It’s that wonderful time of year again: week one of the NFL season. A whole off-season of religiously keeping up with every move the team made and rigorously debating with friends and family of why your team will win the Super Bowl has led to this: the 2016 NFL season. Despite the hope that surrounds each team this time of year, there are still questions that remain. Here, we’ll discuss the top four questions for the 2016 Oakland Raiders.
Oakland Raiders Questions That Must Be Answered in 2016
Will the Offense Take the Next Step?
In 2015, the Raiders gave the NFL a few flashes of its potential. There were some huge Amari Cooper catch and runs here, a few Derek Carr deep balls there. Despite Carr and Cooper’s individual performances, the Raiders only scored 30 or more points four times. In fact, they scored less than 17 points in six contests. If the Raiders are going to contend for a playoff spot, their offense will have to be more consistent. Or they’ll need their defense to play like they’re the Denver Broncos, which they are not.
The Raiders certainly have the skill on offense but they’ll have to do a better job getting the ball to their top skill players and being more efficient with their carries. While the Raiders offensive line has been praised for the pass protection, their run blocking has shown to be less than adequate. Latavius Murray is an average running back with great size and speed but very little wiggle or power. He’s a player that needs wide open lanes to be paved wide open for him to be successful and the offensive line has not yet shown they are capable of that.
If the Raiders focus on feeding the ball to Cooper and Michael Crabtree while also using DeAndre Washington creatively and letting Clive Walford win mismatches this offense can be more than just dynamic. It can be downright deadly with Carr at the helm. There’s good reason to believe that Carr will take another step forward and if the coaching staff uses its weapons properly the Raiders offense can and will take the next step.
Is the Run Defense Better Than What’s Been shown in the Preseason?
The Raiders first team run defense has been downright ugly this preseason. David Johnson ripped them for a few huge plays. Eddie Lacy had 45 yards on nine carries on a single drive. In the first half against the Titans the first team defense allowed 109 yards on 23 carries for two touchdowns. While it may just be preseason stats, these are troubling. The defensive line has talent but rookie Jihad Ward is raw and looked it. Losing starting defensive end Mario Edwards, Jr. for eight weeks doesn’t help either. Denico Autry has not inspired much confidence as he’s played out of position and been manhandled at the point of attack.
If the Raiders’ interior defensive line can’t do their job or get pushed around then speedy but undersized linebackers Ben Heeney and Malcolm Smith have no chance to get to the ball carrier. While both linebackers are fast and can cover a lot of ground, they have not showed the strength necessary to shed blocks from offensive lineman.
Of course, these are just preseason stats and could mean nothing. The Raiders played a very vanilla base and nickel defense since it’s preseason. In the regular season, you’ll see teams call blitzes to stop the run rather then let their players consistently get beat. However, outside of nose tackle Dan Williams and edge players Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin, no one on the front seven found themselves in position to make a tackle for a loss, shed blocks, or consistently make tackles.
While being in the proper position is crucial for run defense, it can be coached up. Tackling and shedding blocks is another problem. With minimal padded practices teams don’t always have the option of practicing tackling and it shows. And in terms of shedding blocks, either your linebackers have the size and ability to shed them or they don’t, and so far the Raiders’ inside backers have shown us they don’t. With all that in mind, the Raiders’ run defense looks to remain a concern going forward.
Is Jack Del Rio “The Guy?”
If a team is going to take the next step and become an “elite team” more often than not, they have to have an “elite” head coach. The Seahawks have Pete Carroll, the Cardinals Bruce Arians, the 49ers had Jim Harbaugh. The list goes on. To become a great team you need a good, if not great head coach. So far into his career, Jack Del Rio has been average one. While his 75-80 record may not reveal everything about him it does not inspire much confidence.
He’s said he wants a physical and disciplined defense-oriented team but, so far, his defense has looked soft and been susceptible to the big play. And discipline? In 2015 the Raiders were flagged 160 times for 1102 yards and that rests directly on the coaching staff. The preseason has not looked much better. In four games, the Raiders have been penalized 40 times for 336 yards. That’s something that must improve if the Raiders are to be taken as a serious contender.
Furthermore, Del Rio has had three winning seasons and only reached the playoffs twice in his career compiling a 1-2 record. While his teams in Jacksonville may not have had the most talent, his 2016 squad certainly does. A franchise quarterback, Pro Bowl receivers and an all-world linebacker in Mack, if Del Rio cannot capitalize on his talent this year, will he ever? That much is still to be seen.
Can The Raiders Play With the Top Teams in the AFC?
This may be the most telling of the Raiders questions. In 2015, the Raiders went 2-7 against teams with a winning record and had a -48 point differential. In 2016, the script must be flipped. With all the hype surrounding the Raiders, they have yet to have actually done anything on the football field.
They lost handily to Kansas City (twice), Green Bay, and Minnesota. But they played tough games twice against Denver, winning one. They beat the Jets with the outcome never in doubt and lost a nail biter on a last second field goal against the Steelers.
To make the playoffs, which is the expectation of this team, you must beat other playoff caliber teams. That being said, all good teams must begin their run some time. For the Oakland Raiders, 2016 is that year. After a decade mired in futility, the Raiders will show once again they can hang with the top teams in the AFC and NFL.
