ALAMEDA – The Raiders' offensive line has been a liability lately, a statement never said in recent years. The Silver and Black front ranked among the league’s best, with a reputation for excellent interior play and elite pass protection across the line.
The unit has fallen on hard times thanks to an injury plague that hit most every position. Donald Penn’s on injured reserve. Kelechi Osemele has missed two straight games with a knee injury and might be down a third on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. First-round left tackle Kolton Miller has been playing through a knee injury that has severely impacted his effectiveness. Center Rodney Hudson and right guard Gabe Jackson have been limited in practice. Even super sub Jon Feliciano has dealt with a rib issue lately.
That has lead to shockingly high sack counts. Quarterback Derek Carr got hit on a regular basis in two straight losses leading into last week’s bye. There was so little time to throw, it changed the plays coach Jon Gruden was able to call.
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The Raiders believe the bye week helped cure most of what ailed this talented, recently underperforming unit.
“The bye week was huge for us, especially me, K.O. and Kolton,” Feliciano said. “The time off helped us get healthy. We really needed it.”
Will it be enough to get the offensive line right?
“It will depend on who our left guard is,” Gruden said. “When you don’t have [Osemele], that’s a huge loss. When you don’t have Feliciano, that’s a huge loss. Hopefully K.O. can play. Hopefully Jon can play if need be, and hopefully the week off helped our young tackles (Miller and Brandon Parker) get healthy as well. We’ll make no predictions. This is a good Colts team coming in here. They play hard and they are physical.”
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While play across the line, save Hudson, was suspect, Miller and Parker had a rough go recently. Miller has allowed six sacks in two games playing on a bum knee and without Osemele next to him.
“[Having Osemele there] helps a lot,” Gruden said. “When you’re playing next to three different guards, it’s tough. There are a lot of things going on that you don’t go to the game on Sunday to watch, with guys switching stunts and working in concert for the running game. It’s tough, but we’ll do what we have to do to win the game.”
It was clear Miller didn’t have the strength in his inside leg, which helps him anchor against an edge rush. The UCLA product says the bye week did him good.
“I felt a lot better this week moving around,” Miller told the Bay Area News Group. “I feel almost back to normal with my speed.”
That’s good news for Carr and the Raiders offense. So is having Feliciano healthy again and ready to go if Osemele stays down. The Raiders consider Feliciano a sixth starter, someone capable of stepping in and playing well in a pinch. That’s important, because they need the interior strong and the young rookies both healthy and confident in themselves to get the offense back on trackafter scoring 13 points in the last two games.