Oakland Raiders Receiver Coach SanJay Lal: A Victim of Circumstance

by Rich Langford on May 23, 2011 6:01 AM PDT

SanJay Lal has had one of the most unenviable jobs in the NFL. He has been the Oakland Raiders wide receivers coach since 2009. During that time the Raiders have given him one of the youngest and raw receiving corps the league has seen. And yet it seems his name is mentioned more than any other when people complain about positional coaches for the Oakland Raiders.

I don't get it. He is a receiver coach—not a miracle worker. Darrius Heyward-Bey has been a disaster, but are people really attributing that to bad coaching? And as bad as he was he actually made improvements in 2010. Meanwhile, Louis Murphy and Jacoby Ford have both vastly outperformed what you would expect out of a fourth-round selection.

Louis Murphy came to the Raiders from the spread offense. He was seen as an unpolished route runner that would be initially limited to nothing but a deep threat. Jacoby Ford was knocked for bad ball skills. It was this along with his size that many felt he could do nothing but be a slot receiver.

Both players have displayed far more diverse talents than what scouts had predicted for them. How much of this is coaching and how much is just their natural talent is impossible to say, but Lal has to get some of this credit doesn't he? As bad as the Raiders receivers have been I think it is easier to make the case that they have outperformed their expectations than underperformed (considering injuries).

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Approval rating for WR coach SanJay Lal

Pleased

242 votes

Neutral

372 votes

Displeased

168 votes

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Comments

In the real World

when you sign on with an organization and things in your “department” aren’t what they should be , you take the heat. In this case I think the Scouts were wrong about Murph and Ford and they had more talent than they were given credit for. Dubious Hayseed by the Bey is another story altogether, and a mistake of JA3andout proportion.
That being said ,you would think if the guy were doing even a fair to good job then the entire corps would have improved their production .A: Could they be a product of a “run first” mentality? B: Or play calling? C: Or the QB’s inability to get the ball to the open receiver? D: Or the O line allowing the QB to be sacked so he can’t throw? E: Poor Coaching? F: A little of each?
Have they exceeded their expectations? Yes. Is it because they were underated coming out of College? Yes. I think the overall answer is F , a little of each.

by Wyoraider on May 23, 2011 7:47 AM PDT reply actions

I don't think much of Lal

Granted, he has been given a very young WR corps, but that is not an excuse. If he is only able to work with veterans, then he doesn’t deserve the job.

The problem is that there doesn’t seem to be that much improvement in any of his charges, and to me, it seems that there has been regression. Murphy had a decent year as a rookie, but looked to have regressed last year. Can’t tell what has or has not happened with Schilens, as he hasn’t been on the field. DHB seems to have gotten somewhat better, but not so noticeably that he has been that productive. Higgins never made any strides forward after a few big plays a few years ago. Nick Miller never made an impact. Ford did well his rookie year; let’s wait and see what happens next.

If some of these guys had taken any real steps forward, I wouldn’t be as down on Lal. I will say, though, that he learned under Lofton, and that may be part of the problem. Maybe Lal can turn it around, maybe he can get the WR corps to look like NFL starters, but so far, I just don’t see it yet.

Failure builds character; success reveals it

by signcut on May 23, 2011 8:35 AM PDT reply actions

The criticisms on Lal are too much IMO.

If your given Sirloin its awfully hard to make Fillet Mignon no matter how talented of a Chef you are. Jacoby Ford was a huge success. Murphy and Schillens were both Injured almost the whole year. Bill Walsh himself couldnt do shit with " " and Johnny Lee Higgins nor Nick Miller. JLH showed flashes but i was never very impressed with anything of him except his punt returning. Nick Miller, HA! What do you expect to happen, Any coach in the NFL needs atleast one veteran in the mix at their position to help out. I know that isnt always a luxery that you get but look at the other teams that are as young at WR is we are. Bears, WRs sucked. Rams, WRs sucked. We need to add a veteran, but even if we dont the players we have finally have some experience and will perform much better this next season.

"We want to win. The Raider fans deserve it. The Raider players deserve it, even my organization deserves it. You have to win and you have to win with a vision for the Super Bowl. That's our passion here."--Al Davis

"Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is."--Vince Lombardi

by Marcus Allen Krause on May 23, 2011 9:55 AM PDT reply actions

Well then, let's compare the 'suckiness'

The Rams had 1 WR with more catches and 1 with the same amount as the Raiders’ top receiving WR, Louis Murphy. Their top 3 pass-catchers were WR, RB, WR; ours were TE, RB, WR. That may be somewhat skewed by the offense, but it is also an offense that consistently targets WR’s, but most of ours have pretty low target/catch percentage numbers.

The Bears have 2 WR’s with more catches than Murphy; they had 4 players with at least as many catches as Murphy, and in order they went RB, WR, WR, TE (tie).

Miami’s Davone Bess had almost twice the receptions (not even their leading WR, but you can’t compare Marshall to any of the Oakland WR’s) as Murphy. Buffalo struggled to run the ball, and they also had a questionable OL, but Steve Johnson put up over 1000 yards. Even the 49er’s had 2 WR’s with more receptions, and you can’t say that they have a better OL, QB, or running game. I didn’t take the time to break it down completely, but it looked like Cleveland was the only team whose WR’s showed up less; as bad as they are across the board, that ain’t exactly a achievement to hang one’s hat on.

