HIGHS, LOWS, GOOD SHOWS
Raiders: Hard to find silver lining during season of unfulfilled promise
The Raiders were one of three teams left undefeated in the NFL heading into their Week 3 game at Washington, but there began an unraveling few forecasted. Oakland was perceived to be among the AFC’s elite after a breakout 2016, but the Raiders may be the league’s biggest underachiever.
With one “meaningless” game remaining against the Chargers on Sunday, we look back at the best, worst and everything in between from the 2017 Oakland Raiders:
TEAM MVP » Center Rodney Hudson never missed a game, and among the linemen, came the closest to upholding the standard that was set the previous season. Pressure up the middle was almost non-existent against quarterback Derek Carr and Hudson was selected to the Pro Bowl.
OFFENSIVE MVP » Running back Marshawn Lynch has rushed for 524 yards on 116 carries in his last seven games and been about the only consistent part of the Raiders offense. He goes into the regular season finale against the Chargers in Los Angeles 98 yards
shy of 10,000 for his career.
DEFENSIVE MVP >> Defensive end Khalil Mack has 10.5 sacks, made another Pro Bowl and in some circles he’s considered to have slumped. No offensive linemen are saying that, given three are required to contain Mack sometimes. Even then, it usually involves holding. MOST INSPIRATIONAL >> Hudson entered the Dallas game with an “illness” that was later identified as a kidney stone. Hudson somehow played every snap and played well. Then he did it again against Philadelphia. Mercifully, Hudson is now healthy, having been taken off the injury report Friday. BEST OFFENSIVE PLAY >> It was only a 2-yard pass, but it came on an untimed down from Carr to Michael Crabtree, giving the Raiders a 31-30 win over the Chiefs to snap a four-game losing streak. It was the only time all season when the Raiders looked anything like the 12-4 team of a year ago. BEST DEFENSIVE PLAY >> Middle linebacker NaVorro Bowman broke an unprecedented drought of interceptions by catching one flat on his back against the Broncos in a 21-14 Week 12 win. The Raiders have gone on to record four more interceptions since Bowman broke the seal.
BEST FREE AGENT >> Cordarrelle Patterson, a wide receiver and return specialist, gets the close nod over tight end Jared Cook. Patterson is averaging 30.3 yards on 17 kick returns, has 30 receptions for 305 yards and 13 carries for 121 yards from scrimmage with two touchdowns. He is also one of the best kick coverage gunners in the NFL. WORST FREE AGENT >> Linebacker Jelani Jenkins arrived as a four-year veteran and the only defensive player of note signed by general manager Reggie McKenzie after four years in Miami. He was the odds-on favorite to replace Malcolm Smith at weakside linebacker but wasn’t healthy during camp and didn’t make the 53-man roster. TOP OFFENSIVE ROOKIE >> Rookies did next to nothing for the Raiders on offense until fourth-round pick David Sharpe played 69 impressive snaps in place of injured starter Donald Penn against the Eagles. Sharpe had played only three unimpressive snaps in a single game on offense and been active five times before facing Philadelphia. TOP DEFENSIVE ROOKIE >> You’ll have to look outside the draft for this one. Despite the Raiders’ top two picks coming on defense, those two combined for only five games played. It was undrafted Division III linebacker Nicholas Morrow, rather, who has impressed most among the first-year players in a unit that needs help this offseason. BIGGEST HISTORIC FEAT >> Biggest doesn’t necessarily mean best, so let’s go with 10 WHOLE GAMES WITHOUT AN INTERCEPTION. Ten. That NFL record should stand for quite some time. The Raiders narrowly avoided grabbing the fewest interceptions in a 16-game season in league history. They have five with one game left, one more than the 2008 Detroit Lions.
BEST PLAY CALL >> Todd Downing is on the hot seat for a reason, so there haven’t been many “wow” play calls. The most flashy that comes to mind came in Week 2, when Patterson took a jet sweep 43 yards to the house. The call flashed Patterson’s versatility, and the number of ways Oakland can use him. He didn’t factor much in the offense the remainder of the season, but maybe Patterson is someone the (likely) new offensive coordinator incorporates more. BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
>> This has to be Carr. Whether the back injury played a role or not, Carr went from MVP-caliber to afterthought. He’s doubled his interception total from a year ago and looked hesitant to throw downfield at times. He’s struggled to close games like last season, and it was his fumble out of the back of the end zone against Dallas that sealed the Raiders’ playoff fate. CRAZIEST EJECTION >> There’s two choices here: Lynch and Crabtree. We’ll go with Lynch, just because he stormed off the sideline to intervene after a play he wasn’t even on the field for. Then he seemed to protect Chiefs cornerback and fellow Oakland native Marcus Peters more than his teammates. Then he watched
from the stands. Then he rode BART home with Peters. Yeah, pretty crazy all around.
BEST COACHING MOVE >> Firing Ken Norton Jr. and promoting John Pagano has done wonders for Oakland’s defense. The pass-rush has improved greatly, the Raiders have five interceptions since the change and a unit formerly with coaching questions has far fewer than the other side of the ball heading into the offseason.
WORST INJURY >> Shin splints, shin pain, whatever you want to call it, Gareon Conley’s injury severely hampered the Raiders this season. The 2017 first-rounder played only two games, leaving Oakland’s secondary depleted and without a potential starter at cornerback. Who knows if Conley will return to full strength. The Raiders sure hope so, because they need him.
BEST MIDSEASON FIND >> Bowman has been the Raiders’ best run-stopper since joining the team three days before Oakland’s Week 7 game against the Chiefs. He learned enough of the playbook in no time, and hasn’t looked back. Bowman said Friday he believes he’s a every down linebacker, and wants to be with the Raiders in 2018. We’ll see if management feels the same way. BIGGEST MCKENZIE SURPRISE >> Reggie McKenzie hasn’t been too hot in drafts since the Mack-Carr-Jackson group in 2014 — and Amari Cooper in 2015. His 2016 draft certainly looks bad right now (Jihad Ward, Shilique Calhoun and Connor Cook in rounds 2-4), but the surprise comes more with the 2017 class. Injuries played a factor in this year’s class not panning out yet, but only five combined games between Conley and Obi Melifonwu is somewhat of a shock. TOP FIVE PENDING FREE AGENTS >> NaVorro Bowman, TJ Carrie, Denico Autry, Justin Ellis, Lee Smith.