One year ago, the Raiders and 49ers limped into the offseason, smarting from identical 4-12 records. Today, the 49ers are preparing to host the NFC Championship Game, while the Raiders still are searching for the right ingredients that can get them over the proverbial hump. On one hand, the 49ers’ remarkable run serves as inspiration
Examining how 49ers went from 4-12 to doorstep of Super Bowl, what Raiders need to do to get there
One big difference between 49ers and Raiders is the quality of 49ers defense. 49ers defense is feared, namely the front 4.
A key surprise is the continued productivity of Richard Sherman. I didn’t think he would be playing as well as he has at CB. He shuts down at least one receiver allowing double teams on the other opposing receivers.
-Raiders need to invest in another pass rusher
-Upgrade the LB Corp significantly. Draft a LB and Sign Corey Littleton or Joe Schobert
-Sign another CB or draft one high to pair with Mullen
Lots to do.
As the theme song from Smokey and Bandit goes –
“East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’,
We’re gonna do what they say can’t be done.
We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there.
I’m east bound, just watch ol’ “Bandit” run.”
Same with Raiders. Long way to go yet hopefully a short time to get there (playoffs)
Great take Ghost
Another difference between the Niners and the Raiders is that the Niners did not really do a complete tear down of the roster after a complete tear down of the roster. I attribute that to coaching (see that Thursday night game a couple of years back where Gruden got outcoached by Shanahan who had his third string QB). I still don’t fully understand the need for Gruden’s roster tear down. As with the current situation with Carr (see article above), I thought he could (should) have kept the roster he had and improved on it without seemingly willy-nilly offloading players without a replacement.