Around late summer for the past dozen years, Raiders fans have thought a new day awaits their team. And, aside from back-to-back .500 seasons in 2010 and ’11, Oakland has answered that optimism with a season of 11 or more losses. A staggering eight different head coaches have overseen this stretch of futility.
Identifying the root of the problem is a lot like trying to identify the angriest person in a mob. There are myriad off-field items to point to, many of which, sadly, still tie to Al Davis’s final years. But if we’re to confine our search to strictly the field, the Raiders’ most consistent problem has been their wide receivers’ inability to win in one-on-one situations, particularly against man coverage.