Raiders try to put bandaid on issues
On Monday, I wrote about the Denver Broncos trying to fix their woes by firing offensive coordinator Mike McCoy. In essence, the Broncos know damn well that McCoy isn’t the problem — general manager John Elway is — but somebody had to pay the price.
The same can now be said for former Oakland Raiders defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr., who was fired during his third season on the job in Oakland. Norton was not getting the results needed to stay employed, and so nobody is defending him here. Norton spent five years as an assistant with the Seattle Seahawks and had a chance to prove himself in a larger role, and failed.
Yet to think that this is going to cure all of what ails the Raiders is both insane and comical. Norton’s defenses didn’t just stink because of his scheme, they stunk because they don’t have any talent outside of Khalil Mack. Mack has been great under Norton, winning NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2016. However, general manager Reggie McKenzie has put little talent around him.
Oakland invested its first two draft picks on the defensive side of the ball this spring, taking corner Gareon Conley and safety Obi Melifonwu. Both have missed most of the year with injuries, and when Melifonwu has played, the results have been mixed to be kind.
Mostly, the defense is filled with slow players who can’t cover much ground, including overpaid corner Sean Smith, overused safety Reggie Nelson and washed up linebacker NaVorro Bowman. None should be starting in the NFL at this point, and one could make the case none should be playing anymore at all.
While McKenzie deserves his share of the ball, so does Del Rio. The head coach was an NFL linebacker before becoming a defensive assistant. He should have been able to help Norton figure out the problems instead of simply heaping them on Norton. Instead, Oakland finished dead last in defensive yards per play allowed in 2016, and were once again dreadful in 2017.
The offense also deserves blame. The Raiders allowed Bill Musgrave to leave his post as offensive coordinator last season, after Musgrave created a top-10 offense. Todd Downing moved into the role, and Oakland has seen regression across the board, most notably in Derek Carr and Amari Cooper.
The Raiders can fire Norton. They can talk about playing harder and needing to simplify things. But until their $125 million quarterback starts playing like one, and until the defense has a serious infusion of talent, AND until Del Rio starts making the team better instead of being a caretake, the Raiders aren’t doing anything significant.
