NFL Oakland Raiders

Maurice Jones-Drew Will Be X-Factor For Oakland Raiders In Week 6

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By @Kevin_Saito

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland Raiders enter their game against the San Diego Chargers a wounded team. Winless through their first four games of the season, the Raiders have had their head coach fired and their egos battered. With interim head coach Tony Sparano making his Silver and Black debut, the Raiders are trying to get into the win column against a 4-1 Chargers squad that looks like a legitimate contender through the early part of the season.

It doesn’t exactly look like a recipe for success, and most people have Oakland tabbed to keep their winless streak alive — ten losses and counting to this point. Did somebody say overmatched and outmanned? There was a time when the Raiders used to revel in defying long odds like that. Sadly, those days are long gone, but it certainly does seem like a confident Chargers team could be ripe for an upset if they look beyond the Raiders to their upcoming dates with the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos.

And if the Raiders were able to shock the Chargers — and the world — by winning, RB Maurice Jones-Drew may have a big hand in helping get the Raiders into the win column by being the team’s X-factor in Week 6.

To this point, the Raiders’ rushing attack has been utterly worthless. They’ve amassed an underwhelming total of 246 yards on the ground, compiling a meager average of 3.4 YPC to go along with their abysmal 61.5 total rushing yards per game — all of which rank at or near the bottom of the league.

One interesting statistic to come out of the pile of numbers, though, is the fact that the Raiders have attempted a paltry 72 rushes this season. It’s the fewest number of rushing attempts in the entire league by far. Some may argue that it’s because Oakland has played from behind so much that they haven’t been able to run. However, the staggeringly small number of rushing attempts lends credence to the idea that former HC Dennis Allen bailed on the running game far too early and didn’t give his team a chance to establish that running attack.

No matter which way you slice it, though, Oakland’s ground game has amounted to a big, fat nothing this season. With Sparano at the helm now that looks to change. He loves to run the football and keeps a defense on their heels with some odd formations while attempting to establish the ground game. As the coach of the Miami Dolphins, Sparano sometimes used an up-tempo offensive scheme and wasn’t shy about using the Wildcat formation.

During his four-season tenure in Miami, Sparano’s rushing attack ranked 11th twice and was the fourth best in the league once. Which, given the talent those Miami teams had, is a real achievement. Now he takes over a running attack in Oakland that has given new meaning to the word anemic and is charged with getting it moving.

And one of the key pieces Sparano is going to lean on to get it moving is Jones-Drew. Though he returned to the field last week against the Dolphins, Jones-Drew was limited to two carries and racked up just a single yard. But the veteran back asserts that he’s 100 percent again and is ready to roll.

Given the fact that the Raiders have Darren McFadden and Latavius Murray in the backfield, Sparano is going to be able to use Jones-Drew in a number of different ways. He’s a great contrast to McFadden and Murray as he’s great between the tackles, has terrific vision and a quick burst. He can also catch balls out of the backfield and can make a lot of guys miss in open space.

Allen was never able to maximize Jones-Drew’s skill set to the team’s best advantage, but Sparano is innovative and will no doubt be able to do just that. Establishing the run game is critical in freeing up Derek Carr and opening up the passing game.

Look for Sparano to stick with the run game and establish that presence, and look for Jones-Drew to have a big hand in it as the Raiders’ X-factor against the Chargers.

Kevin Saito is a fiction writer, sports junkie, history nerd, and NFL contributor to www.RantSports.com Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or on Google

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