Oakland Raiders: 2017 first quarter report card
By John Buhler
Offense
Heading into the season, the Raiders’ greatest strength was seen on the offensive side of the ball. Oakland had one of the most formidable offensive lines in all of football with three Pro Bowlers playing on it in 2016. The passing game was really taking flight with Derek Carr at quarterback, but the running game wasn’t anything special.
Oakland opted to move on from former offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave in favor of promoting Carr’s quarterbacks coach Todd Downing. So in assessing the offense’s overall grade, we do need to factor in the coordinator change and that Carr did break his foot on Christmas Eve last year. Oakland gets a slight benefit of the doubt with those two factors.
In the first four weeks, Oakland has scored 10 offensive touchdowns, seven passing and three rushing. However, six of those 10 came in Week 2’s home game versus the New York Jets, who somehow have the same record as the Raiders at 2-2.
The most pleasant surprise of the Oakland offense was how good veteran running back Marshawn Lynch looked in the first two weeks. He didn’t play in 2016, but looked to be as good as he had been when he was starring previously for the Seattle Seahawks. His physical running style has empowered Jalen Richard, DeAndre Washington and even Cordarrelle Patterson behind him.
The biggest disappointment so far for the Oakland offense is two-fold: inconsistency along the offensive line and a lack of dynamism in the vertical passing game. Though the offensive line looked fantastic against Tennessee and New York, it struggled mightily against the solid defensive lines of the Redskins and Broncos.
The Raiders are struggling to keep Carr upright and make big plays downfield. Rampant dropped passes, bad interceptions and a lack of feel in the pocket has resulted in a regression to the Raiders’ overall passing game. Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree aren’t looking like Pro Bowlers and Carr is already banged up with back spasms.
Overall, Oakland’s offense has been completely hit or miss. It looked great the first two weeks, but largely disappeared in the last two. Even with a coordinator change, the offense has underwhelmed more than it has not. There is plenty of room to improve and let’s hope this unit grows as the season progress.
Grade: B-