With The First Pick
Fansided

Oakland Raiders Not Getting Returns on Defensive Investments

By Carl Cockerham

Sep 18, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders free safety Reggie Nelson (27) stands on the field before the start of the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 18, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders free safety Reggie Nelson (27) stands on the field before the start of the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 11, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks finishing a 98 yard touchdown. The Raiders defeated the Saints 35-34. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 11, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks finishing a 98 yard touchdown. The Raiders defeated the Saints 35-34. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

Sean Smith: $950,000

If you were paying attention to the preseason, you’d know Smith was a concern. When a player we have hopes for doesn’t play well in the preseason, we discard it. We say, “it’s just the preseason” and think nothing of it, laughing if someone makes a big deal of it.

The preseason is a whole lot more important that we read into. I have recently learned that it’s not about wins and losses but how certain players are playing. When a player is struggling with something in the preseason, it leaks into the regular season.

They usually don’t straighten the problem out right away just because it’s the regular season. Opposing quarterbacks have landed bombs over Baghdad on Smith from the preseason to Week 2. I thought he would play better in Week 2 than he did in Week 1 and he did.

He didn’t stop anyone but it’s not hard to do better than giving up a 98-yard TD. The Kansas City Chiefs must have known something, letting him go the way they did this offseason. It seems like he got old, slow and forgot how to play overnight.

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