The Autumn(Re)Wind: Breaking down the Raiders offense

Pass Concepts

Jon Gruden’s passing offense is west coast through and through. The most commonly run route concepts are what you’d find if you open a Bill Walsh or Mike Holmgren playbook. The quick game is a staple of Gruden’s attack and he uses it to supplement the run game and keep the defense honest.

The drop-back passing attack is where the Raiders need to find more consistency. The first half of the season saw Tyrell Williams dominate on the dagger concept where the inside the receiver runs a “clear out” route to hold the safety while the outside receiver runs an in-breaking “dig” route between 15 and 20 yard down the field.

Williams’ foot problem likely limited his ability to run some of the routes that were required of him and his efficiency fell off in the latter part of the season.

The scissors route combination also went through a progression of sorts. Most remembered for the interception Carr threw to Tyrann Mathieu in the Kansas City game. The Raiders added a wrinkle with Hunter Renfrow turning the “flag” route into a double move up the sideline that did damage against the Broncos in week 17.