You could sum up the Raiders offense this year by saying it was a tale of two season. There were many highs and some lows. Let’s look at straight forward answers as to the positives of the season and what actually went wrong.
Overall Personnel:
The Raiders spent a lot of money and personnel on the offensive side of the ball. No team in the NFL did more for their offense than the Raiders did.
Some fans seem to want track stars at every wide receiver position, Adrian Peterson at Running back, and every offensive linemen being all pro’s. This is the salary cap era and you need to be real. Let’s look at the positions and see where the Raiders look good, and where there needs to be improvement.
Running Back:
I like the Raiders running backs. Latavius Murray is solid as a starter but he gets too many carries. Jamize Olawale has talent but he’s not getting the ball enough, just like Marcel Reece.
It took the Raiders 17 weeks to realize they had Roy Helu Jr. on the team. I’m shocked he wasn’t used more in the passing game this year.
This can be a solid group but the ball needs to be spread out more. They have the talent but you can’t see it if you don’t use it. The Raiders coaches did a poor job of using the players that they had.
Wide Recievers:
I think Tom Brady was using YMCA players at times this season. The thing is they still are the #2 seed in the playoffs. If your QB needs a great OL, amazing RB’s and awesome WR’s, then he’s really not that good. NO ONE HAS THAT!
That being said I like the Raiders WR core. Cooper had the dropsies at times but he has a great future and Mike Crabtree is as reliable and as solid a WR as their is. He’s been the best addition in free agency that the Raiders had this year.
I’m not a Seth Roberts fan; he’s made some good catches but Andre Holmes is more talented and needs regular playing time. If they don’t think he can do it, then drop him and get a better #3 in free agency. You can get another player with speed that can stretch the field more.
Tight Ends:
Next year, I think the Raiders can have a top 5 core at tight end. Lee Smith is flat out the best blocking TE in the NFL and he even caught some passes this year. Mychal Rivera needs more touches and Clive Walford is going to be a good one. Unless the Raiders find a way to get the tight ends the ball though, it’s a waste.
Why did the Offense Struggle In the Second Half?:
You can literally point to one game that changed the direction of the offense. That was the home game against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings have a good team and even with injuries, they have a good defense. Their coaches had 2 goals; take the long pass away, and rush Carr. They did both. They started playing their safeties back, taking away the long ball and the Raiders struggled. Teams started doing the same thing.
Another thing is teams started to blitz more. In the Kansas City game in Oakland, the Chiefs blitzed almost every play in the fourth quarter and it rattled Derek Carr. He ended up throwing 3 int’s in that quarter and that wasn’t a coincidence.
If you look at the changes teams made against the Raiders, in Derek Carr’s first 8 games of the season he had 19 TD’s and 4 interceptions. In the last 8 games he had 13 TD’s and 9 interceptions.
How do You Fix The Offense:
The Raiders stats in the mid range passing game is one of the worst in the NFL. They have to get the tight ends more involved. There needs to be near 10 passes a game to them. Not to get too technical but when the Raiders played a two tight end set, the seam pass was very successful and was there all day. With Amari Cooper going deep it occupies the safety. Have one tight end go straight up the field and there is a lot of space. The Raiders tight ends had several good pass catches using that play. The Raiders tight ends are solid and they have to be a weapon next year. If the Raiders continue to throw either deep or very short, nothing is going to change. It will also make the run game predictable and hurt that.
Evaluating Derek Carr:
I didn’t think Derek Carr would be as polarizing as he has been. When fans ask me about him I always tell them that if people say he sucks, don’t listen to them, and if people are checking to see who will introduce him at his hall of fame speech, then don’t listen to them either.
The Good:
First off for those that either want him benched or dumped, you’ve got to be kidding. Have you seen the quality; or lack of; in the quarterback position in the NFL? Who is going to replace him? (And if you say Matt McGloin, it’s good to hear from the McGloin Family). Half of the teams in the NFL are begging to find a QB and there are teams like Buffalo that is one QB away from being a playoff team. In the 1970’s and most of the 80’s, even bad teams had good to fair quarterbacks. Now most teams don’t have a good QB.
