There are high hopes for one NFL team in the Bay Area this fall. Can the Oakland Raiders defense improve significantly this season?
It’s a number that’s hard to fathom.
Back in 2002, the Oakland Raiders finished 11-5, captured the AFC West and earned a berth in Super Bowl XXXVII.
Since then, the Silver and Black own a .303 winning percentage courtesy of a 63-145 record. Their best showing over the past 13 seasons came in both 2010 and 2011, when they finished 8-8. That means this franchise has finished with a losing slate in 11 of their last 13 campaigns.
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But there’s a lot of excitement surrounding this team these days. In 2014, the Raiders opened 0-10 but since then, they’re 10-12 in their last 22 contests. That includes a 7-9 finish this past year which included a road win over the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, as well as five losses by six points or less.
The Oakland attack improved last season thanks to the emergence of quarterback Derek Carr and the play of wideouts Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. Running back Latavius Murray totaled 1,066 yards on the ground and six scores but the rushing attack still has a ways to go. The addition of free-agent guard Kelechi Osemele should aid the cause up front.
The defense remained an issue last season. Six times last season the Raiders allowed 30 or more points – including five of their nine losses. Oakland ranked 26th in the league against the pass and allowed 25 of the 37 offensive touchdowns they surrendered through the air.
While the front seven now features All-Pro defensive end/outside linebacker Khalil Mack (second in the NFL with 15 sacks in 2015), defensive tackle Dan Williams and now-reunited former Seattle Seahawks in Malcolm Smith and 2016 newcomer Bruce Irvin, it’s the secondary that drew the most attention this offseason.
General manager Reggie McKenzie added cornerback Sean Smith and free safety Reggie Nelson through free agency. Strong safety Karl Joseph was the club’s first-round pick in April. And cornerback David Amerson, a pleasant surprise in 2015 after being released by the Washington Redskins, rounds out a revamped unit.
But what may make the defensive backfield even better is the improvement shown by a former first-round pick that has disappointed to date. Suddenly, there’s hope for cornerback D.J. Hayden.
“He had a really good spring,” said head coach Jack Del Rio to Jimmy Durkin of the Mercury News this past week. “I’m excited about his development. I saw a point earlier in the offseason where Sean was being questioned about the other DBs and I think he said, ‘Hey, you have a chance to redefine yourself.’ I really believe that.
“As a player, it’s never too late,” added Del Rio, who is now in his second year with the organization. “You can redefine yourself, turn the corner and peel labels off that maybe people have for you and create your own. I feel like he’s on his way to doing that this year.”
Hayden, along with Travis Currie, veteran safety Nate Allen and young defensive backs such as Keith McGill and Dexter McDonald, make up a secondary that must deal with a steady dose of wide receivers such as Denver’s Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, Kansas City’s Jeremy Maclin and San Diego’s Keenan Allen, Stevie Johnson and 2016 free-agent pickup Travis Benjamin.
The Raiders know that to move up in the AFC West, they have to do it with defense. The Broncos gave up the fewest yards in the league in 2015 and the Chiefs were ranked seventh in the same category. Denver produced an NFL-high 52 sacks and Kansas City wasn’t far behind with 47 quarterback traps. With Mack, Irvin and second-year defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. up front, expect their 2015 total of 38 sacks to improve.
That means getting more big plays from the likes of Smith, Nelson (NFL-best 10 takeaways with the Bengals in 2015), Amerson, Joseph and more. This is a club that has forced only 39 turnovers the past two seasons combined – as many as the Carolina Panthers managed this past season.
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The Silver and Black won’t be the silver and back unless the defense comes to play consistently. The Raiders will continue to play exciting football this season. But unless they can clamp down on the opposition more often, the thrills will remain just that.