Jamal Black is a guest writer for TFDS. He is a long time NFL fan and co-host of the Two Tone Crew podcast.  Follow him on Twitter @Jamalisms

Little Guy, meet Big Guy. Big Guy, meet Little Guy’s Attorney. Rinse, repeat.

The NFL’s ongoing legal battle with former Saints players over the alleged misconduct they undertook as part of “Bountygate” made for an interesting offseason story line and, despite that the regular season has finally arrived in all its inherent splendor, Bountygate continues to garner interest around the NFL as it winds a long, weary path to conclusion. Little about this story is mundane. It pits the league against one of its own teams. It represents some of the most stringent penalties ever imposed. Given the brevity of player careers, it masquerades even as a story pitting men seeking to earn a living against an all-powerful and unreasonable superior.

On a macro level bountygate is but a part of the league’s attempt to reconcile a violent game with the legal ramifications of player safety. Roger Goodell’s tenure as league commissioner has been marked by two, somewhat conflicting issues. On the one hand, he has seemed to be genuinely concerned with the matter of reforming the league through crackdowns on player conduct, both on (safety) and off (general misconduct) the field. On the other hand, the league has struggled with finding an acceptable path to come to terms with the human results of a game with such brutal past.

Estimates vary and seem to change daily, rendering any specific count prone to becoming fast outdated, however thousands of retired players claim severe physical consequences of the NFL’s violent nature.  They contend (and the NFL denies) that the league has historically concealed its knowledge of such physical risks and is therefore responsible for the results over time. Whether or not that is true, the fact that the commissioner has taken such a public and unwavering stance on improving player safety has resulted in an interesting balancing act.

In terms of public opinion, the NFL’s actions present the paradox that cumulative injuries suffered by former players were the result of choices reasonably and appropriately made at the individual level, while current players must be protected from themselves. It is a tenuous position at best.

Enter Bountgate.

The Raiders have now made their way through two games and have the same number of touchdowns to show for it.  Teams that start 0-2 are by no means eliminated from playoffs but with a very tough schedule coming up with Pittsburgh, Denver and Atlanta – all playoff teams last year and all looking to be very solid this year as well – a 0-5 start is entirely possible.

But this year was never a playoff-likely year.  Playoffs were a possibility (and they still are) but this year was never really a playoff-expectation year.  Playoffs were a bonus, not an expectation.

This season has always been more about building for the future and initiating the massive amount of change that comes with a new owner, first time GM, first time head coach, first time defensive coordinator, new offensive coordinator and the resulting personnel and schematic changes that also follow.

There has been much hand-wringing about the Raiders offensive struggles through the first two games and rightfully so.  The offense – and the rushing offense in particular – has looked terrible.  There is some light at the end of this tunnel, however.

If the Raiders can get the zone blocking scheme (ZBS) that Knapp and Allen prefer working well, it will fix or improve a number of the ills of the 2012 squad.

First, I'd like to address ZBS itself.  There are many who do not believe it can be an effective scheme.  I've never been able to understand this.  There are any number of teams that have used the scheme with success.  Whether or not one is a believer in Knapp as a play-caller has nothing to do with the scheme.  It's been shown time and time again in the NFL that zone blocking can and does work as a scheme.  In fact, Allen, a defensive-minded coach, is himself a proponent of the scheme because it is difficult to defend against!

It was more of the same with the Raiders as they lost to the Dolphins today, 13-35.

It started off poorly on the first drive when the Raiders defense came out flat and allowed the Dolphins to rush for 44 yards and a TD after allowing only 32 yards for the entire week 1 game versus San Diego.

The defense then stiffened for the rest of the first half before coming apart completely in the second half. In the 3rd quarter, the defense allowed long rushing TDs on back to back drives. On the first, Reggie Bush ran for a 23 yard TD while breaking at least 4 tackles. In the second, he raced up the left sideline virtually untouched for a 65 yard scamper in which the defense was too tired to keep up with him.

Bush ended with a career high 172 yards on carries for a 6.6 yard/carry average.

