As the NFL offseason
is in full swing, it’s a perfect opportunity to evaluate where each team was in
2017, and where they plan to go in the New Year. Let’s begin the review of
the Oakland Raiders.
2017 Season Recap:
With a 2016 season that saw a massive uptick in the progression of Derek
Carr and the Raiders offense, the defense still couldn’t get out of its own way
even with high-priced free agent talent being brought in to the fold. Entering
2017, the Raiders seemingly knew their weaknesses and tried with best efforts
to adjust and correct the issues at hand. Wanting to improve on an offense that
was highly efficient from the season prior, Oakland managed to convince power
runner Marshawn Lynch (Beast-mode) to come out of retirement while discussing a
trade with the Seahawks for his rights. Being able to make everything work,
Oakland saw home-grown, home-town favorite Lynch in the black and silver. Still
housing one of the best offensive line groups in the NFL, this offense was
poised to take yet another giant leap to elite status in 2017. Trying to fix
the defensive shortcomings, Oakland attempted to bolster the unit via the draft
adding key positional cogs to the mix.
To open the season the Raiders essentially picked up where they left off
in securing victories in their first two contests of the season against the
Titans and the Jets. Looking sharp in their win verses New York, It looked
clear that the Raiders were as advertised and would compete for the AFC West
divisional crown. On a late September Sunday Night Football matchup, the true
colors of this edition of the Oakland Raiders came to pass as Oakland was
unable to muster much of anything as there were completely dominated by the
Washington Redskins. That loss somehow placed a negative stigma to the team
that carried through the rest of the season. Dropping their next three contests
to the Broncos, Ravens, and the Chargers, gave credence to the opinion that
Oakland wasn’t built for success like most had envisioned. Winning two of three
games over the next three weeks, it kept this Oakland team mathematically alive
as the AFC West divisional teams began to falter as well. Entering their bye in
week 10, the Raiders housed a record of 4-5 in hopes to capitalize stringing
games together. Again winning two of three matches heading into the final
quarter of the season, this Oakland squad wasn’t supremely efficient but was
finding ways to win football games.
A pivotal divisional contest was upon them entering week 14 with the
potential to overtake the Kansas City Chiefs for the division lead. But much
like their up and down season had gone it was filled with lackluster play and
mistakes, ultimately failing to answer the bell losing a key contest and pushing
them back down the standings. Oakland still held crucial tiebreakers within the
wildcard race as they entertained the Dallas Cowboys in a must win. For all
fans of the silver and black, they more than likely won’t remember much of the
game other than what occurred as the game was nearing its conclusion. With
literally no time left on the clock (39 seconds), quarterback Derek Carr started
in the shotgun, chose to scramble and ran to the right heading for the endzone
pylon stretching out in hopes to gain the go-ahead score. Alas, the Cowboys
defense met Carr on the one yard line stripping the ball and watching it roll
out of the endzone which by rule was deemed a touchback. Derek Carr said
publicly after the game that plays such as those stick with you for a long time
as he felt responsible for letting his team down. With that devastating loss,
the Raiders packed it in for the remaining two games ending their year on a low
note with a final record of 6-10 - entering the offseason much earlier than
they had expected.
2018 Offseason
Workbook:
Offseason Review:
With a very
unsuccessful season completed, owner Mike Davis reviewed his team for what the
future would hold for the franchise. With the past announcement that Davis was
moving the team to the city of Las Vegas in the coming years, experience taught
him that big names drive ticket sales while receiving a pass if expectations
were to fall short. Firing Coach Jack Del Rio instantaneously after the
campaign completed, rumor quickly spread that Mark Davis was enamored with
reuniting the Raiders with a former coaching favorite John Gurden, which came
to fruition. What was expected was a large sum of money to be offered to Gurden
to lure him out of the broadcast booth, but what was unexpected is what he was
officially offered. John Gurden received the most lucrative deal for any coach
in all of professional sports. The contract offer went to the tune of a ten
year deal worth 100 million dollars to resurrect his career and the Oakland
franchise. The transaction reeked of a P.R. move to generate more hype for the
club as they finalize moving to Las Vegas.
In his first days as
the head coach, Gruden would’ve run through the roster multiple times to see
what players would complement his systems giving the team the best chance for
success. Offensively the unit as a whole underachieved greatly as third year
pro – Amari Cooper took a giant leap in the wrong direction in his development
on the field. Posting career worst numbers, ADF believes it was a complete
anomaly and would suspect he was playing with an injury for most of the year.
With rumors floating that Oakland could move on from highly productive receiver
Michael Crabtree, Cooper would get an instant jump in targets and production. Statistically
this Raiders club was below average housing numbers in the bottom half of the
NFL. While production in the pass and the run games fell off dramatically, one
could point the finger to the backward step this once solid offensive line
took. Still having the ability to pass protect with great efficiency, the
Raiders were able to hold opponents away from their quarterbacks giving up a
slim 24 sacks on the year. The inability in creating holes for Marshawn Lynch
was obvious as the overall running game only managed to produce the 25th
best running attack in the league. It’s clear to us that adding depth to the
offensive line would go a long way in terms of provided assistance as injuries
were cause for concern due to much missed time. Looking to improve and add a
running back to the team would also add a dimension that is lacking for this
offense. Making Lynch more of a specialty runner would greatly benefit his
aging legs with many miles accumulated over his career. Adding depth to a
receiving core could also provide a much needed burst, as the Raiders possess
no real slot weapon that would make defenses look twice. John Gurden is an
offensive specialist first and foremost, so he should be able to extract the
most from Derek Carr and company.
