Yesterday the Raiders announced Jason Tarver would be their new defensive coordinator. Today the reality of the task at hand sets in.
Tarver has manily coached using a 3-4 system in his time with the 49ers and Stanford. Transitioning the Raiders into that format could have benefits but certainly any time a drastic systemic change is made it involves a learning curve for those involved. Given the dramatic improvement desired, many believe that learning curve could potentially make a tough challenge even more difficult.
Consider the numbers from last year’s defense:
Pass Yardage Allowed: 27th
Rush yardage allowed: 27th
Total defense: 29th
Points per game allowed: 29th
The Raiders also only had 26 takeaways all season, ranking them in the bottom half of the league in that category as well.
Ok, you get it. They’re bad.
But will Tarver and new defense-oriented heach coach Dennis Allen be difference makers in creating an improvement? Only time will tell.
