Tony Sparano: Pros and Cons

November 20, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders interim head coach Tony Sparano celebrates after the Raiders scored a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Pro: Generates Wins Against Good Teams: 

Sparano may have only sparked three wins this season, but they came against teams seeking postseason berths in the Kansas City Chiefs, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Buffalo Bills.

In their victory against the Chiefs, the Raiders had 18 first downs and 354 yards of total offense. Derek Carr was only sacked once and threw for 174 yards over 18 completions. The Raiders’ defense held Kansas City and Jamaal Charles to 96 yards, well under their average of 120 rush yards per game.

The game against the 49ers was Carr’s best game of the season, going 22-28 for 254 yards, tossing three touchdown passes to beat an imploding San Francisco team. The Raiders’ offense had 19 first downs and 330 total yards in the 24-13 victory over their crosstown rival.

The defense was successful as well, sacking 49ers’ quarterback Colin Kaepernick five times and intercepting two of his passes. The defense also held the Niners to just 13 points.

Lastly there was the win against Buffalo. It wasn’t the prettiest of games, but the Raiders still had decent numbers offensively with 347 total yards, 140 of it coming on the ground. Carr threw for 214 yards and two touchdown passes, being sacked just once in the win.

Con: Has Trouble Closing out Games.

There were two games in particular the Raiders had the chance to win but could not close it out or culminate the comeback. These were the home game against the San Diego Chargers and the Week Nine matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.

Let’s start with the home game against the San Diego Chargers on October 12th. This was the first game the Raiders played under coach Sparano. The Raiders struck first with a three-play, 80 yard drive to start the game, but would then find themselves locked in a back-and-forth battle with their bitter AFC west rival. The Raiders, however, blew a late one-touchdown lead by allowing ten Chargers’ points in the final nine minutes.

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The Raiders got the ball back with 1:56 left in the game with a chance to win the game. Carr faltered, throwing an interception on second down and one with 1:13 left, allowing Philip Rivers to end the game in the victory formation.

If the Raiders could have answered with a score of their own after the Chargers scored, that would have given them a seven to 11 point lead. Instead, they went three and out and gave San Diego prime field position.

In the Seahawks game, the Raiders began their comeback march by getting within a touchdown of the defending champions but could not generate enough defense to get a stop. It didn’t help that Carr threw two interceptions and the running backs contributed just 37 yards rushing. But when you have the chance to beat the defending world champions, you might as well try to get the win, right?