Oakland Raiders Defense Ready for Baltimore Ravens

Karl Joseph

The craziest part of the futility of the first to games is first-round pick Karl Joseph was on the bench. I wondered if he had a set-back with his know but the Raiders wanted to “ease him in.” But after two games the Raiders ran out of ease-in time.

And once he made his first start against the Titans last week, he went in and gave the defense a lift. His passion and aggressive style of play was something the Raiders lacked and needed in the middle of the defense. And his teammates took notice of that quickly.

Smith said at a press conference a few days ago, “Karl was coming up hitting, I was surprised that somebody small was throwing his body in there against those big backs they have. He came in, played fast and made good calls. I was happy for him.”

“Made good calls” was the key for me because I knew he could hit, cover and everything. The calls he made means he knows what he’s doing and where to be. Everything he brought improved the Raiders secondary and the Sunday should be no different.