Silver Minings: Paul Guenther’s defense has post-bye blues

The Las Vegas Raiders’ defense continued a concerning trend Sunday in a 45-20 home defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Once again, the Raiders were gutted in their first game back from the bye week. The Raiders have allowed, at least, 42 points in their return from the bye week in all three years that Jon Gruden has been the head coach and Paul Guenther has been the defensive coordinator.

In 2018, the Raiders gave up 42 points in a loss to the Indianapolis Colts and, in 2019, they gave up 42 points in a defeat to the Green Bay Packers in their return from the bye.

That is alarming as the Raiders coaching staff had extra time to prepare for each of those games. It is well known in league circles that top coaches usually take advantage of the bye week. Yet, the Raiders are getting destroyed on defense after the bye. As criticism of Guenther mounts, this trend can’t be overlooked.

In other Raiders’ links:

Report card: The San Jose Mercury New gives grades for the Tampa Bay loss. No, they aren’t good.

Practice? Yes, the Raiders needed more practice time last week.

No info on loss of draft pick: Raiders coach Jon Gruden said Monday he doesn’t know anything about a report that the team will lose a draft pick for breaking the NFL’s coronavirus protocol.

Pass-rush help? The NFL Network reports the Dallas Cowboys could trade defensive end Everson Griffen. The Raiders could use him.

The numbers: The Raiders’ website looks at Sunday’s loss by the numbers.