Oakland Raiders: Notes and Observations From Week Four
By Kevin Saito
Oct 4, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Martellus Bennett (83) celebrates after he catches a pass for a touchdown in the second quarter of the game against the Oakland Raiders at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Deja Vu All Over Again – Again
For the fourth consecutive week, the Raiders were burned by an opposing tight end. Oakland’s inability to see and cover a tight end is as frustrating as it is mind boggling. And nobody knows why the Raiders are having such a mental block – not even Del Rio or DC Ken Norton!
If you’re really searching for a silver lining, you can stretch logic and your sanity to say that at least Martellus Bennett has a track record of productivity in the NFL. This wasn’t unheralded players like Tyler Eifert, Crockett Gillmore, or Gary Barnidge who burned them. At least, not this week.
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Bennett was open early and often, and Cutler made the most of it. He targeted Bennett 13 times throughout the day, with the big tight end hauling in 11 receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown on which he was inexplicably all alone in the endzone. And by all alone, we mean that there was nobody within half a dozen yards of him.
Del Rio joked about needing to figure out how to shut down the “cloaking device” opposing tight ends seem to have that allows them to gallop free all over the field, all day long. Clearly, they’re going to need to work harder to shut that down.
Perhaps they need to lob a call to Captain Picard and Starfleet to figure out this whole “cloaking device” deal because it seems like as far as the Raiders’ defense is concerned, those opposing tight ends really are invisible.
Next: Going From Third to First