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2017 Oakland Raiders: First half report card

By John Buhler

ORCHARD PARK, NY - OCTOBER 29: Micah Hyde No. 23 of the Buffalo Bills and Preston Brown No. 52 of the Buffalo Bills attempt to tackle Cordarrelle Patterson No. 84 of the Oakland Raiders during the fourth quarter of an NFL game on October 29, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY - OCTOBER 29: Micah Hyde No. 23 of the Buffalo Bills and Preston Brown No. 52 of the Buffalo Bills attempt to tackle Cordarrelle Patterson No. 84 of the Oakland Raiders during the fourth quarter of an NFL game on October 29, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /
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ORCHARD PARK, NY – OCTOBER 29: LeSean McCoy No. 25 of the Buffalo Bills runs the ball as Shalom Luani No. 26 of the Oakland Raiders attempts to tackle him during the second quarter of an NFL game on October 29, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY – OCTOBER 29: LeSean McCoy No. 25 of the Buffalo Bills runs the ball as Shalom Luani No. 26 of the Oakland Raiders attempts to tackle him during the second quarter of an NFL game on October 29, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

Defense

While there have been moments where the Raiders have shown signs of promise defensively, it’s mostly just pure chaos when the Raiders aren’t in possession of the football. Defensive end Khalil Mack is still playing at an elite level, though most of his production has been as a stout run defender.

The Raiders will get after the quarterback every so often. Oakland’s run defense is hit or miss. Though there have been times where the Raiders can put together a solid defensive game plan, Oakland does not have the playmakers on that side of the ball to carry them to victory.

It’s hasn’t been all bad, as cornerback T.J. Carrie and Karl Joseph have played well in their own rights. The problem is that this cannot force turnovers. Oakland went through the entire first half of the season without forcing an interception. Eight games without a pick! Even the Chicago Bears and the Miami Dolphins were able to corral an errant pass by Week 6.

Outside of Carrie and Joseph, the Raiders secondary has been atrocious. The draft picks aren’t playing because they are hurt. What exactly does Reggie Nelson do for this team any more? He’s not going to a Pro Bowl this year because he doesn’t have an interception.

Yes, adding NaVorro Bowman to the middle of the defense seems to be a move in the right direction. However, the offseason moves to get better as a defense have been overwhelmingly bad for the Raiders defense. The coaching is suspect, but the awareness in the back-end of the defense is the most troubling.

Overall, the defense had a very low bar to get over to get positive grades on this report card. In the Raiders’ one win in the second quarter of the season, the Silver and Black allowed 30 points at home. The blatant lack of being able to force turnovers is a major reason this team is not close to getting back into the playoffs.

Grade: D

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