Did the Raiders' Offense Hurt the Defense in Preparing for the Season During Training Camp?

The Las Vegas Raiders' defense will have the be dominant for the Raiders to make the playoffs this season.

Dec 25, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) reacts after being sacked by Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) during the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

For the Las Vegas Raiders this season, the defense is the unit that will keep them in games and be the reason they win said games. The unit has a lot of promising young talent and arguably the best defensive player in the league in Maxx Crosby. Now, this Raiders defense will need to go out on Sundays and prove that it can continue to dominate under Coach Antonio Pierce.

The Raiders knew that the offense would have a harder time in training camp because of the new pieces they added, which involved learning a new playbook with new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy while also having a quarterback battle throughout training camp.

With the offensive struggles in training camp, you could look and say it was no big deal because the Raiders' defense is one of the best.

But the defense did not have a great showing throughout the preseason, either. The run defense was not good and the pass rush was not up to par like we are used to seeing. The Raiders did play the starters in two of the three games.

Our Hondo S. Carpenter Sr. talked about how the offense impacted the defense in training camp on a recent episode of "Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast."

"I do think that it hurt them a little bit," Carpenter said. "I do. ... The more I thought about it, I think it probably hurt them more than I thought. It is not the death blow or anything like that, but I think it did hurt them."

We will just have to wait and see if this Raiders defense will be a top defense like they finished the second half of last season.

It could be that the Raiders struggled in preseason play because they were limited on what they called in terms of plays and coverages. In the preseason, most of the time, teams do not show anything they plan to do in the regular season.

Another thing that could hurt the Raiders defense is the youth in the secondary. The Raiders -- if the chance presents itself -- have a chance to upgrade at any position and would do so by signing a player that gives them the best chance to succeed on either side of the ball.

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