NFL’s final four this season show Raiders different paths to success
NFL’s final four this season show Raiders different paths to success
Which path will the Raiders choose?
If Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler plan to implement the patriot way in Las Vegas, then they will lean towards the NFC approach to team building. It sounds silly to say that a team with the greatest quarterback of all time prioritized defense and the run game but that is exactly what they did.
Even with Tom Brady at the helm, the Patriots were not in the top 10 in pass percentage anytime over the last 10 years. They prioritized the running game and were always one of the more balanced teams in the NFL. They leaned even heavier on the run when Mac Jones took over but that was the case even with Brady.
The Patriots also focused on the defense and their worst defensive ranking in terms of points allowed since 2006 was 15th in 2011. They routinely have top ten or top five defenses and do so by prioritizing cheap free agents and depth over star power.
The Raiders are now at a crossroads as they must decide whether to bring in a quarterback like Brady who led the NFL in attempts last season or take the opposite approach and go young and cheap at the position.
Brady’s last contract was around 25 million per year and even if he signs for closer to 20, he will be substantially more expensive than even a quarterback taken first overall. If they do bring in Brady, the expectation will be that the offense will revolve around him, and of course that is a reasonable expectation considering he is the greatest quarterback of all time.
Even with all of the cap space that the Raiders will have, they can choose to draft a quarterback with the 7th overall pick and use the money saved to chase down free agents and build up that defense. The patriot approach would not be to spend it all on one marquee player but rather to spend that same money on several second-tier free agents to improve depth.
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Regardless of which path they choose, the four teams representing their conferences in the championship games show that there are multiple ways to succeed. Finding an elite quarterback to build that offense around may be more difficult than building an elite defense but that is a totally different conversation. Raider nation wants to see their team succeed and while they may have differing opinions on philosophy, as long as the end result is “Just Win Baby”, nothing else matters.