ALAMEDA – Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell has the utmost confidence in tight end Zach Miller.
"Even in double coverage, if the ball's anywhere in his sight, he's going to catch it," Russell said. "If it's near his fingertips, he's going to catch it. I promise you that."
Not only does Russell know what Miller can do, so does the rest of the league. Miller is the target of double coverage whenever the Raiders pass. Miller, as the Raiders' most consistent receiver, is seeing a variety of coverages designed to slow him.
That's no surprise considering that in the Raiders' best drive of the exhibition season, Russell found Miller three times for 46 yards and a touchdown.
It's nothing like the treatment Miller received as a rookie last season. He capped it with an eight-catch performance – double the number of catches he had in a game up to that point – and 84 yards.
Now all eyes are on him.
"I noticed last year I was getting a lot of room inside," Miller said. "I wasn't getting as much attention. This year, I'll see (double) coverage, and other times they'll have a guy assigned to watch me. Or they're playing zone or they're paying extra attention to me and jamming me off the line."
The Raiders' first two opponents, Denver and Kansas City, used man-to-man coverage on Raiders wide receivers and focused on stopping Miller.
"I know (double coverage) opens up everything else," Miller said. "I know we have the receivers to take advantage when we finally get an opportunity to air it out. It just means I've got to work harder to get myself open."
While Miller works harder, the Raiders need more from their wide receivers.
Miller leads the Raiders with six catches for 58 yards. The only wideout with more than two catches is Ashley Lelie, who joined the team six days before the season opener.
Ronald Curry has as many catches (two) as drops. High priced free-agent addition Javon Walker hasn't been a factor while recovering from a hamstring injury.
The Raiders passed only 17 times compared to 47 runs in their 23-8 victory last Sunday in Kansas City. Miller caught two of Russell's six completions. Lelie was the only wide receiver with a catch.
Lelie said a shortage of opportunities hasn't been an issue and the Raiders must take advantage of single coverage while Miller draws more attention. The Raiders haven't passed often, gaining just 212 yards combined in the first two games.
"The times we did pass we didn't connect," Lelie said. "Quarterbacks and receivers have to get on the same page."
As much as Raiders coach Lane Kiffin would like to consistently send Miller out on pass routes, the tight end's blocking ability often is needed to protect Russell.
"As far as numbers and catches, he's hurt himself a little bit that way because he's so good that we use him so much in protection," Kiffin said.
Kiffin believes Miller can catch at least 60 passes in a season after grabbing 44 receptions for 444 yards and three touchdowns last year as a rookie.
Those numbers would have been higher if Miller hadn't pass-blocked so much. The plan is to move Miller around on the field to free him up.
"We need to find ways to get him involved more," Kiffin said. "We'll look to do that this week."
Read Jason Jones' Raiders blog at www.sacbee.com/raidersblog.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.