When the Las Vegas Raiders handed prized linebacker Cory Littleton a three-year contract valued at $35.25 million (with a pretty sum of $22 million guaranteed at signing) in free agency last offseason, the initial thought was the conundrum at the position was well on its way to being solved. After all, Littleton built himself up
It’s up to Richard Smith, Gus Bradley to bring best out of Cory Littleton
Bizarre that Raiders didn’t get hardly any production from Collins and Littleton, both highly praised by Raiders brass at the beginning of the season. I remember the first game vs the Chiefs and it was shocking how bad Kelce was abusing Littleton. Kelce does that to a lot of good players, but Littleton looked lost defending Kelce.
Littleton played better under Marinelli. There was less thinking and more reacting. Hope Bradley can help Littleton, along with the new LB coach. They HAVE to get more out of Littleton if overall defense has any chance to improve.
Agreed, Ghost, it was stunning how ineffective Littleton and Collins were, given how well they played the previous season. When you factor in how much they were being paid, that made it exponentially worse. Same goes with Carl Nassib, though he at least made a handful of meaningful, memorable plays. Still waiting for Joyner, Littleton and Collins to make their first big play.
Imagine the impact if the coaching staff can turn around the productivity of Littleton and Abram. Just those two positions alone could have a profound impact on the defense. Got to hope they can make better use of the talent we have.