Oakland Raiders: A Few Keys To Victory Over Tennessee Titans

Pressure, Pressure, Pressure

Given the upgrades to the Raiders’ defensive front over the offseason, it seemed like the team was making a concerted effort to put some teeth into their pass rush. Through two games this season, that effort hasn’t exactly paid off.

Khalil Mack led the Raiders with 15 sacks last season, really coming alive over the second half of the season. Oakland’s defensive resurgence last season brought them up from their near bottom of the league levels in 2014 to a more respectable middle of the pack standing in 2015.

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And it’s that resurgence – along with some nice acquisitions this offseason – that have fueled the belief that Oakland’s return to relevance would be led by the defense.

We all know the numbers. 1,035 yards and 69 points given up by the defense over the first two games. Ugly numbers, to be sure. Historically bad.

As concerning as those numbers are, the absolute lack of pressure on the quarterback should be even more concerning. This revamped and allegedly ferocious defensive front, led by Mack and Bruce Irvin, have accumulated a grand total of two sacks. Two.

More than that, they have been getting zero push up the middle or pressure off the edges. So far, the two quarterbacks they’ve faced, Drew Brees and Matt Ryan, have had enough time in the pocket to have lunch and do a crossword before throwing the ball.

And as we all know, when you give a quarterback all day to throw, the results for your defense aren’t going to be very good. Especially when those quarterbacks are as talented as Brees and Ryan.

If the Raiders are going to right their ship and get this defense playing ball, they will need to start addressing the absolute lack of pressure their front is getting. DC Ken Norton Jr., despite having versatility and talent across the board, has been playing a relatively conservative and vanilla defense.

The Raiders had success last season when they pinned their ears back and got after the quarterback. But we’ve seen an overwhelming number of simple four man rushes from Norton so far this season. Blitzes or schemes designed to create confusion and chaos have been few and far between.

Even worse, Mack has been left more or less, stationary at one spot. Rather than moving him around and letting him attack from a variety of places – which would cause plenty of chaos and confusion on its own – Norton has left Mack anchored to a spot.

To beat this Titans team, they will need to throw everything – including the kitchen sink – at Marcus Mariota. When he has time, he can dissect a defense. When the pocket collapses and there is chaos all around him, he sometimes makes mistakes. Or at the very least, they can force him into a mistake.

Much of Oakland’s defensive woes – not all, by any means, but much – can be pinned on the lack of any sort of pressure on the opposing quarterbacks. If Oakland is going to climb out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves and right their defensive ship, it starts up front.

They absolutely must start getting sustained pressure on the quarterback. They need to get some hits, some hurries, and most of all, some sacks.