It hasn't been a pleasant season in Oakland, where the four-win Raiders have struggled to move the ball on offense.
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Coordinator Greg Knapp oversees an attack that ranks 29th in the NFL in rushing and higher in the passing game only because of a wandering defense that has Carson Palmer and Co. playing from behind on a weekly basis.
Palmer said this week that Knapp told Oakland Raiders players from the start his offense would take time to learn.
"We're not going to come out and understand all the zone cuts and all the reads and have a real continuity with it up front with five guys working together," Palmer told the San Francisco Chronicle. "He said it was going to take some time and these last couple weeks, we've really seen that progress come together and make consistent plays in the running game."
Palmer's sunny view is partially accurate. The Raiders have averaged 4.5 yards a carry over the last five games, an improvement over the 3.9 figure the team owns on the year. Palmer told the Chronicle there's hope -- "A second year will do wonders, obviously," he said -- but we're suspicious.
Palmer has done an admirable job in a rough situation in 2012, but he was never a great fit for Knapp's scheme. Knapp's scheme, in turn, has not been a great fit for the Raiders.
We've seen Darren McFadden fall off the map and the Raiders feel like a team pushing players into an offense that doesn't suit their talents. The better teams around the NFL play to the gifts of their personnel and the Raiders might benefit from a fresh look.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
