Raiders biggest flaw has them ranked 32nd in NFL; It is a Klint Kubiak issue

The Raiders have figured out how to start games, how to hang around in them and how to make things interesting at the end.Now, if somebody could remind them there is football to be played immediately after halftime, they might be onto something.And that somebody has to be Klint Kubiak.The Raiders coach sets the tone.He directs the offense, establishes the practice priorities and helps determine what his team carries from the locker room onto the field.

If the Raiders keep emerging from halftime searching for their footing, he has to lead the effort to fix it.The numbers demand it.The Raiders have been outscored by 26 points in the third quarter, the worst differential in the NFL.That includes being outscored 24-3 during the three-game losing streak they take into Sunday’s matchup against the Rams.They are on the positive side in every other quarter, including a plus-20 mark in the fourth.They can get out of the gate.

They can compete before halftime.They can summon enough urgency to make a late push.But somewhere between the halftime conversation and the return to the field, something keeps getting lost.Energy? Execution? The ability to anticipate what the opponent might change?Whatever the combination, finding the answer belongs at the top of Kubiak’s responsibilities this week.

With the wounded, vulnerable Rams coming to town, the Raiders cannot afford to squander another winnable game.“I’m really upset with how we’re starting the third quarter,” Kubiak said.“Go three and out.

That’s disappointing.”The frustration is understandable.Turning it into better football is the assignment.Kubiak deserves credit for recognizing the problem and putting responsibility on his coaching staff to generate more energy after halftime.

He understands that preparation extends beyond drawing up plays.But the tone he sets has to carry into the execution.Urgency must show up in blocking assignments, route details and decisions.

A halftime message only matters if...