Derek Carr has a lot of good qualities that will make him a solid quarterback for a long time. He has a strong arm, can be accurate on the run, and is a solid leader. When he has great time he’s very accurate and productive. His teammates appreciate and believe in him and that is a big thing to look at as well. He’s even keeled and doesn’t lose his mind if things don’t go well.
The Bad:
I like Derek Carr but he has weaknesses for sure. His biggest one is his poor play when he’s under a pass rush. In the first part of the year he was barely touched and he flourished; the second half the pass rush rattled him some.
Tom Brady, Ben Roethlesberger, Ken Stabler, Joe Montana, etc….. These are just some of the guys that can get sacked 6 times in a game but they will still do well and their teams usually win. That’s not Derek Carr.
He’s now 1-12 as a starter when he’s sacked 3 times or more in a game. He tends to rush his throws and throws high when he’s he’s under a pass rush. His timing is way off and he struggles.
Some tried to say, “look at his stats against the blitz”. Well they dropped in the second half of the season plus they are very misleading. WHAT IF THE BLITZ IS PICKED UP! Then the QB gets credit for it when in reality it was the OL and RB’s that protected him that should get the credit. (see why stats can be misleading).
His 4th quarter quarterback rating is 31st in the NFL (only the Rams Nick Foles is worse) and he has more 4th quarter int’s than any qb in the NFL this year. He needs to make better decisions late in games.
His Numbers:
Fans of his LOVE to bring up his numbers but let’s face it, these new rules have made passing the ball much easier than in the past.
Kirk Cousins threw for more passing yards than any other Washington QB in history. Does anyone in their right mind think Kirk Cousins is a good QB. Is he better than Joe Theisman, Sammy Baugh, Doug Williams, and Sonny Jurgensen? Cousins also has more passing yards than Carr. Do you want Cousins over Carr? Of course not. And remember than in their second year, Dan Marino lead the Dolphins to a Super Bowl, and Tom Brady won a Super Bowl leading the Patriots.
Below are the NFL records for passing yards in a season. This is the 14 greatest seasons in NFL history. Notice anything? Twelve of these seasons have happened in the last 4 years when the rules changed protecting Wide Receivers. What is a penalty now was normal play 5 years ago. They’ve also been setting records the last 4 years for the # of defensive back penalties called. Anyone think Matthew Stafford is one of the greatest QB’s of all time?
NFL Passing Yards in a Season:
| 1. | Peyton Manning (37) | 5,477 | 2013 | DEN |
| 2. | Drew Brees (32) | 5,476 | 2011 | NOR |
| 3. | Tom Brady (34) | 5,235 | 2011 | NWE |
| 4. | Drew Brees (33) | 5,177 | 2012 | NOR |
| 5. | Drew Brees (34) | 5,162 | 2013 | NOR |
| 6. | Dan Marino+ (22) | 5,084 | 1984 | MIA |
| 7. | Drew Brees (29) | 5,069 | 2008 | NOR |
| 8. | Matthew Stafford (23) | 5,038 | 2011 | DET |
| 9. | Matthew Stafford (24) | 4,967 | 2012 | DET |
| 10. | Drew Brees (35) | 4,952 | 2014 | NOR |
| Ben Roethlisberger (32) | 4,952 | 2014 | PIT | |
| 12. | Eli Manning (30) | 4,933 | 2011 | NYG |
| 13. | Tony Romo (32) | 4,903 | 2012 | DAL |
| 14. | Drew Brees (36) | 4,870 | 2015 | NOR |
In conclusion Derek Carr is going to be a solid NFL qb for a long time but he does have issues. The Raiders protecting him is vital. They are going to have to have a great OL to keep him protected.
Bill Musgrave:
The Raiders were never thinking of having any coaching changes; that was just social media hype; but next year is a key year for offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave. The Raiders lack of adjustments to teams taking away the long ball was glaring. They have to use the tight ends in the offense and use the other RB’s much more often. What good is it to draft a talented tight end in Clive Walford and sign the best third down running back in Roy Helu Jr. if you aren’t going to use them? Next year is the year the Raiders offense needs to get to the next level.
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