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Busters
DJ Hayden
The favorite whipping post of teams throughout most of this season, he was a Buster four times, three of those times Top Buster including last week when he gave up record receiving numbers to Antonio Brown. For a few weeks there, he was balancing out his poor play with some decent plays. For instance, he has been a solid tackler for the most part. But not once could he put it all together into an overall good performance. Even the game in which he had his one interception, he gave up 10 catches on 12 targets, landing him as a Betweener.
Curtis Lofton
Tied with Hayden for the team lead with four Busters. That included once being Top Buster. After being a Buster for three of the team's first four games, he managed to escape being a Buster for several weeks due in large part to having lost his job as the team's starting middle linebacker and seeing the field more and more sparingly. He returned last week after once again showing his issues in coverage.
Ken Norton Jr
The Raiders defense has not been very good most of the season. At times the run defense looks good, but part of that is due to the fact that teams opt to attack them through the air, which is where they are most vulnerable. Last week against the Steelers, the Raiders were completely lost on defense most of the game. The Steelers offense took what they wanted and most times did it easily. In every one of the team's wins, the defense let the team back in the game. Last week and in week four they allowed the opposing team to mount a late, game-winning drive. Hopefully the return of Nate Allen, TJ Carrie, and Neiron Ball will give Norton the personnel he needs to not spoil the Raiders efforts on offense.
Ray-Ray Armstrong
He was a Top Baller in the season opener as a starter. It was not long after when he was no longer starting for the Raiders as they opted to have Aldon Smith playing outside linebacker and later Neiron Ball also keeping Armstrong on the sideline. Armstrong was a Buster just twice, but mostly because he hasn't seen the field that much. In week seven, with the injury to Neiron Ball, Armstrong played more on defense and promptly turned in a Buster worthy performance. Last week he gave up a blocked punt.
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