Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew are both in need of redemption seasons. They both signed one-year deals with the Oakland Raiders in the hopes that they could use the short contract as motivation to improve after a disappointing 2013. McFadden and Jones-Drew are especially needed this season as the Raiders are forced to start rookie Derek Carr following an injury to Matt Schaub. However, through one game, both failed at the effort.
Anyone buying into the hype that McFadden and Jones-Drew would have redemption years with the Raiders as they push each other in the offense were likely extremely disappointed on Sunday. Things could really not have gone worse for either running back and while the entire offense struggled, their numbers stand out the most. McFadden had 15 yards off four carries while Jones-Drew had 11 yards off nine carries. The veteran did have 12 yards off two catches which was still equally unimpressive.
"We knew it was going to be tough today," Jones-Drew said, via Contra Costa Times. "We knew they had a tough front seven. We knew they were going to do a great job and overload the box a little bit. We wanted to force the issue, but those guys obviously made plays. Still, on some runs, I think we were one or two blocks from breaking one."
McFadden or Jones-Drew might have been one or two blocks away from breaking free, but the fact is they did not get those blocks so instead they put together a very disappointing day. Head coach Dennis Allen agreed that that in order for the Raiders to be successful behind Carr, they must run the ball better. Center Stefan Wisniewski noted that the line simply did not hold up well enough to allow the run game to develop as they found themselves in too many third-and-long situations.
"I definitely thought we were going to be able to run the ball better," Wisniewski said. "That was one of the biggest problems with the offense. We didn't get enough in the run game and that put us in third and longs, and it makes things tough, especially against a defense like the Jets with all those blitzes."
It appears that Carr will remain the starting quarterback for now. Allen has not offered up a status report on Schaub and that elbow issue. Carr saw his share of rookie struggles against the Jets and needs McFadden and Jones-Drew to start to prove themselves or else the Raiders will be in trouble this season.
