Reasons for Optimism for the Oakland Raiders
Sep 14, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) waves towards the crowd after the Raiders 30-14 loss to the Houston Texans at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Well you did it again Raider Nation, you awoke me from my writing hiatus from all your constant bickering about how the Oakland Raiders are now suddenly in the same stratosphere as the 0-16 Lions and how Dennis Allen needs to be fired right away.
No.
Stop.
Take a deep breath and calm down for a second, let’s just look at this rationally for a second.
Let me start off by saying that Dennis Allen, or any of his coaching staff, cannot be blamed for the loss to the Texans. That loss goes simply to the players not being able to execute to the best of their abilities.
The offensive line played a great game, especially in pass protection where they were able to contain JJ Watt most of the day, which is no small feat. The rest of offense was up and down, but their downs cost them plenty. Darren McFadden started the day off slow, but after the first half he started to get into the groove, even trucking some players in the process. Although the Texans were up too many points to really give DMC many opportunities, which didn’t help QB Derek Carr.
Carr, while playing semi-well, did throw two interceptions at untimely times. Couple with this with the fact that the receivers had butter-fingers all day and were getting stripped left and right, and you can see how it’s not the OC’s fault, but the offense not being able to execute. Carr, like last game, missed some reads (or made bad ones), but that’s to be expected for a rookie QB in his second start. Olson is giving him opportunities to make big plays down the field, but Carr either doesn’t see them or makes the wrong read — nothing the coaches can do about that.
The defense is not as bad as that game made it out to be, namely because they seem extremely flustered without the heart of it – Nick Roach.
Say what you want about him and his abilities, but he played every snap last season and losing someone like that doesn’t just take lightly. If he was in, he would’ve told Sio Moore that “Hey, you might want to cover Watt, he’s eligible.” I don’t blame the coaches for putting Miles Burris in over Miaava, Burris has been there longer and knows the system better than a player who was injured all first year of being with the Raiders. That doesn’t mean he is going to be good though, and neither would Maiaava honestly.
The only complaint about the coaches would be how conservative Tarver is being with his play-calling (remember: DENNIS ALLEN DOES NOT CALL THE PLAYS). Dennis Allen is a good coach, or do you not remember last season when every analyst in the world projected the raiders to go 1-16 or worse and he had them off to a 3-5 start with a running back as QB and a missed field goal away from upsetting the Colts in week 1.
After the Chief’s game last season, injuries spread like a disease and we were forced to start an UDFA at QB – which is never good. He didn’t look too terrible though, and you can thank the coaches for that and Andre Holmes and Rod Streater making huge plays down the stretch to make McLovin look better than he is. Remember, he lost every game after his opener. He is not to blame, the offensive line was a mess to put it kindly, and the defense’s depth was shallower than that hot blonde at the bar that rejects every guy.
Let’s not talk about last season though, the team has a (semi) fresh new plate now, so let’s talk about last week’s game.
The Texans game really came down to 4 big plays that influenced the game dramatically:
4. Watt’s touchdown and subsequently Foster’s 40-yard run to set it up.
So maybe 6 plays, but in the retrospect of an entire game, that is not much at all. The bright side is that all of these are correctable and don’t happen very often.
Rivera usually has really soft hands and I’ve never seen him be stripped before and Jones’ has the best hands on the team – how he pulled off being stripped twice is mind-blowing honestly. Let’s be thankful that that doesn’t happen much at all if ever.
Carr will throw interceptions, let’s get that out of the way really quick, but the more comfortable he gets with reading NFL defenses and making the right decisions, he won’t throw bad interceptions like he did against the Texans. He will get lucky sometimes, the Jets dropped at least two easy picks as well.
Sep 7, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Oakland Raiders receiver James Jones (89) catches a 30-yard touchdown pass over New York Jets cornerback Darrin Walls (30) during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. The Jets defeated the Raiders 19-14. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Watt’s touchdown would have been avoided if Roach was in the game to tell Sio that he was eligible, but nonetheless the Raiders would not even be in that situation if the front seven didn’t miss assignments and tackles on Foster’s huge run before that. Again Roach will help with that too.
The entire team needs time to gel cohesively as a unit with game-play experience, so give them some time alright. The coaches are doing all they can with the players, but that all goes to vain if the players don’t execute.
So stop calling Gruden, why would you want him anyways, for nostalgia’s sake? He did nothing after winning the super bowl and will only set us back further. It is the first year of actual rebuilding for Reggie McKenzie, he had a spectacular draft and a solid offseason to get this franchise to being a perennial contender, but that doesn’t happen over night.
Yes, he brought in plenty of older players, he did it because they have all played at a high level before and know what it takes to win. They will be the most important part of the puzzle because they are responsible for bringing up the rookies and young guys on the team so eventually those young guys can take there place and teach the next set of rookies.
He was EXTREMELY fortunate and lucky that Derek Carr to fall right into his lap during the draft, as with a franchise QB, the process to legitimacy for the Oakland Raiders goes much more smoothly and quickly because that is the final piece to the puzzle.
So I urge you to wait, and I know how hard that is for the older fans hearing that every year, but you have to understand what the organization is doing. We all want wins, and they will come, but no organization is turned around over night and without patience.
The Oakland Raiders will be back.