‘D’ not built for playoffs
We’re 16 quarters into the 2020 season, and the Raiders have given no indication they can field a defense that could contribute to a nine- or 10-win team.
That was supposed to be the next step. Adding new personnel at all three levels and finally giving defensive coordinator Paul Guenther enough weapons for a fair fight.
Guenther had a new vantage point Sunday in a 30-23 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, working from the coaches booth instead of on the field where he usually operates.
Coach Jon Gruden said he thought it went well in terms of communication, allowing Guenther to more freely interact with middle linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski and get a bird’s eye view of what his unit was doing on a playto-play basis.
Yet what Guenther saw, along with everybody else, wasn’t good enough. Not even close. The Raiders gave up another 30 points to what appears to be a very good Buffalo team and to a quarterback in Josh Allen whose play has
taken a remarkable jump in his second season.
We pause for a moment to consider the problems of the Raiders’ offense in falling to 2-2. The following were the Raiders’ second-half possessions after coming in at halftime trailing 17-13:
Field goal, punt, lost fumble, turn over on downs, lost fumble. And then one too- little, toolate 7-yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr to Nelson Agholor.
With that kind of produc t ion, t he R a iders weren’t going to beat the Bills.
But at least you can see what the offense aspires to be when it grows up. The Raiders punted only one time, averaged 5.4 yards per play and moved the
ball consistently despite the Bills doing a good job on Josh Jacobs (15 carries, 48 yards). Carr was 32 of 44 for 311 yards and two touchdowns and hasn’t thrown an interception through four games and 144 pass attempts.
It’s a methodical, sometimes maddeningly plodding attack. The goal is to accumulate first downs, work the clock and generate scoring opportunities, taking a shot now and then but with the priority on efficiency rather than daring.
It’s not exactly Andy Reid and the high-flying Kansas City Chiefs, but it can work. It has worked. It worked for Gruden with Rich Gannon well enough for a couple of division titles. After inheriting one of the best defenses in modern NFL history in Tampa Bay, Gruden’s of fense worked well enough for a Super Bowl ring.
But those Raiders teams under Chuck Bresnahan had good if not great defenses that complemented the offense The Bucs under Monte Kiffin had a great defense as well as great players.
Guenther is operating at a disadvantage in that he’s got a lot of young players and has lost cornerback Damon Arnette indefinitely after thumb surgery. He got Kwiatkoski for only 22 snaps until Sunday. He’s got new players on the front seven and back end who never had an offseason together.
And as Gruden said, “If anyone has played a tougher schedule than us, tell me who has?”
It’s not Guenther’s fault that Lamarcus Joyner got hurt, Amik Robertson entered the game, and immediately bit on a third-and-1 play-fake and a 26-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Gabriel Davis.