Oakland Raiders: Does Dennis Allen Deserve Another Season?
By Danny Saeed
Nov 28, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen yells at his team during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving against the Dallas Cowboys at AT
The Oakland Raiders suffered their ninth loss of the season yesterday to the staggering New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. In the year of mediocrity in the AFC, the Raiders statistically remain in the postseason picture for the final playoff slot with a 4-9 record. Realistically, Oakland’s chances for a playoff berth are eminently minuscule, for it’s something that shouldn’t have been prattled on about from the commencement of the season.
I don’t know if Marc Davis has any plans on authorizing Dennis Allen as the head coach for next season, but what I do know is if the Raiders peter out these last few games, Allen will assuredly not be vindicated by the organization.
Yesterday’s loss against the Jets was arguably the most meaningful game regarding Allen’s future in Oakland. In result, the Raiders scarcely competed in a dispiriting loss to a struggling opponent. The Jets had their way around Oakland’s defense throughout the totality of the game, as they posted a whopping 37 points in front of their home crowd.
Allen evidently did not have his troops ready against an immensely beatable team and on top of that he made one of the most bizarre decisions as he inserted a now healthy Terrelle Pryor into the mix for an entire possession towards the end of the first quarter.
Matt McGloin, the Raiders starting QB in lieu of Pryor, was 3-of-4 for 28 yards before Allen prematurely pulled him out of the game and placed Pryor under center for a full series. McGloin’s only incompletion was a dropped pass and he had a fumble that was merely the result of a bad snap.
Pryor led the Raiders to a field goal, but that was more about his legs and the Jets failing to adjust to Allen’s move. Possibly Allen’s game plan was to catch Rex Ryan’s defense off-guard by suddenly incorporating the speedy signal caller, though it wasn’t very effective.Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported prior to the game that Pryor would see some snaps at quarterback. I assumed that meant Pryor would finally be utilized in the offense with some wildcat and read option; a full series utterly caught me off-guard.
When McGloin came back into the game, he looked pressed and tossed a costly interception in which led to a Jets field goal.
All Allen did was transiently shatter the indispensable momentum and rhythm of McGloin and the offense. He got a young quarterback, one that has done everything asked of him, one that has improved each game (he completed 60 percent of his passes last week), one that has defied the odds, unnerved. Poor decision by the young coach.
General manager Reggie McKenzie commenced to ameliorate the Raiders in the offseason by cleaning house and adding plenty of serviceable pieces in replacement. He tore down nearly the entire defense, and replenished it with recognizably better talent. Demonstrably, the rebuilding process takes a significant amount of time, therefore not anyone should have expected a tremendously superior outcome compared to a year ago.
Furthermore, I firmly believe McKenzie pieced together a team that’s good enough to gather six wins – possibly seven – five at the bare minimum. The Jets game was a remarkably pivotal match-up for Allen’s future with the Raiders, because the next three weeks consist of Kansas City, San Diego, and Peyton Manning. It was imperative that the Raiders defeated the Jets, yet they came exceptionally short of just that.
I don’t want to put a final judgement in on the Raiders until they muster more talent, but if Allen is unable to win another game, he’s done nothing to warrant another stay. This season should undoubtedly be an upgrade from last year, even if that means winning just one more game.
It wouldn’t be fair to solely point the finger at Allen, considering the Raiders are irrefutably deficient in talent. But if they are unable to record more than four wins, I don’t want or expect Allen to return next season. I understand the Raiders have been surprisingly competitive, but the harsh reality is – a competitive 4-9 record is as worthless as a non-competitive 4-9 record in professional sports.