Buster: DC Paul Guenther
At some point having so many Busters on defense that you can’t narrow it down has to come down to the guy who is in charge of them. And I’d say that time would be when the Raiders defense gives up 552 yards of offense to the opposing team.
The Raiders’ defense can’t just all be terrible. And yet they routinely give up big plays and long sustained drives. Guenther has brought in players each season who are familiar with his defensive scheme and it hasn’t worked out. This year the big acquisition was Vontaze Burfict and we know how that worked out.
Sure, the Raiders have lost some players, but what are we talking about here? Burfict was suspended and Guenther seemed to be the only guy who didn’t see that coming a mile away. Johnathan Abram was lost in the season opener, but Erik Harris has filled in admirably and even had some big games. Karl Joseph was lost a few weeks ago, but they quickly signed D.J. Swearinger.
Are we supposed to believe that those injuries are the difference between a competitive team and the most porous defense in the NFL that is tied for the most drives of 80+ yards in the NFL this season? They had three of those in this game. We can’t keep giving the man calling the shots a pass.
[lawrence-newsletter]