Oakland Raiders Darren McFadden will play in preseason
By Mike Dyce
Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden has battled injuries in his career. He is currently healthy and looking poised for a good season rushing well in practice. Head coach Dennis Allen wants to keep that momentum going by playing McFadden in the preseason.
“I’ve seen it where guys like Darren don’t play in the preseason and I’ve seen it where those guys do,” Allen said, via CSN Bay Area. “It’s my feeling that guys need to play. The anticipation is we’ll play him (each game). In terms of how much we’ll play him, we’ll evaluate that on a week-to-week basis.”
McFadden wants to play to get in sync with his lineman as they all adjust to the Raiders new offense.
“I want to be out there with my guys,” McFadden said. “We have a new offense this year, and you want to get some live reps in so we can get comfortable with what we’re doing. In order to do that, I have to be on the field too.”
Offensive coordinator Greg Olson designed his scheme with McFadden in mind. He installed a new blocking scheme based on gap creation and gap control to benefit McFadden’s running style.
“I feel like it’s coming together,” McFadden said. “They’ve done a great job of driving off the line and creating space for me to run. I’m looking forward to a game situation with those guys and being able to run this offense at full speed.”
McFadden isn’t worried about the potential risk of injury if he plays.
“You want to grind every day, just like the other guys are doing,” he said. “I try and lead by example. I’m going 100 miles per hour all the time, showing the guys how you’re supposed to play and how you’re supposed to practice.”
“(In terms of the regular season), I’m ready to go right now. But I’ll play however long the coaches want me to play.”