Las Vegas Raiders are hoping one player just had a ‘wake-up call’ just before they get set to play the San Francisco 49ers
The Las Vegas Raiders need Ashton Jeanty and the run game to come through on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Las Vegas Raiders have two good running backs. But that room has some issues right now. Ashton Jeanty was the No. 6 overall pick last season. And yet, his numbers through 25 games are nearly identical to Trent Richardson’s.
Last week, rookie Mike Washington nearly out-snapped Jeanty. While he didn’t quite do that, he certainly had more touches. Washington led the rushing attack, while Jeanty was often used as a decoy and a receiver. There’s been some discussion about why that was the case.
Per Dan Graziano of ESPN, “Jeanty hasn’t played well while Washington has, and the Raiders hope it serves as a wake-up call. If it doesn’t, they’re content to distribute the carries in Washington’s favor moving forward, as he offers a more explosive element in the run game right now.”
The run game hasn’t been working at all. Maybe the Raiders playing Washington more in that role was to switch things up. It could be similar to what you see when QBs get benched. Maybe Vegas was looking for a spark. So, does that mean that Washington is the starter in Week?
“I just know both guys are going to play, and Dylan [Laube],” Kubiak said on Friday.
Raiders need some change in the run game
Whatever happens, I think this week will show that something major has to change. Vegas is getting far too predictable. When Jeanty is on the field, no one is biting on those play actions. And if they do run it with Jeanty, it’s not much of a wide zone, but more of a bit of zone insert, or just inside zone.
So, opponents stack the box. And if he’s going on play action, no one is really biting because the box is already stacked, so the RB run is already accounted for while the flat and hook zones are already covered. When Washington is in the game, it’s almost strictly a wide zone scheme. And he should be running that.
In wide zone, you are often taught to bend, bang, or bounce. That’s bend the run back inside, bang it to the zone that the run protection is designed for, or bounce it outside the zone and try to hit the edge of the defense. Washington does all of those things significantly better; at least right now.
So, it’s become predictable. In this next game against the San Francisco 49ers, I’d love to see them generate some more unpredictability in the run game. Change things up. Heck, why not add more types of runs you just don’t run often, like Wham, duo, etc.?
Per Sports Info Solutions, Jeanty has 23 carries in inside zone for 79 yards. Washington has just run 11 for 39. Jeanty has been hit at or behind the line on nine of those and stuffed four times. It’s predictable. It works against bad teams. But it hasn’t worked against a good team yet. Sunday will tell a lot.
