One of the charms of Raiders head coach Hue Jackson is that he speaks his mind.
Earlier this week, Jackson said he believes Oakland, at 2-2, will win the AFC West and challenge for the Super Bowl.
“I am not backing down from that,” he told CSNBayArea.com.
On Wednesday, he took a shot at his own defense, saying that if he were the Houston Texans – who play host to the Raiders on Sunday – he’d run the ball.
“I’m running the ball,” Jackson told the San Francisco Chronicle Wednesday. “I’m running the ball until I can get them to make me stop running the ball. With that back and that offensive line, in their stadium, I would. Wouldn’t you?”
Jackson knows his defense is giving up 5.9 yards per carry, worst in the NFL, and is allowing 136 yards rushing per game, which ranks 29th in the league.
In a loss to the Patriots on Sunday, Oakland even gave up 183 yards on the ground to a team that had been pass-first, run-second in its first three games. The Texans are No. 4 in the NFL in rushing, churning out 148.5 yards per game.
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This week, Jackson says stopping the run is a point of focus in practice.
“I know this, we ain’t solved it, and that’s the bottom line,” Jackson told the Chronicle, adding: “We have to get that solved. It’s not going to go on for 16 games, I promise you that.”
In their matchup last season, the Texans rushed for 249 yards against the Raiders, with lead back Arian Foster rushing for 133 yards.
“It was a long day,” Raiders safety Mike Mitchell told the Bay Area News Group’s Jerry McDonald. “We couldn’t stop the outside zone runs, and they were successful with play-action because we were so concerned with the run.”
In four games against the Raiders under coach Gary Kubiak, McDonald notes the Texans are 4-1 and averaging 153.2 yards rushing per game.
Raiders defensive end Jarvis Moss says the Raiders problems are fixable, “but in the midst of chaos and full speed” on game day, mistakes keep being made.
“I think that’s going to come as the weeks go along,” Moss says.
