How the Same Issue Continues to Plague the Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders hoped they had fixed their issue running the ball when they drafted running back Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick in the draft. They also failed to adequately address their offensive line this past offseason, which has come back to haunt them.

The Raiders have struggled to run the ball for the past three seasons. Las Vegas' offense has been a work in progress over the same amount of time, with little improvement. The Raiders are limping to the finish line of a lost season after losing 12 of their past 13 games

Raiders Woes

The Raiders' woes running on the ground and on offense overall made for a terribly long season for the Silver and Black. The Raiders' offense has essentially been one-dimensional by default in every game, making life easier for opposing defenses on a weekly basis.

On Thursday, Raiders Interim Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson noted several of the struggles the Raiders' offense has faced this season. Las Vegas' struggles running the ball center on the Raiders' offensive line's inability to create holes for Jeanty.

"Yeah, it's difficult. Obviously, not a lot of space runs for him so far this season. So, certainly a difficult evaluation for him, for any rookie, and you go back and look at it. It's a learning curve to begin with, but on top of that, not a lot of success in what we've had rushing the football this year,” Olson said.

“So, in terms of running the football, it's been a difficult stretch for him. But as you alluded to, he breaks tackles. We know he's tough inside the tackles. He's very good when he gets out in the open field and has a chance to square up a defensive back in the back end. Whether he needs to make him miss or run him over, he can do both."

Olson noted that although it has only happend sparingly, the Raiders like what they have seen from Jeanty when they are able to get him enough space to display his talent. Jeanty has shown the ability to make players miss and that he runs with physicality.

“We do like what we see when we get him in open field, and we like his toughness inside. He's gone through it, like you said, a very tough rookie season, but he's shown up for work every day. He hits the holes; he moves the pile. So, there's some things there that you can look at and evaluate in a good way,” Olson said.

Do not miss another Raiders story by signing up for our completely FREE newsletter. It will come straight to your email with the latest news.  It is 100% FREE. We do not spam you or sell your information.  SIGN UP HERE NOW.

• How the Same Issue Continues to Plague the Raiders
• There is 1 Thing Left for the Raiders to Accomplish
• Why Latest Raiders Injury Report Gives Reason to Be Optimistic
• Why the Raiders' Offense is Back to Square 1
• What the Raiders' Defense Badly Needs Moving Forward