Oakland Raiders: Does this team stink? Tough love from a Browns fan

The offense does not stink – Part 2

The short passing game is another matter. When throwing the ball quickly, often by necessity due to a rookie at left tackle, the offense rolls. Carr has good short accuracy. The Raiders also have the receivers to play a short passing game designed to get yards after a catch. This part of the offense is very good.

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The running game is very good. Some will point to statistics showing Marshawn Lynch’s yard per carry average as a counter argument. But stats only show the outcome, not the contributing factors. In this way, they are extremely misleading. The running game is the heart and soul of this offense. Opponents know this and stack the box.

Thus we arrive at the issue for the offense. They want to run the ball. But they cannot because of stacked boxes. The solution would be to throw the ball deep. But Carr’s deep accuracy is bad. The solution would be to employ a quick passing game on the edges to stretch the defense horizontally. When they have done that, it has been successful. But the Raiders have yet to do that consistently.

Unlike the Browns of years past, the Raiders have talent on offense. They have an aging but still effective running back, there is a young and talented No.1 receiver with veteran complements, and Jared Cook is on fire as a receiving tight end. Carr is talented, but needs to figure it out. The offensive line needs help right now. Both tackle positions are an area of concern.

But the Raiders have talent. It is a matter of putting it all together. Have patience Raiders fans. The plan will all come together before the season’s end.