFadden further said:
"We've been doing a great job moving the ball, passing the ball, but once we get the run
and the pass back (together) there, we'll be one of the elite offenses in the league."
It will take some tough training for Raiders offence to reach the stage of being called elite after failing to give prominent performance in the first two weeks.
Also, it cannot be ignored that McFadden does not have a very good record playing against these two teams.
In his three games against Dolphins, McFadden has only managed to carry 22 passes for a total of 37 yards.
There are also questions on McFadden’s fitness as he is coming from a Lisfranc injury, which kept him out of major part of the 2011 season.
McFadden remains an integral part of the Raiders offence and they certainly need him to spark in order to get their first win of the season.
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