Let’s revisit Jack Del Rio’s comments after the Chiefs 26-10 win in Oakland earlier this year. The Raiders head coach was talking about Alex Smith when he said:
“Good football player, little underrated. If he’s gotta rely on throwing the ball, really not his strong suit. But if you allow them to run the ball and do some of their gimmicky things then he comes to life. That’s what they were able to do today.”
Gimmicky is what caught our eyes. A few Chiefs players seemed to take exception to that, including Jeremy Maclin, who said “we whooped them the last three times we played them so I don’t really care what he has to say personally.” (I love that quote so much).
What was gimmicky? Besides Dontari Poe’s touchdown (also love that) it’s possible he was talking about all the pre-snap motion and shifts the Chiefs went through in that game. It was something they drew up specifically for the Raiders and haven’t employed on that level against any other team.
It worked, too. The Chiefs rushed the hell out of the ball (a season high 183 yards) and were able to keep Derek Carr off the field. “Gimmicky” is really just running the ball all over you.
Here’s where some strategy comes into play. The Raiders obviously watched the tape from that game. They’re going to have a plan for that. Will it work? Will the Chiefs even try that? Will they go another route? That’s part of the guessing game each team will be going through as we prepare for this game.
I’m with Terez Paylor. I try it again until they prove they can stop it.