The bar for the Raiders defense isn’t high. Since 2007, the Raiders haven’t finished in the top 20 for scoring defense in a season.
Think about that.
2007.
So when Patrick Graham came in this off-season as the team’s new defensive coordinator, nobody was expecting him to transform the Raiders defense into the strength of the team — they just hoped his unit would be competent. Heck, even average would be an upgrade.
Through seven weeks, however, the results have been underwhelming. Last season, the Raiders finished 26th in scoring defense — this year? 26th. Last season they were 14th in yards per game allowed — this season? 24th.
And it’s not like there wasn’t significant investment on that side of the ball in the off-season, either. Pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue was swapped for cornerback Rock Ya-Sin and Chandler Jones was handed a $52.5 million contract to replace Ngakoue. The only significant loss from the defense last season was cornerback Trayvon Mullen, who the new regime shipped out for a late-round draft pick.
To give Graham credit, it’s still early, and implementing a new scheme does take some time — but I’d be lying if Sunday’s game against the Texans didn’t have me a tiny bit concerned. Houston came into the game 26th in scoring offense but proceeded to march into scoring range on their first five drives.
Even worse than the box score was the way it looked, though. Every time running back Dameon Pierce touched the ball, it felt like he was five yards downfield before he was touched. Whenever Davis Mills — DAVIS MILLS — needed to convert on third down, it seemed like guys were wide open at the sticks every time (the Texans finished the game with ten third and fourth down conversions).
Unfortunately, Sunday wasn’t the outlier. Before the bye, the Raiders opened up a 17-0 lead against the Chiefs before Patrick Mahomes and Co. rattled off five straight drives that ended in either a touchdown (4) or a field goal. Against the Titans, it was the opposite problem: they gave up three straight touchdowns to open the game, creating a hole too big to climb out of. And then there was the Cardinals game: a 20-0 lead erased by three second-half touchdown drives (some of which could probably be described accurately as ‘miraculous’).
The bottom line is that the results just haven’t been there — either in totality or in the biggest moments.
If you’re looking for optimism, however, I think a look at the depth chart could give you some reason for hope.
Maxx Crosby is a legit Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Chandler Jones just got $34 million guaranteed a few months ago, Denzel Perryman was a Pro-Bowler last season, and you traded a 10-sack pass rusher for a guy in Ya-Sin that you must really believe in. Throw in Tre’von Moehrig (who many expected to break out this season), Divine Diablo (who has flashed at linebacker) and Bilal Nichols (who they gave $7.1 million guaranteed this offseason), and it feels like a league-average defense isn’t too much to ask for.
The question is, can Graham mix all the ingredients together to produce the final product Raiders fans are desperate for? At 2-4, the margin for error has disappeared if this team wants to make the playoffs — at some point, Josh McDaniels will need his defense to step up and make some plays.
Then again, if 2022 is anything like the past 15 years of Raiders football, he shouldn’t bank on it.
