Defense was the bane of the Raiders’ existence. There was no Alpha to lean on for a unit that couldn’t remain healthy. No true leader to follow.
Ed Graney
Sports columnist
Email: egraney@reviewjournal.com
Phone: (702) 383-4618
X: @edgraney
Ed Graney came to the Review-Journal in May of 2006 as its lead sports columnist. He has covered all major sporting events, including Super Bowls to NBA championships to every Final Four since 1995. Graney also covered the Olympic Games in Beijing (2008) and London (2012). A graduate of San Diego State University, he is a five-time Nevada Sportswriter of the Year and past winner of Associated Press Sports Editors Top 10 for columns. He and wife Bonnie have two children, a son (Tristan) and daughter (Bridget).
The Raiders barely eclipsed their season win total (7.5) by finishing 8-8 and ended a streak of three straight losing seasons.
Any steps toward improvement for the Raiders must begin on defense, where they ranked 29th in scoring against and 24th in yards allowed.
The Raiders have now missed the postseason for a 17th time in 18 seasons, which hasn’t gone unnoticed by those who played in the franchise’s glory days.
Miami prevailed 26-25 at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday night, a prime example of why Jon Gruden-coached teams struggle in the second half of seasons.
Late-game collapse by the Raiders doesn’t produce many impressive marks.
The Raiders don’t really know good Marcus Mariota could be running their system. Shouldn’t they find out?
The Golden Knights haven’t in their short existence named a captain, but it was Deryk Engelland who represented them most these past three years.
The Raiders, for a second straight season, aren’t improving after a start that put them in a playoff position under head coach Jon Gruden.
What was a must-win game to keep postseason hopes alive ended in disappointment Thursday night, the Raiders falling to Los Angeles 30-27 in overtime.
Defense can’t keep up yet again in team’s loss to Los Angeles.
“You can understand why he is the way he is — a leader of men — by what he saw and experienced over there,” former college teammate Hank Bauer said of Rod Marinelli.
More than anything, the Raiders firing defensive coordinator Paul Guenther speaks to a failure in evaluation by management.
Indianapolis exposed several Raiders’ defensive warts in a 44-27 win at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, running for 212 yards and more than 6 per carry.
1
2
3
4
5
Las Vegas’ ‘most expensive listing’ dethroned after no interest from buyers
What are they hiding?: Henderson police didn’t share key details before wide search for teen
Deion Sanders expresses interest in Raiders’ coaching job
EDITORIAL: Billions for virtually nothing
With the 6th pick of the NFL draft, the Raiders select …