Oakland Raiders Weekly Progress Report: Where Do They Stand Headed into Week 8

The new era of Oakland Raiders football is seven-games old and the results have not been favorable. The Raiders have a 2-4 record and one was an ugly overtime win over the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday. The once heralded running game is one of the worst in the league and the defense has only been slightly better than it was last season. Suffice it to say that it’s been a little rockier than many fans expected.

Despite the slow start, the Raiders have the opportunity to stay close in the AFC West race with a win over the stumbling Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8. A win and losses by the Broncos and Chargers would put them into a tie for first place.

Hope is easy to sell, but the Raiders are not a good team right now which is not something that is going to change overnight. A loss would put the Raiders on a path to a disappointing season and a high draft selection. It’s a pivotal week for the team, but instead of clinging to hope for something that has a remote chance of happening, the fans should hope for progress with minimal regression.



Statistics can reveal progression and regression and are a valuable tool that allows an unbiased assessment of the situation. Injuries can also have a big impact on team performance, which is why the best teams are usually the deepest teams. The scheme can also be an important factor, where would the Broncos have been if they hadn’t completely changed the offense for Tim Tebow in 2011? Not in the playoffs.

 

Stats

An ugly win in Week 7 wasn’t really the progress the Raiders were hoping for coming off hard-fought loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 6.



A poor Jaguars’ offense was missing Maurice Jones-Drew and Blaine Gabbert for most the game and yet Oakland’s defense only improved their ranking in a couple of areas. The Raiders did great against the run and limited the Jaguars on third dow...