Oakland Raiders: Does this team stink? Tough love from a Browns fan
By Joel W. Cade
The offense does not stink – Part 1
The top reason the offense does not stink is that the Raiders have a quarterback. Derek Carr has not been the same since his broken leg. But before that, he was easily a top-10 quarterback in the league, maybe even top five. For whatever reason, he has not fully recovered mentally from that broken leg. But even now his play now is not awful.
Having a quarterback is not to be underrated. The Browns are starting their 30th quarterback since 1999 on Sunday in Week 4. If a team has a quarterback, they can win any given Sunday.
If there is one thing Browns fans have experience with, it’s recycling coaches. It wreaks havoc on a team. Right now, the Raiders are adjusting to having a new coach trying to figure out his team. Every new coach has to learn what his players can and cannot do. One would think this could happen in training camp, but it usually happens in the first month of the season.
The offense is trying to find its identity. It really doesn’t know who it is yet under head coach Jon Gruden’s 1998 west coast scheme.
The passing game is a work in progress. The deep passing game stinks. For whatever reason, Carr’s deep ball accuracy is awful. Until Martavis “white tiger” Bryant can settle into the offense and the coaches can figure out how to properly use him, the deep passing game should be avoided.