After three consecutive weeks of opposing offenses slicing through the Las Vegas Raiders' pass defense, a possible bit of fortune landed in the desert. Former Raiders wideout and current Los Angeles Rams star Davante Adams will miss Sunday's game and the next five to ten games with a serious hamstring injury.
His injury comes at a time when the Vegas defense really needs a good performance. In the last three games, Rob Leonard's group has surrendered an average of 274 yards. That sits directly opposite the 200.3 yards they posted during their three-game win streak to start the season. Rams' head coach Sean McVay discussed what the team misses with Adams' absence to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
"It's significant when you don't have a player like Davante, but we have to be able to adjust," McVay said. "His contributions can't be measured. You don't replace somebody like him, and so what you've got to do is you've got to be able to figure out what the next right thing is. What does that look like in terms of our vision? We'll have to adjust and adapt."
After two-plus years with the Raiders, one of which ended with a Pro Bowl nod, the team traded Adams to the New York Jets. Before last season, Adams, a California native, signed a deal with the Rams. In 20 career games in Los Angeles, the 32-year-old recorded 90 catches for 1,269 yards and 18 touchdowns.
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Wide receivers have scored seven touchdowns in the past three weeks. In contrast, the Raiders did not allow one over the first 12 quarters of the season. Granted, Adams' loss helps Vegas, but it still does not completely bail out the defense.
While Darien Porter has only allowed a 30.2% opposing completion percentage with zero touchdowns, the rest of the secondary is in disrepair. Corners Eric Stokes, Hezekiah Masses, and Taron Johnson have all struggled lately, each surrendering a pair of touchdowns . Masses, still a rookie, flashes playmaking, but his handsy approach isn't helping his case. Three of his four accepted penalties are for pass interference.
The numbers do not lie. According to Pro Football Network , the secondary plummeted, currently holding the No. 24 spot among all NFL secondaries. Over the first three weeks, they ranked No. 6. During their three-game skid, the unit plummeted into the 20s.
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With Adams shelved, Puka Nacua becomes the target. He lacks Adams' burst or twitch but runs power-based routes instead, bringing physicality. Don't let the 11.1 yards per catch be a defining factor. Nacua catches just about everything, as signified by his 71.3% catch rate. Nacua is not going to outrun the Raiders' secondary.
Instead, he will employ a strategy often referred to as "death by a thousand cuts." This means he will run drag routes, dig routes, and out routes, focusing on short, underneath plays to consistently move the chains. Defenses, especially aggressive ones like Rob Leonard, like to run and quickly tire out if they are stuck on the field all afternoon.
Davante Adams presents a significant challenge for defenses, but it's an issue the defense must address. Still, the secondary must improve, and those results need to manifest this Sunday.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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