Oakland Raiders: Struggles Highlighting Team’s Poor Offseason Priorities

The Oakland Raiders are struggling this season, to say the least, further highlighting how poor off season priorities have factored into the team’s troubles.

A year ago, the Oakland Raiders clawed their way back from oblivion and were the darlings of the NFL. Led by a coach who brought back that old Raiders swagger in Jack Del Rio and a nucleus of charismatic young stars in Derek Carr, Khalil Mack, and Amari Cooper, Oakland was flying high.

Behind an elite offensive line, Carr directed Oakland’s offense to heights it hasn’t seen since around the turn of the century. Which, coincidentally, was the last time Oakland saw the playoffs. At least, until last season.

In 2016, it seemed like everything was coming together for Oakland. The offense behind a core of young stars and solid veterans became one of the most potent and electric in the league. They ended the 2016 campaign sixth in total yards, sixth in rushing, and seventh in scoring.

And the needle seemed to be pointing up – way up – for this team.

But then a funny thing happened as the offseason got underway and the Raiders have done a good job of proving two old adages entirely correct. Adage number one says, “if something’s not broken, don’t fix it.” And adage number two says, “you actually can have too much of a good thing.”

After Carr’s injury and the subsequent spanking they suffered at the hands of the Houston Texans in the Wild Card game last season, the Raiders went into the offseason on a high, but also with some serious work to do.

If they wanted to build on their 12-4 record and run to the postseason, there were some very clear issues with this team that needed to be addressed. And all of those issues were on the defensive side of the ball.

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Oakland had a defense that was last in the league in sacks – despite the presence of one of the league’s premier defenders in Khalil Mack – who added Defensive Player of the Year to his already impressive array of awards.

But, the Raiders also had the league’s twenty-sixth ranked defense overall – twenty-third against the run, twenty-fourth against the pass. They also posted the league’s twentieth ranked scoring defense, giving up roughly 24 points per game.

Oakland’s offense last season was electric. Unfortunately, the defense couldn’t have generated enough power to light up a single bulb. And heading into the offseason, it seemed as if the focus would be on shoring up that creaky unit.

Let’s just say this – that’s where the focus should have been.

Although the team went defense-heavy in the Draft, taking Gareon Conley, Obi Melifonwu, Eddie Vanderdoes, Marquel Lee, Shalom Luani, and Treyvon Hester. They also picked up some defensive bodies as undrafted free agents.

And yet, that’s where the team’s emphasis on fixing the defense ended. And that’s where many of the team’s current problems began. If you’re expecting your crop of rookies to come in and be the difference makers, to elevate the entire defense, and solve all your problems – rather than adding a few key veterans – you’re not just deluded, you’re foolish.

Next: Raiders Making Questionable Personnel Decisions

See, rather than doing the smart thing, GM Reggie McKenzie and presumably Del Rio, decided that in free agency, they didn’t need to bring in veterans to help tighten the defense up. No, they opted to go for splashy offensive players like Jared Cook and Cordarrelle Patterson.

Basically, the McKenzie/Del Rio brain trusted tried to address a problem that didn’t exist. Instead of refining the offense they had – an offense that was already one of the most potent in the league – they apparently thought throwing big dollars at superfluous offensive bodies was the more important thing to do.

Now look, Patterson and Cook are nice additions. They give Carr another couple of weapons to work with. Sure. Great. But, has either of them been the difference maker they were touted to be? Has either one done anything special that anybody in a Silver and Black jersey last season didn’t do? Has their presence on the roster elevated this offense as a whole?

The answer to those questions – and quite a few more along the same vein – is a resounding, “No.”

You know what could have been a real difference maker though? Aside from removing an incompetent defensive coordinator who looks to be in way over his head and replacing him with one who actually knows what they’re doing, that is.

A real difference maker could have been bringing in a cornerback who can actually, you know, defend the pass. Bringing in a linebacker who’s able to stop the run and the pass. Bringing in an edge rusher who can complement Mack, draw away some of the attention on him, and help bring the heat on opposing quarterbacks.

Any of that – all of that – could have, and would have made a huge difference to this team.

Yes, the offense has struggled this season. It’s nowhere near the level it was last season. But that could be a side effect of having a new Offensive Coordinator in Todd Downing, who, in his eagerness to put his stamp on the team, has essentially stripped away everything that made it so potent last season.

It could also have to do with Carr’s injury and the fact that he’s looked a little skittish in the pocket since then. And it could also have to do with trying to incorporate the new weapons into the arsenal.

There are a lot of reasons for Oakland’s offensive struggles this season. But the reasons for Oakland’s defensive struggles are the same as they have been for the last few seasons now – an inability to cover tight ends, a run defense, that although it’s improved this year, still isn’t all that great. And perhaps the most damning and galling thing of all, cornerbacks and safeties – yeah, we’re looking at you, Reggie Nelson – who can’t perform.

And the fact that these issues have not been addressed, that as a whole, this defense has not gotten one iota better under Ken Norton Jr., is the most damning indictment of Del Rio’s coaching tenure of all.

Having an explosive offense is a good thing. But, the Raiders had that already. And yet, despite the fact that they already had playmakers up and down the roster, McKenzie and Del Rio went into the offseason and seemed to decide to add free agents like they were running a fantasy team, rather than commit to addressing weak spots and hone and shape a genuine contender.

Offense is great. But, defense wins championships. It’s an age-old bit of wisdom that has proven true time and time again.

And yet, rather than plug the very obvious, very glaring holes on the defensive side of the ball, a team who very obviously had their priorities out of whack this offseason, was hellbent on fixing problems they just didn’t have.