Oakland Raiders: Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson ruled out

By Jeremy Hayes
McFadden TB
Kirby Lee- US Presswire

 

Any hope for Darren McFadden or Mike Goodson to play for the Oakland Raiders Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens is gone.

The two running backs have been ruled out to play due to their high ankle sprains in last week’s loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. McFadden and Goodson were the top two running backs for the Raiders this year. Now the Raiders face the challenge of trying to balance their offensive attack, by using their bench running backs to try and be decent enough fill-ins for the time being.

Running back Taiwan Jones and fullback Marcel Reece face the challenge of trying to help share the load of carries on Sunday. It will be interesting to see how the Raiders approach the Ravens defense.

How important is the Raiders’ rushing attack?

Not that important actually. Carson Palmer is carrying the team each week offensively anyway, even with McFadden and Goodson, the Raiders running game was unimpressive. Now, the rushing attack may not be too important, but the running game will…does that make sense?

The Raiders only need to balance their offense with a solid rushing game, they do not need to run the ball an overwhelming amount. That is the difference between the running attack and game, they don’t need 300 yards from Jones, they need him to open up the pass for Palmer.

Besides the skill positions, the Raiders are stacked with injuries:

Defensive tackle Richard Seymour (knee, hamstring) and Corner back Shawntae Spencer (foot) have both been ruled out to play against the Ravens.

 

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