This year feels different to me than previous years though. I would say yes Lamar has been inaccurate and has gotten into his head, receivers struggle to find separation/drop balls, and the defense forgot how to tackle in some of those key playoff games.
What I find different this year is the offensive linemen on many plays don't even get their gd hands on who they are supposed to block. Half the line isn't ready to play NFL football and most of them have been on the team for at least a few years now. Lamar is scrambling as soon as he has the ball and he has done extremely well given the circumstances (granted if it continues he won't survive a full season), Henry can't get steam going unless he runs to the edge behind Stanley.
The defensive players aren't even in positions to stop players it feels like more often than not. I'm not going to get mad about a Bowers contested catch or a Davante Adams toe-drag sideline catch. But it felt too dang easy for Gardner Minshew to the move the ball down the field and many times it seemed there wasn't even a player within 10 yards of their best players. It's not like the defense has struggled tackling. Yes there have been a couple blown coverages which I can look away knowing it can be fixed down the line. But how much cap is invested into that secondary for a team like the Raiders to methodically move the ball down the field 15 yards at a time. The pass rush has been incredible to start the year. The Raiders abandoned the run because the front 7 shut it completely down, but knowing the Raiders abandoned the pass completely and the Ravens supposedly top secondary in the league can't stop it with an all pro safety, $14mil/year safety, and a $19.5mil corner.
