Khalil Mack Roughs Up Cardinals
As a rookie for the Oakland Raiders, Khalil Mack made an impact, but he was still far from unstoppable. This year, however, he looks to change that.
After the Raiders week 3 preseason loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Mack stole the spotlight from the revamped offense with an impressive performance attacking the right side of the Cardinals offensive line. He had two sacks and a forced fumble (eventually recovered by Arizona), but he applied pressure to quarterback Carson Palmer the whole first half.
To put yesterday's performance in perspective, he tallied just four sacks all of last season to go along with 59 tackles. With another year under his belt, there's no reason to believe he can't surpass double digit sacks and triple digit tackles this season.
Jack Del Rio commented about Mack's stellar performance in the San Jose Mercury News:
"Yeah, he was terrific," said coach Jack Del Rio. "I thought he played very well. We got some good pressure on the quarterback and he was a large part of that. I know he had a couple of sacks and a couple of other plays, but he was very stout in the run game as well."
The Raiders made a wise decision hiring the defensive-minded Del Rio. His decision to put Mack into a linebacker position only helped him pressure the quarterback. Last weekend, Palmer couldn't get a steady drive in motion due to constant pressure in the pocket from Mack and Mario Edwards Jr. - another outstanding performer from Saturday's game.
If Mack can continue to be a pass rush force like he was last week, the Raiders will be a tough team to play against this year.
