Las Vegas Raiders 2020 Week 7 review: 3 Studs, 3 Duds
Las Vegas Raiders 2020 Week 7 review: 3 Studs, 3 Duds
The Duds
The Defensive Line
Tom Brady attempted 45 passes on Sunday and somehow someway the Raiders only hit him on just one of those attempts. Needless to say, they didn’t sack him either, but they barely bothered the bothered the 43-year old QB as he took his sweet time picking apart the defense.
The Raiders have spent significant free agency and draft capital on their defensive line and it is simply inexcusable that they could only muster one hit on one of the more statuesque QBs in the NFL. The key to stopping Brady is to bring pressure and force him out of the pocket but the Raiders were never able to do that and he diced them up as a result.
This unit has already been struggling this season with just 7 sacks through the first 5 games but this may have been a new low for them in the passing game. It is time for some major changes on that defensive front and it may need to start with the man at the top, Paul Guenther.
The Offensive Line
As much as the defensive line struggled, the offensive line was not far behind but at least they had an excuse. Thanks to the NFL’s COVID protocols, the entire starting line was forced to quarantine for 5 days after Trent Brown’s positive test and could not practice after Monday. This undoubtedly lead to some communication issues and the unit could not practice whatever protections Jon Gruden installed this week to combat Tampa’s fearsome defensive line.
Even without practicing, this is still one of the highest paid units in the NFL and rushing for 75 yards, with 25 of them coming on the garbage time last drive, is not acceptable at any level. The unit also struggled in pass protection as Derek Carr was sacked 3 times and hit 6 times with a few waved off after defensive penalties. This unit needs Trent Brown back ASAP especially with another ferocious front coming up featuring Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon.
Paul Guenther
It may be unfair to point out the individual defensive players that struggled on Sunday because the Raiders seem to be outcoached every week on the defensive side of the ball. Jon Gruden called the 3rd and 8 conversion by Leonard Fournette in the fourth quarter the play of the game but giving up conversions on 3rd and long has become a hallmark of a Paul Guenther defense.
The Raiders have spent a lot of money on this defense and several high draft picks and for them to continuously get gashed by opposing offenses is becoming increasingly hard to watch. Gruden and Mayock need to make a decision quickly on who is going to be drawing up schemes on defense because there is nothing about what Guenther has done in his tenure that suggests he knows what he’s doing. It’s time for a change at defensive coordinator in Las Vegas.