Oakland Raiders need to build a TEAM on offense

January 8, 3:04 AMOakland Raiders ExaminerPatrick Patterson

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Teamwork is the key to success in the NFL
Photo by Patrick A. Patterson/TFDSsports.com

Football is the ultimate team sport. Any given unit is only as good as their ability to play together and work as a team. No player succeeds or fails in a vacuum. If the players are 11 individuals, the team ultimately will fail. If the 11 play as a team, they will win more often than not. There is a lot of criticism of JaMarcus Russell not being worthy of the first pick because he can't "carry" a team, but without surrounding talent and the right system no quarterback can be successful.

The Oakland Raiders have begun putting pieces in place with their quarterback of the future in JaMarcus Russell, running backs Darren McFadden and Michael Bush, tight end Zach Miller, and potentially receivers Johnnie Lee Higgins and Chaz Schilens. However, they need to build the chemistry as a team, as well as have better protection from the offensive line in order to be successful.

An offense is like a sports car. All of the different parts need to work together in order to obtain maximum performance. If any of those parts break down, the car will not go anywhere. The offensive line is like the the engine. It has to be to be well-tuned to create the power for the car. The quarterback is the drive train, as that concerts the power into motion for the car to go. The running backs and receivers are the wheels, with the running backs being the drive wheels. The drive wheels connect to the power train and make the motion happen, whilst the wide receivers add the performance of being able to make the turns. If any of these parts go out on a car, good luck on getting out of the driveway.

It all starts up front

The offensive line is comprised of the guys who are the all-guts, no-glory types. Their sole job is to knock other really big guys out of the way so that the other guys can do their job. When an offensive lineman is having a great season, his name is rarely spoken. They only stick out when they fail at their job and give up a sack or commit a penalty. When these guys fail, the power is gone from the offense. If the quarterback does not have time in the pocket, he will not be completing many passes because he will have to hurry up and get rid of the ball before the play is fully set up, or he will end up on the ground for a loss of yards.

In the running game, the line is charged with knocking those other really big guys out of the way so that the back can have space to run the ball. Whenever a running back has a superlative season, he always rewards his line. If the offensive line is not creating creases, no running back can be successful. Terrell Davis was a perfect example of a good running back who was overrated to great by the performance of his offensive line. In his 2000 yard season, Davis would often not be touched by a defender until he had gone five yards. However, even a great back can look mediocre when he does not have the proper blocking up front.

The Raiders offensive line in 2008 was not very good. Robert Gallery should have shed his bust label for good after his performance, as he was reliable and called for only two penalties. In fact, most of the Raiders successful runs ran right behind # 76. On the other hand, the tackle play was below sub par for most of the season. It seemed like Cornell Green and Kwame Harris were competing to see who could have more penalties. When Harris and Green were not being called for penalties, defensive ends were blowing by them and making life miserable for Russell. It is no coincidence that Russell's play improved by leaps and bounds in the end of the season when Harris was benched for Mario Henderson.

"Franchise Quarterback"

The term franchise quarterback has been thrown around so much that it has become a chiche. The quarterback is the one guy upon whose shoulders everything hinges. He takes the ball from the center and has to get it to another player to make the play. Often his job is just to hand it to a back, and those are the easy plays for him. Other plays he has to throw the ball to another player. When he is handing off, he doesn't have to worry about anything except making sure he gets it in the right place for the runner. On a pass play however, he has everything on his shoulders.

When the quarterback drops back to pass, he should have about 5 seconds to decide where to go with the ball and throw it to that spot. In those five seconds he has to know which of his receivers are covered, where the pass rush is coming from, how much of his five seconds he has used, and get the ball to an exact spot on the field that is anywhere from 10 to 60 yards away from him. If his line is good, he gets more time to scan the filed and find the right play. If his left tackle is Kwame Harris, he may be lucky to get three seconds. This is one case where time truly is of the essence and every second counts. If the quarterback consistantly does not get the required time in the pocket, his decision making gets rushed and he will make mistakes. That is why defenses are geared towards getting after the quarterback. Even a future Hall of Famer like Peyton Manning gets rattled when a defense is in his face all game.

Because of his draft status and massive contract, JaMarcus Russell is the quarterback of the Oakland Raiders for the foreseeable future. He has shown growth and improvement in his game as the season wore on, but he still has a long way to go to be considered a very good quarterback. Part of that was from a lack of faith in his tackles that he would get his five seconds in the pocket, and part of that was because he is a work in progress.

