Oakland Raiders: A Closer Look At Some Concerning Numbers

Five

Perhaps even more concerning than the lack of sacks – as many believe they will come eventually – is the number of hurries Oakland has tallied on the year. And that number is five – which puts them near the bottom of the league in the category.

In fact, if you wanted to be precise, Oakland is tied with Tampa Bay and Indianapolis at the very bottom of the NFL barrel in the category.

The lack of sacks is alarming, but the lack of hurries is even more so. The lack of hurries illustrates just how little push the defensive front is getting. And how little pressure opposing quarterbacks are facing.

And if you give quarterbacks like Drew Brees and Matt Ryan the kind of time Oakland’s defense has been allowing, they will cut you to ribbons every single time.

And of course, the lack of a pass rush has a trickle down effect on the rest of the defense as well. A quarterback with nothing but time on his hands puts a lot of pressure on a secondary. Too much pressure as it’s turned out the first two weeks of the year.

Part of the problem is that DC Ken Norton Jr. seems to playing a more vanilla, conservative approach. Blitzes are few and far between and it seems that all too often, we’re seeing nothing but a four man rush going at the offense. Add to that, the fact that he hasn’t been moving Khalil Mack around the defense much, and the lack of pressure begins to make some sense.

Without sending attackers from every conceivable angle, without trying to overwhelm the offensive line with bodies, and more importantly, without altering Mack’s position of attack, opposing offenses aren’t having to do a whole lot to keep Oakland’s defensive front at bay.
Needless to say, this is not how the team thought the pass rush was going to play out. Instead of building on last season’s momentum, they seem to have regressed. At least through two weeks of play. But they have the chance to get it on track this week.