Storyline: Oakland is winning against losing teams and losing against winning teams. The Raiders aren’t a bad team, but they need to prove they’re good.
Oakland’s Perry Nelson breaks up pass against Jacksonville (photo, First Coast News)
The Oakland Raiders are 5-2 after dismantling a bad Jaguars team, 33-16, in Jacksonville on Sunday. The Raiders weren’t at their best and played pretty conservatively in the second half once they went up 20-6.
The Raiders are a level above teams like the Jags and Titans. But as we approach mid-season, a big question remains:
How good are these Raiders?
With a 4-0 road record Oakland has proven it can win. They won in New Orleans, for example, where the Saints are 72-44 when Drew Brees is under center.
Bad teams don’t win on the road in the NFL, right? The Raiders must be good.
Well, the Raiders also haven’t beaten a team with a winning record. Each win has been over a team with a losing record. Twice they’ve played teams with winning records and twice the Raiders have lost, at home no less. Does that mean the Raiders aren’t very good?
The Raiders have a top ten offense, ranking 8th in both yardage and points per game. Plus they are 12th in total passing yards and 13th in rushing yards. Those stats show you this Raiders’ team live and dies with offense.
Derek Carr is light years ahead of Blake Bortles (5) at QB (photo, Fresno Bee)
Derek Carr is only in his third year, but he’s the team leader, and the key to everything for Oakland. Signal callers rule the NFL world and Carr is in the league’s top tier. He ranks 12th in QBR and 10th in Pro Football Focus QB rankings.
It was no contest last Sunday between Carr and fellow 2014 QB draftee, Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles. Carr looked leagues ahead of the man who was drafted ahead of him — 44 spots ahead of him.
Carr also has the benefit of throwing to elite receivers, Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. Those two are the most productive duo, statistically, in the league in terms of receptions, yards, and TDs.
The threat of Carr-to-Cooper or Carr-to-Crabtree can put the Raiders over any opponent if the offense is clicking just right.
The Raiders have a decent line to work behind, too. Pro Football Focus currently has Oakland with the 7th best offensive line in the league–even though the team has sustained an insane number of injuries at RT, where five guys have played this year.
The Raiders don’t have a stud running back, but four guys get carries, and they’ve all been productive at times. It compliments Carr’s air show nicely.
If offense, alone, could guarantee a playoff berth, then the Raiders would be definitely ending its decade-plus playoff drought. But it doesn’t. What about the defense?
Courtesy: DailyHerald.com
Not good. The defense has been sieve-like most of the season with only occasional periods of competency. Statistically, the Raiders are dead last in yardage-given-up and 25th in points allowed and–ugh!–dead last in passing yardage and yards against the run.
The D statistics not only scream “bad team,” they say VERY bad team!
Yes, the defense has been absolutely helpless at times. The Saints, Falcons, and Chiefs did pretty much anything they wanted to do. The Chargers bombed the Raiders with one big play after the other.
Even with its steady offensive production, Oakland has been outgained in each contest this year … until Jacksonville. But wait…. Against the lowly Jags–and getting a 15-point win to boot–the comparative yardage total was tied at 344.
Even with all that said, you win in the NFL as a team. The Raiders’ defense has made definite contributions. The unit held the Titans to ten points, forced three turnovers, and held strong on the final drive to secure victory. Against Baltimore the D kept the Ravens from driving down the field for a game-winning field goal. And while the Chargers ate up the D at times, the unit forced four turnovers to help secure the win.
And there’s a bright spot in the defensive statistics–takeaways. Oakland is tied for 4th in the league with 13 forced turnovers. Turnovers are the great equalizer in football.
My conclusion: the Raiders aren’t a bad team, but Oakland needs the rest of the season to prove they’re good.
Good teams win at least nine or ten games and get into the playoffs.
Good teams take advantage of the home field.
Good teams aren’t dead last in any major defensive statistic.
The Raiders still have a lot to prove, but at least they aren’t in Jacksonville’s league now.
Game Day Observations
I understand that Jack Del Rio went conservative in the second half with a 20-6 lead and the Jags not showing much, but what a slog to get through. Oakland could have put the game out of sight plenty of times, but either penalties or horrible execution kept the game within shouting distance.
Oakland had less than 50 yards of offense in the second half until the final TD drive. Clearly, this game wasn’t exactly an electrifying affair.
Perry Riley Jr. is turning into a top player for Oakland (photo, Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Perry Riley Jr. has been a very nice pickup and brings a stable presence to the middle of the Raiders’ defense. But Cory James, who’s just a rookie, needs to add weight to man the middle. He struggled with play calling when Malcolm Smith was hurt.
How bad were the referees? Each team had 100+ yards in penalties and 35 flags were thrown (not all accepted), which was the most in a game since 2009! The refs made the second half almost unwatchable.
It was nice to see Latavius Murray back in the fold. In previous games I was anxious to see what young bucks DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard could do in Murray’s absence. But it’s apparent the team needs Murray–especially in the Red Zone. Welcome back Tay-Train!
Amari Cooper was shut down (only three catches) by rookie CB Jalen Ramsey. Kudos to Ramsey, but Cooper can’t be shut down if he wants to achieve elite status.
Player of the Game
Marquette King converts bad punt snap into a 27-yard First Down. (photo, Yahoo! Sports)
In this lackluster game I’ll go outside-of-the-box with punter Marquette King. Yes, I’m going with a punter. How so?
King was outstanding, as usual, with 4 of 5 punts placed inside the twenty yard line. And he had a whopping 54.6 yard average on the day. But the big news on Sunday for King wasn’t his leg. It was his legs.
On 4th and 24 late in the 4th Quarter a bad punt snap had the ball skid on the turf. What did King do? He scooped it up, avoided the rush, whipped around the corner, and sprinted down the sideline for a 27-yard gain.
So, folks, a punter sealed the game with a sprint down the sideline.
How could I not pick King?
