For the fourth time this season the Raiders will look to earn their first win as the host the Denver Broncos Sunday. The frustration is at an all time high with the Raiders and the fanbase. It what was supposed to be a special season things have gone completely off the rails. Everyone is deserving of blame as the team has lost three games largely because of self inflicted wounds. Penalties, dropped passes, turnovers, missed tackles, etc are the story of the 2022 Raiders so far. High priced acquisitions aren’t paying off, the coaching staff appears extremely overwhelmed and the roster changes took a playoff team to an 0-3 start. Winning is the best cure for what is ailing the Raiders and it is finally time to Just Win Baby. I look at the keys for a silver and black win in my Raiders preview week 4 vs Broncos .
Coach McDaniels
Many believed the Raiders hit a homerun when the team hired Josh McDaniels to be the next coach. However, things are off to a messy start for Las Vegas. Highlighted by owner Mark Davis waiting for McDaniels after the loss Sunday in Tennessee. Josh keeps mentioning the long game and the team needing to learn how to win. Nobody has patience for the team to “learn how to win”. This was a playoff team before Ziegler and McDaniels brought in their guys and staff. The results show a win less team with grumblings of a divided locker room. If Josh can not grab a win Sunday they will be 0-5 going into the bye because this team is not beating Kansas City. McDaniels needs get a win to quiet the storm even for a week.
Derek Carr
The quarterback has been a lighting rod for criticism and this year he is proving them right. Too many turnovers and missed throws have highlighted the start to the season. ESPN among many other sports outlets are calling Carr out. Things with Davante Adams are not reaching potential and most blame Carr. A good game Sunday from Carr can quiet the noise for now but if problems continue this will probably be his last year as a Raider. To further complicate things it appears Carr and McDaniels are not gelling as expected. All of these things become a public issue when a team is losing consistently. Carr is capable of quieting the noise by stringing together some wins. It’s nowhere near all his fault for the 0-3 start but he’s the quarterback and that is where everyone looks first.
Run The Ball Please
For the fourth straight week in my preview article I highlight the need for the Raiders to run the ball. Despite having success running, coach McDaniels just refuses to stick with it. Last week Josh Jacobs was averaging over 5 yds a carry but they all but eliminated it once again . The Raiders are struggling on offense and the running game is working so hopefully they lean on it more against a strong Denver pass rush. With the offensive line continually changing and penalties killing drives the team needs a different approach. Emptying out the backfield and throwing 70 percent of the time is simply not working. The Raiders have the backs and the line is creating holes they just need to commit to it.
Stop using trick plays
In every game this year the Raiders have killed a potential scoring drive with an untimely trick play. The Davante Adams reverse play has not worked and needs to be eliminated from the playbook. The Raiders are struggling to get points and sustain drives. When they are not shooting themselves in the foot they are losing 5-10 yards trying to get cute. While it works occasionally it really is not worth the risk The team needs to focus on executing the normal plays before worrying about double reverse pass plays killing a drive.
Thanks for your time reading my Raiders preview week 4 vs Broncos. For more Raiders talk follow me on Twitter http://@BrianRobert85 and check out a previous article here Raiders Game Review Week 3 Vs Titans. I will have my game review up on Monday and hopefully we can discuss the first win of the 2022 season.