Raiders biggest concern against Jets? Look in mirror for answers

The Raiders should pack some humility for their trip to New York.Whatever they think of the Jets, whatever opportunity they see in Sunday’s game at MetLife Stadium, they would be wise to spend considerably more time examining themselves.A team that cannot consistently run the ball, stop the run or prevent ordinary plays from becoming damaging ones has no business looking down on anybody.And if the Raiders arrive believing the Jets owe them a victory simply because they are the Jets?Shame on them.Four consecutive losses have erased a 3-0 start and exposed problems that go well beyond a difficult stretch of opponents.The Raiders are failing at some of football’s most basic requirements, and until that changes, no assignment will feel comfortable.The numbers offer little room for interpretation.The Raiders average 74.7 rushing yards per game, ranking 31st in the NFL.

They surrender 143.6 per game, ranking 30th.Their opponents average nearly 5 yards per carry, second highest in the league.They are also tied for 27th in explosive-play rate allowed at 14.4%, defining those gains as at least 15 yards on a dropback or 10 yards on a run.That is a troubling combination: struggling to create manageable situations on offense while making life easier for the opposing offense.The Rams supplied the latest evidence, rushing for 199 yards while the Raiders managed 48.

There is no mystery about which team controlled that game or why.Fixing it starts with Klint Kubiak, whose responsibility extends beyond finding a clever play to free a receiver.He sets the standards for preparation, physicality and execution.

Those standards must show up before the Raiders chase another deficit.Offensively, that means giving Ashton Jeanty a chance to reach the line of scrimmage with somewhere to go.The blocking must produce cleaner entry points, and the Raiders need enough early success to keep the entire playbook available.Simply calling more runs will not solve missed assignments or lost bl...