Oakland Raiders Making A Few Eyebrow-Raising Personnel Decisions

The Oakland Raiders have some real problems in their secondary and yet, a young cornerback who flashed in camp languishes on the practice squad.

Set to square off with Tom Brady and New England’s high-powered offense, the Oakland Raiders have a problem. Of course, it’s a problem that’s plagued them all season long – actually, the last couple of seasons now. Even more problematic is the fact that it hasn’t gotten one iota better as of yet.

And that problem, of course, is the play of their secondary.

Oakland’s secondary play has been so bad, they made Jay Cutler look like the second coming of Joe Montana in their week nine tilt. Which is really bad when you consider the fact that in every other game Cutler has played in this season, he’s looked more like the second coming of Tom Savage.

On the night, Cutler completed 81 percent of his passes (34/42) against the Oakland defense. 81 percent. Let that sink in for a minute.

He threw for 311 yards and a trio of touchdowns. The Raiders managed to pull out the 27-24 win, living to fight another day, but Jay Cutler – chillingly and mind-bogglingly enough – absolutely shredded the defense.

Did we mention he completed 81 percent of his passes? Because he did and it’s such a shocking statistic that it bears reiterating just to let the true horror of it sink in.

Cutler’s night though, is just the continuation of a trend we’ve seen all season long. On the year, opposing quarterbacks are completing 71 percent of their passes against this defense, throwing for roughly 245 yards a game. Opposing quarterbacks have also tossed 14 touchdowns and have been picked off exactly zero times through nine games this season.

That’s right. This Raiders team has made a dubious bit of NFL history by going through the first nine games of the season without recording a single a pick. So, at least they got that going for them, which is nice.

No, it’s not all the fault of Oakland’s corners. The lack of a pass rush, plus the defense’s less than stellar pass coverage by their linebackers adds to it. But, there is no question that Sean Smith, T.J. Carrie, David Amerson, and Dexter McDonald are the absolute Achilles Heel of this defense.

To say that quartet of corners have struggled this season though, would be a vast understatement. Saying that they’ve been an absolute dumpster fire might actually be a little closer to the mark.

The maddening thing is, they’ve not done a single thing to address the problem this season. And what makes that lack of action even more head-scratchingly appalling, is the fact that if they have a player in-house who could potentially help the situation.

Anybody remember that kid who flashed in camp? The undrafted rookie who drew praise from playes and coaches alike? Anybody remember that Breon Borders is still languishing away on the practice squad?

It certainly doesn’t seem like Jack Del Rio or Ken Norton do.

With the team (finally) placing first-round pick Gareon Conley on IR – honestly, a move they should have made weeks ago, the team has just four corners on the roster, the team has just four corners on the depth chart.

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And if Amerson is in fact, unable to go on Sunday, the Raiders will be in the same position they were in against Miami – only able to field three healthy corners.

Three healthy and largely ineffective corners against that Patriots offensive juggernaut? Unless the Norton/Pagano/Del Rio brain trust can come up with an inspired game plan, you might as well pencil New England in for 40.

Borders should have been added to the roster weeks ago, when it first started to become apparent that Conley wasn’t going to be making it back this season. The team certainly should have moved him to the active roster ahead of Shilique Calhoun.

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Oh, you remember Calhoun, don’t you? He’s one of last season’s bigger disappointments who the team wisely cut, and then inexplicably added to the practice squad. And then, even more inexplicably, added to the active roster.

Yeah, the team needs some help with their linebackers, but Calhoun hasn’t shown he can provide much in the way of that help. Not to mention the fact that the need on the corners is a bit more dire and more pressing.

And after officially placing Conley on IR, the team made another move that should make fans want to bang their collective heads against the wall. Rather than bring Borders up, the team added Darius Latham back to the roster.

Like adding Calhoun, yes, Latham can fill another area of need. And he did have some nice moments last season. But, like adding Calhoun, the issues on the corners are far larger than the issues up front at the moment.

Don’t forget, because it feels like this can’t be stressed enough, if Amerson can’t go on Sunday, the Raiders will have just three corners on the active roster. Three!

Back in camp, Borders flashed, made some plays, and drew the eye of players like quarterback Derek Carr and coaches alike.

Of Borders, Carr said:

"“You know what, every time I turn the film on, it’s like he makes a play. I think that that’s how those guys catch your eye. When you’re an undrafted guy, it’s hard because … you’re not going to have the first- or second-team reps all the time, obviously. All that you can see is, ‘Man, who’s 31?’ kind of a thing. And then throughout the offseason and here at camp, he’s really proven himself. The more guys that we can have like that that make plays, I’m all for it.”"

And Del Rio added:

"“Some guys just come in with a serious, no-nonsense approach to their game and their preparation. Very conscientious, works very hard. I think Breon is having a nice camp.”"

Obviously, Borders isn’t going to step in and be the second coming of Deion Sanders. There will likely be a few bumps and growing pains along the way. There’s going to be a bit of a learning curve. But, given how poorly this secondary has played through the first nine games of the season, would anybody really notice?

Borders is tall, fast, and athletic. All traits this Oakland secondary desperately needs right now. He impressed throughout camp, but couldn’t crack the final 53. Fine. Fair enough. It’s a tough road to hoe for any undrafted free agent.

But, he was good enough to land on the team’s practice squad. He’s been there all season long, so he’s obviously conversant with the system. And with the Raiders having just four corners on the active roster – not particularly effective, though they may be – the defense desperately needs bodies in the secondary.

Adding Calhoun and Latham to the active roster ahead of Borders, when the need for help there is redlining, makes absolutely no sense at all.

None of this is to say that Borders would be the cure-all. He’s not going to fix everything all on his own. But, with the team as strapped as they are, and this secondary being one of the worst in all of the NFL, he certainly couldn’t hurt.

Worst case scenario, he flames out and gets beat like a rented mule on every play – the secondary is still no worse off than it is right now.

And yet, Breon Borders, despite the likelihood that he’d be more asset than liability to this defense, continues to languish on the team’s practice squad. It’s a curious case of personnel management by Del Rio and his coaching staff, and one that seems to be a detriment to the team’s overall effectiveness.

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