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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: Marquette King No. 7 of the Oakland Raiders punts the ball during the second quarter of an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills on October 29, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY – OCTOBER 29: Marquette King No. 7 of the Oakland Raiders punts the ball during the second quarter of an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills on October 29, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

Special Teams

Oakland has historically prided itself on having elite special teams play. Throughout this season, it sadly has been the best part of this team. Frankly, the Raiders haven’t been as good at special teams in the second quarter when compared to the first quarter.

Punter Marquette King has emerged as one of the better special teams players in all of football. He has marketed himself well for his booming kicks, his ability to pin the opposition deep in their own territory and his patented celebrations. Admittedly, King has cooled off a bit from his hot start as the weather has changed. He is still one of the best players on the team though.

Kicker Giorgio Tavecchio has filled in nicely for long-time Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski. Things could be so much worse had Tavecchio struggled out of the gate once Janikowski had to go on Injured Reserve due to a herniated disc in his back.

Tavecchio had a brilliant game in Week 1 versus the Tennessee Titans, but has had some issues of late. A bad snap at home against the Los Angeles Chargers cost the Raiders a game in Week 6. Tavecchio missed two key field goals against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday Night Football in Week 7. Oakland prevailed, but that could have proved costly. Overall, Tavecchio has been slightly above average at kicker, but we’ll take that all things considered.

Where Oakland gets docked in special teams is in the return game. Adding Cordarrelle Patterson has not transformed the Raiders in the kickoff return department. How many more times do we need to see Jalen Richard muff a punt? It’s happening about once every three times. That can’t make special teams coordinator Brad Seely happy at all.

Overall, it’s been more good than bad in terms of the Raiders special teams play. Punting has been excellent, the kicking game has been decent and the return game has been below par. The special teams aren’t winning games for the Raiders, but might actually be keeping them in games they shouldn’t otherwise be in.

Grade: B-

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