Examining the Raiders' Offensive Struggles

Las Vegas has one of the worst offenses in the National Football League through the first 10 weeks of the regular season but boats the highest paid offensive coordinator in the league. On Friday, Kelly why his offense has failed to score points.

"I think it's different each week, as I said, because it's what's available each week. So who do you have player wise and all that. We obviously have to execute. I think for us, we need to stay in a rhythm," Kelly said.

“And a lot of them sometimes it's self inflicted wounds in terms of penalties or things like that, that we get a drive going and we're moving in the right direction, you can feel the rhythm and you can feel what the players are doing, but then all of a sudden you get into a long yardage situation. So instead of being in third and three, you're in third and 13. 

“And in this league, third and 13 is a real difficult deal to convert. I don't think many people are converting on third and extra longs in this league just because of how the defenses are playing. So a lot of it, as we talk to our team about, is just not the self inflicted wounds. The defense is going to make plays. 

Kelly noted that the Raiders have and will face several formidable defenses over the second half of the season. Las Vegas needs Kelly to work his magic.

“These defenses in this league are really, really good, but it's the penalties, it's the drops, it's the turnovers that really hurt you on the offensive side of the ball, and those are things that we have to clean up. And that's on us, that's nothing that we can say, 'Hey, they did a good job.' If we don't get our hands where they're supposed to be and they're outside the framework of the body and you're corralling somebody, then they're going to call a hold,” Kelly said.

“Or do we line up in the right formations? All those things are things that right now, because of some of the injuries and where we are and you're really kind of thing, we can't afford to hurt ourselves. And that's, I think, in a lot of those drive situations, that's what's been happening to us.”