Two Prominent Players Had a Similar Observation About the Raiders’ Struggling Offense

Outside of one or two games, the Raiders’ offense has been largely disappointing since their hot start to the season. It’s hard to know exactly what the problem is, but after Sunday’s loss to the Washington Football Team, a couple of prominent offensive players hinted at what is missing.

“I think we kind of just coast a little too much. It’s definitely frustrating,” running back Josh Jacobs told reporters after the game.

Hunter Renfrow offered a similar synopsis, specifically in reference to the slow starts that are becoming a trademark of the Raiders’ offense again.

“It seems at the end of games, when we’ve got to have it, we go down the field and we get it, for the most part,” Renfrow said. “We just have to look internally and I’m with you on that. We’ve got to figure that out, for sure.”

For whatever reason, the Raiders seem to have fallen into a trend of opening games with a series short scripted throws – most of which are good for only a yard or two. It took almost two quarters for the offense to start playing with a little urgency against the Football Team and Derek Carr’s stat line for the first half told the same story: 15 of 19 passing for only 80 yards.

The WFT defense is solid, but they aren’t so mighty that the Raiders couldn’t throw more than a few yards downfield a time. When Carr was aggressive in the second half, good things started happening, but it was too little too late.

So to Renfrow’s point, why does it sometimes take so long for the Raiders to put their foot on the gas offensively?

And why would the offense practice hard all week just to “coast” through the playbook on Sundays?

twitter: @raidersbeat

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55 thoughts on “Two Prominent Players Had a Similar Observation About the Raiders’ Struggling Offense

    1. Exactly coaching is the issue. In spite of Gruden’s shortcomings, in football, he knew how to light a fire in his players. The interim coach is too conservative. So we go for two when we should have kicked the extra point, knowing we’re not good in the red zone? Too many issues with people who have never been a head coach before.

      1. Too conservative, but goes for 2? Make it make sense. I agreed with the 2pt try, they just had a shitty play call and shitty execution. Going for 1 made no sense and would’ve made no sense on the final score; they still would’ve beaten us by 1 pt.

        The slow starts are a problem and have been a problem all season long. That’s bad coaching and poor play calling. Promote Bradley to HC, Rob Marinelli to DC and replace Greg Olson with a better OC. If we still don’t go anywhere next season then it’s time to blow it up and rebuild.

    2. Every comment sounds like Raider Hating look at the trauma that we have suffered this year as a team with Gruden being fired was very bad for the lockeroom although the game has passed him by .Look at Ruggs situation its like the death of a family member, and then Arnett being released for being a **** problem on and off the field that really hurt us at any level of football you have to be mentally prepared and we are not .The short dumps 20yrds across the field for 2yds has always been Carrs downfall like the KC game Andy Ried knew that they weren’t prepared mentally and everyone is playing on that We have to many **** weapons to play 2ball and be conservative not just 1 player should be eating when we ha a decent arsenal Coach is doing the best he can ,and plus the penalties we are piling up but the calls on Max,and 24 were garbage we have to blow teams out and keep the zebras from the outcome Haters! TruR8der4Lyfe!

    3. THE CheckDowns (Carr) KING ! The Nicest Stat’s Guy ! Inn The World.. BUTT : ” IF HE’S NOTT ! ABLE TO TAKE THE TEAM TO A SUPER BOWL..” ???…

  1. Derek is not the answer.He is a secound string qb at best all the money in the world could ever make Carr win he is a BORN LOOSER

    1. That’s not even a serious comment. Just because someone’s team loses, doesn’t make that individual a “looser”. It’s spelled “loser” by the way. Derek is consistently rated a top 15 QB and more recently as a top 10 QB. You’re saying he is a top 64 QB at best. That’s absolutely ridiculous.

      1. Why does everyone bang on Carr? He’s only leading the league in passing yardage. He doesn’t call the plays, draw up the schemes, doesn’t catch the ball, coach the team, or play defense. Only an idiot would blame him. Even still he’s throwing the ball well, and working with what he’s got. The O-Line excels in pass protection but not so in run blocking. Therefore running the ball is not yielding significant yardage, therefore play-action passing is in short supply, especially with our deep threats sidelined or missing to influence the defense. Too many people simply do not understand so their answer to everything is a new QB. Any idiot could look at other teams and see a QB carousel doesn’t work. It is still a team effort. 11 guys on the same page with the talent to make something happen, and coaches drawing up schemes and game plans to put people in a position to be effective. Because the QB touches the ball the most he gets all the blame. There are more teams that would love to have Carr than not.

