When looking at the Las Vegas Raiders defense, there aren’t many good things to talk about. This season, the unit has struggled and hasn’t been able to stop opposing offenses as a whole, but as subpar as it has been, there are some individual performances that stand out. One of them is the one by second-year defensive end Maxx Crosby.
The Raiders defense has been bad for different reasons but one stands out
There are many things to digest when we look at the Raiders’ performance on defense this season, but let’s address the elephant in the room. Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther needs to shoulder the blame for the lack of production on his side of the ball. While the organization needs to hold players accountable, Guenther is the man leading the group.
In a recent sitdown with the local media, Guenther said that coaching is ‘to get their guys, the assets that you have, understand the strengths and weaknesses of those assets and put those guys in the best position to succeed.’ He has failed to do so this season as the defense ranks 31st in points allowed. Putting coaching aside, there have been some individual performances on defense that stand out.
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Defensive end Maxx Crosby hasn’t stopped grinding
The Raiders defensive line has generated six sacks this season, that’s simply not enough. Not surprisingly, Crosby has recorded four of those. If anything, opposing offenses have paid more attention to him, something that isn’t hard to do due to the absence of other playmakers up front. If the Silver and Black had someone besides ’98’ who could apply pressure up front, we would be having a different conversation.
Talking to the media, Crosby mentioned he hasn’t stopped putting in the work to succeed. The sophomore also said in the same conversation that the defense is working on what they need to get better. He would later add that the team is aware they can play better and later said that he can get still get better in many ways, and needs to be more consistent as far as disrupting the game.
While Crosby hasn’t joined the top echelon of edge defenders in the NFL, he hasn’t stopped working. If the Raiders end up turning their defensive woes around, one of the reasons for the turnaround will be the East Michigan standout.
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Top Photo: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel