Raiders run game is a problem; history shows the perfect solution is coming

Before anyone decides the Raiders’ running game is beyond repair, consider where Klint Kubiak was a year ago.Trying to fix one.Working to improve an offensive line that had been a problem.Installing a new offense.

Waiting for the blocking, timing and execution to turn the running game he envisioned into something his team could depend on.Sound familiar?It should.The early returns in Seattle last season were hardly overwhelming, either.

With Kubiak in his first and only year as offensive coordinator, the Seahawks averaged just 3.7 yards per carry through their first eight games, finishing below 100 rushing yards four times.Over their final 12 games, including the Super Bowl, they surpassed 100 yards 10 times and averaged 4.5 yards per carry.That pushed their final regular-season average to 4.1, and 4.2 including the playoffs.But the improvement down the stretch tells the more meaningful story.What began as a source of frustration became a strength, with Kenneth Walker III helping turn all that work into production when it mattered most.That history deserves a place in the conversation about a Raiders running game averaging just 3.1 yards per carry and 93 yards per game through four weeks.Sunday’s 30-27 loss to the Chiefs produced more frustration: 72 yards on 26 attempts, an average of 2.8.Seattle offers a reason for patience.And a basis for expecting better.Kubiak and the assistants who followed him from Seattle, including offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko and offensive line coach Rick Dennison, have essentially stood here before, trying to get a new offense moving behind a line still learning to make it work.They found answers there.

The challenge is finding them here.But there is another part of this equation that should not be overlooked: Ashton Jeanty apparently is still working his way back to being completely healthy.The Raiders running back alluded to that after Sunday’s game while discussing the ankle injury that has been part of his season.“I�...