Should the Raiders Be In Panic Mode After 0-2 Start?
Yes. They absolutely should be.
As a hopeful Raiders fan, it was nice to embrace the idea of the “new era” and look ahead to the promising football games that were going to be played. New owner, new general manager, new head coach; it seemed like the stars were finally aligning for the Oakland Raiders. But now they sit in an 0-2 hole, and their next three opponents will bring a daunting task for Oakland to deal with. Those teams include “Big Ben” and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Peyton Manning and his Broncos, and Matt Ryan and the current 2-0 Atlanta Falcons. Regardless of the three elite quarterbacks that the Raiders will have to face for their next three games, let’s take a look at the two games that they have already played.
They opened the season at home against the San Diego Chargers. They lost the game 22-14, and their only touchdown came with less than 90 seconds in the game. Darren McFadden barely rushed for over two yards per carry, but he did lead the team in receptions and receiving yards, snagging 13 passes for a total of 86 yards. However, it’s never a good sign when your running back is the go-to receiver on the field, and much of Oakland’s passing game consisted of short dump offs or screen passes to McFadden, due to the fact of their injured top receivers, Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore, were inactive. But that game was thrown away when Pro Bowl long snapper Jon Condo got injured, leaving his back-up Travis Goethel to enter the game. Goethel, who hadn’t long snapped since his high school days, ended up botching three punts that all resulted in San Diego points. The Raiders are happy that Condo returned for their ensuing game, on the road against the Miami Dolphins, but it didn’t really help them that much.
The game against Miami was an absolute mess. Reggie Bush ran all over the Raiders defense, as he carried the ball 26 times for 176 yards rushing, and even ran in two touchdowns. But Bush wasn’t the only Dolphins player to score two touchdowns that game, as rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill had a two yard rushing touchdown and also threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Anthony Fasano. All in all, Oakland let in 35 points, all from touchdowns, and only came away with 13 points, which came from a 64-yard Mike Goodson touchdown reception and two Sebastian Janikowski field goals. The only relatively good news was that wideout Denarius Moore returned, and played quietly well. He hauled in three passes for 67 yards.
And now, they remain winless and look ahead to a big challenge. But the question is, where do the Raiders go from here? Their best return man and worthy wide receiver Jacoby Ford is done for the season with a foot injury, and running back Darren McFadden is easing his way back to his old self. The Raiders have only scored two touchdowns in their first two games, and their offense is dying for a boost. And they should look for that boost in the free agent market.
I think that the Raiders have some options, and I believe that they should seriously consider signing veteran free agent wideouts Chad Johnson or Plaxico Burress. Granted, Johnson was cut from the Dolphins a few weeks back, after dealing with legal issues, but he still wants to play in the NFL. Burress last played for the New York Jets, and he’s hungry for another opportunity as well. At this point, I think the Raiders are desperate, and need something to kickstart their team. The least they can do is take a chance, because it seems like they’re going nowhere right now.