Oakland Raiders: 5 Keys To Success In 2015

December 21, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski (11) kicks a field goal out of the hold by quarterback Matt Schaub (8) against the Buffalo Bills during the second quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

4. The Team Must Be Efficient On Special Teams

One of the most undervalued aspects of NFL football is the impact that special teams has on games. Every week, special teams plays have a chance at completely swinging the tide of a football game, and it is important for the Raiders to understand that if the want to be productive.

They seem to have some idea of this, as they hired former 49ers special teams coach Brad Seely this offseason, and are excited about what he brings to the table. Seely has been named special teams coach of the year three times in his career, showing that he himself understands this part of football very well. He’s got three Super Bowl rings, each with the New England Patriots, so he also brings an understanding of what it is like to win, something key for the Raiders.

The Raiders already have one of the league’s best special team players in kicker Sebastian Janikowski. In fact, he’s one of the best kickers to ever play in the NFL, and will finish his career at or near the top many leaderboards in terms of kicking. He gives the team a solid reliable presence on special teams, and anchors the kicking game, but he is aging. At 37, it’s undoubtable that he will soon suffer a bit of a decline.

Whether that be this season or not for another few years, the Raiders must monitor his aging. Kicker is a position the team has not had to worry about since they drafted Janikowski in 2000, so this may be an issue for the team if he struggles to perform. I have faith in him for the time-being, this is simply something the coaching staff must keep an eye on or risk relying too heavily on one of their veterans who is unable to meet expectations.

At punter, Marquette King has shown a lot of promise. After two full seasons as the starter, King already finds himself as one of the league’s best punters, according to Eddie Paskal of Raiders.com. He had the most punts last season with 109, but only 3 of those crossed the goal-line for touchbacks, in contrast with the 31 punts he placed inside the 20. He’s got a strong leg, but also shows that he knows how to control it.

It seems that the team is set at it’s kicking positions, at least for now, but the other aspects of special teams are important as well, even if they’re much harder to quantify.

Last season, Oakland gave up the most total punt return yardage and the fifth highest yards per return, and the most yards per return on kick returns. They also gave up one touchdown on a punt return, as many as any other team in the league. This poor return defense needs to be fixed if the team wants to stop opposing offenses.

By giving other teams such great field position to start every drive, the Raiders are putting themselves at a disadvantage. Luckily, one of their key special team defenders is returning after missing most of the 2014 season. Running back Taiwan Jones is also an excellent special teams gunner, as he led the team in special teams tackles in 2013. He’s worked hard this offseason, and looks to be a key leader for his team this season.

He’s put on about 15lbs through workouts this offseason, and as NFL Insider Jay Glazer pointed out in his tweet, he has an excellent work ethic. That hard work needs to rub off on his teammates on the special teams this year.

The team also needs to improve its own return game. They ranked in the bottom 10 in the league last year in terms of yards per return on both punt and kick returns. With poor return coverage and poor return yardage, the Raiders are routinely putting themselves at a disadvantage. They simply need to turn this around and make special teams a point of strength and this better field position will put them in more positions to be successful throughout the season.

Next: Distractions