Oakland Raiders look like a playoff team this year

September 13, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio (right) instructs against the Cincinnati Bengals during the second quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Coaching

There is more talent on this football team than the last few years but coaching is a huge difference. G.M. Reggie McKenzie’s first coaching hire, Dennis Allen, could coach a pack of flies to jump on a pile of dog doo-doo. After losses and there were plenty, he looked like a robbery victim that didn’t know who did it at post game press conferences.

Every time the media asked him the simplest of questions, his answer always started with the word uh. Allen never had a vision so he had no plan and the Raiders not having an identity under him. Del Rio, a Bay Area native, came out right away and told the media his first priority was to be physical like the old Raiders.

To win, you have to know how you’re going to win and how the team wins is it’s identity. That old Raiders identity came through the vision of legendary owner Al Davis and Del Rio is working toward that. What’s better is after losses, he has identified the problems, vowed to fix them, and fixed them.

The most notable fix Del Rio made was getting killed by opposing tight ends early in the season. For the first few games, little known tight ends became known against the Raiders with career-high performances. Then after Martellus Bennett touched the Raiders up in Week 5, tight ends were no longer a problem.

Next: Stopping the run