Anatomy of a run defense: How the Raiders can improve on their dismal 07

One of the oldest adages in football is that to win a team has to be able to run the ball and stop the run. The Raiders of 2007 ran the ball very well much to the surprise of everyone outside of Alameda ending up with the sixth ranked rushing offense. On the other hand, the Raiders' defense was turned to road-kill on a weekly basis. Rob Ryan has taken much of the heat for this problem, along with safeties Stuart Schweigert and Michael Huff. Linebackers Kirk Morrison and Thomas Howard were great in pass coverage corralling ten interceptions between them, but often had a problem with over-pursuit. The defensive line which is of prime importance in stopping the run was dismal at that task.