Oakland Raiders: Will play-action finally be a staple in the offense?

The Oakland Raiders have some special weapons on the offensive side of the ball this season, which could lead to more play-action passes.

Remember when one of the knocks on the Oakland Raiders offense in 2017 was that former offensive coordinator Todd Downing never dialed up play-action? It was believed that when Jon Gruden took the reigns as head coach that he would utilize play fakes significantly more.

However, that wasn’t the case in 2018, as the Oakland Raiders were ranked 28th in play-action usage. The last two seasons play-action has been a foreign language in the Raiders playbook. Although, to a certain degree Gruden gets absolved since the offensive line was abysmal. The offense was also lacking in any serious threat on every level.

Now that the Raiders have retooled their offense with a plethora of weapons there should be no excuses as to why Gruden doesn’t have a portion of the playbook dedicated to play-action. Four out of the top five teams who utilized play-action were playoff teams.

Those teams include the New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams. All of these teams were top 10 offenses, which indicates that play-action is conducive to an elite offense.

What’s fantastic about calling play fakes is that they can be dialed up against any defense. It’s all about getting the defense to hesitate or leading them the wrong way to counter against them. This stigma that play-action can only be used if an offense establishes the run is completely false. Sure, it makes running these plays more enticing because a defense might be more likely to bite. However, play-action can still work even against a loaded box.

It’s used to create soft spots or openings in a defense. Just ask the Philadelphia Eagles. They didn’t have a real threat at running back, yet the design of their play fakes and execution were so good that it gashed defenses.

Jon Gruden must follow this method because under-utilizing play-action is like leaving food on your plate. Open up the playbook so defenses can’t predict what you’re going to call. It’s the name of the game for offenses in the NFL. Innovation and creativity.

That’s why so many teams were trying to hire the next Sean McVay. And look, his offense was in the top five in play-action usage en route to a Super Bowl appearance.

Jon Gruden has enough toys on the offense to draw up something to damage a defense. He has Derek Carr who’s Dee ball is very sharp, so why not have him let it loose and take a shot this? If he’s able to dial up these plays effectively, then defenses will have to start playing them honestly. This will then be a contributing factor towards the Raiders being a top offense in the league in 2019.