Oakland Raiders: A Few Names To Keep, A Few To Dump Ahead Of 2018
By Kevin Saito
Keep: John Pagano
A defensive dumpster fire has been the norm ever since HC Jack Del Rio handed the keys to Ken Norton Jr. back in 2015. Under Norton, the defense was among the worst in the league in virtually every statistical category and kept this team from moving to the next level.
Even more damning is that under Norton, the defense never progressed. They never showed any sign of improvement. At all.
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It’s pretty telling when the buzz before the season was that, given Oakland’s offense, all they need is for the defense to be “halfway competent” for this to be a Super Bowl contending team.
Well, the offense has sadly regressed to Dennis Allen-era levels of incompetence, making the incompetence on the defensive side of the ball all the more glaring.
Thankfully, Del Rio either saw the light, threw him under the bus, or whatever you want to believe, but finally sent Norton packing. Too little, too late for this season, unfortunately.
However, with John Pagano taking control of the defense – something he should have done before the season even started – Oakland has been much more aggressive and much more effective on the defensive side of the ball.
With Pagano in control, Oakland’s defense is doing something they never under Norton – attack, play like their hair is on fire, fly to the ball, and try to force the action.
Under Norton, the defense sat back and simply reacted to whatever the offense was doing. Under Pagano, the defense is trying to take it to the offense and dictate to them, how the game is going to go.
And the early results are very encouraging. In weeks one through ten, with Norton still in control, the Raiders accumulated a whopping total of 14 quarterback sacks and absolutely zero interceptions – an NFL record for defensive futility, if you’re scoring at home, by the way.
Under Pagano – four games now, mind you – Oakland’s defense has recorded 14 sacks and four interceptions. Four games!
The defense has been more competent, confident, and aggressive with Pagano at the helm. And he’s gotten results. Which makes a more than compelling case for his return in 2018. Given an entire offseason in his system, this defense can be more than “halfway competent.” They can be a very good unit. Perhaps, even a dominant unit.
And a very good defensive unit, coupled with an offense that we all hope returns to form, could make the Raiders a very, very good team in 2018.