The Las Vegas Raiders haven’t been able to put together a respectable defense in quite a while. Part of it has to do with not drafting and acquiring enough talent but plenty has to do with coaching. That said, defensive coordinator Paul Guenther is running out of time to show he’s the right man to lead the defensive unit.
We recently made the case for Guenther‘s inability to run the defense efficiently. He couldn’t be evaluated properly in his first two years with the Raiders because he didn’t have much talent to work with. That’s no longer the case as the front office was responsible for an infusion of defensive talent this past free agency. Also, the defensive coordinator does bare some responsibility and should be held accountable for the team’s defensive failures on the field.
So, how about that Raiders’ defense?
Last year, the Raiders defense couldn’t be trusted to make a stand and more often than not, they were a liability. They were 24th in points allowed. On paper, their run defense was eighth in the league, but a closer inspection showed they were 21st on rushing touchdowns. They simply couldn’t make stops when it mattered. Some of it had to do with talent, part of it was execution and discipline.
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Guenther’s defensive unit against the pass wasn’t any better they ranked 25th overall and 27th in points allowed. The secondary didn’t seem to be on the same page often and the coordinator was under scrutiny for playing LaMarcus Joyner in the slot instead of safety, his natural position.
Paul Guenther’s unit hasn’t shown improvement
The Raiders were they only team that didn’t allow the Chiefs to score in the third quarter, but that was after allowing a whopping 24 unanswered points the quarter before. That is just inexcusable. Kansas City were in cruise control the rest of the game and Las Vegas never had a change to come back after the defensive beatdown.
This offseason, the Raiders added Rod Marinelli, who oversaw the first 0-16 team in NFL history, the 2007 Detroit Lions, but has been in charge of some of the best defensive lines in the last two decades. If the defense doesn’t improve significantly under Guenther, the front office shouldn’t have a problem relieving him of his position and appointing Marinelli to defensive coordinator.
Guenther has run out of excuses to perform and if the Raiders defense ends up faltering again, his replacement is already in the coaching staff.
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