The Raiders have not met even the lowest expectations through the first 10 weeks of the season, and the coaching staff spent a big portion of the bye week looking for answers to jumpstart the offense.
Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was fired shortly after the team’s 41-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals and the first challenge for interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner was to figure out why the offense has been such a disaster this year.
There is more than one answer to that question, but the consensus seems to be that the team’s inability to run the ball has been at the core of their issues on offense.
The Athletic’s Vic Tafur talked about the changes that were made over the bye week, and he thinks the coaches believe the biggest problem on offense has been the offensive line and their inability to work together as a unit.
“We talked to Scott Turner today about the offense and the running game,” Tafur said this week on the Just Win podcast. “He seemed to think that the biggest problem, this was my takeaway, was that it’s the communication between the offensive line, not so much the backs themselves. So we’ll see if that improves this week.”
We don’t know what coaches and players may have said off the record, but this what Turner said publicly about the team’s offensive line issues.
“I’m not going to come up here and say it’s not about the plays, a lot of it’s about the plays, but it’s about the players believing in the plays and knowing exactly what to do so that they can play fast all the time and then reach their capabilities,” Turner said at his press conference this week.
“You know, we’ve had some issues, obviously,” he continued. “We’re not doing a great job right now running the football. You know, trying to just make sure that the communication is great, you know, with up front, so we’re number one, we know who we’re getting to.”
“Coach Philbin, you know he’s going to do a great job.,, just really focusing on the fundamentals of, you know, hat placement, understanding what we’re trying to get out of every run. Hopefully we can stay a little healthier and have some continuity, which will help us go on up front.”
The Raiders face a Dolphins team on Sunday that is finally getting healthy, and it’s going to be interesting to how the team responds to the adjustments made over the bye week.
Will the Raiders find a way to be more successful running the ball?
Getting Brock Bowers involved and keeping him involved might be nice to see, as well.
twitter: @raidersbeat
Again nothing but afc east teams on. what kinda tv deal did that lame brain commissioner make … tired of chiefs and ravens all the time… how about showing the west coast teams on the west coast… been this way most of the season. … hoping to watch the Raiders Fins game and instead im getting the ravens again and in the second game it’s the chiefs again… what happened to regional games and their fan base… and im not going to shell out money to prime just to watch football… like Jerry Glanville said NFL not for long as a football fan glad the NBA and WNBA is on… greedy corporate commissioner and their screwed up TV deal… ABC didn’t even show the Monday night game on veterans day… something i thought they would Respect my uncle was in Germany my brothers in Vietnam and nieces and nephews in the gulf wars for what only well off people who can afford to watch and screw the rest…
I’m sorry for blowing a fuze it was advertised that the ravens game was going to be on but they are showing the Raiders Fins Game… thank you and i am sorry … but finally a Raiders regional west coast game is on… i get so jacked up on game day… even at this age and yes I’m an old fart…