Greg Olson
As usual, the offense was completely out of sorts most of the day. We can blame the players on the field for their mistakes but not without mentioning the man who designs and calls those plays. The first play that just wasn't planned well was their final drive of the first quarter. It was a designed pass in the flat to Marcel Reece but there was no one to block the defender on that side or drag him out of the area. He sat on the route and Reece was tackled for a five-yard loss.
Then on the very next drive, somehow Mychal Rivera and Darren McFadden ran routes into the same spot. It was a meeting of receivers and defenders at the ball and fell incomplete.
Late in the first half, the Raiders were in third and one. After abandoning the run for nearly three weeks on third down, the Raiders go with the run this time. The problem is they went with Darren McFadden again and he was stuffed for no gain. I'm not sure how many times they need to see him stuffed at the line to figure out he isn't a short yardage back. Maybe a few more times. It seems odd, especially with big backs like Latavius Murray and Marcel Reece who they could hand the ball and have a greater chance of success. Or rather an actual chance of success.
This offense may not have a lot of playmakers, but there are players with some ability. Those abilities are not being utilized properly. Tony Sparano has said a few times they need to simplify the offense more. I'm not so sure it's the complicated nature so much as it is just a scheme not meant for the personnel. I don't claim to know all the answers, but then again I'm not paid to have those answers. That's Olson's job and the answers he is coming up with only lead to more questions.
