RAIDERS Guenther expects defense to improve
Paul Guenther’s transition to his first NFL defensive-coordinator job couldn’t have been much smoother.
In 2014, after nine years as a Bengals assistant coach, Guenther succeeded coordinator Mike Zimmer, who’d left to become head coach in Minnesota. Running a system that he helped develop, Guenther’s defenses ranked 12th, second and eighth in points allowed over the next three years.
The transition to his second coordinator job couldn’t have been more different.
In its first season under Guenther, the Raiders’ defense last year set a franchise record for the most points allowed in a season (467) and ranked last in the league in points allowed per game (29.2), yards allowed per play (6.3) and sacks (13).
Those numbers might have drawn more scrutiny had they not come in the first year of a full rebuild under new head coach Jon Gruden — with whom Guenther arrived on a four-year deal — or amid significant roster turnover. Regardless, they did not sit well with Guenther, who last week termed 2018 “by far my hardest year in coaching.”
“It’s something that you don’t always want to go through, having a rough year like we did,” Guenther said. “But obviously, you start to learn how to build these things, how to build your lineup card, what it should look like and how you envision it, so that was a positive for me.
“I always tell the players, if you don’t learn from failure, you’re making a mistake. So you’ve got to learn from what we did good and what we did bad, and build off of that in the future.”
There was plenty of bad from which to draw last year. Along with an ineffective pass rush, the Raiders lacked speed in their secondary and were exploited for big plays. Guenther rotated players for much of the season at all three levels of the defense, looking for effective combinations.
“Last year, it was tough,” second-year defensive tackle Maurice Hurst said. “We had a lot of rolling bodies coming in and out of our locker room. It can be extremely tough to put in a new defense and get guys that just come in and have to play after sitting on the couch or whatever. You don’t grow chemistry. You don’t trust one another.”
Asked how Guenther handled last year’s struggles, Hurst said: “He put in the system. We just didn’t execute.”
Last offseason, the Raiders signed older players they hoped could adapt to and run Guenther’s system in Year 1. The signing of linebacker Vontaze Burfict this offseason follows in that vein, but the Raiders also added players in the draft and free agency whom they saw fitting into their scheme.
Guenther said last week Lamarcus Joyner is “a perfect fit for me” as a slot cornerback, and Clelin Ferrell is “exactly what I’m looking for” as an everydown defensive end. During the draft, general manager Mike Mayock described cornerbacks Trayvon Mullen and Isaiah Johnson as “perfect in what we do,” given their size and experience in press coverage.
“We’ve gotten a lot younger, obviously,” Guenther said. “We’ve got some guys in the back end that can cover guys one-on-one.”
A promising glimpse of that came in team drills during Tuesday’s OTA practice. On a play in the red zone, third-year linebacker Nicholas Morrow picked up receiver Antonio Brown in coverage and broke up Derek Carr’s throw for Brown in the end zone. On another play, cornerback Daryl Worley provided coverage on a pass that was juggled by tight end Erik Swoope and intercepted by linebacker Tahir Whitehead.
Burfict, who played for Guenther in Cincinnati, pointed to the defense’s reaction to Morrow’s play as an encouraging sign.
“When Nick made that breakup, I saw the whole defensive sideline try to run out there and congratulate him,” Burfict said. “Obviously, they had to get ready for the next play. But just the energy here is amazing.”
This being June, Guenther downplayed any excitement over practice plays. But he spoke about this year’s defense with a hint of optimism.
“I felt like the kind of players that we’re looking for, we’ve added a lot of those guys throughout the draft and free agency, guys that kind of fit what we’re doing,” Guenther said. “Right now, everybody feels great about their team. I’m just trying to get them better every day.”