Defense a work in progress with rookies, 2 new signings
Count Von Miller, the Broncos’ edge rusher and formerly highest-paid defensive player in the NFL, among those with high expectations for Raiders rookie defensive end Arden Key.
Miller and Key, the Raiders’ third-round pick in April, train with pass-rushing coach Chuck Smith and met while Key was in college. At the time, Miller said, he thought Key could be “like, a top-five pick” upon entering the NFL draft.
“He has great speed, great length, great get-off,” Miller said this week on a conference call. “He’s a great talent. As he continues to develop, he’ll develop into the pass rusher that the Raiders need him to be.”
Given recent events, that need might be more immediate than originally thought.
The absence of Khalil Mack, whom the Raiders traded to the Bears on Sept. 1, was evident in their season-opening loss to the Rams. The Raiders’ defense generated just five quarterback pressures on Monday night, according to Pro Football Focus, a number they failed to top once in 65 games with Mack.
The Raiders sacked quarterback Jared Goff once and did not hit him in the second half, during which Goff completed 14 of 23 passes for 173 yards and the Raiders were outscored 23-0.
Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther on Thursday credited the Rams with “doing a good job with some of the different looks they were giving us.”
“We had some decent push in there at times,” Guenther said, “but it’s just something, with the kind of guys we’re rolling through there right now, we’re still working through that.”
The Raiders leaned heavily on rookies Key (32 snaps), Maurice Hurst (42) and P.J. Hall (32) in their NFL debuts. Those three were regularly on the field at the same time in the Raiders’ nickel defense with Bruce Irvin rushing off the opposite edge of Key.
Hurst had three solo tackles, Hall recorded a tackle for loss and Key had a quarterback hit. Key, though, notably did not set the edge on a sweep to Todd Gurley, who ran by him for a 19-yard touchdown. Hall twisted his ankle on his first series, and Guenther said an injury to Justin Ellis affected rotations on the line in the second half.
“It’s just like any first game you’ve been in,” Guenther said of the rookies. “I think, obviously, we’re looking for better. We’re looking to get those guys going. But again, it was their first game, so I’m not going to rush to any judgments on that.”
Key admitted to some “jitters” Monday night but said the Rams also dealt with pressure with play-action and rolling Goff out of the pocket.
“The tackles jump-set to slow the rushers down,” Key said. “They did a ton of boots, so they’re faking the run and … they boot and the tackles are on us. We’ve got to get on the edges and rush the passer.”
All three rookies played more than Irvin, who recorded the Raiders’ lone sack but logged 31 snaps. Guenther attributed that partly to the Rams running no-huddle in the second half, not allowing the defense to substitute personnel.
“You’ve got to be ready to do those exchanges,” Guenther said. “But when they’re on the ball, it’s tough to get the substitutions in.”
The Raiders could be working in two new defensive tackles Sunday in Denver. They announced Thursday the signings of free agents Johnathan Hankins and Clinton McDonald, and placed Ellis, who suffered a foot injury Monday, on injured reserve. Hall was in a walking boot Wednesday and hasn’t practiced this week.
Hankins started 15 games last season with 44 tackles and two sacks for the Colts, who released him in March one season into a three-year, $27 million deal. A second-round pick by the Giants in 2013, Hankins, 26, said the Raiders’ scheme is similar to ones he has run and that he intends to play Sunday.
“I’m definitely going to be a little gassed, but that’s football,” Hankins said. “This being my first game, I’m sure they ain’t going to just leave me out there dying or anything like that.”
McDonald, 31, played 14 games last season with Tampa Bay, totaling 29 tackles and five sacks, and has 19 sacks in eight seasons with the Bengals, Seahawks and Buccaneers. Guenther, who knows McDonald from Cincinnati, said McDonald can play nose tackle and three-technique in the Raiders’ scheme and Hankins “fits our nose spot to a T.”