5 defensive stats the Oakland Raiders need to improve on in 2019

OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 28: Nyheim Hines #21 of the Indianapolis Colts carries the ball and gets tackled from behind by Marquel Lee #55 of the Oakland Raiders during the second half of their NFL football game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on October 28, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

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LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 18: Tank Carradine #96 and Jason Cabinda #46 of the Oakland Raiders defend against Brandon Allen #8 of the Los Angeles Rams during the second half of a preseason game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 18, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Adjusted Line & Open Field Yards

This stat is more of a pet peeve than a life or death when it comes to overall defensive performance, but the tackling in 2018 was rough. And the defense as a whole was equally responsible for that reality. Football Outsiders has adjusted line & open field yards as a measure of a unit’s ability in pursuit of a ball carrier. The Raiders ranked 25th in both categories which actually seemed pretty high after rewatching some games.

You don’t really need stats to tell you that the Raiders defense was weak at tackling, but the confirmation that comes from the stats just makes it that much worse.

PFF’s also wasn’t a fan of the Raiders tackling on defense as they graded them at a 55.1 which was 26th in the league.

Hopefully, there will be a heavy emphasis on the fundamentals and pursuit angles this training camp for the defense.

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