2011 Oakland Raiders Stats: Is Richard Seymour Having the Best Year of His Hall of Fame Career?

Elias Trejo – Oct 10, 2011

Five games have come and gone in the season and the Oakland Raiders are 3-2. Let's take a look at some interesting stats after week five and see what trends we see in the Raiders performances this season. Some of these numbers are encouraging while the others don't make much sense.

Defensive Line Sacks Equal Wins for Raiders:

The Oakland Raiders are 3-0 when the defensive line gets a sack during games. During their two losses to the Patriots and Bills, the Raiders defensive line was held without a sack. This line can dominate games and needs to show up every week for Oakland to win. This was a great performance considering Matt Shaughnessy did not play in the game.

Darren McFadden Slowed Down Last Two Games:

Darren McFadden was held under 100 yards rushing for the second straight game this year, but is still the leagues leading rusher with 519 rush yards. This was actually the first game all season that a team held him under 100 total yards of offense. McFadden could have eclipsed 100 yards of total offense, but two penalties by the offensive line erased big gains by McFadden. This could mean that teams are starting to find ways to stop him.

Darrius Heyward-Bey Watch:

Darrius Heyward-Bey is on pace to catch over 60 passes and can break the 1,000 yards receiving mark for the first time in his young career. That would mark the first time a Raiders receiver caught 60 passes for over 1,000 since Randy Moss did it in 2006. DHB is starting to show flashes of how good he can be. In the last two weeks he's been one of the hottest receivers in the NFL catching 11 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown.

Is this Richard Seymour's Best Year of his Career?:

Richard Seymour is on pace to have the best year of his career in 2011. He currently has five sacks on the season and 18 tackles. Up to now Seymour's best season was in 2003 when he recorded 57 tackles and eight sacks. This year he is on pace to break both of those marks. Interestingly enough the Raiders are 3-0 when Seymour gets a sack this season. He has five sacks in three wins and no sacks in two losses.

Sebastian Janikowski's Foot Leads to Wins:

The Raiders are 3-0 when Sebastian Janikowski uses his leg often in games. In both losses this year he was held under ten points and attempted two field goals or less. Meanwhile in the three wins he's averaging just over 11 points per game and has attempted at least three field goals. There is no doubt that Janikowski is a big part of the Raiders success this season.

Jason Campbell Getting Sacked a Good Thing?:

Jason Campbell may not like this interesting stat at all. Every game that he has been sacked this year the Raiders have won. The Patriots and Bills could not sack Campbell and they beat Oakland. Meanwhile, in the Raiders wins against the Broncos, Jets and Texans, Campbell was sacked at least once during the game. Maybe that extra pressure on Campbell makes him and the rest of the team perform better.

Third Down Issues Good for Oakland?:

During the Raiders two losses this season they are 16 for 25 on third downs, which means they are converting 64% of the time on third down. The Saints currently have the best third down conversion percentage in the league as they convert on 58.7% of their third downs. Oddly enough for the Raiders in their three wins this season they are 8 for37 on third downs which is about a 21.6% conversion rate. The Miami Dolphins have the league worst third down conversion percentage as they only convert on 26.5% of their third down opportunities.

Rest assured that Hue Jackson won't be asking his team to allow more sacks and convert less on third down as the season continues.

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