Oakland Raiders Will be Much Better After Bye

Sep 15, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden (20) runs with the ball during the second quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

More Work For Running Backs

Darren McFadden is only averaging 3.4 yards per carry but you can tell he’s healthy and has the same burst he’s always had. But there’s no way in the world you’re going to average five yards per carry when you only average 11 carries per game. You have to be able to wear the defense down then you’re able to break the long runs McFadden is known for when healthy.

Sparano also spoke of asking his players the type of plays they like to run and I’m sure McFadden will be one of them. In fact, you can take that as a hint that his intentions are to get McFadden going in the running game as he is now healthy. Perhaps Sparano has a plan to get Jones-Drew, who’s averaging 1.1 yards per carry going too as he also hasn’t touched the ball enough either.

As a matter of fact, the Raiders only run the ball 18 times per game—good for dead last in the NFL in attempts per game. You can’t be good at something you don’t do enough of so look for the Raiders to run the ball more with McFadden and Jones-Drew. This is the main area that Sparao’s philosophy is going to affect the Raiders for the better out of the bye-week.