Hogs Haven
It’s week 3 of the NFL season, and the Washington Commanders will be facing the Las Vegas Raiders at home in Northwest Stadium in Landover, MD this Sunday at 1:00 pm EDT. The Raiders are a team in a massive state of flux, perhaps more so than any other team in the NFL right now. The most profound change for an NFL team is an ownership change, and although Tom Brady has only become a minority owner of the Raiders, majority owner Mark Davis seems to be letting him take an outsized role in re-shaping the team. First, the Raiders hired John Spytek as the new GM of the Raiders. Spytek had previously played with Brady at Michigan before reuniting with him as part of the Front Office in Tampa Bay in 2020. The Raiders then hired Pete Carroll as Head Coach. Although he was a consensus choice, Brady reportedly had sought a defensive head coach and had immense respect for Carroll from Brady’s own playing days (as an aside, it also strikes me that Carroll is a coach known for his relentless positivity and energy – the opposite of Bill Belichick). Since then, the team has started rebuilding the roster and establishing a more professional football identity.
The Raiders won a somewhat low-scoring game against the Patriots in week 1, a game in which the Raiders defense managed to get 4 sacks and limit the Patriots to 13 points. The Raiders then lost an ugly game to the Chargers in week 2 in which they were unable to score a TD and QB Geno Smith threw 3 interceptions. After playing Monday night, the Raiders must travel on a short week to the East Coast to play a Commanders team that has had 10 days to prepare.
On offense, the Raiders are coached by OC Chip Kelly, whom Washington fans will remember from (among other things) his tenure running the Eagles in the good ol’ days when they had no Super Bowl victories. Kelly was known for a hurry up college spread offense, but has promised to bring something different to the Raiders. So far, the Raiders offense has skewed very pass heavy, with a 66% pass rate (4th highest in the NFL). One of the biggest problems for the Raiders offense has been their offensive line. The Raiders OL is ranked 22nd in the NFL in sack rate allowed and is the NFL-worst in run blocking, currently charted with -0.05 yards before contact (marking them as the only offensive line in the NFL with negative yards before contact, meaning their RBs are usually hit behind the line of scrimmage). This has done no favors for 1st-round pick RB Ashton Jeanty, who (despite handling most of the RB snaps) has managed only 81 total rushing yards in the last two games.
On defense, the Raiders are coached by DC Patrick Graham, whom Washington fans might remember as DC of the Giants under HC Joe Judge. Graham had earned enough respect...