Running backs

Whilst the quarterback is the single most important player on an offense, the running back and the use of that back is the linchpin. When a team can move the ball on the ground, they can chew up clock which helps to rest their defense or sit on a lead. There is a reason that there is a truism that says:

In order to win, you have to run the ball and stop the run.

That is a true statement. When a team can run the ball well, they dictate the game. A perfect example of that was the Raiders season ending win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Raiders ran the ball with Michael Bush straight down the Bucs' throat. Being able to move the ball on the ground made the Bucs' defense have to respect the play action pass and play the run which took pressure off of Russell. Once the Raiders established that they could run the ball well, it changed the course of the game. The better a team is at running the ball, the less their quarterback has to do.

Another example of a running game making a quarterback is the gold standard by which rookie quarterbacks seem to be judged these days and Ben Rothlesburger's 15-1 rookie season. Big Ben was put into a situation where he had a strong running game. The fact that the Steelers could run the ball well made life much easier for Big Ben. Everything was not on his shoulders, as the Steelers could grind it out on the ground.

The Raiders have an explosive back in Darren McFadden. They also have a workhorse in Justin Fargas and a Brahma Bull in Michael Bush. This gives the Raiders a multitude of options in the run game. Fargas is not a big play guy, but he can grind out the tough yards and keep defenses honest. He runs hard and is good for wearing down defenses, as he makes defenders pay for tackling him. Bush is a grinder in that he can run through many defenders. The Raiders made a mistake by not using his talents more this season, as he has shown that he can move the ball. McFadden is fast and explosive, and seems better suited for plays going to the edges or where he can get the ball in space. By mixing and matching the talents of their three backs, the Raiders have the players to be very diverse on offense.

Receiving Divas

Receivers play a crucial part in the passing game, as they have to be able to catch the passes that are thrown in their direction. However, contrary to the "diva" attitude that many of them seem to display, they are not the most important guys on the field. (Sorry, T.O.!) The best receivers in history, the guys like Jerry Rice and Tim Brown were the guys that the quarterback could count on to catch anything thrown in their area code. At their heights, Rice and Brown both not only had that ability, but the ability to turn a ten yard catch into a 40 yard gain. Randy Moss is a freak of nature with his abilities, but he is also a world class head case, which makes him poison to a young quarterback. (See also: Andrew Walter) The quarterback has to be able to count on the receiver being in his spot when the pass gets there.

Having a flashy receiver is a luxury, but not required. A receiver can run a 4.22 40 time, but if he can't catch the ball he is useless. (See also: Alvis Whitted) Having a receiver who is going to make the catch, however is required. For much of his career in Oakland, Ronald Curry made his name by just catching the ball. However, for the last couple of season Curry has had butterfingers, and been more known for dropping the ball. Chaz Schilens appears to be on his way towards taking the role of being a guy who can catch the ball and make a play. Johnnie Lee Higgins is another one who has shown that he can make the play once the ball is in his hands, despite having butterfingers early in the season. The Raiders best receiver is their tight end Zach Miller. He has established himself as a go to guy by catching anything thrown near him.

Rather than having the freak of nature head case wide receiver, what the Raiders need is for Russell to have receivers that he has chemistry with. The perfect example of a quarterback receiving tandem that makes each other better is Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison. Those guys seem to know what each other is thinking without it being said. When Russell can have that type of telepathy with a receiver, he will being to truly flourish. He seems to be starting to get that with Miller, as they have become a lethal combination.

The Team

Just like the car metaphor, an offense needs all the parts working together to be successful. The quarterback depends on the offensive line and the receivers for his success. The running back depends on the offensive line to create holes. No wide receiver can be successful without a quarterback to get him the ball. However, without the line giving the quarterback time, he can't get the ball to the receiver.

Also like a car, it is imperative to use the right parts. The offensive coaching staff has to have a "system" and get the players who work within that system. Joe Montana was a great quarterback because he had the perfect skills for the system that Bill Walsh used. Trying to put Montana in a "run n' shoot" offense would be like taking a transmission off of a TransAm and expecting it to fit on a Mustang 5.0. Having the right parts in place, and having them work together is the only way for an offense to be successful.