Greg Knapp needs to make up for defense's deficiencies

[The Shadow]

http://www.insidebayarea.com




By Mark Purdy

Mercury News Columnist




This autumn, the guy calling plays for the Raiders will not be getting
pedicures or manicures. I learned this exclusive piece of information
during a recent interview with Greg Knapp, the team's new offensive
coordinator.

Last season, you may recall, now-departed head coach Hue Jackson also
handled the play-calling duties but also gained fame in a magazine
feature about his weekly trips to the nail salon as a relaxing way to
release stress. Knapp will not follow this particular strategy.

"No," he said softly with a grin, "I won't."

Instead, it seems, Knapp will release stress the good old-fashioned NFL
way: By embracing it and taking on even more stress.

Knapp has not received much attention in the regime changeover of the
team, which has focused on new general manager Reggie McKenzie and new
head coach Dennis Allen. But in truth, Knapp is as important to the
reboot as anyone.

Why? Because teams must score points to win. Sounds obvious. But the
Raiders need to score more points than most NFL teams.

Last season, with an overworked Jackson taking on a myriad of other
duties in the wake of owner Al Davis' death, the Raiders averaged 22.4
points per game. That was 16th best in the league. It wasn't enough to
overcome the league's 29th-rated defense and the 27.1 points allowed per
game.

That's one reason McKenzie hired Allen, a defensive specialist in his
previous jobs. Allen's track record shows he will improve that side of
the ball. But the Raiders' defensive roster makeup is still, shall we
say, not 100 percent playoff quality. That's where Knapp comes in.


If his name is familiar, that's because this is not his first Bay Area
football rodeo. He worked for the 49ers under coaches Steve Mariucci and
Dennis Erickson and was nominally the offensive coordinator for the
Raiders during the bizarre Lane Kiffin-Tom Cable transition.

Not many coaches, after experiencing the strange vortex of Raiders
weirdness, sign up for another tour of duty with the team. But Knapp did
after seeing how McKenzie was restructuring the organization to be far
less weird. Allen also had worked as an assistant coach alongside Knapp
for two seasons in Atlanta, where he had juiced up the Falcons'
offensive numbers.

At the time McKenzie and Allen reached out to him, Knapp didn't need a
job. He was doing just fine as the quarterbacks coach with the Houston
Texans, where he helped the team win last season's AFC South title even
after quarterback Matt Schaub was injured and Knapp had to coach up
rookie T.J. Yates to finish out the season.

There were also personal factors: Knapp's daughter was in her junior
year of high school. Knapp and his wife wanted her to graduate there, so
Knapp knew if he moved to Oakland, it would mean leaving behind his
family for one season.

Becoming a coordinator again intrigued him, though. So he agreed to an
interview. McKenzie and Allen put on the full-court press.

"They knocked my socks off," Knapp said. "The new infrastructure here,
the way they're setting it up for not just now but long term, the
philosophy to get players that are football players and not focus as
much on the speed and size components ... it wasn't hard to make up my
mind."

McKenzie and Allen knew what they were getting. Knapp has a definite
philosophy. He believes in the zone-blocking scheme and in bashing the
ball forward with the running game to set up the passing game. Knapp
listed three ways we'll know if his game plan is working.

"One, if we are not having negative running plays," he said. "Two, if
we're not in third-and-long situations. Three, if we're getting
explosive passing gains -- and the barometer we use for that is 16 yards
or more."

It's a way of playing football that seems to earn the trust of players,
said Mike Brisiel, the offensive lineman from Houston whom the Raiders
signed as a free agent this spring.

"It's an offensive-line friendly scheme," Brisiel explained after a
Raiders workout. "Greg works the ball around. It's not all seven-step
drops and passing. You know, offensive linemen always like running the
ball, and not all of us like the pass-first mentality."

The rushing part of the zone-blocking scheme should be the easiest part
to implement with the Raiders, especially if running back Darren
McFadden stays healthy.

"He's going to be perfect for it," Knapp said.

And if the run works, the pass should work. Raiders quarterback Carson
Palmer already has bought in. His presumptive backup, Matt Leinart,
worked with Knapp the last two seasons in Houston and doesn't need to be
convinced. One of Knapp's other qualities, Leinart said, is an ability
to keep players' attitudes in the proper gear. Leinart arrived on the
Texans' campus after a troublesome stay with the Arizona Cardinals.

"My confidence was low, and he helped build it back up," Leinart said of
Knapp. "He was always positive."

That doesn't mean Knapp was lenient. Leinart said one of Knapp's
favorite phrases is: "Stay on schedule." In other words, stick with the
program.

"He knows physical errors are going to happen," Leinart said. "But he
wants to minimize the mental errors."

That's always an issue with the Raiders, given their penchant for silly
penalties and inconsistent play over the years. If you see Knapp headed
toward the nail salon, you'll know things have gotten off track. The
guess here is that he won't go near any paraffin wax.