Oakland Raiders

One of the key problems with the Oakland Raiders defense has been missed tackles. This has been an ongoing problem for several years, and has been responsible for the Raiders dismal standings in the run defense. The newly revamped coaching staff needs to insure that the Raiders defense is fundamentally sound if they hope to fulfill Tom Cable's goal of the tournament.

Besides tackling, there are other issues that are fundamental to defensive success, which have also been lacking. The Raiders defense has been over aggressive meaning that they have lacked the necessary gap discipline to contain the other team's running game. Rob Ryan has borne the brunt of the criticism for the defensive failings, regardless of how much culpability that he actually had. With Ryan now in Cleveland, it is now on the shoulders of his replacement to insure that the Raiders defense is sound.

Tackling dummy:

The first thing the Raiders need to do is to work on their tackling. Far too often, the Raiders seemed to have a runner trapped in the backfield only to see him break free for a big gain. This would seem like something that defensive players would have been working on since they played in Pop Warner, but it is an ongoing problem in Oakland.

The rumor mill has Michael Huff likely being cut. The biggest knock on him was his tackling or lack thereof. Even the vaunted "Law Firm" has taken their share of criticism for their own missed tackles, as have the defensive line. It would seem that tackling drills should be a high priority for the Raiders come training camp. A team will play like they practice. The key is to reapeat their tackling over and over again until they can get it right every time.

Discipline:

After the Patriots game, the defensive breakdown was attributed to communication problems. The issue is that communication problems among the players on defense should have been taken care of by the end of the preseason. The Raiders defense is a veteran squad that has played together for several years. These are other issues that need to be addressed starting in mini-camps and drilled into their heads by the end of training camp. They need to know their gaps instinctively and stay in those gaps to make sure that opposing backs don't get a cutback lane to brak off huge chunks of yardage.

Marshall also needs to stress to the team that games are played for four quarters. In several games the Raiders had two score leads in the fourth quarter that the defense could not hold. Again, the blame fell on Ryan. The defense needs to hold on to those late leads for the team to turn their fortunes around.

The Raiders have a young core on offense that looks to get better, but they need this veteran defense to hold up their end of the bargain. This is an important area that needs addressed this offseason.

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