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2018 Oakland Raiders Defense - Paul Guenther

In 2018, the Oakland Raiders’ defense, coordinated by Paul Guenther under head coach Jon Gruden, struggled significantly, contributing to a 4-12 record in Gruden’s first season back with the team. Guenther, hired from the Cincinnati Bengals where he served as defensive coordinator from 2014-2017, implemented a 4-3 base defense with a focus on single-gap techniques, zone coverages, and disguised blitzes, drawing heavily from Mike Zimmer’s system. However, the unit ranked among the NFL’s worst, finishing 31st in points allowed (29.2 per game), 26th in total yards (381.4 per game), 19th in passing yards (240.8 per game), and 30th in rushing yards (140.6 per game), per Pro Football Reference. The defense also set a franchise low with 13 sacks and managed only 14 takeaways (31st), a stark contrast to Guenther’s Bengals defenses, which ranked as high as 2nd in points allowed (2015).

Guenther’s 4-3 scheme, detailed in Sports Illustrated, used a one-gap approach to allow quicker penetration, contrasting the prior two-gap system, and featured 19 blitzes from “odd” fronts (three or five linemen), 10-12 red zone packages, and 18 end-of-game alignments. The defense employed Cover 2 and Cover 4 coverages, with pre-snap disguises like the double-A-gap blitz to create one-on-one matchups for edge rushers, particularly Khalil Mack, before his trade. Guenther aimed for a physical, turnover-driven unit, but the system’s complexity and roster turnover hindered execution. The defense allowed 6.8 yards per play (31st) and a 101.8 passer rating against (3rd-worst), per The Sacramento Bee.

The defense was initially built around Khalil Mack, the 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, whom Guenther called the “centerpiece”, but Mack was traded to Chicago before the season, leaving a massive void. Edge rusher Bruce Irvin, misused as a full-time defensive end rather than a SAM linebacker, recorded 3 sacks before being waived midseason. Rookie defensive tackles Maurice Hurst (4 sacks) and P.J. Hall (0.5 sacks), along with third-round pick Arden Key (1 sack), showed promise but lacked consistency. Linebacker Tahir Whitehead led with 380 defensive snaps but struggled in coverage, allowing a 158.3 passer rating when targeted, per Pro Football Focus. The secondary, featuring Gareon Conley and Rashaan Melvin, was inconsistent, with safety Karl Joseph underutilized at free safety. Veteran signings like Derrick Johnson and Reggie Nelson, many out of the league by 2019, failed to stabilize the unit.

Notable games included a 20-6 Week 5 loss to the Chargers, where the defense held Melvin Gordon to 58 yards but allowed 412 total yards, and a 34-3 Week 9 loss to the 49ers, where Nick Mullens threw for 262 yards and 3 touchdowns, prompting a sideline spat between Guenther and Gruden. A rare bright spot was a 33-30 Week 1 loss to the Rams, where the defense forced two turnovers, but it still allowed 365 yards.

The defense faced unprecedented roster turnover, with over 25 new players and only seven returning from 2017. The Mack trade, coupled with injuries (e.g., Justin Ellis on IR) and free-agent misses (e.g., Frostee Rucker), left Guenther with “inferior talent,” as noted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Guenther’s scheme, while effective in Cincinnati (top-10 scoring defense in 2015-16), was poorly suited to the Raiders’ personnel, with players like Irvin and Joseph miscast. The unit’s 60.4 PFF defensive grade (31st) and 50.2 tackling grade (29th) reflected execution issues. Guenther admitted to a lack of patience, stating, “I’ve never been through anything like this,” citing the roster’s constant flux.

The 2018 season was a low point for Guenther’s tenure, which ended with his firing in December 2020 after a 44-27 loss to the Colts. The defense’s 467 points allowed were a franchise high, and its 13 sacks remain the lowest in Raiders history. Guenther’s “bend but don’t break” philosophy, successful in Cincinnati, failed in Oakland, with the team ranking 31st in points allowed under his watch (28.7 per game), per X posts. The season exposed roster-building missteps, like drafting Clelin Ferrell over Josh Allen in 2019, influenced by Guenther’s scheme. Despite high expectations, with Gruden giving him autonomy, Guenther’s defense never meshed, setting the stage for further struggles until Rod Marinelli took over in 2020.

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