Priorities for new Raiders defensive coordinator

The Las Vegas Raiders are a desperate team, and after Sunday’s home loss to Indianapolis they made a drastic move to try to salvage a once-promising season, firing defensive coordinator Paul Guenther.

It’s hard to argue with Guenther’s dismissal given the depths to which the defense has sunk this season. The Raiders rank 27th in the league in yards per play allowed (6.0), 30th in rushing defense (4.7 yards per carry allowed) and 31st in sack rate (3.1%), making them one of the worst units from top to bottom in the entire NFL.

Las Vegas doesn’t have a lot of time to retool the defense, as they’re on a short week (they host the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday) and there are only three games left in the season, and they obviously stayed in-house by elevating defensive line coach Rod Marinelli as interim DC, so don’t expect an entirely new playbook.

But there are some tweaks that could be made as the Raiders try to scrap their way into the final playoff spot. Here are a few priorities for Marinelli:

Sort out the defensive line

Everything starts up front for the defense, and right now the Raiders are a mess along the defensive line. They’ve spent the entire season trying to mix and match promising young players with high-priced free agents (and, more recently, street free agents) in an attempt to find a mix that works, and so far they’ve come up empty.

The Colts exposed the defensive line for 60 minutes on Sunday and had a ton of success running the ball right at defensive end Maxx Crosby.

On this play, Crosby lined up at his usual left DE position and Indianapolis brought a tight end across the formation to wham block him on the back side.

Nearly all counties in the state are in the most restrictive purple tier (widespread risk), which would allow competition for lowcontact sports such as cross country, track, swimming, golf and tennis. Cross country is the one sport in that group that is part of the fall season.

In the red tier (substantial risk), sports such as baseball and softball, outdoor cheerleading and girls lacrosse can be played.

Indoor basketball and wrestling were among the sports to receive the most restrictions with placement in the yellow tier (minimal risk). Basketball moves to the orange tier if played outdoors.

The CDPH said it guidelines were made after consulting the CIF State among others.

“There's light at the end of the tunnel and it's not a train, so we might be getting there,” Trabuco Hills boys track and field coach JT Ayers said. “What it does is give everybody in any kind of high school sports community hope, and now we can start planning for giving these kids an opportunity not just to race but to practice, be part of a community.”

The guidelines arrived after the CIF State earlier this month put the start date for its revised fall sports season “on hold” because of lack of an update while the football and boys volleyball seasons were quickly approaching. The state federation also canceled its regional and state playoffs for the fall, creating more calendar space for schools to schedule league games later in the season.

The new map shows potential routes for all sports, although some are more challenging than others.

Norco softball coach Rick Robinson spotted a possible opportunity for his team, which had its season canceled last spring.

“I'm cautiously optimistic we will get to play,” Robinson said. “I'm excited about getting that chance to get on the field again, especially after last season was cut short.”

Irvine Unified athletic director Mark Cunningham expressed disappointment in the guidelines on multiple fronts. While pleased some sports appear headed toward competition, he believes the guidance is too restrictive overall, especially with water polo, soccer and volleyball being grouped in the orange tier, the same category as football.

“I understand that they think they have to tie this to tiers, but we have (about) 40 states across the nation that weren't tied into tiers and were allowed to have athletics go forward,” he said. “What they are basically saying is that they don't think that coaches are capable of making sure that they're providing a safe environment. ... Obviously, it's a difficult situation trying to come up with something that's going to appease everybody.”

Cunningham, who coaches football at Corona del Mar, wasn't surprised by football's placement in the orange tier but doesn't believe the sport will be played as scheduled.

“I personally don't think it can be played, (but) I'm hoping it can be,” he said.

So what are the chances for sports such as basketball in the yellow tier, where the counties have to reach the healthiest level to compete?

“So basically there's no chance, is what it sounds like,” Sierra Canyon girls basketball coach Alicia Komaki said. “All coaches, we're all very hopeful that we can have a season. You're hopeful more importantly that kids and families are safe.”

The CDPH clarified that outdoor conditioning and skill training is permitted even under stay-at-home orders. It also added that it will reassess the Jan. 25 start date by Jan. 4 and it could change depending on health conditions.

“Now we have an idea what sports can be played earlier and have some competition,” Aquinas athletic director and softball coach Chris Ybarra said. “It's a light at the end of a tunnel, and right now any kind of light is a good thing.

“I really think it's important to get these kids back to playing sports. There are a lot of kids that have not been doing anything for months now, so getting back and active will be good for the overall well-being of our student athletes.”

Beaumont football coach Jeff Steinberg said he appreciated that Monday's announcement made “the picture a little clearer” regarding what needs to be done to play again.

“I think that was the biggest thing we as coaches were asking — where do we stand and where do we need to get to?,” he said. “I think it will take a lot to make it happen, considering how long we've been where we've been (the purple tier). But I'm trying to stay positive. If we can all work together in the same direction, we could make this happen.”

Long Beach Poly football coach Stephen Barbee said his team should be able to deal with the season being pushed back again.

“This has been a year like no other, and I think our athletes and our staff, our administration, our school district, we all understand the fluidity of it,” Barbee said, “and we need to be able to adapt and be ready to go when we are cleared. It's just another setback, and it's just a delay of a couple of weeks and that's kind of how we're handling it.”