The Raiders desperately need a win on Sunday, and Lincoln Kennedy challenged the entire roster this week to step up and start making plays.
Through five games, the Raiders have only 8 sacks and, once again, the lack of viable pass rushers on the roster has allowed opposing offenses to heavily shift their protections toward Maxx Crosby.
Crosby has just two sacks on the season and Kennedy said it’s imperative that someone on the Raiders’ defensive line starts making teams pay for focusing so much attention on Crosby.
“I’ve seen a lot of great performances, the performance that Maxx Crosby had in that Charger game… and you’ve seen this so far this year. I mean, defensive player of the year, he did it all,” Kennedy said on the Locked on Raiders Squad Show podcast. “What else can you ask for another guy to do? Interception sparks the offense.”
“I mean, all the things that you’ve seen [Crosby] do, and you know that he’s being a double or triple teamed,” Kennedy continued. “Just do this, here’s a homework assignment… Just for this Sunday, watch a series where the defense is on, and count how many guys are committed to number 98. Somebody else needs to win.”
In their first five games, the Tennessee Titans (19) have given up the second-most sacks in the league, and opposing defenses are averaging just under four sacks per game against them.
If the Raiders can’t figure out how to get to the quarterback against the league’s second-worst offensive line (statistically), it’s hard to imagine they’re going to be able to find any success the following week in Kansas City.
x: @raidersbeat
I grew up playing football in its most violent era, we finished games with paint transfer on our helmets and jerseys, dressed down in mud and blood and if that was not so then you just didn’t show up to play, but not everyone could. None of that is required today in this game of football light and yet no one but Crosby wants to show up? John Madden’s teams held practice after practice was over and all that for beer money and the love of the game. You can be on a bad team and still have a good season in your individual performance.
HERE IS THE BOTTOM LINE: This no longer the Raiders, this is just Mark Davis’ team, Boycott Mark Davis’ team until he sells. Mark Davis must sell for this slow motion Ground Hog Day disaster to end.
WEST SIDE
RN
SINCE 1975
Maybe re-signing Koonce to a 12 mill deal coming off a major injury that sidelined him for over a year wasn’t the smartest move. Maybe the unwillingness to not work with Wilkins on his rehab wasn’t the smartest move either. One dumb decision after another all off-season and it started with allowing Brady to join ownership at highly reduced cost. Everything starts somewhere and the product on the field now is because of the dumb off-season moves. Front office,coaches, and most if not all trades, draft picks and Free agents aren’t working out. What a failure this season has become. As bad as it’s been the previous 3 years this one’s just as bad. There needs to be a organizational philosophy of rebuilding, not retooling or reloading. Good teams, consistent teams become that way through the draft. This year our team decided that the draft was for skill positions with the trenches filled with subpar players. Cappa really? A.Butler really? Butler can be a decent player but that’s as a rotational guy. Extension for IPM wasn’t needed but in the land of a front office that knows no value it made sense. Every transaction was the same, no value!