Graney: Raiders will turn things around over the next month

A hot take for your Sunday pleasure: The Raiders will turn things around and make a serious run at the 2022 NFL playoffs.

Stop searching for a punch line.

Sure. It’s a limb and not a very short one. They’re 2-4. But what becomes a softer schedule over the next month hardly makes for such an outlandish declaration.

“We have a lot of confidence and believe in the guys in the room,” said wide receiver Hunter Renfrow. “We feel like we have a team capable of winning games. A (2-4) start is not what we wanted, but the good part is — and I’ve said this over and over again over the years — this isn’t college. You can lose 4-5 games and still have a good year.

“It’s every team’s hope to win a bunch of games in a row. I know it’s cliché, but we’re just focused on the Saints and having a good practice tomorrow. That’s what we have to do. We have a lot of moving parts coming up.”

Long road trip

They play at New Orleans on Sunday and will spend next week in Florida preparing for a game against Jacksonville. That’s followed by a home contest against Indianapolis and road ones against the Broncos and Seattle.

Those teams are a combined 13-21-1.

Definitely not a murderers’ row of opponents.

The Raiders were 5-5 at one point last season. They were 6-7 at another. They were written off more times than coach Josh McDaniels has been asked about his offensive line. Made the playoffs as a wild card. Can do so again.

They’ve played better than 2-4. Outscored opponents 163-150. Lost games by 5, 6, 2 and 1 points. They have the league’s third-ranked scoring offense, trailing just the Bills and Chiefs and ahead of the Eagles.

The door is open. They just need to walk through it.

Or have Josh Jacobs run through it for them.

“Guys are starting to see the work pay off and they’re buying into what coaches are trying to do,” said Raiders tight end Darren Waller. “You can see it. It’s a challenge, playing (four of the next five on the road), but I think we’ll respond to any adversity. We did last year and we’re starting to do so now.”

We’re not talking about an AFC full of can’t-miss teams. It’s a weekly exercise, trying to name the conference’s third-best side behind Buffalo and Kansas City.

Everyone has warts. Some are slowed by serious injuries. Others can’t yet be believed as real contenders.

The Raiders beat Houston 38-20 last week and in doing so exorcised some of those well-known red-zone demons. Ranked just 25th in proficiency entering the game, the Raiders converted on all three trips inside the 20-yard line with touchdowns. Hey. It’s a start.

Climb into it

Waller (hamstring) missed the game but returned to practice this week. Jacobs is ranked as the league’s top overall offensive player by Pro Football Focus. The run blocking for him has responded in kind.

Things still need to improve (greatly) elsewhere. Waller needs to finally be Waller. Derek Carr needs to be better than the league’s 14th-ranked quarterback. Pass blocking continues to be an issue. So is tackling, as the Raiders hardly feature at this point a postseason type defense.

But opportunity knocks over the next four weeks for strides to be made. This is when it was thought from the beginning wins could be compiled. It’s on them to prove it. To climb into this thing before the schedule turns ultra difficult.

“We don’t think (2-4) is indicative of what we are as a team,” Waller said. “We feel we have the talent and the way people work and show up and respect the process that our time is going to come and things are going to start going our way.

“There is an opportunity to (get on a roll) but the only way that happens is to stay present and make sure every day is where it should be. Not looking too far into the future. Stay as present as possible.”

Hot take: They turn things around. Make a serious run at the playoffs.

A reminder: Keep those disagreeing emails clean.

Ed Graney is a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing and can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter