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Oakland Raiders middle linebacker Marquel Lee has no plans to apologize for his scuffle last week with Los Angeles Chargers tight end Antonio Gates late in the fourth quarter.If anything http://www.authenticlosangeleschargers.com/cheap-trevor-williams-jersey , Lee is adamant he did the right thing even though it resulted in a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty and a quick admonishment from Raiders coach Jon Gruden."He just told me I'm better than that," Lee said. "I was defending myself. Guy had my helmet. I don't care who you are, you're not going to chump me or punk me. I'm a grown man, too. Coach Gruden was just like, 'Keep your cool. You're better than that.'"A fifth-round pick in 2017, Lee is proving to be better than many people thought. His dust-up with Gates was one of the few signs that Oakland's defense still had some fight in it during the 26-10 loss that dropped the Raiders to 1-4.Lee has taken quickly to defensive coordinator Paul Guenther's system and played well enough over the first month of the season to unseat 14-year veteran and four-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker Derrick Johnson as the team's starter.Heading into Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks in London, Lee is third on the Raiders in tackles behind linebacker Tahir Whitehead and safety Marcus Gilchrist."He's done some good things," Guenther said. "He's progressing in the right direction. Obviously he is playing a lot now so we are counting on him."It's a stark contrast from a year ago when Lee had to be carted off the field with a right knee injury that sidelined him for two weeks. Already behind the learning curve at the time, the injury prevented Lee from making much of an impact and led to the Raiders signing NaVorro Bowman to play middle linebacker the rest of the season.Bowman wasn't re-signed this past offseason but Oakland brought in Johnson, the former Kansas City Chiefs star, and penciled him into the starting lineup early in training camp.Johnson started the first game of the regular season and took the majority of reps in Week 2 before Lee forced a change with his consistent work in practice and games."I noticed it a lot with my play," Lee said. "Just not as much anxiety on myself, and not much panic. Playing calm, to be honest. Just seeing everything slower and making my plays when I need to."The Raiders are 30th in total defense and have had a penchant for allowing big plays. Lee has made his share of mistakes, most notably blitzing against the Chargers on a screen play when it wasn't called for. The result: a 34-yard gain on a day full of breakdowns by Oakland's defense."The margin for error is small in this game," Lee said. "I feel like we have a great sense of urgency, especially after last week's loss, seeing the plays that we gave up and could have held onto to win the game."The Raiders don't seem to mind the growing pains with their young inside linebacker. Lee's progress on defense while also playing extensively on special teams has been a positive in an otherwise disappointing start for the team.Lee's challenge this week will be trying to contain Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson."We know that he's a good scrambler and he makes plays in the open field," Lee said. "We plan to keep him in the pocket and keep him corralled, not give him much room to run because that's when he's most dangerous Youth Mike Pouncey Jersey , when he's out of the pocket."Notes: The Raiders held a brief and light practice Thursday before departing for London where they will play the Seahawks at Wembley Stadium. ... Starting left guard Kelechi Osemele (knee) missed a third consecutive day of practice. Jon Feliciano has been practicing in Osemele's place. Defensive tackle Frostee Rucker (neck) also sat out Thursday.Efficiency is the name of Ekeler’s game It was almost one year ago to the day that Austin Ekeler took his first career carry 35 yards to the endzone against the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles in last year’s week four contest.As fans erupted with joy and jubilation, it inevitably turned into reserved optimism because, as they say, “one carry does not a career make.” But a little less than 365 days later, we are still seeing flashes and feeling the residuals from that unexpected performance.Going into the Chargers 2018 season, Ekeler is no longer a former-UDFA coasting by on his strong 2017 preseason performance which landed him on that year’s final 53-man roster. He is now the solidified RB2 on this team and retains a vice-grip on his roster spot that doesn’t look to be relinquished anytime soon.It was expected that Ekeler would see an inflation in playing time this season, regardless if tight end Hunter Henry was healthy and available. In the Bolts’ first game of the 2018 season, many of the fan base’s expectations came to fruition, and then some.As a runner, Ekeler received just a handful of carries against the Chiefs (5) compared to Gordon (15). But true to form, Ekeler’s average yards per tote was almost double Gordon’s (7.8 to 4.3).As receivers, both backs were pelted with targets in their comeback attempt. Gordon caught 9 of his 13 targets for 102 yards, averaging 11.3 per catch, while Ekeler caught all five of his for 87 yards, a touchdown, and a very healthy 17.4 yards average.For the game, he averaged 12.6 yards per touch.Gordon’s average, albeit on more than twice the touches, was just 6.9.It will never seem fair to compare their boxscores unless the two start to record comparable workloads but this theme has stayed the same since way back into last season and I don’t think it can be ignored much longer.The most satisfying thing about watching Ekeler play football is that he just has that uncanny, uncoachable ability to make plays when the team needs it the most. It’s usually the main difference between the players that are kinda good and the great players Youth Denzel Perryman Jersey , the players that are recalled occasionally and the ones you just cannot forget.In the above play, Gordon is out wide to the left with Keenan Allen in the slot. Ekeler runs a traditional go-route while Allen runs a fade towards the sideline. Allen’s route incidentally takes him to Ekeler and when Rivers lets it rip, you can’t really tell who he’s trying to throw it to.The ball is just out of reach for Allen but also looked to be short of Ekeler, as well. Unsurprisingly, Ekeler put enough distance between him and his defender off the line that he was able to come to a stop for a full second and allow the ball to land in his arms before the defender could get back into position.This play kicked off the team’s third drive of the game, arguably one of the most important drives of the entire game, as the Chargers found themselves in an early 14-3 hole and were needing points about as bad as Kyle Posey needs a “no credit card minimum” at happy hour.They needed a play. Ekeler answered the call.Unpopular opinion time: Ekeler is the team’s most successful power-back.Here me out.At the end of the day, it does not matter how strong or heavy a running back is if they cannot fall forward after runs and grind out the two or three-yard gains necessary to keep drives moving in critical situations. Ekeler, all 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds of him, wins in these situations more than not.There’s nothing too flashy about this play from Ek, but the ending is just one of a plethora of examples that showcase his ability to finish runs. The stiff-arm on LB Anthony Hitchens is a nice touch, as well.I’m throwing this last play in here for good measure to really hammer home how Ekeler has a such grasp on the little things that a player can do to tack on an extra yard or two at the end of plays.It’s just a simple hesitation before he gets skinny and splits the defenders but again, it’s always been the little things with #30. They add up. As cliche as it is to say, there’s a reason why coaches and leaders beat the sentiment into the ground.I don’t know about you guys, but I’m excited. I’m excited to see if Ken Whisenhunt will continue to wise up and keep finding new and creative ways to get Ekeler on the field as the season goes on.I mean, and dare I say it, but good teams usually want their best running back on the field, right? cheap football jerseys