With seven sacks in the last four games, Elvis Dumervil has quickly become one of the NFL’s most lethal pass-rushing threats. So you’d think that as he watched the Raiders allow nine sacks to the Seattle Seahawks last Monday night — including three in succession during one disastrous first-quarter possession — that the rookie would be licking his chops.
Not so.
“It makes me mad, because now the offensive coordinator (Tom Walsh) is going to put in a max-protection scheme,” Dumervil said.
Even if the Raiders’ pass blocking hadn’t endured such a problematic evening on Nov. 6, it’s likely they would have been tweaking their schemes to account for the rookie’s performance. Dumervil found out first-hand at Pittsburgh that the double-teams that are typcially the purview of his veteran linemates were now directed at him after he got to Ben Roethlisberger for a first-possession sack.
“I was double-teamed a lot,” Dumervil said. “They did (it) a couple (of times) in the Cleveland game, but in Pittsburgh was the most I’ve ever had so far.”
He understands the attention other teams grant him is a product of his performance. Nevertheless …
“It makes me angry,” Dumervil said. “It makes you realize you have to take advantage of one-on-one blocks.
“All you can do is try to fight through it. You can’t just stop. I’ve got a couple of those in Louisville, so I’ve got a lot of experience, I know how that feels already.”
Sunday, he could see the most playing time of his career with Ebenezer Ekuban and Patrick Chukwurah both doubtful for the game. And if Dumervil fares well against Oakland, he’d better get used to the rapt attention from opposing tackles, tight ends and fullbacks. After all, they only give that kind of treatment to the good ones.
Tags: Defensive linemen, Ebenezer Ekuban, Elvis Dumervil, Patrick Chukwurah