Oakland Raiders: Bye Week Notes And Observations

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October 11, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray (28) runs with the football against Denver Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe (95) during the first quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Where is the Running Game?

One of the bigger storylines this offseason centered around who was going to be carrying the load in Oakland’s running game. After last season’s debacle featuring Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew who combined for a near historic lack of running yards, it was thought that Latavius Murray – who’d provided the Raiders with their only spark in the running game last year – was a shoo-in to be the bellcow. Many believed that Murray would lead to a revitalization of Oakland’s moribund running attack, which would greatly benefit the offense as a whole.

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Five weeks into the season, we’re still waiting for that revitalization to happen.

Don’t misunderstand, when Murray has gotten carries, he’s been pretty productive. For the year, he’s averaging 4.2 yards per carry (336 yards on 80 carries), with a pair of scores to go along with it.

But outside of Murray, the Raiders haven’t gotten much out of their rushing attack. Back ups Taiwan Jones, Roy Helu, and Marcel Reece haven’t been the big time threats Oakland needs behind Murray. If an opposing defense can shut Murray down, Oakland’s running game has gone with it.

The primary culprit is the fact that Oakland’s offensive line – as great as they have been in pass protection, becoming one of the league’s best units – have been fairly atrocious when it comes to run blocking.

Oakland can never seem to get anything going on the ground simply because the line isn’t doing a particularly great job of creating the holes and running lanes the backs need to succeed. What they’re allowing defenses to do is bottle up the running game, turn Oakland into a one-dimensional offense, sit on the receivers, and let defenders pin their ears back and get after Carr – the Denver game is a prime example of that.

If the Raiders are going to have any offensive success or consistency, they are going to need to use their bye week to improve their run blocking. They’re great against the pass, but their failures in the run game are killing this offense.

Next: Time To Step It Up

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