The Las Vegas Raiders made some huge moves this offseason, and one of the biggest was the signing of pass-rusher Chandler Jones. Having gotten double-digit sacks in six of the last seven years, Jones was expected to combine with Maxx Crosby to give the Raiders one of the truly elite pass-rushing duos in the NFL.
But Jones has not delivered on that just yet, as the veteran has just 0.5 sacks, 1 tackle for loss, and 6 quarterback hits in 11 games this season. And currently, the Raiders as a whole rank dead last in the entire NFL in sacks.
But Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels does not agree that Jones has been a disappointment and believes people are simply focusing on the sacks number while not recognizing everything else he does.
“Yeah, you guys have heard me say it all year, I think Chandler’s definitely done a lot of good things all year long,” McDaniels said after the Raiders’ win over the Seattle Seahawks. “It’s just the one number everybody wants to point to you all the time, and I get it. I understand that. But I think he’s been disruptive. I think he’s played very well in the running game. He’s played with great effort and toughness. It’s been huge for just our overall group as a whole. He’s been out there every game, every day.”
“So, I think Chandler’s performance mirrored some of the ones that he’s had recently. He’s been disruptive, created some issues for other people to make plays. And look, I mean, this time of the year, we need everybody to play their best. I think Chandler is definitely trying to do that every week, and I think that’s what our group is going to try to do.”
Jones did come up with a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter of the win over the Seahawks, and McDaniels does bring up a good point about the focus for defensive linemen, and particularly defensive ends, being solely on sacks. Jones has done well in other facets of the game, but he is known as a pass rusher, and he has not delivered for the Raiders in that area.
He is still a leader on this team and brings a lot both on and off the field, but with no Raiders player aside from Crosby having more than one sack, all eyes will point to Jones, and he will need to step up in that area to help this defense overall.
