At 4-6. the Oakland Raiders have largely underwhelmed during the 2017 NFL season. After making the AFC Wild Card Round during the 2016 NFL campaign, the Raiders were a chic Super Bowl pick that is now beginning to look more and more like a fantasy.
In the wake of their disappointing year, Jack Del Rio decided to let go of Ken Norton Jr. as the team’s defensive coordinator. According to Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports, Del Rio said Oakland needs to hone in on the steps to winning:
We’re going to focus on the process,” Del Rio said of the defense moving forward. “I think one thing that’s maybe gotten away is the focus on winning. We need to win, we need to win, we need to win. Yeah, everybody needs to win. Everybody wants to win. For me, it’s about the process … recover, prepare, compete.”
Pagano has already mentioned that the Raiders need to focus on doing the simple things better and it appears Del Rio agrees with the sentiment. Oakland has looked vastly different from last year’s exciting, up-tempo squad and will need to recapture that success if they hope to win the AFC West.
Week 12 against their divisional rival the Denver Broncos represents a major opportunity to bounce back. If they come up short again, it might spell the end of their playoff aspirations.
