Some people might argue that the Oakland Raiders don’t need to be fixed. They’re 4-2, and currently sit atop the highly competitive AFC West. They’re undefeated on the road, and at points this year, have looked unstoppable. But look a little deeper and this is a team that could very easily be in serious trouble. Here is how head coach Jack Del Rio can fix the Oakland Raiders.
How to Fix the Oakland Raiders
The Raiders DO Need to Be Fixed
While the Raiders are first in the division, they are in trouble. If the entire season so far had been one game, the Oakland Raiders would have lost. Badly. The Raiders may have scored 152 points so far this year, but their opponents have scored 163. It’s actually miraculous that they’ve managed to win as many games as they have.
It’s no secret that Oakland’s defense is a problem. They’re giving up 450 yards and 27 points a game, and they’re not getting to the quarterback. Only two teams have fewer sacks (eight) than the Raiders, and they’re losing the time of possession battle badly. The Raiders are only averaging 29:30 of possession a game, which is bad enough to be 22nd in the league.
So the Raiders defense isn’t stopping the run, they’re not getting to the quarterback, and they’re spending more than half of the game on the field. As good as Derek Carr and the offense have been at times this year, they’re not going to be serious contenders while they’re trying to compensate for a historically bad defense. So how can Jack Del Rio and company fix the Oakland Raiders?
The Offense
While it may seem puzzling to blame a top-ten offense for Oakland’s struggle, they’ve certainly played their roles in the team’s failures. As established earlier, the Raiders aren’t winning the time of possession battle, and that’s because the team has too many wasted drives.
They’re only converting 36% of their third downs, which is bad enough to be 24th in the entire league, and 15 of their 71 offensive drives have been three-and-outs. In the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Raiders failed to get a first down on four of their five drives. The Raiders were only down by three when the half started, but they only had the ball for less than ten minutes in the final two quarters.
The offense has proven that they can make big plays, but they need to get better at running a normal offense. The rushing attack started the season hot, but they’ve fallen off dramatically. Heading into their match-up against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Raiders have fallen to 13th in rushing.
If the Oakland Raiders want to be taken seriously, they have to prove they can move the ball when they aren’t in the no-huddle. While there are benefits to playing conservatively, playing “not to lose” can be counterproductive.
Bill Musgrave thinks that by playing conservatively on the first two downs, he can set up a more manageable third down. While there’s some truth to that, doing it every single drive can have dreadful consequences.
Against the Chiefs, the Raiders faced a first-and-twenty. Musgrave wisely chose to run a draw, hoping to make the second down more manageable. However, the hand-off was botched, the Raiders lost four yards, and he had to resort to passing the ball on second down. At least, that’s what a smart person would do. Instead, Musgrave opted to run the draw again, for no gain. On third-and-19, Carr found Amari Cooper for a 13-yard gain, but obviously it was too late. Sebastian Janikowski was called onto the field, only to miss a 52 yard field goal.
Derek Carr has proven to be quite capable of calling his own audibles on no-huddle plays. Maybe it’s time for Del Rio and Musgrave to give the young passer a little more control over his play-calling, like the New England Patriots do with Tom Brady and the Indianapolis Colts did with Peyton Manning.
The Defense
This is the real problem with the Oakland Raiders. While the offense could be a little better, the defense couldn’t possibly be worse. Fans are demanding for defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. lose his job, and it’s easy to see why. No NFL defense should give up more than 400 yards a game. And with players like Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin on defense, eight sacks through six games is unforgivable.
The answer seems obvious to anyone that watches the Raiders. Norton and Del Rio should allow the defenders to play to their strengths. Asking Sean Smith to play a soft zone, covering most of the field when he’s obviously better pressing at the line, is ridiculous. Keeping your best player, Mack, as a defensive end, when he was an All-Pro outside linebacker last year, makes no sense.
The Raiders are lacking depth at linebacker, but have a surplus of pass rushers. The obvious solution is to switch to a 3-4 full time. If you don’t have three capable linebackers, but you have depth on the defensive line, spread the love. At some point, the Raiders are going to have access to Mario Edwards Jr. and Aldon Smith. When they do return, the Raiders need to rotate Edwards, Jihad Ward, Denico Autry, Dan Williams, and Stacy McGee on the defensive line, and let Mack, Smith, and Irvin stand up. If the Raiders would ever bother to blitz, especially with that personnel, there would be immediate improvement.
Sometimes coordinators are afraid to blitz because they feel like it makes them susceptible to big plays down the field. That isn’t a problem for Norton or Del Rio because their defense is already completely ineffective. There are some downsides to switching to a 3-4, but considering how bad the defense already is, it can’t get much worse.
Last week, the Raiders made the likes of Alex Smith and Spencer Ware look like All-Pro juggernauts. With names like Blake Bortles, Cam Newton, and Andrew Luck on the horizon, things need to change, and they need to change fast. Otherwise, 2016 will be just another season where the Raiders got a hot start, only to crash violently into the glass ceiling.
