Raiders’ Guenther enjoys ‘new toys’
Defense’s boss offers a hint of what unit can produce
For Paul Guenther, the Raiders’ preseason game at Arizona on Thursday felt a bit like Christmas.
The Raiders played most of their starters for the first time this preseason in their 3326 win, including several key defensive players new to this year’s team.
It gave Guenther, the defensive coordinator, a chance to deploy those players in a game. And, Guenther didn’t hold back, sending a variety of looks at Arizona’s offense in the first half.
On Sunday, Guenther said the blitzes he called included “some plays we’ll run during the season, but there was no waiting to unwrap them until Week 1.
“If you noticed some of the guys that were blitzing — it was (Lamarcus) Joyner, (Johnathan) Abram, Brandon Marshall, (Vontaze) Burfict — they’re all new toys for me a little bit,” Guenther said. “So those were the guys I wanted to see blitz a little bit.
“Some of the stuff that I sent was just basic little things there, but I wanted to see those guys have to communicate, do the different things instead of just playing one or two coverages.” The verdict? “It was fun,” Guen
“It was fun. There was a lot more speed on the field.” Paul Guenther, Raiders defensive coordinator, on his unit’s efforts Thursday
ther said. “There was a lot more speed on the field. We can cover. We’ve got guys who can blitz, guys who can play the run. I told the players: ‘You kind of know what it’s supposed to look like when it’s right, and we had some glimpses of that the other night.’ ”
Albeit in the preseason, Cardinals rookie quarterback Kyler Murray, this year’s No. 1 overall pick, completed just 3 of 8 passes for 12 yards and was sacked twice in his four firsthalf drives.
On Murray’s final play, Joyner, the Raiders’ new nickel cornerback, blitzed off the left edge of Arizona’s offensive line to sack Murray for a safety, giving the Raiders a 260 lead.
Said Murray afterward of the Raiders’ defense: “They were bringing it. It was good to see.”
As Cincinnati’s coordinator from 2014 through ’17, Guenther led defenses that regularly harassed the opposing quarterback. In that span, the Bengals’ defense led the NFL in interceptions (69) and opponents’ passer rating (80.1) and ranked fifth in points allowed per game.
Last season the Raiders’ defense ranked 14th in interceptions (14) but was 29th in opponents’ passer rating (101.0) and last in sacks (13) while allowing the most points in the league.
Personnel limited how often Guenther was able to blitz last season. Burfict, who played for Guenther in Cincinnati, said Thursday that he got a better glimpse at the potential of the defense.
“I think that’s just the way we run defense,” Burfict said. “Some plays we blitz, some plays we don’t. Some plays we sit back and just control the down and distance. It’s been like that since I’ve been with Pauly G, so nothing new to me.”
Marshall and Joyner accounted for the Raiders’ two sacks of Murray, who couldn’t lead the Cardinals across the 50yard line. Joyner, the 5foot9 corner, said after the game he likes Guenther to be aggressive in his playcalling.
“If you look at the personalities we have on the defensive side of the ball, we have a bunch of aggressive, fast, big guys — except myself, but I like to play aggressive,” Joyner said. “It’s going to be real great. We love that skill. We love playing aggressive.”
The Raiders did not reveal everything in Arizona, of course. Guenther said the defense played “three or four coverages the whole game.” Joyner, Burfict, Abram, Marshall and Clelin Ferrell, the defensive end who was the No. 4 pick in April’s draft, all played between 18 and 22 snaps.
It’s possible that was the last glimpse in preseason of some starters as head coach Jon Gruden said Saturday the Raiders’ “frontline guys” likely will be “very limited” in the final two games. Burfict, then, said it was valuable to show at least a few blitzes at Arizona.
“Obviously, it’s fastpaced and sometimes the ends are dropping, the tackles are dropping, you have to communicate,” Burfict said. “I think it’s great that we got it on film and get to coach it, obviously, when we get in film study.”