Again, part of it is the offense, but on the other hand, it isn’t as if the WR’s weren’t targetted very often; they simply weren’t up to the task. That Ford came through is a testament to him; so did Murphy his first year, and yet his play (not just his numbers) dropped off the next.

In a results-based league, production is king, and other than glimpses, we haven’t had much from the WR position. If production is limited because of scheme or lack of ability, then improvement becomes the yardstick.

I don’t see much of that either.

Failure builds character; success reveals it

by signcut on May 23, 2011 12:26 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Murphy's numbers did not drop off last year.

And he did that in 2 less games and being targeted 22 less times. DHB’s numbers are way better, and the group as a whole is way more productive than they were the year before SanJay took over.

I promise; I will never die.

by Rich Langford on May 23, 2011 1:12 PM PDT up reply actions

I stand corrected

I usually don’t go with ‘seat of the pants’ observations, but that was one; I didn’t actually check his numbers. My mistake.

Still, I don’t see “way more productive” than before. Murphy did indeed miss 2 games, but even projecting the same production for those missed would have left him under 700 yards for the season (2009 – 34/521/4 TD’s – 15.3 ypc; 2010 – 41/609/2 TD’s – 14.9 ypc). DHB did marginally better (2009 – 9/124/1 TD – 13.8; 2010 – 26/366/1 TD – 14.1), and Higgins was still more or less a non-factor (2009 – 19/263/0 – 13.8; 2010 – 10/103/0 – 10.3). Schilens has played 13 games in the last 2 years, so it is up in the air with him.

Murphy doing a bit better, but is looking sloppy on routes, and still doesn’t look comfortable. DHB is doing a bit better, but that is almost a given; how much worse could he be than as a rookie? He doesn’t look anything like a player with his physical talents; there is some improvement, but not that noticeable. Higgins has not improved. Nick Miller has not improved (from what was seen of him, admittedly not much).

Where the team has improved as pass-catching is at TE and RB; however, neither of those positions is under Lal, but Adam Henry and Kelly Skipper, respectively.

Again, modest improvement, if any, under Lal from what I have seen. It isn’t that much of a testimony that the TE and RB positions are pretty much considered the passing game.

Failure builds character; success reveals it

by signcut on May 23, 2011 4:39 PM PDT up reply actions

+ 1

Fair assessment. Lal Jay should sell twice as many season tickets as the other coaches – fair is fair.

S-O-B: ITS HOW I ROLL, DEAL WITH IT.
"I did the (2010) draft. ... I made a trade for Seymour. Gave up the first-rounder this year. I could tell you why. You may not think it was a good trade. I thought it was a great trade. Still do. [Al Davis 1/1911]

by Sons-of-Blanda on May 23, 2011 6:52 PM PDT up reply actions

+2, 4 times as many !!!!

Far as Development, NA, for there has been NO development where it counts. He’s a Kiffen/ Cable hire, enough said !!!

by papabegood on May 23, 2011 7:57 PM PDT up reply actions

Every coach on the Raiders is an Al Davis hire

don’t kid yourself it’s anything else

"Now I know what your thinking, did he fire six shots or only five. Ive forgotten myself in all this excitement, but being that this is the 44 magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and could blow your head clean off, you have to ask your question. Do I feel lucky? Well do ya punk!"
Dirty Harry Callahan

by rambis64 on May 24, 2011 11:58 AM PDT up reply actions

It's as much in seeing a failure in the problem receivers to improve on key areas

Namely, DHB’s propensity to jump to catch every ball. Murphy did exceed expectations but it’s not like he became route runner extraordinaire. Lots of other semi talented guys like Watkins who failed to do anything consistently.

I feel Lal has failed to make a mark on any of the guys, like a great coach does. I’ve also never once heard any of the guys ever mention his name; that says it all.

"tough times call for perseverance and a tough mind. I have been told that I can't play football before. We all know what happened with that. #neverquit"--Mark Herzlich

""The massive Raider Nation is beyond doubt the sleaziest and rudest and most sinister mob of thugs and wackos ever assembled."--Hunter S. Thompson

by brhynno on May 23, 2011 11:19 AM PDT reply actions

That said, I voted neutral...

As I believe at least some of my open criticism of him was unfair, but not all.

"tough times call for perseverance and a tough mind. I have been told that I can't play football before. We all know what happened with that. #neverquit"--Mark Herzlich

""The massive Raider Nation is beyond doubt the sleaziest and rudest and most sinister mob of thugs and wackos ever assembled."--Hunter S. Thompson

by brhynno on May 23, 2011 11:20 AM PDT up reply actions

While I agree with both of these statements:

Namely, DHB’s propensity to jump to catch every ball. Murphy did exceed expectations but it’s not like he became route runner extraordinaire

I think both guy has improved in both of those areas. DHB was a fundamental disaster, and Murphy was not running the most complex routes in the spread.

Great point, about none of the WRs bringing up his name. It is a big year for everyone involved with the receiver corp!

I promise; I will never die.

by Rich Langford on May 23, 2011 1:27 PM PDT up reply actions

Steve Wisniewski, Biekert and Woodson were brought in to help.

Steve Wisniewski, Biekert and Woodson were brought in to help the OL, LB’s and DB’s. Why not bring in Tim Brown to help San Jey with the WR’s? Timmy has great interest when it comes to helping the Raiders WR’s. He said he would even do it for free. Come on AL, what could it hurt?

by Captain Chaos on May 23, 2011 11:20 AM PDT reply actions