Tyler Eifert

No-name tight ends are the Raiders' defensive kryptonite

Published Sep. 29, 2015 6:58 p.m. ET

foxsports

Gary Barnidge isn't supposed to put up monster numbers.

He's an eight-year veteran who averages eight yards a game -- not a Rob Gronkowski clone.

Try explaining that to the Raiders defense, though. Unheralded tight ends like Barnidge have absolutely gashed the Silver and Black in each of their three games so far.

"It is actually very simple (to defend tight ends), but we haven't done it very well to start the year," head coach Jack Del Rio told reporters. "We've certainly addressed it and we'll continue to work on it."

They should work a little harder with Pro Bowler Martellus Bennett up next. Lesser tight ends like Cincinnati's Tyler Eifert (9 catches, 104 yards, two touchdowns) and Baltimore's Crockett Gilmore (five catches, 88 yards, two touchdowns) have torched the team.

Barnidge's six-catch, 105-yard afternoon seems pedestrian by comparison -- but still very alarming.

Said Del Rio: "Somehow they are going right down the field without us being able to see them."

(h/t Silver and Black Pride)

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Tyler Eifert

Las Vegas Raiders

National Football League