Pressure surge: Raiders LB Bruce Irvin getting to the quarterback
When rookie linebacker Nicholas Morrow first joined the Raiders this spring, one established teammate on the defense quickly caught his eye.
“The first time I watched OTAs, I watched film on practice and I saw Bruce (Irvin), I was like, ‘Wow, Bruce is the game-changer on defense,’” Morrow said. “He can cover, he can blitz the quarterback and he has good run defense, so he’s definitely the game changer.”
After a quiet first half this season, Irvin has been making his impact felt more the past three weeks. The linebacker’s five sacks lead the league over that span and give him 7.5 on the season, a half-sack behind his career-high set as a rookie in 2012.