Oakland Raiders G.M. Under Pressure Over D.J. Hayden
Aug 22, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Charles Johnson (12) catches a pass past Oakland Raiders cornerback D.J. Hayden (25) for a touchdown in the second quarter at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Bottom line
One corner can’t put a football team on his back by himself but he sure can ruin it for the team. The defense can consistently force 3rd-and-long all for not if a corner is beaten on third down. He can also cost you when your defense puts an eighth man in the box to stop the run and the opposing offense decides to go deep.
If your corner can’t stop it, that eighth man has to come out of the box, making it easier to run the ball. And that’s without counting the deep balls for big chunks of yards and quick touchdowns. Today’s offensive coordinators are ruthless so if they know that can get a play throwing at a particular corner, they will just like they’ve done with Hayden all preseason long.
And all hopes of the Raiders finishing the 2015 season with a winning record or even .500 are dashed. So the pressure this year is all on McKenzie and it’s all over how Hayden does this year. He has the ability to stay with anyone so if he would just turn his head and find the ball, everything ends up okay for him, McKenzie and the Raiders.