Three defensive players who the Raiders really need to step up

The Oakland Raiders defense has been atrocious early this season. Yesterday, we looked at three ways that Ken Norton, Jr. can fix things. But as is often the truth, there is more than just one problem. Sure, Norton needs to do better but so do the players. The Raiders need both the coaching staff and the guys on the field to shape up and get better at their jobs.

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I tried to stay away from the two most obvious players: Sean Smith and Ben Heeney since everyone knows that they need to improve. Here’s a look at three other players in particular who need to do better if the Raiders want to improve on defense:

Jihad Ward

Jihad Ward has actually played better than the other two players on this list. He hasn’t been great but he’s shown flashes of very good play in the pass rush. The problem is, he is consistently beaten in the run game. When you see opposing offensive lines move the Raiders defense three yards off of the line of scrimmage, Ward is one of the guys getting moved back and not shedding blocks.

Aside from Mack, Ward has gotten more snaps than any other Raiders defensive linemen. With that kind of playing time, he needs to play better, especially in the run game where he’s done very litte.

Malcolm Smith

Clearly one of the biggest problems on defense has been the play of Malcolm Smith and Ben Heeney. The problem is, I don’t have a lot of faith that Heeney is going to be able to improve or do so in time to make a difference this season. Smith, on the other hand, is a veteran who has shown he is capable of playing much better than he has the first two weeks.

He played better against the Falcons and did make a few plays, but he needs to play more consistently and with more discipline. If the Raiders can get Smith to play at a higher level, it will make a huge difference. And he doesn’t even have to be great, just above average rather than flat out bad.

Reggie Nelson

Part of Reggie Nelson’s problem has been Ken Norton, Jr. misusing him in a single high safety look. But part of the problem has been Nelson just not reading the offenses well. In particular, a few times, Nelson was seen drifting away from the play rather than towards it. The Julio Jones play comes to mind where Nelson was supposed to provide help over the top but randomly drifter to the outside rather than picking up Jones who headed to the middle and into the endzone untouched.

Nelson is the safety valve for this defense and so far, he hasn’t done much of anything to shut down the flow of offenses rushing through the defense on their way to the end zone. Better play from Nelson will help everyone play better, from the corners right down to the defensive line.

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