10 Things Oakland Raiders Must Fix During Their Bye

In Week 7, the Oakland Raiders (4-3) lost an embarrassing game to the Kansas City Chiefs, 28-0.

Quarterbacks Kyle Boller and Carson Palmer combined for six interceptions.

Star running back Darren McFadden got injured and missed almost the entire game.

But thankfully for the Raiders, they had a bye week in Week 8 and still have all of this week to prepare for their Sunday matchup versus the Denver Broncos.

Here's what they need to fix to succeed against the Broncos and beyond.

Darren McFadden's Foot

Running back Darren McFadden (pictured) is the heart and soul of the Oakland Raiders.

When he came out of the Chiefs game with a sprained right foot, he had only played two snaps. That heart and soul left the field.

The entire Oakland offense is built around McFadden—without him, the Raiders will stall. 

If he can be healthy enough to go up against the Denver Broncos, he will force the defense to stay honest and that will help quarterback Carson Palmer adjust.

Carson Palmer's Familiarity

New Oakland Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer (pictured) didn't have a successful first game in his return to the NFL.

After completing his first pass, he threw three interceptions and finished with a 38.1 completion percentage.

This bye week couldn't come at a better time for him because it will allow him time to learn the playbook and get to know his receivers—two huge components that are vital to the Raiders' success.

If the two can be on the same page next Sunday, they could be a deadly weapon.

Pass Defense

This upcoming weekend is the time for the Oakland secondary to shine—very brightly.

The Raiders will be facing Tim Tebow, who last Sunday against the Lions only completed 46.2 percent of his passes and threw an interception. On top of that, he had three fumbles and lost one of them. Both turnovers were taken back for touchdowns.

Because of his bad mechanics, it is fairly easy to have a good defensive day against Tebow.

And that is exactly what the Raiders need to do.

Michael Huff (pictured) should be able to lead the Oakland secondary to a great day against the ninth worst pass offense in the league. 

Rush Defense

The Raiders are very average when it comes to run defense. 

There is a direct correlation to the Raiders' run defense and their wins.

In each of Oakland's wins, they have held their opponent to 100 rushing yards or less. In each the Raiders' losses, the opposition has rushed for over 100 yards.

While it's obvious that the run defense and the 100-yard rushing mark isn't the key to winning or losing games for the Raiders, it certainly helps to contain the opposing team's run game.

Consistent Pressure on Quarterback

The Raiders have 16 sacks on the season which has them tied for 18th most in the league.

While that is a fairly average number, at times the Raiders have applied great pressure on the quarterback. Other times, like last game against the Chiefs, the Oakland defensive line is nonexistent behind the line of scrimmage.

Richard Seymour (pictured) is the captain of the defense at defensive tackle and has five sacks. He needs to send a message to the very young line that they need to work harder to consistently apply pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

Limit Turnovers

So far this season, if the Raiders could have limited their turnovers by just a small margin, they could have won every game this season.

In each of the Raiders' losses, it has been a turnover that was the pivotal turning point: Darren McFadden's fumble against Buffalo, Jason Campbell's interception in the New England end zone and any one of Kyle Boller/Carson Palmer's interceptions (pictured).

Oakland is losing the turnover this battle, sitting at a minus-two. It's time for them to fix that and get out of the red and into the green.

Receivers' Hands

Raiders receivers are dropping too many passes.

Too frequently are passes slipping through the hands of wide receivers Jacoby Ford (pictured) and Denarius Moore.

Surprisingly, Darrius Heyward-Bey has been the most consistent receiver on the team after two disappointing seasons. He has already surpassed his season highs in catches, yards and first downs.

If the rest of the Oakland receivers can become as consistent as Heyward-Bey, they can be one of the youngest, fastest and most athletic receiving corps in the NFL.

Penalties

It almost feels like beating a dead horse, but the Raiders get penalized the most in the NFL. They lead the league in both penalties and penalty yards, 69 and 600 respectively.

These penalties are stalling Raiders drives and lengthening opponents' drives, which isn't how you win games.

If Oakland can cut down on their penalties, they will put themselves in a much better position to succeed.

Overall Health

As stated in an earlier slide, star running back Darren McFadden is nursing a sprained right foot.

Plenty of other Raiders are injured as well.

Kicker Sebastian Janikowski (pictured) was arguably the biggest loss outside of McFadden last week. Cornerbacks Chimdi Chekwa and Chris Johnson, guard Bruce Campbell, fullback Marcel Reece and wide receiver Chaz Schilens all joined Janikowski on the sidelines against the Kansas City Chiefs.

On top of all of that, quarterback Jason Campbell looks to be out the rest of the season with a broken collar bone.

The Raiders need to get healthy to make it to the playoffs and possibly even win the AFC West.

Integrate Lito Sheppard into the Defense

Oakland recently signed former Pro Bowl cornerback Lito Sheppard (pictured).

Sheppard should be able to step in right away and contribute positively thanks to his familiarity with the defense; he was actually cut by the Raiders during training camp.

Because of the injuries to Chimdi Chekwa and Chris Johnson, the Raiders secondary has been thin.

But Sheppard should help change that.

The Raiders have a lot of work to do in the next week to be ready for a playoff push. 

The picture is there in Oakland. Now the pieces just have to be put together.