Seattle Seahawks at Oakland Raiders: 5 takeaways from Week 6

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LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 14: (EDITORS NOTE – This image has been converted to black and white) Gareon Conley, Marshawn Lynch, Rashaan Melvin of Oakland Raiders walk through the tunnel ahead of the NFL International series match between Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders at Wembley Stadium on October 14, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images) /

Defensive backs in the doghouse

As has been the case since the start of the season, Jon Gruden is unable to be upfront with the public about his personnel decisions and realistically the direction for this team. There has not been a more evident example of this then his handling of the Raiders secondary.

Gareon Conley, the Raiders first round pick in last year’s draft, was benched on Sunday in every sense of the word. Literally benched, as he played a total of zero defensive snaps, and just one on special teams. But the doghouse made room for one more as Rashaan Melvin tallied just seven defensive snaps in London.

The state of this secondary is in disarray: the coaching staff is opting for older personnel that are susceptible to getting beat in the passing game as opposed to allowing younger players like Conley to develop and learn with valuable playing time.

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