Oakland Raiders Week 12 Primer: Free Fall

Nov 22, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; A Oakland Raiders fan looks on from the stands prior to the Raiders

JBB columnist Rory Anderson checks in for his Oakland Raiders Week 12 primer ahead of Sunday’s game against the Titans.

I first want to apologize for not having a column out last week. For those of you who follow me on Twitter you know what had happened. In this week of Thanksgiving I simply wanted to thank all of the readers of my work and those that like to talk Raider football on Twitter. Raider Nation is the best fan base on Earth and I really enjoy the opportunity I have. So thank you and be safe during the holidays. Now, onwards to football.

Last week the Raiders went into Detroit and played perhaps the worst game I have seen in the last few years. Considering how bad the Raiders have been the last several seasons, this may be a shocker to some, but this game was as humiliating as the end of season choke the Raiders had in Hue Jackson’s last game. What was so appalling about this game, was the lack of awareness and urgency put in by the offense as a whole. The defense put in a very solid performance. As I have proved many times, the Raiders defense will never be shut down, but if they hold any team to under 20 points, there should be a “W”, especially going against a team like the Lions.

From top to bottom the offense made no sense. Everything seemed disjointed and Musgrave lost his edge. He seemed to show no urgency and his consistent push to be a run first football team is shockingly naive. The Raiders are built to throw the ball, and they need to run a complex pass based offense in order to set up the run. It simply does not work the other way around. This season the Raiders are 4-1 when scoring 27 points, and 0-5 when not. That statistic courtesy of Vic Tafur, but it highlights what this team does best.

Against the Lions, who have one of the most porous defenses in the NFL, the Raiders managed exactly 0 points in the first half. It was not until the third quarter when the Raiders began the half with an aggressive downfield bombardment that the offense began to produce. It led to a lead, but that vanished quickly and the offense then fell right back into its failing ways for the day.

Next: Week 12 Primer: Blindsided