Raiders Must Improve Play In Trenches
The offseason plans to beef up both lines are still a work in progress for the Oakland Raiders.
The revamped offensive line was unable to create running holes or protect rookie Derek Carr well enough to throw down field. The overhauled defensive line got run on easily by Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory and spent too much time chasing Geno Smith.
It all added up to Oakland's 11th loss in its past 12 openers and 14th straight defeat in the Eastern time zone as the New York Jets won 19-14 on Sunday.
The Raiders were unable to generate any offense against a stout New York front seven. They were held to 25 yards on 15 carries and had just 72 yards passing until scoring on their final drive.
With the Jets rushing for 212 yards on the day, the game was a complete mismatch in the trenches.
"I felt like, and still feel like, the line of scrimmage can be a plus for us," coach Dennis Allen said Monday. "It obviously wasn't in that game and we've got to be better in that area."
The Raiders bulked up on the offensive line by drafting left guard Gabe Jackson and signing right guard Austin Howard as a free agent. Donald Penn was also signed as a left tackle and the coaching staff hoped that retooled group could anchor the offense.
But new running back Maurice Jones-Drew had little room to run and Carr was forced to get rid of the ball quickly, limiting the team's downfield chances. Only three of Carr's 20 completions traveled more than 10 yards downfield.
"They brought a lot of guys blitzing," receiver Rod Streater said. "They would leave receivers wide open, it was just us not executing the play. They played the underneath routes pretty good. I felt like we could have attacked them different ways."
Carr fared all right in his debut game, especially considering he was a rookie going on the road against one of the top defensive masterminds in Rex Ryan.
He completed 20 of 32 passes with two touchdowns but was held to 151 yards. Carr was sacked twice but did not turn the ball over.
"I thought he handled himself really well with a lot of different looks and obviously there were some mistakes that were made, but you're talking about a rookie quarterback going and playing a game against a Rex Ryan-coached defense in New York City," Allen said. "It's about as big as it gets, and I thought he held himself pretty well."
The defense had its own problems as the Jets rushed for 212 yards, including a game-sealing 71-yard touchdown by Ivory in the fourth quarter.
Smith also was able to complete 23 of 29 passes as Oakland was too often in soft coverage without generating pressure on the quarterback.
With a new defensive line featuring free-agents Justin Tuck, LaMarr Woodley and Antonio Smith, the Raiders did not need to blitz nearly as often as they did a year ago. But they still struggled to get to Smith and allowed him to escape trouble during a few times that they did generate pressure.
The defense did manage to hold the Jets under 20 points by forcing two turnovers and capitalizing on some dropped passes and costly New York penalties.
"We're very close," linebacker Sio Moore said. "If you break down that film there's probably a million great plays but there's three or four plays that hurt you. Those three or four plays are the plays that, as a good team, we cannot allow."
NOTES: Raiders special teams standout Taiwan Jones will miss time after leaving Sunday's game with an injured foot. ... MLB Nick Roach still has not been cleared from a concussion that knocked him out of the third exhibition game.