Should Raiders move Seymour to DE vs. Houston?
So the Raiders reportedly brought in pass-rushing defensive lineman Trevor Pryce for a look-see on Thursday, huh?
Oakland must be hedging its bets that defensive end Matt Shaughnessy's injured shoulder is more than a day-to-day proposition. Plus, fellow defensive end Jarvis Moss was slowed this week after injuring his chest in practice on Wednesday.
Not exactly a cheery outlook for a defensive unit allowing a mind-blowing 5.9 yards per rush attempt that is, oh yeah, heading to Houston to take on last year's rushing champ in Arian Foster.
But a media-created idea was run by Raiders coach Hue Jackson this week. Why not move Richard Seymour back out to defensive end to take Shaughnessy's spot for the time being and then put the massive run-stuffing John Henderson at tackle?
"I mean, obviously there's all kinds of combinations you can use," Jackson said. "I think the biggest thing is the guys that play, the 11 men we put out there, they've got to make up their mind that enough's enough. I think they will. It's not like we haven't played good run defense this year.
"You go to our Denver game, we stopped the run…we played the Jets, we slowed that run down, it was 100 yards, but they didn't run the ball on us like that. We need to do it consistently and that's been my thing, we need to do it consistently, when the ball does not run through us. It's happened in two games, we've stopped it in two games, and now here's the next test to get it done."
Seymour was up for the challenge, so to speak.
"Wherever they ask me to go, that's what I'll do," he said. "If they ask me to play on the nose, I'll play on the nose. If they ask me to be on the end, I'll be on the end. Wherever I'm needed, I’m willing to go.
"It can't be, Hey, put a guy over here to stop this, because it's all over the place. If everyone takes care of their responsibility and takes care of their job, then we'll be fine."
The rallying cry to stop the run has been a simple one.
"It's just a matter of taking care of your responsibilities," Seymour said. "My job is the B gap, take care of the B gap. As simple as it sounds that's the defense that we play, a one-gap responsibility defense."