The Raiders were everyone’s wild card darling team after going blow-for-blow with the Chiefs a week ago, but on Sunday we learned a little about the Raiders that we maybe overlooked in the first half of the season.
Let’s take a look…
The Raiders running game is not where it needs to be…
Josh Jacobs has been a solid runner, but his yards-per-carry has dropped from 4.8 YPC in his rookie year to 3.8 YPC this year. That’s a substantial drop that might have a lot to do with injuries along the Raiders offensive line, but it’s a little odd that Devontae Booker is averaging 5.5 YPC running behind the same line.
Additionally, Pro Football Focus grades the Raiders as the 29th-best run-blocking offensive line this year. That isn’t good.
The Raiders offensive line needs Trent Brown back…
A week ago it looked like the Raiders maybe had a cheaper long-term solution at right tackle than Trent Brown. But after giving up 8 pressures to the Falcons on Sunday, maybe Brandon Parker is better suited with the role he currently has – as a swing tackle off the bench. In the last 24 hours the $14 million owed to Brown next year suddenly seems a lot more palatable.
The Raiders defense is getting better…
It seems strange to say, but Paul Guenther’s defense actually had one of their better days on Sunday, despite giving up 43 points to the Falcons. Considering how many times the Raider defense was given a short field by the offense, they actually held up well.
Think about it this way. The defense really only gave up 36 points because seven points came on a pick-6. A laughable roughing the kicker penalty gave the Falcons seven more points. A fourth down stop in the redzone almost happened and Trayvon Mullen nearly had a pick-6 of his own. The defense missed on opportunities for sure, but they are starting to look like a unit that can keep the Raiders in games against some of the better offenses around the league.
The Raiders still have some growing up to do…
Good teams don’t show up in important moments and get beaten by bad teams. Admittedly, the Falcons under Raheem Morris are a lot better than their record, but the Raiders had everything to play for on Sunday and we didn’t see their best effort. The same thing happened last year when the 6-4 Raiders traveled to the Jets and got plastered. We blamed the weather at the time, but this year it happened in a dome.
The Raiders need a speed rusher on the edge…
Pass rush wasn’t a huge issue against the Falcons, but watching Atlanta get after Derek Carr was a reminder that any offense can come crashing to earth if the quarterback doesn’t have time in the pocket. Not one of Carr’s four turnovers would have happened without pressure from the Atlanta pass rush.
If the Raiders hope to eventually take back the AFC West, they need to take the formula that Atlanta used on Sunday and make it work for themselves.
twitter: @raidersbeat
Where to start. Have the Raiders been reading about how easy their schedule is from here on out? Do they petition the NFL for a 10-game schedule? They better heed the old saying, “on any given Sunday” because that’s the truth. They almost have to win out now to have a chance. Gruden said the team seemed a bit flat at practice during the week. Ok, then what do you do? You play like you practice so something should’ve been done to right the ship. Carr said that this 6-4 team feels different from last year’s 6-4 team. I now wonder if that’s a good thing or bad thing. My father’s Raiders……not!!
pitiful
I don’t know what is goin on, but I getting sick and tired to get upset every Sunday watching the Raiders loosing.
Yesterday with the Falcon depressing and the last straw and HUMILIATE.
Assuredly, there are many areas where the Raiders can improve. While I did like the “idea” of Derek Carr taking a shot down the field, I believe that it would have been more prudent to secure the first down, conservative Jon Gruden ball, instead of taking those shots on third down. That way, the Raiders, they stay on the field instead of allowing three and outs. To me, that is easily correctable. However, last week, against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Raiders threw the ball to usually untargeted receivers. This served to keep the Kansas City Chiefs off guard. Obviously, the Atlanta Falcons were targeting the Raiders primary receivers because the Falcons knew what a threat they proposed. So, the unpredictability factor wasn’t there, this week. Additionally, I believe that Josh Jacob’s injuries are more substantial than have been reported. When healthy, Josh Jacobs is a more than adequate runningback but injuries can diminish anyone’s productivity. Also, there needs to be a one, two punch at runningback. While the second and third string runningbacks are adequate, as backups, but not as running backs that can carry the fulltime load. As we all know, injuries have been a mitigating factor for the Raiders all season. The amount and severity of these injuries cannot be underestimated. The Raiders aren’t all that different from any other NFL team. As has been proven, time and time again, NO NFL team can take any other NFL team for granted because, as the old saying goes, “On ANY given sunday…” What appears to be the problem, thus far with the Raiders however, is that the Raiders have, for two years in a row now, in my opinion, NOT focused on the task at hand when playing a decidedly “weaker team.” For reasons unknown, under Jon Gruden’s overview, at least for two consecutive years, the Raiders have “come up short when they have definitely needed to step up the most. Well, both of those games, for each year, are over and done with now so the ONLY question that remains is, Will the Raiders continue to play down to “lesser opponents,” for the rest of the 2020 season or step up and meet the exponentially tougher challenges ahead of them? Only time and the play of the Las Vegas Raiders will adequately answer this question. To be continued next sunday against the New York Jets.
I put it on coaching. The game has past gruden by. He is not innovative at all. We are unprepared on games we should handle the other team.
Why draft ruggs if you don’t use his speed. He couldn’t develope a qb in Tampa and that’s what got him fired.
Get this straight, I AM NOT advocating cutting or demoting Derek Carr with this post but I am asking the question; is it time to consider bringing in, at least signing off of the Seattle Seahawks’ practice squad, one Anthony Gordon as a cheaper and potentially future quarterback? I think that we can all agree that Mariotta is overpaid and that Nathan Peterman IS NOT the quarterback of the future. In my opinion, it’s never too early to start thinking about tomorrow, today. Let’s just call it Christmas shopping.
I was embarrassed… with the Falcons missing their two best players the raiders did not come to play with the playoffs on the line which is very concerning. There is a history of this happening with Grudens two teams.. last year against the jets and with Tampa before he was fired. Let’s hope this it does not happen this season. I dont think they are ready to be a playoff contender.
Time to get old school tough players. Too many injuries and no where enough depth. Rugg’s 4th pick why! I don’t see it. Too many other WR’s in that draft class. Blew it on DK Metcalf. Wear a mask Chucky and its time to show up. Stop embarrassing us again; its been tooooooooooooo long. Proud of the Raiders that showed the SB Champs up at home! That’s all we have to show this year. I don’t see a legitimate playoff run…Another year another sad result.