10 Las Vegas Raiders who have something to prove in 2020
10 Las Vegas Raiders who have something to prove in 2020
DC Paul Guenther
The Raiders defense has been a sore spot for nearly 20 years, and the team hasn’t finished in the top-15 in points allowed since 2002. So it may be unfair for the blame of the team’s struggles since 2018 solely on defensive coordinator Paul Guenther’s shoulders, but there always has to be a fall guy in case things go wrong.
There were some marginal improvements from 2018 to 2019, as the Raiders went from 31st to 27th in points allowed, and from 27th to 14th in yards. They still gave up an unforgivable number of big plays but there have been several extraneous factors that have hampered the defense as a whole.
The roster tear down in 2018, and the trade of Khalil Mack cut the legs out from underneath the unit, but it is slowly getting back to its feet as the Raiders added talent through the draft and free agency.
Injuries and suspensions were the killers in 2019, but in 2020, Guenther will finally have some talent to work with at all three levels of the defense, and this will be the first year he can be fairly evaluated. If the defense struggles for whatever reason, the Raiders have a ready-made replacement in Rod Marinelli, who has been coaching football since 1973.
Marinelli joined the Raiders as the defensive line coach and is surely ready to step in to the top defensive job if the unit falters under Guenther. The sands in Las Vegas are hot, but they are nothing compared to the hot seat Guenther will be on if the defense struggles early on.