Why Curtis Lofton Is Oakland Raiders' Most Important New Starter

A lot of things went wrong for the Oakland Raiders defense in 2014. But of all of those things, the worst one occurred before the season even started.

The Oakland defense looked to be set at linebacker. With two stud playmakers on the outside and a steadying presence in the middle in the form of Nick Roach, the linebackers were primed to be the defense's strongest unit.

But a season-ending head injury to Roach in the preseason stopped this unit from reaching its potential. The entire defense—not just the linebackers—never recovered from this loss.

The Raiders tried using a few different players to fill the gaping hole left in the defense, but nothing worked. The most notable of these potential solutions came in the form of Miles Burris, who turned into a popular scapegoat for the defense's all-around poor performance.

Burris, a natural weak-side linebacker, isn't a great player, but he's also not as bad as he looked while playing out of position in the middle. His struggles were a sign of both how difficult it is to play middle linebacker in the NFL and how important the position is to the performance of the defense overall.

Oakland addressed this issue by adding veteran Curtis Lofton this offseason. He's an experienced and proven middle linebacker, which means he understands what it takes to be successful at the position.

Experience

Including the playoffs, Lofton hasn't missed a single game since entering the league in 2008, having played in a total of 117 games. That experience is invaluable, especially for an Oakland linebacking corps that is still very young.

Uncredited/Associated Press

When it comes to the linebacker position, the Raiders are set on the outside. Sio Moore is an excellent all-around linebacker, and Khalil Mack is very close to turning into a legitimate superstar. They're both very good, but they're also both young and still learning the NFL game.

Mack and Moore are playmakers, but they still need direction while on the field. They need someone that can get them in the right position in order to maximize their impact on every play. What was missing for the linebackers last season wasn't desire. It wasn't drive. It certainly wasn't talent. It was experience, and Lofton single-handedly solves that problem.

Defensively, Oakland's biggest strength in 2014 was at outside linebacker. Unfortunately, Mack and Moore were unable to get the most out of their abilities, in large part because they were essentially out on the field playing on their own. The success they had was mostly the result of natural ability.

Now that Oakland has added a leader like Lofton, the success of these two young players will see major growth. This will not only make these two players better, but it'll also make the entire defense a much more dangerous and productive unit.

Proven Production

Lofton's experience is a great addition, but that wouldn't do the team much good if he wasn't capable of pulling his own weight.

That was a major problem last season. The entire defense had to constantly cover for the shortcomings of whoever was playing in the middle. This had a domino effect: The production of every other player on the defense suffered as they regularly had to try and cover for the middle linebacker.

That won't be an issue in 2015. Lofton has a proven track record of production, which means that Oakland knows exactly what to expect from him over the course of the season.

Season	Games	Combined Tackles	Avg Per Game
2008	16	87	5.44
2009	16	131	8.19
2010	16	117	7.31
2011	16	159	9.94
2012	16	123	7.69
2013	16	137	8.56
2014	16	145	9.06
Total	112	1,107	8.03

This will be especially important for the rest of the defense. The players around Lofton won't have to worry about what he's going to do on any given play. They won't have to worry about whether or not he'll be in position. They won't have to keep peeking out of the corner of their eyes just in case they have to come over and help.

He'll be a reliable, steadying presence, which means everyone else will only have to worry about doing their job at the highest level possible.

Leadership

It's often said that the middle linebacker is the quarterback (i.e. leader) of the defense. If you're one of the people that thinks this, you're right. And if you watched the Raiders play last season, you know this means that the defense played without a leader all year.

The middle linebacker is the one who receives the defensive plays and call audibles. He's the one that makes sure everyone is in the right position. Without him, the defense is left directionless.

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Lofton's presence alone is going to make a huge difference. He's not going to be so easily tricked by opposing offenses. There's not much that he hasn't already seen during his time in the NFL.

With him on the field, the Oakland defense will be able to step on the field with the confidence of knowing that no matter what an offense throws at them, they'll be ready. And they'll be ready because the experienced Lofton will make sure that they are.

The leadership of a middle linebacker is one of those things that nobody mentions until it's missing. You'll never see a middle linebacker making the right call on a list of top plays. But it's one of the most important aspects of playing the position, and it's something that Oakland was completely missing last season.

That won't be the case in 2015. With Lofton on the field, everyone else will be able to focus solely on making plays. That'll go a long way for an Oakland defense that suddenly finds itself with a lot of talent at almost every defensive position.

Lofton will lead. Now all the playmakers will have to worry about is making plays.

Conclusion

The Raiders have added several new starters this offseason, but Lofton is the most important because his addition isn't just going to make one position better. It's going to make the entire defense better.

The most important aspect of Lofton's addition can be easily overlooked. Simply put, he's a true, natural middle linebacker, which means he understands all of the nuances that come with playing the position.

On top of that, he's a proven producer, so he'll certainly do his part when it comes to making the entire Oakland defense a productive unit.

Lofton won't be the most popular new starter on the Raiders' roster. Over the course of this upcoming season, the headlines will be dominated by names like Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree and Latavius Murray. Players like Dan Williams, Clive Walford and Mario Edwards Jr. will also be mentioned ahead of the veteran middle linebacker.

But while he's not the biggest name the team added, Lofton will prove to be Oakland's most important new starter in 2015.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats taken from Pro-Football-Reference.com and NFL.com.

Who do you think is the Raiders' most important new starter? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and on Twitter @BrianJ_Flores.