Not only did the Raiders front office address the team’s offense this offseason, they also focused heavily on the defense, bringing veterans such as Justin Tuck, LaMarr Woodley, Antonio Smith, Tarell Brown, and Carlos Rogers. The status quo was not an option for Oakland as they badly needed to improve on last year’s disappointing season in which the defense finished 29th overall, allowing an average of 256 yards passing per game (28th overall) and 108 rushing yards per game (13th overall). The teams biggest addition might just be fifth overall draft pick OLB Khalil Mack who has been compared to Denver Broncos standout Von Miller. The onus is now on Defensive Coordinator Jason Tarver, nicknamed the ‘mad scientist’, to put Mack in the right situations to be successful. How does the 2014 Oakland Raiders defense look?
For the Offense… you can read here.
Defensive Line
Starter s – Justin Tuck, Pat Sims, Antonio Smith, LaMarr Woodley
Key Backups – CJ Wilson, Stacy McGee, Justin Ellis, Shelby Harris
The Raiders are hoping that starting veteran defensive ends Tuck and Woodley can energize a pass rush that posted a meager 38 sacks last year. This may be a difficult task. Justin Tuck is 31 years old and LaMarr Woodley is making the transition from a 3-4 outside linebacker with the Steelers. Both players though bring a winning attitude to a team sorely lacking in this department. Pat Sims proved last year (his first with the Raiders) that he can be a capable run stuffer. The team is hoping that better depth will allow Sims to stay fresh as he did fade late in games. Antonio Smith (nicknamed the Ninja Assassin) comes over from playing a 3-4 base end in Houston to play as a 4-3 tackle in the Raider’s base defense. Two rookies, Ellis and Harris, help provide the team with much better depth than the team has had in recent memory. Justin Ellis brings 334 pounds of run stuffing beef to the interior, while Harris showed some pash rush skills in college. Impressive second year player Stacy McGee played in 15 games as a rookie and showed great promise. CJ Wilson comes over from the Packers as a free agent.
Linebacker
Starters – Khalil Mack, Nick Roach, Sio Moore
Key Backups – Miles Burris, Kaluka Maiava, Kaelin Burnett
Undersized MLB Nick Roach (6-1, 235lbs) never came off the field in his first year as an every-down starter and also his first as a Raider. Roach is very reliable as a defensive signal caller and registered 111 total tackles, 5.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and one interception in 2013. He does however sometimes struggle against interior runs due to his lack of size. Sio Moore was selected in the third round of last year’s draft. Moore checks in at 6ft 1 in, 240 lbs, and ran a fast 4.65 in the 40 yard dash at the pre draft’s combine. Moore finished 2013 with 38 total tackles, 4.5 sacks, and one forced fumble which resulted in him being named to the Pro Football Writers Association’s All-Rookie team. His speed should enable him to make a smooth transition to weakside linebacker to make room for prized rookie Khalil Mack. Mack holds the all-time NCAA record for forced fumbles (16) and is also tied for career tackles for loss (75) in the NCAA. Starting all 13 games last year, Mack recorded 100 tackles including 19 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, three interceptions, one which he returned for a touchdown, and five forced fumbles. He won the CFPA Linebacker Trophy for the 2013 season, and was named the 2013 MAC Defensive Player of the Year. He was also named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press. The Raiders plan to utilize Mack’s wide range of skills to affect both the oppositions run game and pass game. Miles Burris pushed Moore to start at weakside linebacker, a position he played two years ago, but will instead be counted on to provide quality depth and special teams play, Maiava has had trouble staying healthy but will enter the season as Roach’s backup in the middle.
Secondary
Starters – Tarell Brown, Carlos Rogers, Charles Woodson, Tyvon Branch
Key Backups – Chimdi Chekwa, T.J. Carrie, Keith McGill, Usama Young, Neiko Thorpe, Jonathon Dowling, DJ Hayden
The Raiders were hoping to have a healthy and talented DJ Hayden manning one of the starting corner back positions in 2014. Instead he will begin the year on the PUP list recovering from a foot injury he sustained in OTA’s. He will be sorely missed as the Raiders were counting on him to improve a secondary that allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 68% of their passes, allowing 33 touchdowns while intercepting just nine passes. The team will instead be relying on former 49ers Brown and Rogers to man the corners. Tarell Brown should be an upgrade from last year, but Rogers might struggle as he was originally brought in as a slot corner. Aiding the team this year will be the return of Tyvon Branch. Branch broke an ankle in week 2 last year and his physical style of play was sorely missed. Charles Woodson found the fountain of youth by starting all 16 games in 2013 and will again be counted on as the last line of defense. The team will unfortunately have to rely on a lot of inexperience and youth as its depth.
The Raiders are hoping to field a much improved defense this year playing in the same division as Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers. While the front seven should be better, the team has to be concerned with its play of the secondary as it continued to disappoint in the preseason. They can only hope that they can generate enough of a pass rush from its front four and by blitzing to keep games close for their offense. The ‘mad scientist’ has his work cut out of him.
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