When coach Jon Gruden returned to the Raiders, he brought defensive coordinator Paul Guenther with him. He’s a disciple of Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, whose defense Gruden constantly praised from the Monday Night Football broadcast booth.
But four games into the pair’s third year of a roster rebuild, Guenther’s defense isn’t keeping pace with Gruden’s offense. In the Raiders’ loss to the Bills in Week 3, Guenther’s group allowed 30 points.
Gruden says the mistakes on defense are correctable, however. And he gave Guenther his stamp of approval.
“I know he’s a good coach. And I know the mistakes were very correctable and we’ll correct them,” Gruden told reporters on Monday, when asked about Guenther.
That may or may not be true, but Guenther’s defenses have been among the worst in the NFL during his tenure with the Raiders, which started in 2018. According to the Associated Press, the Las Vegas defense under Guenther is second to last in points allowed per game, in addition to ranking near the bottom of the league in various other categories.
Gruden seemed to expand a bit on his comment when asked about the absence of rookie cornerback Damon Arnette.
“I think we played pretty good. We just have to eliminate the mistakes,” Gruden said. “The first touchdown pass, we’re in a man-to-man coverage and we have a couple of guys who don’t play man-to-man. It’s not that hard. That’s very correctable, and it’s going to get corrected. If we eliminate the mistakes, we can be a whole lot better.”
Gruden was referring to the Bills’ first touchdown of the day when CB Amik Robertson was beaten badly for a touchdown — on his first day as a pro.
And that says a lot about the Raiders predicament. The defense is young, and there was no preseason. So there is room for growth, to be sure. At some point, Guenther must show that progress, no matter who is on the field.