The Giants have won two straight following an 0-6 start and are coming off a bye. While there are still issues on both sides of the ball for New York, the defense noticeably improved over the last two games and is finally playing up to standards.
That could be pivotal against the Raiders, who likely will be without running back Darren McFadden.
Oakland’s own defense has been called into question after Foles sliced up the Raiders secondary, as if he was playing against a Pop Warner team.
Was the performance against the Eagles just a blip on the radar or a signal that something more serious is going on? Time will tell.
For now, here are four things the Raiders must do to have a chance at beating the Giants for the first time since 2001.
Bring the heat on Eli
For some unexplained reason Oakland defensive coordinator Jason Tarver opted not to blitz much at all in the 49-20 loss to Philadelphia. Perhaps Tarver was concerned about the risk of getting beat deep in the passing game and figured that more defenders dropping back into coverage would make it tougher on Foles.
Whatever the reason, it was an outright miserable strategy that wound up being costly. The Eagles quarterback was sacked twice, hit two other times and was pressured on only six plays overall.
As rough of a season as Manning is having, he’ll do the same thing that Foles did, if not worse, if the Raiders take the same approach.
Oakland has had varying degrees of success when blitzing, particularly ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
