Marcel Reece is a Lethal Weapon the Oakland Raiders Must Utilize in 2015
By Kevin Saito
It’s not hard to imagine that after HC Jack Del Rio hired Bill Musgrave to run the offense, the Oakland Raiders running backs cheered long and loud. After all, it was Musgrave who oversaw offenses that allowed Fred Taylor and Adrian Peterson to post mammoth numbers. After being immersed in Chip Kelly’s high-octane offense in Philadelphia, Musgrave vows to add some wrinkles into his playbook. But it’s hard to imagine he strays completely from the running game, which has been his bread and butter for years.
Of all the areas in which the Raiders’ offense was woefully lacking in 2014, the running game topped the list. Their 1,240 yards on 337 attempts were both NFL lows last season – by a wide margin. Despite a promising training camp and preseason, neither Darren McFadden nor Maurice Jones-Drew amounted to much of anything in 2014. Late in the season, second year back Latavius Murray stepped in and provided a spark for Oakland’s running game, but it was a case of way too little, far too late.
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The Raiders’ running back group can’t be held entirely to blame for the team’s pathetic performance running the ball last season. Much, if not most, of the blame can and should be laid squarely at the feet of former offensive coordinator Greg Olson.
Rather than tailor his offensive game plan to play to the strengths of his personnel, he tried to force square pegs into round holes, and the result was nothing short of disastrous. Olson was far too quick to pull the plug on the rushing attack during a game, sometimes abandoning it completely after less than a dozen attempts.
To many fans, it seemed rather than even put up the pretense of a running game, Olson preferred to let rookie QB Derek Carr air it out 40 plus times a game. It never seemed that Olson knew his players, knew their strengths, or knew what they did well. As a result, in the eyes of many, Olson completely mismanaged and misused the players on the roster – players like Marcel Reece.
Drafted in 2009 by the Raiders, Reece has been Mr. Everything for Oakland. He’s played good soldier through all of the bad times, and has always done what the team has asked of him without complaint. Even if his talents and abilities seem to go unrecognized and underutilized – despite the fact that he owns a career average of 4.7 YPC.
Prior to the 2014 season, Olson paid a lot of lip service to the idea that Reece would be a big part of Oakland’s offense. For the season, Reece wound up with just 21 carries for 85 yards – his second worst statistical season as a pro. He also caught 37 passes for 265 yards – which is his lowest yardage total since his rookie season.
To say that Reece was a vastly underutilized resource for the Raiders last season would be as glaringly obvious as saying “fire is hot,” and “water is wet.” The lack of production from Reece is directly tied to the ineptitude of the former offensive coordinator. After all, you can’t produce if your number isn’t called. And Reece’s number was very seldomly called in 2014.
But with a new regime, comes a new chance for Oakland’s coaches to get it right. Reece is one of the most versatile backs in the league. He has the size to be a lead blocker. He has the speed and elusiveness to carry the ball. And he has the hands to be a lethal receiver out of the backfield.
Reece can absolutely do it all if the coaches would figure out that they need to get the ball into his hands far more often. Here’s hoping that Musgrave and Del Rio figure out what Olson, Tony Sparano, Dennis Allen, and so many others never did – that Marcel Reece is a lethal weapon that needs to be utilized.