I’ve seen some of the craziest theories for some fans and even writers trying to explain the issues with the Raiders. I’m just not that smart I guess; I break it down to what is and not to what might be so let’s look at the statistics.
Raiders Issues:
If you follow the NFL you know that owners and coaches have 2 flaws. They hate change and when they do change they copy someone. Right now the Raiders need to change their philosophy on both offense and defense to combat the changes other teams have done to stop them. For 4 straight weeks they’ve refused to adjust and it’s cost them against teams with less talent.
What Needs To Change On Offense To Beat the Chiefs:
The Raiders have completed only 2 passes over 40 yards this year and 15 passes for over 20 yards. That is on the same pace for last year.
The problem with that is for the last 4 games teams have begun to play press coverage on the Raiders. Commentators have talked about how teams no longer give the Raiders the easy short throws and the Raiders have to stretch the field. So far they haven’t adjusted to the defensive changes of other teams.
Bill Musgrave is not a genius and he was not a big loss even though some are getting way too carried away with his importance. He’s now the QB coach at Denver and Trevor Siemian is borderline atrocious, and is a big reason their offense struggles. What OC Todd Downing and Derek Carr are not getting is that they need to adjust their philosophy and they aren’t. Teams are taking away the short game so now you have to throw deep.
The first thing I’d do tonight is run a play action pass on first down and throw the deep ball. Even if it isn’t caught, it will give the threat of it. Cordarrelle Patterson is lightning fast and so is Amari Cooper & Johnny Holton. What good is that speed if you are not going to stretch the field? The NFL is a game of adjustments and those that don’t adjust, fail to keep their jobs.
Marshawn Lynch & The Formula to Beat Kansas City:
I was in the 1% who did not like the Lynch signing. He’s not the same player and he’s lost his burst. I like youth at RB; always have. Also the Raiders changed to a zone blocking scheme to accommodate his running style. The zone blocking scheme is more for smaller and quicker OL. The Raiders have a mammoth sized OL and they should be running the power scheme and NOT zone blocking. The running game has suffered for it.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are 5-1 against the Chiefs in their last 6 games. Why? Because they stopped the nonsense of throwing 40-50 times and ran the ball down Kansas City’s throat each time. They also took away the run and the short pass to the RB’s and TE’s and tried to force Alex Smith to throw deep which is not his strength.
The Raiders need to run and run often. Jalen Richard & DeAndre Washington have to run the ball more. He’s quick to the hole where Lynch isn’t. If it were me Lynch would not even start, Richard would. I would employ Lynch as a short yardage or goal line back.
What Needs To Change On Defense:
The Raiders are 27th in the NFL in sacks with only 11. Sound Familiar? If you can’t rush the passer your defense will not be good; end of story. Especially in todays game with the rules protecting WR.
The Raiders also lack talent and you can’t fix that mid-season. Navorro Bowman was a great signing for the LB’s but he’s nowhere near what he was in the past. He’s had two terrible leg injuries and his speed has suffered a lot. If he can get there he can make a tackle that is for sure. On the Raiders though he immediately becomes their best LB. Bowman is not a blitzer; he’s a straight up LB and in his prime was as good as anyone in the game. All these ridiculous predictions of multiple sacks and 12-15 tackles and multiple fumble recoveries are fun stuff on Facebook groups I guess but it’s far from the real world. Hopefully Bowman can get into a regular rotation and get his sea legs in the Raiders defense for his first game.
The philosophy for years for Oakland was to sign and draft great db’s to fix the defense. That plan has failed miserably. With the rules today making looking at a WR a penalty, the QB and WR stats are like pinball scores. You have to have a pass rush or your DB’s are toast. The Raiders have failed to emphasize the DL and the LB and focus on DB’s and it doesn’t work. Right now they can’t cut Sean Smith who has around 9 million in cap room. They have to wait until next year. David Amerson who struggles with the deep ball, has 8.5 million on the books. That’s a huge amount of wasted money on limited return.
The Raiders DL still can’t rush the passer and for another painstaking year it’s killing the team on defense. Add that the last 2 weeks Mack has been quiet as well and wasn’t double teamed very much, and it’s a recipe for disaster.
It will take a miracle for the Raiders to win big with this defense but you have to make do. If I’m Jack Del Rio I go crazy with my play calls. The Raiders do not have the talent on defense to stop a lot of teams so I make sure on any third down with more than 5 yards to go I blitz someone. In fact I would blitz a lot but I’d change it up. If the Raiders do not get to the QB their DB’s and LB’s can’t cover. Karl Joseph struggles a lot covering TE and the LB’s coverage skills are so bad, ex-Raider Rich Gannon said he’d throw to the RB’s almost every time. The thought of Kareem Hunt and Travis Kelce running wild after catching passes tonight is a definite worry.
The Player The Raiders Need To Change Their Defense Immediately:
Rams DT Aaron Donald is extremely unhappy where he is. This guy at times is unblockable. He’s double teamed often but he still gets big numbers. He is probably the best DT in the game. He’s 26 and in the prime of his career and he want’s big money. Well I make it work. The Raiders overpaid for some free agents and their money is coming off of the books. Sign him and Mack and now you have a special tandem.
I’d play Donald on the same side as Mack. I’d then start moving Mack around when teams figured that out. This would give the Raiders a pretty much unblockable DL especially on obvious passing downs. Now THIS tranforms your defense immediately. Not a DB that you hope works out when you don’t have a pass rush. Will the Raiders give that type of money to the DL along with Mack? Probably not. A man can dream can’t he?
What is Going To Happen Tonight?
If the Raiders do nothing to their schemes and keep throwing short and keep trying to play their defense straight up, then a close loss at home is probable and a 2-5 start will destroy their season.
If the Raiders wake up and start throwing deep and setting that up with a physical running game, then they can score some points. Their defense also needs to become much more aggressive on blitzes to hide their deficiencies in coverage. If they do these adjustments I think the Raiders win. If not, a 2-5 start is assured and this is with the hardest part of their schedule waiting ahead. And if I’m the GM and they don’t make these adjustments for the entire year, both coordinators will be looking for jobs elsewhere. I’d also tell Jack Del Rio he will be next if they don’t adjust. When teams adjust NFL coaches, change is good. I guarantee it.
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