How Raiders’ Robert Spillane has reached the next level of linebacker play

HENDERSON, Nev. — A year ago, Las Vegas Raiders coaches and teammates raved about the improvements linebacker Robert Spillane made in pass coverage. This season, he took his reading of opposing offenses to the next level.

And sometimes, you just adjust during the game. Spillane had 10 tackles and an interception Sunday, but his biggest play in the 26-23 win over the Baltimore Ravens came with the Raiders down seven with 7:46 left. Lamar Jackson threw to a seemingly open Zay Flowers, but at the last second Spillane reached up and knocked the ball away.

“On two of the plays earlier in the game, I kind of rushed and covered the (running back) and the ball went right over my head,” Spillane said.

“I’m like, ‘Damn,’ I look back but the ball came over my head. … Lamar has a real low trajectory … so this time I took my eye off my coverage and I was able to track the ball coming out.”

The Raiders got the ball back after their pass breakup and drove 70 yards for the tying score, and ultimately won the game when they scored the final 13 points. The defense kept the team in it until Gardner Minshew II got hot, and the win erases the ugly season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

“It means everything,” Spillane said. “It means 1-1, it means we have some momentum going into Week 3, we’re excited to get back to Vegas, get healthy and get ready for the Panthers.”

While Maxx Crosby and Christian Wilkins get most of the attention, Spillane has been a force in the first two games. He joined Kirk Morrison and Denzel Perryman as the only offensive linemen since 1987 to have 10 or more tackles in each of the first two games of a season. A hard hitter who only started 16 games in four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Spillane has made a fresh start and is now at a point where it looks like he knows what the offense will do next.

“Spill is a very focused individual,” defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said. “He does a good job of consuming the game plan and then consuming the coaching points from the scouting report and being able to play forward with anticipation. He plays fast … because he’s able to decipher what the play is even before a snap, and then after the ball is snapped , reading their keys to decipher what they are doing.”

And the more reps Spillane gets, the faster he gets to the ball.

He was definitely in the right place midway through the third quarter against the Ravens when Jakorian Bennett knocked the ball out of Rashod Bateman’s hands and Spillane was there to cradle it. The Raiders then drove 46 yards to cut the deficit to 16-13.

“That play, in particular, was a play we beat in Detroit last year,” Spillane said. “It was a situational play that was still fresh in my mind. JB did a great job punching that ball and knocking it right into my hands.”

Spillane threw the football in the air and lost track of it, but cornerback Jack Jones tracked it down for him and gave it to him later on the sideline.

“I was celebrating and he said, ‘Rob, save it, save it!'” Spillane said.

Last season, he had a lot of tackles as he joined Ravens Roquan Smith (2022) and Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis (2001) and Patrick Willis (2009) as the only players since 2000 to record at least 148 tackles, three . sacks (he had 3 1/2) and three interceptions, according to TruMedia. That came despite playing every snap of a game with a broken hand, only to have surgery and a suit back up 10 days later.

An undrafted player out of Western Michigan, the 6-foot-1, 229-pounder credits Graham and his old linebackers coach, Antonio Pierce, with helping him become a key player who wears the green dot and is a team leader.

“Whatever we get from Maxx, we get at the second level from Spillane, and he’s just one of those guys, man,” Pierce said Wednesday. “He flies around, he’s physical. He throws up on the side. His face is completely red. I’m like, ‘Damn, like he’s an old-school true linebacker.’ You love it. It’s good to watch a good linebacker play. And obviously, I’m glad he’s on our team.”

Spillane loves the Raiders’ “physical, downhill style of play” but added the defense was smart Sunday not to go full after the elusive Jackson. He only had 35 yards on five carries a week after going for 122 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs.

It’s all part of watching film to try to figure out what offenses want to commit – and how.

“Understanding who’s on the field, where people are lined up, understanding the formations and maybe some plays that have beaten you in the past,” Spillane said. “I’ve always tried to find ways to help myself on the soccer field. Shape recognition has been big for me. Helps me play faster.”

And his teammates too.

“He’s straight football, all he does is watch football and play football,” defender Divine Deablo said. “He calls the plays before they happen, makes sure everyone is in the right place and has really grown as a leader. He’s not a big talker, but you see him pump everyone up in the locker room right now.”

Spillane immediately clicked with Crosby, who once got in his face in a college confrontation. He calls Crosby “possessed” and it takes one to know one. They are the first two players on the practice field every day, and their love for the game and spirit is contagious.

Crosby is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate every year, but Graham enjoys having Spillane just as much.

“He just comes in every day with great energy — not like good energy, it’s great energy, wanting to learn,” Graham said two weeks ago. “He works hard, he’s attentive, and then he’s selfless. His leadership… I mean, he doesn’t have to say a whole bunch, he just shows it. And then because he has the green point, because he is in the middle of the defense, he speaks, and he is clear and decisive when he takes a decision.”

Graham can certainly have complicated calls at times, and Spillane makes it sound simple.

“He’s an extension of me out there on the field,” Graham said. “And that’s where that relationship starts, and I can’t tell you how exciting it is to have him back for this year. … I really like that guy. He just had a baby and stuff, and he became a father… it’s cool, man. It’s great, this work is great. You all can say it’s hard, but it’s also cool.”

(Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images)