Raiders stress a balanced offense
Gruden: ‘Get excited about the run game’
Jon Gruden, known for working with passers as an NFL coach and a television analyst, had a surprising directive for Derek Carr upon becoming the Raiders’ head coach last year.
“One of the first things he ever said to me when he was the coach here was, ‘Get excited about the run game,’ ” Carr said Wednesday. “Going to a quarterback, a young quarterback at the time that just wanted to drop back and throw it 50 times a game, put up fantasy stats and keep going to Pro Bowls, I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, the run game. But what are the passes?’ ”
For Carr and the Raiders, this early season has reinforced the importance of involving both.
The Raiders’ balance on offense in their three wins (99 rushing plays, 89 passing attempts) has stood in sharp contrast to a lack thereof in two losses (39 rushes, 72 passes).
In both losses, the Raiders fell behind by double digits in the first half. When not having to play catchup, though, they have favored a more methodical approach.
Through six weeks, the Raiders are ranked 26th in the NFL in pass attempts per game (32.2) and 12th in rush attempts per game (27.6) and have the league’s eighthranked rushing offense, with an average of 134.4 yards.
They have also shown a sense of determination to establish the run. In London, against a Bears defense that had not allowed a 100yard rushing game since Week 13 of 2018, the Raiders ran 39 times for 169 yards, attempted 32 passes and recorded 13 of 25 first downs on the ground.
“That wears on defenses,” rookie running back Josh Jacobs said this week, “mentally and physically.”
Before this season, the Raiders were expected to feature a dynamic passing game with a rebuilt receiver group and Carr coming off a careerhigh 4,049 passing yards in 2018.
Instead, the departure of several receivers and reliance
on the running game have altered the narrative: Carr is 24th in passing yards per game (223.4), 29th in yards per completion (9.5), and 25th in touchdown passes (six) among NFL quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts.
Gruden last week, though, said Carr has also been a factor in the Raiders’ rushing numbers due to his grasp of the offense and reading of defensive fronts.
“Some of the things that are happening in the running game, he gets a lot of credit for,” Gruden said. “We’re not running into uphill looks. He’s doing a lot of recognition at the line.”
Some expected Carr’s passing numbers to jump this season due to his having played a full year in Gruden’s offense. Gruden has repeatedly mentioned Carr’s understanding of the system and tested Carr at practices in training camp by letting the quarterback call his own plays.
On Wednesday, Carr said that ability to run the offense applies to the running game as well.
“We have plays where I can get to four, five different runs off just one thing that he says in the headset,” Carr said. “That takes a lot of detail, that takes a lot of intricacies in the fronts and covers and structures, who’s in the game on defense, who’s not. … It’s been fun for me, to be honest.”
Carr noted the expanded running game has “helped me in the pass game also . ... We’re getting big chunk plays, 20 or 30yard chunk plays every now and then off these playactions, which is huge. Our bootlegs are better because of our run game. Everything is based off that.”
In Week 4 at Indianapolis, Carr had five attempts to receivers 10 or more yards past the line of scrimmage and completed four, including both of his touchdown throws, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Against the Bears, Carr had just two such attempts but completed both. Carr’s completion rate of 73.3% through five games leads the NFL.
“All he wants to do is win,” offensive coordinator Greg Olson said of Carr. “If it’s a balanced attack and he has to throw less, he’s OK with that. The results are what he’s about. So I think he’s got a real good feel certainly for the passing game, and he’s taken on, to me, responsibility of doing a lot of what we want for him to do in the run game.” Matt Kawahara is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mkawahara@sfchronicle. com Twitter: @matthewkawahara