Oakland Raiders: 6 Players The Team Needs To Show Up Big In 2017
By Kevin Saito
The Raiders made a heavy investment in their pair of corners last season thinking they’d finally landed an elite tandem. And based on their resumes coming into the season, it was a fair argument to make.
Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out all that well last season and the Raiders didn’t get a whole lot of return on their investment as Oakland had one of the worst passing defenses in the league – twenty-fourth in the league, giving up roughly 258 yards per game, if you’re scoring at home.
To be fair though, the passing defense did get better as the season wore on – and the inflated passing defense statistics can’t be blamed entirely on Amerson and Smith. Although, they did make their fair share of horrendous plays – anybody recall Brandin Cooks going for 90 plus on Smith?
However, the lack of a consistent or effective pass rush contributed to the struggles in the passing defense. Opposing quarterbacks simply had too much time and were too comfortable sitting back in the pocket, picking apart the Raiders’ pass defense.
But the fact of the matter is that Amerson and Smith didn’t come close to living up to those lucrative deals they signed. They made some terrific plays, to be sure. But their whole body of work over the course of the season, taken as a whole, left a lot to be desired.
If the Raiders are going to take the next step – from playoff participants to serious title contenders – they’re going to need better play from their cornerbacks. They’re going to need solid, consistent production and to be better than the twenty-fourth ranked unit in the league. Much better.