ALAMEDA -- The Raiders offense was much better at midseason than at its end. That unit took a dip in all aspects, from the ground game to the passing attack to the offensive line’s role facilitating production.
It’s easy to point the finger at a play caller in those situations. Coordinator Bill Musgrave has drawn some ire from fans upset over lackluster production these past few weeks.
Head coach Jack Del Rio was asked if he was happy with Musgrave’s scheme and performance, but wasn’t ready to single anyone out. Del Rio wants everyone working together towards a better product.
“I think there are opportunities for all of us to look at being a little better at what we do,” Del Rio said. “I’m not exempt from that. I think everybody here is, but no I’m not going to go singularly after anybody. We’ve got a good group of guys here. We’re working hard together and we’ve got a bright future.
“We’re going to look to be stronger, be better where we can be and should be. I always believe in owning that, owning whatever it is that we can be better (at). I think we have to be real with our players. I think if we’re going to demand of our players, we have to demand of ourselves as well as coaches.”
Del Rio’s staff came in last year and installed new schemes from scratch. Now the players and coaches have a foundation to build upon, something afforded only through continuity.
“Where you’re starting over and learning brand new system each year, that can be taxing on a player,” Del Rio said. “I think you have an opportunity when you’re in your second year to grow and to go to an advanced level of an understanding of exactly what we’re trying to get done. I think that goes with coach to player. I think that goes from coach to coach. I think within our staff, we’ll be stronger as a staff and understanding how we do things and how the flow of communication occurs and just the different things that we have to be really good at.”
Del Rio said after Sunday’s season-ending loss to Kansas City that the team will spend significant time figuring out how this offense “got off the rails,” but it sounds like the staff will be doing so together.