    2. Time to trade Carr for a 1st round pick to maybe the Browns or Bears. We can go after Arron Rodgers or Wilson of the seahawks, offer em a 3 years deal and draft a young QB for the future to learn from the Hall of Fame Veteran QB we aquire.

      1. OK Mr. smart guy, how are we going to play for an Aaron Rodgers or Russel Wilson? And even if we could afford it, what makes you think they would want to come to a franchise having so much trouble winning consistently because of off-field issues?

      1. Derik needs, a leader some one to hold him acountable he,s one or the leage,s leading passer’s the play calling is brutal he needs some acouple good line men ,he lost his number 1,that team does not have a strong leader to hold them all up when they need it and fight for them on the sideline,s on those hideous call,s

  2. First place to look is who calls the offensive plays? If they can’t look at game tape and see how ineffective and useless the play calling is, get a new play caller. This ain’t rocket surgery…

  3. It appears to me that the offense is back to doing what Gruden did. His philosophy seemed to be to force-feed the run for a couple of yards to wear down the defense for the 4th quarter. Because of this the offense was incredibly predictable, and even running against a stacked box to force our will on the defense. It doesn’t work, and some might even call it stupid. I thought “checking out” of a bad situation was smarter. But it has always been clear that when we were losing, Gruden would open up the playbook and allow Carr to be aggressive and we would seem to move the ball with ease, and converting 3rd down was not a problem. Even with the current missing players, the offense has shown it’s potent enough to put up more than 15 points. The coaching staff seems to be playing it safe and losing games as a result. I dred the idea of starting Carr all over again with a new offense and head coach, but unfortunately, that seems to be where we’re heading without a major philosophy change of the staff the rest of the season. Even if we keep the current staff, we definitely need a new head coach with a little more “fire” and aggressiveness.

  4. The Raiders have no head coach, no offensive coordinator and Derek Carr sucks. Derek Carr has no killer instincts. He is no Brett Favre, Steve Young, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.

    If you are always going to play from behind on the scoreboard; you better be as great as Kenny Stabler.

    Derek Carr should be let go. Marcus Mariota should get the starting job for the time being until the Raiders find a Franchise quarterback.

    1. It’s about time! After 4 years I’ve been calling for Carr’s head for the last 3.5 years now. It doesen’t take 8 years to figure it out! PRAWL24…Right on the mark!

  5. Olson has to go!! He SUCKS!! How many times can you throw the ball 15 yards sideways for a 1 or 2 yard gain and expect to win?!? WTF!!!

    1. I’ve said that for years now. On 3rd and 9, why do we throw the ball 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage hoping for a 10 yard game. Awful play calling. Olson sucks!!!

  6. A Path To A Better Raiders Team of the Future

    Whomever or should the Raiders pick new people for managerial positions, General Manager, Defensive Coordinator, Special Teams Coach ect., those people need to address some very important historical deficiencies of this team.

    Number one; The Raiders have historically been one of, if not the, worst tackling teams in the NFL. Obviously, this trend cannot continue if the Raiders are to become a successful team. I wonder how many years and defensive coordinators it’s going to take to figure this out and fix it.

    Number two; the Raiders defenses are historically the worst team in the NFL in third downs stops. This statistic alone will cost any team the opportunity to win games. Although, the defense, as a whole, showed up against the Washington Football Team. Too bad Derek Carr and Greg Olsen did not but that’s sort of becoming routine nowadays.

    Number three; The Raiders have not had anything special about their Special Teams since Jacoby Ford. Can anyone recall when the Raiders last scored a touchdown on Special Teams? One thing is for sure, just like Jon Gruden almost killed Josh Jacobs through overuse, this current managerial staff is about to do the same thing to Hunter Renfrow. If I remember correctly, there are 50 plus guys on this squad and “some” NEVER see the field during a real game.