The Raiders also struggled offensively. They were able to get into the end zone in the first quarter on a screen pass from Palmer to backup RB Mike Goodson. Goodson took the ball out to the right sideline and, sprung by a fantastic block by RG Mike Brisiel who pulled, got down the field and made a fantastic block on the Dolphins linebacker who was in position to otherwise make the play.

If you'd like to interact with me during the game today either with comments or questions, please follow me on Twitter @AsherMathews

 The Raiders are a few hours away from playing against the Miami Dolphins for the second straight year, today.  Last year's game was a 34-14 drubbing in South Beach and the Raiders will look to get even today.  There is no doubt that those who were on the team last year will be using the loss as motivation in the locker room.  If the Raiders want to win today, here are the keys they need to focus on:


-Continue to stop the run: The team's defensive philosophy is predicated on stopping the run.  The defense did a fantastic job against San Diego, limiting the team to under 40 yards rushing for the game.  They will have a harder time with the Dolphins with Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas in the backfield.

A year ago, the Raiders were killed by Reggie Bush who ran 22 times for an even 100 yards and a TD.  In order to win today, they must slow the Dolphins rushing attack

-Get pressure on the QB: The Dolphins are starting a rookie in Ryan Tannehill and DC Jason Tarver likely worked on some exotic looks with blitzes and disguised coverages this week in order to confuse and harrass the rookie.  The team must get pressure on the QB (not necessarily sacks but at least rush him to make quick decisions) in order to break up the timing of the passing game.

-Reduce pre-snap penalties: The Raiders ended with a not-terrible 6 penalties - less than the 9 earned by the Chargers - but most of them were simply the lack of focus that has characterized the Raiders in recent years.  Tommy Kelly had two penalties in which he tried to time the snap, failed, and went across the defensive line.  The offense added two more with a delay of game and a 12 men in huddle penalty.  Allen has said he is making these mental errors a focus and is working to eliminate them. That must start today.

-Improve Special Teams: The Raiders had a numer of issues last week.  Obviously the most costly was the injury to long snapper Jon Condo which resulted in multiple bad snaps to punter Shane Lechler in which he was unable to get punts off in time and gave up good field position.  However, the special teams unit looked bad all around.  There was the blocked punt, which was not the fault of backup snapper Travis Goethel but rather a coverage breakdown which allowed a Charger in unblocked.

Furthermore, the team struggled on kickoff and punt coverage units.  They allowed a huge return on one punt that ended up being called back due to a block in the back by the Chargers but could have been a huge breakdown.

-Get the receivers more involved: Darren McFadden was the most targeted player in the passing game and also had the most receptions for the most yards.  Starting wide receivers week 1, Darrius Heyward-Bey and Rod Streater, combined for 7 catches for a total of 70 yards.  Those numbers are good for one receiver but sub-par for two.  QB Carson Palmer only targeted DHB 5 times and he came down with 3 of those.  Streater caught only 4 of the 10 passes that came his way and he fumbled the ball right into the hands of a San Diego defender early on.

For this week's game vs the Dolphins the Raiders receiving corps gets a boost with receiver Denarius Moore returning from a hamstring injury.  Streater will likely move to slot, which is a better role for him anyway, and Derek Hagan will continue to cycle in, especially on 3rd downs where Palmer went to him frequently.


If he Raiders can improve these areas, while maintaining their successes otherwise, they can win this game.  And this game is almost a must win as the team is already down 1 game and plays, after this week, 3 teams that made the playoffs last year: Pittsburgh, Denver & Atlanta.  If the Raiders have any hope of making the playoffs this season, they must win this week and take at least one of those next 3, it would seem.      

The Raiders' opener was an ugly afair in several ways as the team lost to the Chargers in Oakland, 22-14.

The Raiders had to deal with some injuries, choosing to sit both WR Denarius Moore and C Stefen Wisniewski, both of whom had been sidelined for large portions of camp, in favor of Rod Streater and Alex Parsons, respectively.

The game started poorly with Taiwan Jones fumbling the opening kickoff. He was able to salvage the play by scooping up the bouncing ball but was only able to get to the 14 before being tackled.

