One story in a series, looking at position
breakdowns for the Oakland Raiders, who arrive for training camp in Napa, CA, on
July 24. Today – a look at defensive tackle:
Much of their work goes unnoticed
but the presence of the Oakland Raiders defensive tackles remain critical to the
team’s success.
The addition of John Parrella and
Sam Adams were huge reasons why Oakland’s run defense made a quantum leap from
being among the NFL’s worst to near the league’s best at stopping the run.
Oakland released Adams, who has
since signed with Buffalo, in a salary cap move but the addition of Dana
Stubblefield from San Francisco should at least adequately offset that loss.
Stubblefield, who was once a premier player at his position, has seen his
performance slip in recent years but should benefit from the Raiders depth at
tackle.
Parrella may not put up the most
astonishing numbers but his passion and work ethic set the pace for Oakland’s
defensive line. Parrella plays a vital role in consuming double-teams coupled
with his nonstop intensity.
Rod Coleman is the third man in
the tackle rotation and led all interior linemen in sacks with 11. Coleman is
often viewed as an undersized lineman. While his quickness causes plenty of
problems for offensive linemen, he also has the strength at 285 to present
matchup problems.
Chris Cooper is a versatile player
capable of playing end or tackle. Cooper is a high-energy player but has been a
little more successful as an end. Junior Ioane, a fourth-round pick in 2000,
only played in six games last season but showed more promise after two mostly
underwhelming seasons.
As for the suspended Darrell
Russell, Oakland head coach Bill Callahan stated earlier this offseason that he
has closed the door on his return to the team.
Vince D’Adamo can be reached at vdad7@yahoo.com