Oakland Raiders: 5 Most important 2017 training camp battles
1. Who runs the Defense?
There are three defensive coordinators on staff. Jack Del Rio is the head coach, John Pagano is the assistant head coach/defense and Ken Norton Jr. is the actual defensive coordinator. The defense was ranked No. 2 in turnovers, No. 23 against the run, No. 24 against the pass and No. 20 in points overall under Norton.
By comparison on NFL.com, the San Diego Chargers (Pagano’s defense in 2016) tied for the league lead with18 interceptions, forced 14 fumbles, was 16th in total yards, 10th against the run, 20th against the pass and 29th in scoring.
Some are of the belief Norton is coaching on borrowed time. There are others who feel as though Pagano was brought in to teach Norton the ways of the secondary, an art which Norton has proven to have just a basic understanding of. Pagano is the Xs and Os guy Norton hasn’t shown himself to be. While the Chargers numbers weren’t great, they were also racked with injury. Communication is the olive branch under which Pagano arrived, but his presence has Norton a tad bit defensive — no pun intended.
As it stands, the personnel on this team isn’t close to the 4-3 under base formation the Raiders were employing for most of the season. A relatively non-complex straight up cover 2 or 3 single high safety look, where the middle of the field was an offensive happy zone. Without having had premier defenders at any position outside of Khalil Mack and possibly Bruce Irvin on the field, they are more suited to defenses which offer the ability to disguise itself.
Pagano’s style of defense is primarily 3-4 in a base and a deceptively attacking brand. Andy Reid once joked “you never know where the blitz is coming from, could be from the popcorn guy in the stands”, when playing a Pagano defense. The proper “know-how” can get players a better understanding of what’s going on and how to work with each other to elevate their play collectively.
Next: NFL 2017: Each team's biggest question before training camp
Ultimately Del Rio is going to have to make this decision based off of what he sees. The defensive backfield has had nothing but glowing things to say about Pagano. It’s very strange that an outside source has to be brought in to help a team commuinicate on the field better. Even more coincidentally, this same coach is proficient in the areas the current coordinator is not. But an argument has been made that Del Rio is trying to find someone who can help coach Norton up, while he runs the team.