Balance will come naturally for Raiders offense

Star wide receiver Davante Adams will be a busy man every time he takes the field for the Raiders.

As he said after his 17-target, 10-catch debut with the team last week on the road against the Chargers, that’s why the team acquired him.

But that doesn’t mean every game script is going to play out the same way.

While Adams figures to once again be a bold-faced, highlighted name in the game plan when the Raiders host the Cardinals in a 1:25 p.m. contest at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, there is no magic number of throws coach Josh McDaniels wants Derek Carr to aim in his direction.

“I just want the ball to go where it’s supposed to,” McDaniels said. “I’ve always said this: The defense gets a vote. I wish I could tell you exactly where it’s going to go on every play, but they get a vote. So, they’ll have a vote this week.”

That defense might also be angry and a little embarrassed after giving up 488 yards and 34 first downs on 66 offensive plays in a blowout loss to the Chiefs in the opener.

Arizona tends to employ an aggressive defensive approach that employs blitz schemes with a lot of press man coverage, backed up by a very good pair of safeties.

Adams, however, is a nightmare matchup for any defensive back and he was consistently open on Sunday. It’s one of the reasons he was targeted so much.

“Anytime I get man coverage, I’m excited about that. So yeah, I hope they do that as much as possible,” he said. “If they want to double or if they want to roll coverage my way or do things like that, that’s just going to open up the run game or open it up for other guys down the field as well.”

That’s where receiver Hunter Renfrow, Darren Waller or other offensive options could thrive. Waller is one of the best tight ends in the league and Renfrow earned a new contract after surpassing 100 receptions last season.

While their roles were diminished in the opener with so much of the passing game going through Adams, they should be able to find exploitable matchups as defenses start to adjust.

“Davante is a special player and he obviously had a certain number of targets, and that’s just how the game started off in terms of the coverage,” offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi said. “And then as the game kind of went on, you saw Darren got a couple more targets and then Hunter got some more targets later in the game, and even saw Mack Hollins get a target early in the game.”

Of course, it’s unlikely anyone raises any objections as long as the offense is putting up points and the Raiders are winning games. While that ultimate result wasn’t there last week, there were signs of the potent offense the team believes they can become.

That starts with a player as dynamic as Adams, who also has a long-standing connection with Carr all the way back to their college days. Carr’s first completion went to an open Adams, and while the numbers would suggest he was force-feeding Adams the ball, he was just consistently getting free of his coverage.

McDaniels has seen a similar situation in the past, having been the offensive coordinator for a Patriots team loaded with offensive talent beyond just superstar receiver Randy Moss.

“Distribution has a funny way of evening itself out throughout the course of the season,” McDaniels said.

In the third game of his third season in New England, Moss equalled his Patriots-high with 16 targets in a win over Atlanta. Over the next two games, Moss combined for just four catches on nine targets.

The receiving stars for the Patriots in those two games? Slot receiver Wes Welker and tight end Benjamin Watson.

Renfrow and Waller can expect to have their time, as well.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.