    Number four; the Raiders have been exceedingly poor, for years, at covering an opposing team’s tightends. We all know that Kellen Winslow, Shannon Sharpe, John Stallworth, Antonio Gates, Antonio Gonzales, Tyler Eifert, all of whom are no longer in the league, Travis Kelce and any other tightend ever to play in the NFL has burned Raiders’ defenses for big yardage. Will this concern ever be addressed?

    Number five; What was a perceived strength, for the Raiders, three years ago is now in serious need of an upgrade, the offensive line. Being a Raiders fan since 1968, I can recall when some Raiders offensive linemen were household names; Dave Dalby, Jim Otto, Art Shell, Lincoln Kennedy, Gene Upshaw ect. Those days, and players, are long gone and so too is the effectiveness and indeed dominance of the Raiders’ offensive line.

    Number six; The Raiders are in serious need of a formidable, stop gap and reliable nose tackle.

    Number seven; A better offensive philosophy, in the first quarter of the Washington vs the Raiders game, Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke targeted no less than six different wide receivers while Derek Carr only targeted Hunter Renfrow and Bryan Edwards during the same time frame.

    Number eight; Linebackers, linebackers and more linebackers.

    Number nine; An identity. This team doesn’t have one and is desperately in need of some type of philosophy whether it’s a running team, a passing team or a defensive team.

    Number ten; A better quarterback. Mr. Statistics is just like a coin flip. One minute he can look good and the next game, not so much. He, in my opinion, is very reminiscent of Rex Grossman. Anyone who remembers Rex Grossman will surely recall the good Rex, bad Rex scenarios. That summarizes Derek Carr in a nutshell. “Some” of his decisions absolutely suck especially when he “floats” the ball downfield. Calling it what it is, after eight years in the league, Derek Carr is definitely marginal.

    Number eleven; A new defensive and offensive coordinator. Gus Bradley and Greg Olsen neither have ever won anything and “their philosophies” show as much. Both are marginal at best. While I will concede that personnel can have an impact on effectiveness, these guys have to get the most out of what they have and I am not convinced that they do.

  7. The oc needs to come up with more creative plays. Right now the play calling is so predictable. You have to open up the run game with aggressive passing, two, three yard dump offs just want do. If you have starters that are not giving 100%, bench them. I’d rather lose games with 2nd or 3rd string players that are giving 100% than highly paid veteran starters that are giving less than 100%. Just my opinion

  8. I’ve seen mini football teams more excited to come out and play. This has been an issue for years! Guess it’s a pain in the butt to come to work at the NFL.

  9. This commentary by the actual players clearly demonstrate that a sense of urgency and the commitment to excellence the Raider “Motto” is not the motivation of the quarterback position or the offensive coordinator. Again, D. Carr completes 15 passes out of 19 tries,
    and racks up 80 yards. The statisticians says D. Carr is the most accurate quarterback in
    the league. But, the Raiders end up not scoring. and losing. Also, the players such as
    Crosby, Ngakoue, Perryman, Hobbs, Abrams, Jacobs, Waller, Drake, and others are getting hurt while others are trying to build up their stats. It also appears that some players are
    not playing out each play and are quitting. This has to be addressed by the head coach.

  10. Why is because horrible conservative play calling and sticking with Derek Carr good stance but not a winner I’m sure had they started Marcus Mariota the last four or five games we would have won at least three of them also in the last part of the game they kick a field goal with one point with two minutes on the clock are you kidding me do they think that defense was that good give me a break

  11. Yeah, the short throws and the running against a brick wall are stupid when you have such a great passing team!

  12. We have a chicken playing QB, JDR knew if he brought heat early and hit Carr he’d be done for the rest of the game and he was right.

    Chicken ball doesn’t cut it.

