Things were particularly bad during the Raiders' Week 4 trip to London, where they were embarrassed by the Miami Dolphins. Dennis Allen was fired as soon as the team returned to the United States, and it's now interim head coach Tony Sparano's job to lead this team to its first win of the 2014 season.
His first chance will be this Sunday, and he has his work cut out for him as the Raiders will host the red-hot San Diego Chargers.
Oakland has been able do some things right in spurts, but the team has been mostly ineffective on both sides of the ball. The offense hasn't been able to score points, and the defense has struggled against both the run and the pass.
Despite the excitement that surrounded the team following all of the offseason additions, that quickly dissipated once the season began. The team grew stagnant under Allen, and Sparano has been tasked with trying to get this team to believe in itself and play at a higher level. Early signs indicate that the players are paying attention, according to veteran Antonio Smith (via CSNBayArea.com's Scott Bair):
You knew right off the bat that this isn’t another one of those guys come in just to fill time and do the best he can do, so he can win a head coaching job next year. No, he said, "I’m going to demand more out of you. I’m going to give you more and I want more wins out of the team."
He's had two weeks to try and instill a renewed sense of excitement and confidence in this Oakland roster. We'll find out this Sunday whether or not his approach has had the desired effect.
Sunday's game is scheduled for a 4:05 pm ET kickoff from O.co Coliseum in Oakland. Here's a full breakdown of Oakland's Week 6 match-up.
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