Oakland Raiders Can Learn More in Defeat Than in Victory

In defeat we often learn much more about who we are than in victory. This Oakland Raiders team must show once again, that they can get back up when they're knocked down.

Any game against elite-level teams, especially the New England Patriots, is a great opportunity to learn more about a football team. As, if you have weaknesses, they will expose them for all to see. On Sunday some of the Raiders' biggest weaknesses were exposed. 

I'm sure that Hue Jackson obsessively poured over the game tape looking for ways to correct the issues his team has. However, there is no time to mourn the loss, no time to ponder what could have been. The Raiders are on the road to face the Texans this Sunday and they must be sharp.

Hue Jackson and his staff have many areas to address in a short amount of time. Let's take a look at some key topics he should cover.

There Is One Big Difference Between Being a Good Team and Being a Great One

The difference would be consistency. The Patriots have not just been a good team, they have been a great team for a decade now. 

The Raiders had their first season of .500 or better football since 2002 last year. While the Silver and Black might be able to go from horrible to good in a short amount of time, the leap from good to great is a tough one.

Tom Brady and Wes Welker have had years of working together; developing a comfort level with one another that puts them on the same page in any given situation. 

This connection is afforded to them by a franchise and coaching staff that understand the value of stability.

The Raiders are a team still struggling to find their identity. Head coach Hue Jackson has made it clear that he wants the Raiders to become a bully. I believe he has what it takes as a coach and the team has the talent to make that happen. 

The Patriots know who they are on the football field. They know their biggest strengths and their opponents' biggest weaknesses. They exploit cracks in the armor until they know exactly how to attack. When they go full throttle, it's hard for any defense to stop them. 

They picked apart the Raiders defense on Sunday piece by piece. They did this even without being able to utilize one of their most prized weapons, as the Raiders effectively took tight end Rob Gronkowski out of the game with tight coverage. However, they could do nothing of the same to slow the record-setting pace of Wes Welker. 

The Patriot defense is not good at all. their offense has to put up big numbers or they won't win. On Sunday the Patriots did not have to look for ways to beat the Raiders. The Raiders showed that no matter who they face, there is no tougher opponent than themselves. 

You Can't Make Big Mistakes in Big Games

When you are playing against the best teams in the league you cannot afford to make critical mistakes. The Raiders made several such mistakes in the game on Sunday.

With time and patience, the Raiders can learn to limit these mistakes.

Jason Campbell had two horrific interceptions at critical junctions in the game. Driving late in the second quarter and trailing by four points, Oakland was at the Patriots' six-yard line. The play broke down and there was nobody open for Campbell. Attempting to throw it away, he put the ball right into the hands of Patrick Chung in the end zone. 

If the Raiders would have scored a touchdown on that possession they would have led 17-14 and could have gone into the half with that score. Instead, they came out of the half trailing 17-10 and quickly gave up a touchdown to the Patriots to put them in a 24-10 hole they'd never get out of.

When Jason Campbell was picked off a second time it was just icing on the cake. Vince Wilfork, even at 325 pounds, did his best hide-and-go-seek with Campbell and picked off a pass intended for Darren McFadden leaking out of the backfield. 

Critical mistakes also come in the form of penalties. The Raiders made these crucial errors again, at big moments in the game. 

On the Raiders opening drive they looked dominant, marching down the field at will on the Patriots defense. Jared Veldheer was flagged for a block in the back downfield that was pointless. It cost the Raiders as they could not overcome the 1st and 20, and they would end up settling for a field goal. 

With the Raiders defense amped up and going against the Patriots offense for the first time they could not afford to give Tom Brady any additional help. Richard Seymour aided the Patriots with 30 yards of penalties on their opening drive. 

Beating the best teams in the league is a difficult task in and of itself. When mistakes are made it becomes nearly impossible to overcome them and pull out a victory. They must clean up their play to be considered elite. 

When You Have an Opportunity You Must Capitalize on It

The Raiders squandered opportunities to stay in the game against the Patriots. With time and practice they will learn to convert those opportunities into touchdowns. 

Hue Jackson has taken the reigns of this team and is leading them in the right direction. The day he set foot in the Raiders complex the offense began to change. The entire team dynamic began to change.

The offense was weak and he would challenge the defense in practice. He would get them fired up and even tell them what plays the offense was running at times. He probably had some of the guys on offense wondering what he was doing.

He was instilling confidence in them. It doesn't matter who you line up against. It doesn't matter if they know what play you're running. You still need to run that play so well that they can't defend against it.

The offense is light years ahead of where it was before Hue Jackson came along. As his players gain familiarity with his system and each other they will continue to get better and become a dominating offense.

They have so many building blocks for the future of this franchise. Darren McFadden, Denarius Moore, Jacoby Ford, Michael Bush, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Kevin Boss, Marcel Reece, Chaz Schilens, Taiwan Jones and the list goes on and on. They have the talent to be very special and the coaches in place to help them realize their potential.

