The Las Vegas Raiders seem better suited to attack defenses through the air with Davante Adams and Brock Bowers, but head coach Antonio Pierce isn’t backing away from the run game. On top of that, he clearly wants Zamir White to be the engine on the ground.
On Monday, Pierce reaffirmed the running back depth chart, telling reporters that he wants White to get 20-plus touches. So far, White has 27 touches in two games, and he’s averaging 3.1 yards per touch. For context, White averaged 4.6 yards per touch last season.
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Now the lead ball carrier on the depth chart, White is still trying to find his way in offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s zone-blocking scheme. In fairness to White, Alexander Mattison isn’t doing any better in a system familiar to him on the ground, averaging 2.2 yards per carry.
However, Mattison is a far more effective pass-catcher than White, bumping his average yards per touch to 4.8. He’s also scored in both games and took both of the Raiders’ goal-line carries against the Baltimore Ravens last week:
At 5-11, 220 pounds, Mattison isn’t a small running back, but White seemed like the guy who could get short-yardage touches because of his stout frame. Mattison can pick up more yards than White in the short passing game. So if he’s also the preferred option near the goal line, Getsy may not be able to satisfy Pierce’s desire to get White 20-plus touches on a weekly basis.
White has done well picking up his blocking assignments, but his touch volume may begin to fade if Mattison continues to do more in a limited role, specifically on passing downs and in short-yardage situations.
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Alexander Mattison’s familiarity with Luke Getsy’s offense
Remember, general manager Tom Telesco talked about Mattison’s fit within Getsy’s system.
“He’s a pretty well-rounded player,” Telesco said in an interview with Raider Nation Radio 920AM. “I mean, he’s 220 pounds, he runs physical and hard, he runs [with] like a little bit of a violent style to him. The scheme that we’re going to run, he ran this very similar first couple of years at Minnesota, so he has some familiarity with that.
In 2019 and 2020, with the Vikings, Mattison averaged 4.6 and 4.5 yards per carry under offensive coordinators Kevin Stefanski and Gary Kubiak, respectively.
Kubiak comes from Mike Shanahan’s coaching tree, and their sons (Klint Kubiak, Klay Kubiak, and Kyle Shanahan) worked together in San Francisco last year. They’ve implemented zone-blocking concepts in their schemes.
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So, no one should be surprised that the Las Vegas Raiders hired former 49ers offensive line coach James Cregg to piece together the offense with Getsy, who ran a similar scheme with the Chicago Bears.
Now that you understand the schematic coaching web and how Mattison fits into the Raiders offense, where does that leave White, who performed well in a different system last year? On Monday, Pierce told reporters that he’s willing to tweak schematics to get the run game on the right track.
“There has to be an intent and a play style that we talked about, that we practiced, that we’ve been preaching since day one, and it’s not showing up on game day,” Pierce said. “So obviously, you know, if it’s changes that need to be made or scheme, everything is on the table.”
Las Vegas Raiders run game possibly getting help in a favorable matchup
In Week 3, the Raiders will face the Carolina Panthers. A team giving up the second-most rushing yards per game at about 199.5 yards in two weeks. Moreover, Carolina won’t have Pro Bowl defensive tackle Derrick Brown, who’s out for the season with a knee injury.
The Raiders have a prime opportunity to jump-start their ground attack against a vulnerable defensive front. If not Sunday, then when?
Of course, as Pierce noted this week, the offensive line has to do its job regardless of scheme and concept. If the front five doesn’t get a push up front, neither White nor Mattison will have room to pick up chunk yards on the ground.
The Las Vegas Raiders may also get some help from Jackson Powers-Johnson, who’s been out with an illness. While the rookie needs time to get his legs under him, one has to wonder if he can be any worse than Cody Whitehair and Andrus Peat at left guard.
The Raiders can toss Powers-Johnson into the mix against a struggling defense or ease him into the rotation.
According to Pro Football Focus, Whitehair played 36 snaps and Peat took the field for 27 snaps at left guard last week. Powers-Johnson may not start, but the coaching staff can see how he fares in a part-time role.
First and foremost, the Raiders’ primary goal is to win Sunday’s game. Still, they probably want to see more from the ground attack before facing the Cleveland Browns defense next week.
Because of their inconsistent pass blocking, the Raiders should avoid situations in which they have to throw 40-plus times if Gardner Minshew continues to take four or five sacks per outing. That’s not sustainable for a quarterback or an offense.
Pierce has expectations for White, and Getsy will run his system. So, the coaching staff has to find a middle ground on what works for all parties involved to field a synchronized run game.
This week, the Raiders can balance the offense with the ground attack. If not, Pierce may have to embrace the passing game as the bread and butter of his offense. And hope that Minshew can stay upright behind an offensive line still in the jelling process.
Maurice Moton covers the Raiders for Sportsnaut. You can follow him on Twitter at @MoeMoton.