The Raiders are better on paper than they were a year ago, but the gap between
them and the elite of their division, the Chiefs and the Chargers, remains sizable.
77
× THE OFFENSE UNDERACHIEVES. New
receivers Antonio Brown and Tyrell Wil-
liams are both at their best working the
intermediate levels on deeper drop-back
passes. Those require aggressive throws
later in the down. That’s not the forte
of Derek Carr . His best
intermediate work is done
on seam routes, where
the ball comes out earlier.
Other throws require more
pocket patience than Carr
can consistently muster.
At least this year, how-
ever, Carr’s comfort in the
pocket doesn’t waver quite
so quickly, thanks to the im-
provement of second-year
left tackle Kolton Miller (a
movable but determined
pass blocker) and the ar-
rival at right tackle of former Patriot Trent
Brown, who solidifies what had been the
line’s weakest spot.
× JARED COOK IS MISSED. He wasn’t
a great blocker, but the tight end, now
trips-receiver sets. Gruden’s passing
scheme is much more modern than people
realize, at least on shorter throws, where
he makes great use of formation wrinkles
and intersecting releases. But it’s hard to
scheme a comprehensive passing game
without a receiving threat at tight end.
× THE DEFENSE REMAINS STALE. The
pass rush is to blame. Instead of blitzing,
coordinator Paul Guenther prefers to play
two-deep zone coverage, which works only
if your front four can disrupt the quarter-
back. The addition of the No. 4 pick, Cle-
lin Ferrell from Clemson, isn’t enough; the
Raiders still need at least one—if not two or
three—other edge rushers. Second-year de-
fensive tackles Maurice Hurst and P.J. Hall
continue to progress, but nei-
ther is destructive enough to
spearhead a D-line.
× GAREON CONLEY BREAKS
OU T. The 2017 first-round
corner was quietly stellar
for much of last season.
Conley has a good sense
for route concepts outside.
With Daryl Worley back and
rookies Trayvon Mullen
(second round, Clemson)
and Isaiah Johnson (fourth
round, Houston) adding
depth, plus ex-Lion Nevin
Lawson replacing the up-and-down Nick
Nelson in the slot, Oakland is stronger at
corner. Even better are the new safeties,
former Ram Lamarcus Joyner and first-
round pick Johnathan Abram (Mississippi
State). The Raiders can win on the back
end, encouraging Guenther to occasion-
ally deploy some of the creative blitzes
he learned as a coach with the Bengals.
WHAT LIES AHEAD
SI’S 2019
PREDICTION
5 – 11
2018 RECORD 4Ð 12
SEP T. 9
VS. DEN
SEP T. 15
VS. KC
SEP T. 22
@ MIN
SEP T. 2 9
@ IND
OC T. 6
(in London)
VS. CHI
OC T. 1 3
BYE
OC T. 2 0
@ GB
OC T. 2 7
@ HOU
NOV. 3
VS. DET
NOV. 7
VS. LAC
NOV. 17
VS. CIN
NOV. 24
@ N YJ
DEC. 1
@ KC
DEC. 8
VS. TEN
DEC. 15
VS. JAX
DEC. 22
(Flex)
@ LAC
DEC. 29
@ DEN
We
ak
ne
ss
QB
20
RB
25
WR/TE
12
OL
20
FRONT 7
32
DB
25
JOR
DA
N^ M
UR
PH^
(CA
RR)
;^ JE
NN
IFE
R^
STE
WA
RT/
GET
TY^
IMA
GES
OAKLAND
