Oakland Raiders: Notes and Observations From Week Four

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Oct 4, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould (9) kicks the game winning field goal against the Oakland Raiders in the fourth quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Oakland Got Caught Looking Ahead

As much as HC Jack Del Rio and the team will deny it, the Raiders certainly seemed to have gotten caught looking ahead on the schedule. From the opening drive, there as something off and something missing in this team. They were there in body, but not in mind or spirit.

To anybody watching, it looked like they were already back in Oakland getting ready to square off with the Broncos.

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This game against Chicago – a winless team that had punted on all ten possessions while mustering less than 150 yards of total offense a week ago against Seattle – was a trap game. Plain and simple. The Raiders were riding high on a two game win streak and feeling good about themselves and refused to see the trap until they were caught up in it and it was too late.

Give Chicago credit, they were scrappy and they fought hard all game long. They made plays when they had to make them – Oakland did not. The Bears looked like the team that was battling to keep pace with their division leader – Oakland did not.

There are any number of reasons you can point to for the Raiders’ debacle against the Bears, but in the end, you can boil it down to just two things. The Raiders came out flat and uninspired – and their play reflected that – and that is Del Rio’s fault. He spent so much time during the week talking about how they would not overlook the Bears, that he didn’t actually prepare them to not actually overlook the Bears. It seemed that his mind, just like his team’s mind, was already focused on Denver.

The second thing is that the players simply did not execute. They had any number of chances to seize control of the game, but they failed each and every time. Poor tackling, poor blocking, poor ball handling, dropped passes, missed opportunities – the coaches can call all the right plays, but it’s up to the players to execute them. And on Sunday, the Raiders simply didn’t do that.

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