Practicing Against One of NFL's Best Defenses Helping Raiders' Offense Improve

The Las Vegas Raiders are installing a new offense and doing so against one of the best defenses in the National Football League. It will only help better prepare them for the regular season.

Las Vegas Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

Last season, one of the most pressing issues early on for the Las Vegas Raiders offense was a lack of creativity and the inability to make adjustments on the fly.

Both issues plagued the offense all season, often causing the offense to stall out. The Raiders offense was one of the worst in the league in time of possession last season, primarily because of those two reasons. General Manager Tom Telesco added pieces to the offense, and Offensive Coordinator Luke Getsy was hired this offseason to help the unit improve in both areas.

Adding defensive lineman Christian Wilkins to an already talented defense instantly gave the Raiders what is expected to be one of the best defenses in the National Football League. This means Getsy and the Raiders’ offense will have to install a brand-new offense and practice daily against what should be a top-ten defense in the NFL, giving the unit valuable practice repetitions. 

"You're going through a process, and when you call a play, there's an expectation of a play,” Getsy said at training camp. “And when you're going through installations, you're not necessarily scheming up the play to defeat whatever exact thing you're expected to get. But at the same time, you get really cool challenges within the play.

“When guys are able to respond within a play that's not maybe perfect for that particular front, or particular show, and they're progressing it, or they're going through it or making great decisions within it, and maybe it's not the greatest opportunity for the explosive, but now we went found a completion instead. Or the back. This wasn't the exact front that we wanted, but you went and got four (yards) instead of having a negative run.”

Getsy believes the challenges the Raiders defense presents his offense give them a chance to learn the nuances of the offense in practice instead of on game day, which will only build the unit’s confidence heading into the upcoming season. 

“All that stuff gives you the confidence to be able to call those types of things and not kind of have this reservation of, ‘Oh, what's going to happen.’ And you start building confidence in those things because you don't always want to have the premier look,” Getsy said. “Yes, that's ideal for the play caller to have the premier look, but when these guys can perform the play when it's not the premier look, now you're really cooking."

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