  13. We have a overrated QB . Time to move on from Carr. What is Mark Davis afraid. Might not make to playoffs anymore

  14. Unbelievable comments on here. We lose our #1 WR, our co-running back, Waller didn’t play at all, DeSean is clearly hurt, our O-line sucks, we had several big drops, the refs screwed us on 2 game changing plays, and all anyone can talk about is Derek Carr? WTF is wrong with you people? The Raiders are the only team in the League that can’t seem to win low scoring games. When are people going to hold our D to account? We scored and went ahead with roughly 2 minutes left in the game. Is it too much to ask the defense to stop them from moving down the field and kicking the game winning field goal? The Raiders are 6-0 when Derek Carr throws for 300 yards or more this season. Some of these alleged fans just regurgitate what the talking heads say. Yes, Derek Carr is one of the most accurate QB’s in the League. He also is one of the best downfield throwing QB’s in the League as he ranks 4th in the League with pass completions of 20 yards or more. Tom Brady, Justin Herbert, Pat Mahomes fill out the top 3 ahead of him.
    Pat Mahomes has just 3 more completions of 20 yards or more, but has 27 more total pass attempts. Justin Herbert has 9 more completions of 20 yards or more, but has 22 more total pass attempts. DC has more passing yards (3,663) than Herbert and Mahomes (3,547 and 3,384 respectively), DC also has a higher completion % (67.8) than Herbert (66.6) or Mahomes (64.6). And since everyone wants to bring up the very stupid “check down” line every time we mention Derek Carr, he also has a higher avg per pass (8.1) than Aaron Rodgers, Dak Prescott, Lamar Jackson, Kirk Cousins, Herbert, Josh Allen, and Tom Brady. Derek Carr by no means is perfect, but to throw him under the bus every time the Raiders lose is just ridiculous.

    1. Defense doesn’t win games. Offense wins games. Defense keeps you in games.

      Raiders offense is weak can’t score consistently. That is primarily a problem with Derek Carr and Greg Olson.
      Carr is talented but is prone to playing scared. Thus the constant check downs.
      Pay attention and you can see it in his eyes. If he holds the ball to long the fear shows.
      Sure he tries to play through it. But in the long course of a game and season it catches up with him. Always will. Probably has flashbacks of his back and leg.

      Greg Olson has never been a good OC. When gruden brought him back I knew we were going no where. Gruden himself is over rated. Not worth what he was being paid.

      Sure there are issues with the D but first year under new DC and they’ve at least kept the team close in first 2-3 quarters of game. But when you go 3 and out as often as we do it’s only a matter of time before you run out of gas.

  15. I think the defense isn’t the problem!! We have been through terrible defenses and this defense gives us plenty of chances to win as long as they aren’t on the field for more than half the game .. I’m actually pretty impressed by the defense and we are getting to the qbs and getting penalties that shouldn’t be because the Refs love to call them against us !! Max Crosby sack shouldn’t of been a roughing the passer !! And we almost had a game winning pick !! If that pick would have happened then we wouldn’t be talking about the defense.. we would have been talking about the offense not scoring points ! Which is the real issue !!

  16. Hey Nation, gals guys, we are just a terrible football team plain and simple!! There is no other way to put it!! We do the exact same thing every year and look at each other with a dumbfounded look on our faces but just look at the last few seasons and it’s the same thing over and over. We are just plain bad no matter what guys we have on the field and no matter the opponent!!

  17. Do you ever wonder is offense is bi-polar. Every game we don’t what we get. We had extra time off and yet come out and stumble
    The KC game will be fun if the team shows ready to kick ***. Or it will be a blow out if we forget why we are there in KC.

  18. Carr’s career win percentage is under .500 …. His stats are very misleading and he does not play WINNING FOOTBALL. 8 YEARS… how much longer will it take for the Raider organization to realize inconsistent Carr will never get the Raiders to the SB. He is 3rd best QB in the AFC WEST and both Mahomes & Herbert are younger. Plus, Marcus Mariota is better, he can make things happen with his legs and his arm. Carr has gotta go!

  19. Ok …..so where are the TDs and points for all of his success and playoffs. The defense don’t throw interceptions!!!! Those are the games that hurt us this year!!!!!

