Oakland Raiders: Keys to beating Denver Broncos in week two matchup
By Kevin Saito
Coaching Needs To Be Better
Gruden has always been known as a meticulous planner. Type-A to the extreme. He accounts for the smallest, most minute details when he’s laying out his game plan for the week.
And it showed. In that first half against the Rams, Gruden’s offense looked sharp. Crisp. In command. The defense was sharp as well, limiting the Rams to almost nothing in the first half – 10 points, and 98 total yards. Which, for an offense as explosive as the Rams are – averaging a tick under 30 points a game last season – is a solid effort.
After the teams came out for the second half though, the Raiders looked as ill-equipped and ill-prepared as they ever did under previous coaching regimes. The Rams stymied them at every turn, and took advantage of every weakness they found. And the Raiders had no answer for it.
Wade Phillips and Sean McVay badly outcoached Gruden and Guenther in the second half of that game. Offensively, they went after the weak points in Oakland’s defense, and defensively, attacked the weak points in the Raiders offense.
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Coming out of halftime, it was clear very early that McVay and Phillips had a plan, while Gruden and Guenther didn’t. LA made the necessary adjustments to get their game plan working, and the Raiders didn’t.
And that’s a problem. Gruden and Guenther are going to have to make better adjustments both at halftime, and on the fly, as they take on a Denver team that has some talent on their roster.
Divisional games are important. Critical. And Gruden is going to have to put together a solid game plan, while also making adjustments on the field, if he wants to get this team pointed in the right direction.