The last time the Silver and Black were division champions was their last Super Bowl season in 2002. How can the Oakland Raiders capture the AFC West?
The Oakland Raiders tried to turn the clock back to the early 2000s by bringing back Jon Gruden, hoping for a return to the days when they were last in the Super Bowl in 2002.
Instead, the 2018 season was troubling for the Silver and Black. The team tumbled to 4-12 and dead last in the division. The revolving door known as the Raiders’ roster throughout 2018 was rough to watch as star pass rusher Khalil Mack and promising wide receiver Amari Cooper were traded away. But with Gruden bringing in Mike Mayock as general manager, the duo has been hard at work the last few months bolstering the roster via trades, free agency and the draft.
So can the Raiders be a factor in the AFC West race? It’s a division that has seen its share of changes this year already. Here are three areas Gruden’s must fix sooner than later.
3. Establish a consistent ground attack
In Gruden’s first season of his second stint as the team’s head coach, the well-respected sideline leader took over a club that finished 25th in the NFL in rushing yards per game in 2017. Gruden brought in his offensive system and strong reputation for play-calling and the team finished … 25th in the NFL in rushing.
Gruden is hoping the addition of high-priced right tackle Trent Brown (four years, $68 million) and rookie Josh Jacobs will make the difference. Jacobs was the second of three first-round picks by the team in April and his selection had Gruden practically doing cartwheels in the Oakland draft room.
With Jacobs, the Raiders can move on from the pedestrian combo of Doug Martin and Marshawn Lynch, although Martin was re-signed after a season-ending Achilles injury to Isaiah Crowell. As for Jacobs, he emerged as the No. 1 back at Alabama last season after beating out the likes of Damien Harris and Najee Harris.
Oakland averaged less than 25 running plays per game this past season and the ground attack was erratic at best. The Raiders are in need of balance if the passing game is to work. And speaking of the latter…
Next: No. 2
2. Protect QB Derek Carr
A lot has not only been made about the Raiders’ decision to give Trent Brown, who played excellent as the left tackles with New England last season, $17 million per year, especially with the recent news the four-year pro would be playing on the right, opposite 2018 first-round pick Kolton Miller. Miller took his lumps this past season, allowing 15 sacks, but did start all 16 contests
So what does that mean for quarterback Derek Carr? It proved to be a rough 2018 for the five-year pro, despite the fact he completed a personal-best 68.9 percent of his throws and cracked the 4,000-yard passing mark for the first time. But there were nearly as many turnovers (17) as touchdown passes (19). Among the turnovers for Carr were seven lost fumbles (out of a total of 12 fumbles). A big reason is he was sacked a whopping 51 times – quite the beating considering in the previous two seasons combined (20 games), he was sacked only 36 times.
While center Rodney Hudson and right guard Gabe Jackson are back, there’s a bit of a hole at left guard. The team dealt Kelechi Osemele to the New York Jets this offseason. By all indications, Denzelle Good is the frontrunner to take over but he will face some competition in training camp.
The lack of a consistent running game combined with poor pass protection helped make it an even more difficult ’18 for Carr. They will need improvement from all three parties this year if they are to challenge for a playoff spot.
Next: No. 1
1. Finally find the right answers on defense
If anyone believes the Raiders are simply a respectful pass rush away from getting this side of the football back on track, well …
In each of the last eight seasons, the Silver and Black has finished in the bottom half of the league in total yards allowed per game. In 2016, despite a spectacular year from Mack, who was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, the Raiders surrendered the seventh-most total yards in the league, finished 23rd vs. the run, 24th vs. the pass and allowed 45 offensive touchdowns.
This past season, without Mack, the problems continued. Oakland allowed a league-high 467 points and a whopping 52 TDs (16 rushing, 36 passing). The team managed a disappointing 17 takeaways and the aforementioned pass rush produced an NFL-low 13 sacks. The next fewest in the league came courtesy of the Patriots and Giants (30).
A year ago, the team used three of its nine draft choices on defensive linemen P.J. Hall, Arden Key and Maurice Hurst. The latter led the club with four sacks. But this was also a team that was No. 30 in rushing yards allowed in the league in 2018. With the fourth overall pick in April, the Raiders opted for Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell. It’s a young defensive front that must evolve quickly.
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Linebackers Vontaze Burfict and Brandon Marshall and free safety Lamarcus Joyner headline the team’s free agent haul on defense. Coordinator Paul Guenther now has a nice mix of veterans and youth to work with and there needs to be a dramatic reversal of fortune for this group.