After a hot start, the Oakland Raiders have apparently forgotten how to run the ball. They spent the first quarter of the season in the top five, but now, they find themselves outside of the top ten. Ryan Smith breaks down the Oakland Raider rushing problem.
The Oakland Raider Rushing Problem
During the first first two weeks of the season, the Oakland Raiders had no problem running the ball. Against the New Orleans Saints, the Raiders rushed for 167 yards. The next week against the Atlanta Falcons, it was the same story as they compiled 155 yards in a losing effort. However, in the coming weeks, the team would fail to break 100 yards once.
Latavius Murray
Some of the Raider Nation are speculating that the Raider rushing recession is due in part to Latavius Murray‘s absence. Murray was sixth in the NFL in rushing last year with 1,066 yards and six touchdowns, but he hasn’t played since leaving Oakland’s Week Four win against the Baltimore Ravens. Rookies DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard have played well at times in his absence, but they’ve disappeared in games as well. Against the Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland turned to the rookie rushers several times in the second half, but they couldn’t get anything going and the offense was shut out.
Tackle Trouble
The Raiders have lost several right tackles to injury this year. Seriously, they have lost Austin Howard, Menelik Watson, and Matt McCants to injuries. The left side of Oakland’s offensive line might be the best in the league, but if defensive coordinators know you can’t rush to the right they’re going to overload the strong side all day long.
Another big blocking loss was tight end Lee Smith. While Smith isn’t a dynamic receiver, he’s the best blocking tight end in the NFL. Clive Walford and Mychal Rivera are both talented tight ends, but neither man is an exceptional blocker. Oakland signed Cooper Helfet from the Seattle Seahawks, but he has yet to debut. Hopefully he’ll be able to play soon, and will give the line a boost.
Bill Musgrave
Bill Musgrave, Oakland’s offensive coordinator, is not a popular guy. The Raider Nation are not thrilled with his conservative play-calling, especially when the team has the lead. He takes too long to open up the playbook, and often plays “not to lose”. By calling the same repetitive draw plays on first down, defenses are prepared. Instead of using their potent passing attack to open up run lanes, it feels like he tries to force the ground game as long as possible.
Last Sunday against Kansas City, Musgrave called a draw on first-and-20. After it failed, he called the exact same play. This resulted in a missed field goal from Sebastian Janikowski. The next time the Raiders were in range, they opted to go for it on fourth down, and they didn’t convert. Ultimately, Musgrave’s play calling resulted in two dead drives in a game where the Raiders lost by 16 points.
In Summation
The Kansas City Chiefs had the ball for nearly 40 minutes of the game last Sunday. They couldn’t generate any offense, especially not on the ground. The Raiders need to get healthy on offense soon, or their time at the top of the AFC West will come to an end. The returns of Murray, the linemen, or Helfet’s debut will benefit the team greatly.
