Rams opposition research: Breaking down the Raiders...

Rams opposition research: Breaking down the Raiders

Andrew Ortenberg

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

After a long wait for Los Angeles Rams fans, the team’s regular season will finally kick off on Monday night against the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders are hoping to pull of their own reinvention similar to what the Rams did last year behind new head coach Jon Gruden. Gruden, who gave Rams coach Sean McVay his first job in the NFL, returns from the broadcast booth to coach the Raiders and transition the team into a new era as they prepare to move to Las Vegas.

There’s been a significant amount of turnover from last year’s Raiders team, and the roster is in many ways unrecognizable. Here’s what the Rams can expect on both sides of the ball.


Offense:

One thing that hasn’t changed is the Raiders offense continuing to be led by Derek Carr. Despite Carr’s reputation as a franchise quarterback, and his hefty contract, he’s never really played like one. Through four years, he has a career yards per attempt of 6.54 – well below what you’d hope for from a starter. The Raiders are hoping that Gruden can revitalize Carr’s career and boost an offense that slumped in 2017.

The team cut Michael Crabtree earlier this offseason, leaving Amari Cooper as the undisputed top dog in their receiving corps. Cooper will likely see a lot of Marcus Peters tonight, a relationship with some history. As a member of the Chiefs, Peters played twice a year against the Raiders and has a great deal of familiarity with Carr and Cooper. To replace Crabtree, the team signed Jordy Nelson in free agency. It’s unclear how much Nelson has left in the tank, but he should still be treated as a threat until proven otherwise. Rams linebackers will have to be careful not to get beat by tight end Jared Cook, who became a favorite target of Carr last year.

Keeping with Gruden’s pattern of signing aging veterans, the team brought in Doug Martin to share the backfield with Marshawn Lynch. Martin is 29 and was dreadful the past two seasons in Tampa Bay, but rushed for over 1,400 yards in 2015. Lynch is 32, but was still effective last season. He’s been dealing with a groin injury that’s limited him in practice this week, something definitely worth keeping an eye on during the game. The more Martin has to play, the better it is for the Rams.

The offensive line has the potential to be solid but is no longer one of the league’s top units like it was a couple of seasons ago. The team drafted Kolton Miller with the 15th overall pick in April and will be starting him at left tackle. Making his first career start, he should provide some pass-rushing opportunities for the Rams’ young edge rushers.

In all, the Raiders offense is a hard group to predict. Gruden, once hailed as an offensive guru, hasn’t coached in so long that it’s nearly impossible to say how his schemes and philosophy will work in 2018. It should be fascinating to watch and will be a great first test for the new-look Rams defense.

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Defense:

The changes to the Raiders’ defense were even more drastic. Paul Guenther was brought in from Cincinnati to be defensive coordinator, but the biggest move was of course the trading of All-Pro defensive end Khalil Mack. The departure of Mack, who the Rams tried to trade for, is a huge boost for the Rams offense in Week 1, making life much easier for right tackle Rob Havenstein.

Perhaps no unit in football has seen as much turnover as the Raiders’ defense. All three starting linebackers, two of the top three cornerbacks, and the starting free safety are all new additions. Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was signed just recently at age 32. Starting middle linebacker Derrick Johnson, added back in May, is 35. The starting lineup is full of veteran players on one-year flier deals seemingly picked up off the scrap heap.

The team is counting on last year’s first-round pick, Gareon Conley, to make a big impact in 2018 after playing in just two games last year due to injury. He has the most upside of any player on the defense, and would ideally be their No. 1 cornerback for years to come. The other intriguing young player is rookie defensive tackle Maurice Hurst. Hurst was thought by many to be a first-round talent, but fell to the fifth round of this year’s draft due to a heart condition that was discovered at the combine. If he can stay healthy, he could prove to be a steal.

Guenther runs a 4-3 defense and has a reputation for being an expert at dialing up different blitzes. Jared Goff and the entire offensive line will have to be on their toes as Guenther will surely have some tricks cooked up with so much time to prepare.

Overall, it projects as a weak unit. The addition of Guenther is a massive upgrade, but there just isn’t a ton of talent. Most of the players the Raiders will be starting on defense are either young and unproven or well past their primes. While it’s possible the Rams’ first-string offense is a little rusty due to not seeing much preseason action, they should be able to get on track pretty quickly against this Raiders defense.

The bottom line:

The Raiders are one of the biggest question marks in the entire league. They’re so radically different than they were at this time last year, that comparing them to the 2017 Raiders wouldn’t make much sense. The Rams will have the opportunity to shape the Jon Gruden era in Oakland, for better or worse. Happening under the bright lights of Monday Night Football, it should make for a great game either way.