  20. Tom Cable should’ve been put in as intern head coach. And Greg Olsen doesn’t know how to use this offense.

  21. To me it comes down to winning, listen fellow Raider fans. I’m not a Carr fan, I don’t want to dog pile on the guy but it was said earlier, he’s scared he doesn’t want to be hit, look at his eyes when the pocket starts to collapse. That’s why he checks down so he doesn’t get hit. He is Chicken’. Heineke stood in there at least 3 times and got smacked but completed the passes for 1st downs Carr very rarely if almost never stands in and makes that pass, he’ll throw it in the ground first.He’s an NFL QB he’s suppose to good. For real he’s had only 1 only 1 wining season in 8 years you’all that’s awful. Remember DC’s brother #1 pick played for years they kept hoping the Texans he was good but never good enough, sound familiar. I knew we were going to lose that game when Carr was happy and smiling after that FG, that was good enough for him. It wasn’t good enough for me. We need a man to stand in the pocket and make those tuff throws to win games and know your going to get Hit but it’s the difference between winning and losing. DC good stats, just Never wins enough. I’m so tired of this same old, same old!! I agree give Mariota a shot, we need to see if it’s a different ball club. Right, if the offense stays on the field more the defense gets to rest and stays fresher thru the game and in the 4th quarter when we need a stop!!!

    1. Every year, same story. Doesn’t matter who the players are. If they played Mariota instead, it would still be the same story. Sure he might have a different style. But the result would be the same. Do you remember that game when he came in early for an injured Carr and played well? The Raiders still lost the game.

  22. I think the number one problem with the raiders is Dereck Carr very inconsistent I been a raiders fan since 1973 it’s time Toto give Marcus Mariota a chance .

  23. I think the number one problem with the raiders is Dereck Carr very inconsistent I been a raiders fan since 1973 it’s time to give Marcus Mariota a chance .

  24. Carr may be accurate he’s just not a winner. And no heart I’ve seen more out of Baker Mayfield. He at least wants to win. Get rid of these players that just aren’t producing; Ferrel, Carr, Moreou Tight hands not end, . And so on

  25. Derrick Carr has no pocket awareness which leads him to look for the check downs. We need a head coach that’s going to call him out on that . Also to get into the team’s effort on winning drives. Olsen stinks as a play caller. Time to move on.

  26. Carr might be a so so QB but he needs to learn how to run again. All the teams know that he is afraid to. That element alone would surely be a big surprise to everyone do you all agree? As for the defense learn to stop a offence on third down. How can you fight so hard to get a team in a third down an long and let them get it 80% of the time?

    1. Every comment sounds like Raider Hating look at the trauma that we have suffered this year as a team with Gruden being fired was very bad for the lockeroom although the game has passed him by .Look at Ruggs situation its like the death of a family member, and then Arnett being released for being a **** problem on and off the field that really hurt us at any level of football you have to be mentally prepared and we are not .The short dumps 20yrds across the field for 2yds has always been Carrs downfall like the KC game Andy Ried knew that they weren’t prepared mentally and everyone is playing on that We have to many **** weapons to play 2ball and be conservative not just 1 player should be eating when we ha a decent arsenal Coach is doing the best he can ,and plus the penalties we are piling up but the calls on Max,and 24 were garbage we have to blow teams out and keep the zebras from the outcome Haters! TruR8der4Lyfe!

  27. Play caller being to conservative. Open the play book some more. Not the same repeated plays over and over. Pretty sure a new OC coming next season

  28. Derek Carr’s Win/Loss record is 53-69. He’d almost have to go undefeated next season just to be at .500%

    His 3rd down conversion percentage is pathetic. Against the WFT he was 2 for 8 in 3rd downs. Carr also completed 21 of his passes within 5-yards of the Line of Scrimmage.

    Now, in his eighth season — Carr has NEVER even appeared in a playoff game. He plays with no urgency and is the same quarterback when last year he was faced with 4th and goal with less than two minutes left in the game, threw the ball away. On 4th down and goal from the one!!! That one play defines him.

    Carr has no competitive spirit and will always have good stats because we’re behind so often and he gets his garbage-time stats. As Bill Belichick says, “Stats are for losers. Winners look at the final score.” As I stated earlier, Carr’s CAREER stats are 53 Wins, 69 losses!!!

  29. Marcus mariota played fo ten. from 2015-2019. Wins 33 loses 33. Was back up on play off. Team and had 2 snaps on 2 wins for ten playoff run and. lost staring job to Ryan tannehill. Ten had a better of line. Raiders need oc back passes don’t work

  30. Since RB has taken over our special teams has sucked! Greg Olsen has no business in the NFL he’s a clipboard holder and was Grudens monkey boy! That’s Carrs boy too. Team needs a new face. I don’t see how we roll out another new coach with DC as the face of the team.

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