Special Teams is still very much a work in progress for the Raiders after being very weak in the preseason. The team gave up a huge punt return early in the 2nd quarter that got nullified by a blocking in the back penalty to only make it a 4 yard return. Still, if not for that penalty the team would have given up a huge play due to poor gap protection.

The special teams debacle continued when Pro Bowl long snapper Jon Condo went out after a hit to the helmet and didn't return. Backup Travis Goethel struggled with multiple snaps bouncing to Lechler. Furthermore, the special teams line let a blocker in for a blocked punt - the first punt of Lechler's blocked since 2006.

In the first half, the Raiders moved methodically down the field, mostly on the skills of McFadden who both ran and received the ball well. However, DHB also showed this his work is being rewarded when he snagged a 13 yard pass - a pass he likely wouldn't have caught a year ago. He came out of his route, positioned well to receive the ball, jumped and caught it at it's apex and caught it well with his hands. He then go both feet down even while being hit by the defensive back for a good reception.

Via my twitter feed - @AsherMathews – I've seen a number of comments and questions about how the Raiders must have liked Derek Hagan enough to guarantee his contract for the entire season by signing him today, officially.

What these comments are referring to is a provision in the new NFL CBA under the "Termination Pay" clause, article 30.

This provision allows a player that is a "vested veteran" (basically a player that has accrued 4 seasons in the NFL) and who is on the roster in the first week of the season but is subsequently cut in any following week to collect his full season's pay even though he may be cut in week 2.  This provision, in essence, guarantees a veteran's salary if they are on the roster for the first week's game.

Here is the language from the CBA:

 
ARTICLE 30

TERMINATION PAY

(a) Any player who has completed the season in which his fourth year or more of credited service under the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle Retirement Plan has been earned shall be eligible for Termination Pay under this Article if:

   (1) He is released after his Club's first regular season game; and

   (2) He has made the Active/Inactive List of his Club on or after the date of his Club's first regular season game.

(b) Subject to Section 3 below, the amount of Termination Pay payable to such player shall be the unpaid balance of his Paragraph 5 Salary for that League Year.

Termination Pay under this Article shall be claimed and payable no sooner than one day after the end of the regular season schedule, and no later than February 1 . A player will not be entitled to Termination Pay more than once during his playing career in the NFL.


I'd like to draw attention to the last sentence, "A player will not be entitled to Termination Pay more than once during his playing career in the NFL."

That means that a player who has been cut mid-season already and has taken advantage of their full year's salary cannot do this again.

I do not know if Derek Hagan took advantage of this provision when he was cut week 6 by the Raiders last season but I can think of no reason why he would not.  Assuming he did, he is not eligible to receive this benefit again per the language of the CBA.

So, Hagan's release last year may have made him a more attractive option for GM Reggie McKenzie this year because he can cut Hagan at any time without having further season repercussions on the salary cap.

It also means that Hagan may or may not have been the best option at the time.  He was familiar with many of the players on the team, would come cheap and can provide depth.  His signing doesn't necessarily mean he will stick for the entire season, however.

Update: The Raiders confirmed the signing and waived DB Coye Francies as the corresponding move to keep the roster at 53 players.

As we pointed out a couple of days ago, the 2012 Raiders team is still in flux.  To some extent the team will be in flux for the entire year as there are little moves that must come due to injury and other reasons.

But the roster is still incomplete with some positions still unbalanced - either too many or too bodies at differing positions.

One of the positions that has too few bodies right now, as mentioned before, is at wide receiver.  To that end, the Raiders looked at a few receivers yesterday.

The team reportedly met with receivers Jabar Gaffney and Tiquan Underwood although they have not, at this time, signed either.

The team did, however, apparently sign former Raider receiver Derek Hagan who was cut recently by the Bills.  Hagan had been on the team last year but was cut for receiver TJ Houshmanzadeh.

Hagan was more a possession receiver but he possessed good hands and ran solid routes.  He had been a standout for the team in camp and preseason by making catches when needed for first downs to keep the chains moving.