Minus its best player for now, Raiders defense has much to prove

NAPA, Calif. —Khalil Mack appeared fit, strong, quick, everything you would expect from a former Defensive Player of the Year in the NFL and one of just five names in Raiders history to record at least 10 sacks in three different seasons.

Problem: The kid he was covering on a video that spread across Twitter this week plays for a different team.

The mighty Bulls of Buffalo.

As in, the university.

“I texted him, ‘You try to get out there and guard me with some big-ass Mack Attacks, it ain’t going to be good,’” said Raiders defensive end Bruce Irvin. “He’s working. I talk to him every day. He misses it, but you know how it is, man, he’s working his butt off and when he gets here, he’ll be ready.”

Mack isn’t here yet, the star end continuing his training camp holdout in search of a long-term contract extension, staying in shape by dominating wide receivers from his alma mater, not allowing new coordinator Paul Guenther his best player as the Raiders hope to improve defensively in, well, all areas from last year.

They weren’t very good rushing the passer and those on the edge minus Mack couldn’t stop the run and free safety was a disaster and, if all that wasn’t forgettable enough, the team set an NFL record for not recording an interception through its first seven games, a streak that lasted until Week 12.

Which explains a lot about 6-10.

Guenther has said Mack will have some catching up to do once he reports, but you’re talking about a player whose 40.5 sacks and 185.5 quarterback pressures since being drafted fifth overall in 2014 is tops in the NFL.

So we know what he can do. Everything.

What we don’t know is how well Guenther’s 4-3 scheme and use of those returning and various veterans signed in the offseason will work, how dominating Irvin can be at his natural position, when injured cornerback Gareon Conley (hip) will return to practice, and so on for a defense still with more questions than answers.

But if the Raiders can come close to duplicating those numbers Cincinnati posted in recent years with Guenther running its defense, they’ll be significantly improved.

Think about it: When he was in charge of the Bengals defense, the highest passer rating allowed under Guenther was 83.1

The Raiders of 2017: 101.8.

“When you change coaches or whatever it is, it’s part of the NFL,” Guenther said. “I can’t go through everything they were taught last year, so I kind of didn’t worry about it. I said, ‘Erase everything you had from last year. We’re going to start this book with a new chapter and we’re going to write every chapter as we go.’ ”

Coached offense, too

He’s a lot more about limiting points than yards and the career numbers of those defenses under his eye support that. The Bengals last season had 41 sacks while blitzing fewer than 15 percent of the time, able to apply pressure without limiting coverage, a trait that could certainly help the Raiders become much better much faster.

When he was younger, before being tutored on defense by the likes of Mike Zimmer, the 46-year old Guenther dabbled on the other side of the ball as an offensive assistant under Steve Spurrier with the Redskins.

What happened then has made him better now.

“I always told any of my buddies in coaching, if you ever have a year off, as a defensive coach, go somewhere, even if you’re not employed, go somewhere and learn the offense,” Guenther said. “I learned all the protections and how the line is supposed to set and what the running back is supposed to look at in the run game. You defend against those type of things. It’s a huge advantage for me.”

Guenther first met Jon Gruden when the head coach’s brother was the offensive coordinator with the Bengals, and Gruden took note of Cincinnati’s aggressive nature on defense.

Liked how it got up the field. Liked the double-A-gap blitzes. Liked the design of it all.

Now, Gruden and quarterback Derek Carr plot daily about the best ways to attack that side of the ball in practice, with Carr going as far to say it’s his goal to give Guenther a bad night’s sleep and make his lunch taste a little worse each day.

“After (Sunday’s) practice, I’ll probably skip lunch,” Guenther said. “It’s good competition. Jon and Derek are teaming up. It’s fun each and every day to go out and compete against.”

What’s one way for the food to taste a little better?

Have that guy from the Buffalo Bulls report to camp.

More Raiders: Follow online at reviewjournal.com/Raiders and @NFLinVegas on Twitter.

Contact columnist Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.