Getting a Back on Track (Vol. 4)

This week against the Colts, the Raiders had developed further comfort with their featured back Ashton Jeanty, yet even with some more confidence, the Raiders couldn't unleash Jeanty with free roaming. Jeanty didn't have a bad game, he just wasn't everything the Raiders needed. He's had a tendency to get stuffed at the line of scrimmage on key downs. I think that has led to some of the frustration because the whole offense is trying to figure out how to optimize Jeanty and get his strengths supported. He had a terrific reception down the sideline to start the first drive but couldn't break a huge run like he did against Chicago last week. The Raiders offense is getting stuck in its tracks and Jeanty is being asked to hold his own against quality opponents. I believe there must be a learning curve for Jeanty to follow because he does have amazing power for his size. He can also be elusive yet it looks like he cannot roll off defenders at this stage of development. The offensive coordinator for the Raiders, Chip Kelly, seemed more intent on letting Jeanty get unleashed but the offensive line is too patchy and inconsistent. Jeanty averaged almost 5 yards a carry today which is great so I don't want to sound too critical because it should be a modest game for him. He was brought along to serve as a vital component of the Raiders future. He as the media will testify, had over 100 yards rushing and receiving total which is encouraging against such a stout defense as the Colts. Jeanty was yanked out of the fourth quarter for player maintenance but if he had played he could have had 100 yards rushing which would have been tremendous. So, a lot of things to clean up since he hasn't reached a comfortable landing spot just yet. Specifically, there was one play where Geno Smith snapped and ran to the right and then tossed the ball to Jeanty for a big gain out of the backfield. It seemed that by getting Jeanty running and on the perimeter, he could use his speed and create with more running room. It's evident that by running downhill he is not getting as much yardage. Instead, the offensive line is being pushed and Jeanty is not seeing the running lanes. But to the Raiders credit, the line was performing well with Jeanty in the first quarter. However, the Colts were severely compromising the offensive line and they found a way to retaliate on a drive that wasn't all that meaningful to begin with.