Against the Patriots the young offense failed to capitalize on multiple occasions. When playing the best teams you cannot settle for field goals.

The opening possession for the Raiders could not have gone smoother before the penalty. They end up kicking a field goal instead of inciting the home crowd to go nuts with a touchdown.

Before the half, when Campbell was intercepted, they had a chance to take a lead to the locker room. The crowd would have been going crazy. Starting the second half they would have been ahead and even if they gave up the quick touchdown they would only trail by four instead of eleven.

All of the battles within the war is what determines how the scoreboard reads in the end.

Everything matters.  

The Defense Must Improve Dramatically

The Raiders have a talented team on defense, at least on paper. Thus far, however, the defense has failed the test at almost every turn. They continue to give up yards in huge chunks and allow teams to drive right down the field for scores. 

The Raiders are not yet an elite team so the defense has to find ways to step up and get some stops. 

The Patriots soft defense found ways to limit Darren McFadden just long enough for Tom Brady and the offense to establish a lead. Once they were in front, McFadden's role was limited as the Raiders needed to throw the football. 

On the flip side, the Raiders were looking to slow down Brady. They covered Rob Gronkowski well but did little to stop Brady from hooking up with Wes Welker at will. On the day Welker went for nine catches, 158 yards and a touchdown. 

Brady and the Patriots also exposed the Raiders defense on running plays. Whether teams are running the football from the I formation or from a spread the Raiders must play better against the run. With the talent the Raiders have on the defensive line there is no excuse to give up over 180 yards rushing to the Patriots. 

What will happen when they face Arian Foster and the Texans this weekend? They need to man up and figure out how to get the job done. 

I will once again call out Rolando McClain. I implore any of you to watch the game again and just focus on what he does play after play on defense. I watched him drift slowly towards the action and the line of scrimmage.

Once again, he made almost no impact in the run game. He does not look to attack the line or the ball carrier.

You know what else I saw from McClain? I saw him get blocked out of running plays by wide receivers! Twice! Once it was Deion Branch and once it was Julian Edelman. How does that happen?

You are a middle linebacker, weigh 250 pounds, and a wide receiver you outweigh by 50 pounds walls you off? That is embarrassing. McClain should have blasted both and made some plays.

If he wanted to see what he should play like he could have looked across the field at number 55 for the Patriots. Brandon Spikes was putting hits on anyone he could, including McFadden. He is about the same size and slower than McClain but he's a heck of a lot tougher.

McClain needs to wake up, start playing fast and hitting hard. Just because you show up on the stat sheet doesn't mean you show up when it counts. 

The secondary may have been burned by Welker but for being down secondary starters Michael Huff and Chris Johnson, I must say I think they played better than expected. I believe as they get healthy, the secondary will improve. 

When You Find What Works Stick with It

Watching the game it became frustrating with the lack of targets for guys who were winning their matchups. 

The Patriots defense had no answer for Kevin Boss. He caught four passes for 78 yards but could have easily had a bigger day. If Gronkowski was burning the Raiders like Boss was, the Patriots he would have probably doubled the yardage and added a score or two. 

The Raiders felt they had to abandon the running game after falling behind, but you still have to be able to find ways to get your best player the football. Darren McFadden did not see enough touches as he carried the ball 14 times for 75 yards and only caught four passes for another 48 yards.

No matter who the defense is, McFadden is a nightmare match up.

I have a hard time figuring out how the Raiders only got Denarius Moore three catches. He has shown what an explosive player he is and yet the Raiders seemed to forget all about him. They need to find ways to get the ball in his hands.

Jacoby Ford was held without a catch. He had an end around that he turned from a potential loss of yardage into a beautiful 30-yard run. He is recovering from a hamstring injury so maybe they were trying to work him back but he needs to see the ball much more than once.

Wes Welker and Tom Brady were the Patriots passing game. Chad Ochocinco was the only other New England wide receiver or tight end with more than one catch.

It's nice to spread the ball around but it's really nice to win the game. If the Raiders find a weakness they need to keep delivering blows to the weak area until the defense crumbles under the weight of the game.

Moving Forward

It may be easy to lose sight of just how far this team has come in such a short time. The offense has greatly improved and allowed the Raiders to contend with some of the best teams in the league. 

There is still so much room for growth on this team that it's hard to say just how good they can be. 

One thing is for certain, they must get better on defense or Chuck Bresnahan will be looking for work sooner than later. The players have to make plays but the defense appears to have taken a step backward this year. 

The loss of Nnamdi Asomugha cannot be the lone reason for their slide towards the bottom of the league. The Raiders ranked 11th overall on defense last year and so far this year they are sitting at 29th. 

Just like Asomugha, Bresnahan can't bear all the blame but he will be the one to lose his job if this defense can't start showing some serious signs of improvement. 

The Raiders must now look at themselves in the mirror and do what is necessary for this team to take the next step forward. The Patriots can prove to be one of the best lessons that Hue Jackson and his coaching staff can teach from.