Going into the Raiders' Week 8 matchup, their run defense has allowed the third fewest total rushing yards in the NFL.
The attention to detail in stopping the run this season has been a huge step forward for the Silver and Black. The Raiders were 19th in rushing yards allowed to teams last season. The improvement can be attributed to several things, primarily the additions to the defensive line.
To start, the Silver and Black hired former Houston Texans defensive lineman Frank Okam to coach the unit. Then, they signed Bilal Nichols, Andrew Billings and four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Chandler Jones to pair with Maxx Crosby.
The additions have paid dividends in limiting the run, with Nichols and Billings combining for 24 tackles on the season and Jones' ability to set the edge has been beneficial to the success of the defensive line.
"[I]t helps to have good players. We all know that," said defensive coordinator Patrick Graham when asked about the success of the run defense. "I think Frank [Okam] is doing a good job of teaching the techniques that we want to use in terms of playing with good pad level, playing with their hands out in front of their eyes, making sure they don't get blocked by one guy. It's hard enough to defend in this league, but you talk about it being a passing league and the guys up front have to be able to take on more than one block, or force guys to block them with two guys. So far, we've done a solid job with that.
"There's still room to improve, but they've bought into that you can't go one-for-one. That's a big part of it because it's too hard to cover the pass in this league if you don't have guys that can take up two spots."
"behind" - Google News
October 27, 2022 at 05:55AM
https://ift.tt/yK8i7CM
What's been behind the success of Raiders' run defense this season? - Raiders.com
"behind" - Google News
https://ift.tt/oGEq9vz
https://ift.tt/JMYpPx5
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "What's been behind the success of Raiders' run defense this season? - Raiders.com"
Post a Comment