Defensively the
Raiders were definitely underwhelming for majority of the season with little to
suggest they could improve overnight. Relieving Ken Norton Jr from his
responsibilities as the Raiders defensive coordinator, Gurden was quick to
appoint John Pagano as his replacement to retool and educate this defense to
places it hasn’t seen for many years. Any coach would jump at the opportunity
to team up with defensive super star Khalil Mack to lead their unit. When
reviewing the Oakland depth chart, it’s quite shocking to witness the
statistical failures they endured with the amount of talent they possess on
paper. With the late season acquisition of line backer NaVorro Bowman, one
would only expect better results down the stretch, it never fully materialized.
It’s quite clear the Raiders do employ formable high-end pieces, but overall as
a whole, many inadequacies do exist.
Starting with the
defensive line, Mack is the only true pass rusher on this defense that would
poise fear to the opposition. Having a great lack of support, Mack is easily
double and triple teamed taking him out of the equation making it difficult to
create plays. Bruce Irvin and NaVorro Bowman could potentially become a viable
tandem but didn’t have an opportunity to generate chemistry with the little
time they played together. The secondary has been a clear issue that the brain
trust hasn’t been able to get right with the many free agents and draft picks
they bring in. Keeping true to form, outside of safety Karl Joseph, and
youngster Gareon Conley, there isn’t much to be enamored with on that unit.
Clearly steps have to be taken to right the wrongs for this side of the ball to
make them competitive.
Rostered Free Agents:
With endless tasks
facing Coach Gruden and general manager Reggie McKenzie, none are bigger then
the state of their cap and how they intend to add to this club. With a mere 19
million to play with, the Raiders do enjoy a short list of pending free agents
to review and potentially re-sign. One would think that NaVorro Bowman would be
a priority to return to Oakland seeing that line backer is extremely thin and
Bowman still possesses great talent at the position. The same would suggest
that Reggie Nelson could find a way to garner another deal in the bay area as
the secondary is extremely skinny on talent, and losing him would just impact
the situation further.
Outside of that, the
list is basically figured out as McKenzie has already cut bait with certain
players no longer in their plans moving forward. Defensive back David Amerson,
long-time kicker Sebastian Janikowski, and troubled line backer Aldon Smith
have been given their walking papers to no longer affiliate with the club. The
Raiders cap issues are clear in that they placed a great deal of cash to
bolster the offensive line to which they spend a whopping 23% of their total
salary to that unit. Trying to keep them intact for the upcoming year, we’d be
surprised to see them part with any of them and ride out their current deals
even though it would create hefty room under the cap. Defensive back Sean Smith
looks to be a no brainer to be released as his ridiculous 8.5 million dollar
salary has overvalued his terrible play from last season. A cut of Smith would
leave no dead money on the books; he should be as good as gone. Bruce Irvin is
another player along with Michael Crabtree that would get the long eyed review
of the Raiders brass as together they would generate nearly 16 million in
savings with no dead money to contend with. Jared Cook is another player that
underperformed greatly not earning his current wage thus potentially making him
a cap casualty creating an additional 5.3 million for Oakland.
It’s very clear, if
the Raiders choose to be players in the free agent market, they have the
ability to adjust and make the appropriate moves to create amble amount of
spending cash while clearing up some dead weight in the process. Should be
intriguing how this situation is handled.
NFL Draft:
Going into the 2018
draft, the Raiders enjoy an embarrassment of riches holding eleven total picks
on their board. Oakland somehow has found their way to have six (yes that’s
right), six - 6th round selections at their disposal. At this point
we would see Goodell say “Oakland is on the clock” so many times in that round
we could question if another team had picks that late. With the amount of
capital the Raiders have (though lower end capital), they still could parlay
that into moving up and down the board if they chose to do so. The needs of
this team would be directed toward the defense with the amount of obvious holes
they possess. Rounding out depth on the offense should also transpire, but a
dedicated defensive draft is the anticipation that we should ultimately witness
on draft weekend.
Overall for 2018:
This Raiders team
proved to the public they were capable of playing at a high level beating the
highest of competition to come their way (in 2016). Perhaps falling back to
earth, and so quickly, gave credence to the notion that Caoch Del Rio lost the
group and the locker room and was unable to recover? ADF believes in the talent
of Derek Carr and should find his fourth gear under the hardnosed tutelage of
John Gruden. This team isn’t as far away as the 2017 season suggested, but the
right moves have to be made to adjust and cleanup talent where they don’t
currently employ any. It’s an obvious statement, but in Oakland’s case it reins
supremely true. Enjoy the last seasons with your team Oakland fans, their isn’t
much time left.
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