Tag: Preseason

Is everything alright?

The Las Vegas Raiders made headlines as the first team to open camp. And there were no holdouts. Now, it’s zero week in the preseason and the Raiders will look to showcase young talent versus the Jaguars.

Ghosts of seasons past make us feel hesitant go get our hopes up. However, this is the highest expectations the Silver and Black has earned in a minute.

Don’t expect them to win tonight’s game. Josh McDaniels is from the Bill Belichick coaching tree which means he could care less about exhibitions.

Improved Roster

Regardless, this is the first year in recent memory, you can look across the roster and not find a glaring need. At the very least, there appears to be a plan in place for each player slated to make the 53-man roster.

From top to bottom, there is not a player that jumps out as not being ready to contribute in some way. Even on the two playoff teams we have seen in the last decade, there were tragic needs overlooked and underperforming picks on scholarship. This is a credit to the front office overhaul, bringing in Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler from the New England Patriots.

Don’t forget the front office overhaul also includes the appointment of the first ever Black Woman team president in NFL history. Sandra Douglass Morgan is a staple in Vegas Sports and is saying all the right things. I can’t wait to see what the on-field product looks like with front office operations finally moving into this decade.

Some credit also goes to Derek Carr. The Raiders elected for consistency at the quarterback by keeping Carr this offseason. This roster showed their support for the quarterback through offseason workouts and showing up for camp on time and ready to go.

Great Power and Great Responsibility

All the national media is finally noticing the Raiders again. That’s great for Raiders fans finally hearing talk on their favorite national programming.

However, the team has to deliver. They will not get overlooked. Teams will take them seriously.

Still, increased expecations are not surprising since the Raiders got better after coming a few plays short of beating the AFC Championships in the Wild Card game. The Raiders have two elite pass rushers, a solid backfield, plenty of starting experience on both sides of the line of scrimmage and athletic veterans across the skill positions. We have not seen this much hype since the year after Carr’s leg injury or Gruden’s second season. Neither times resulted the way fans hope but this is a different team and regime.

Missing Johnathan Hankins, Denzelle Good and others early in camp hurt. However, that’s more reps for younger players like Malcolm Butler, Johnathan Simpson and rookie guard Dylan Parnham. Cotton Lester has been one surprising team gettkng first team reps. That could be a blessing in disguise, whether or not they get the vets back.

The Big Bad West

Of course, the Raiders’ biggest challenge will come from the AFC West. The Raiders can answer those questions right away with an opening game at the Chargers aka another home game. They will face a familiar for with Khalil Mack now with the Bolts. The last time the Raiders saw Mack he literally beat them and put the Bears on his back.

The Broncos are going through their own renaissance by acquieing Russell Wilson and changing ownership. Kansas City won the division the last seven years. They appear ready for a stepback but you can’t discount them as long as they have QB Patrick Mahomes and HC Andy Reid.

Don’t Outrun the Marathon

If the Raiders can stay healthy and come out the West with a winning record, there is no reason Vegas can’t make a serious run. This does not depend on development or fools gold. Granted, depth and young players competing never hurt a contender.

Yes, the Raiders will still need serious development from John Abrams, Trayvon Mullen, Alex Leatherwood and Clelin Ferrell. However, they will all compete for more limited roles on a much better and well constructed roster.

Carr, Josh Jacobs, Darren Waller, Kolton Miller and Hunter Renfrow are proven assests. Sprinkle in the best receiver in the game, Davontae Adams. Plus, all that chemistry reuniting Adams and Carr. It is no secret why this team is again becoming everyone’s favorite dark horse.

On Defense, the Raiders add Chandler Jones, Jayvon Brown and Duron Harmon to better compliment the scheme. They added Rock Ya-Sin and Anthony Averrett to compete with starters like Nate Hobbs and Trayvon Mullen. That’s as close to an A as you can get in the offseason.

Champions Aren’t Made in The Offseason

The Rams proved you can win championships taking risks on trades and free agency acquisitions. Of course, that means getting the right mix of veteran leadership and competing young players across the board.

Vegas made some moves that have many people crowning them the winners of the offseason. Not only did the Raiders attack the offseason ready to build on playoff success, but they executed and made it happen.

Sure, you can nitpick and say the Raiders could afford some help on o-line, d-line or receiver. These are the spots to watch during the preseason.

Either way, there are guys out there who can help at that position. However, that kind of feels like a luxury.

Not to mention, the Raiders have the bulk of their draft picks and cap space to leverage for another Superstar acquisition. This is why you have seen them connected to safety Jessie Bates III. Maybe the Raiders get greedy and add one of those receivers dealing with contract issues. Who knows?

The Future is Limitless

Again, credit the organization for putting together a competitve roster without leveraging the future. Add in the fact the Raiders hired a well qualified Black woman as their new President. When was the last time things felt this well and under control?

Onward and upward from past blunders on and off the field. Vegas must be ready to deliver. Carr has no excuses left with the best receiver in the game. The defense can’t go weeks without sacks with those edges. However, this is a totally different conversation than previous offseasons.

For the first time in a while, the Raiders Nation has real reason for excitement. We are not reaching when talking about the postseason. It’s a new feeling for Raiders fans who watched the team struggle for most of the two decades. All the momentum to that point starts today. Just Win Baby!

Veteran versus Youth movements in Oakland

Listen, you don’t go and buy a new car if you love what you have. The Raiders didn’t draft Arden Key or sign Tank Carridine in free agency because they loved what they had at defensive end with Mario Edwards Jr. They didn’t draft Mo Hurst and PJ Hall because they loved what they saw from Justin Ellis, Eddie Vanderdoes or Treyvon Hester on the inside.

Further, you don’t go out and buy an old car after you just got a new car. In this analogy, it doesn’t make any sense why Oakland signed veterans Ahtyba Rubin or Frostee Rucker after the draft. Clearly, the Raiders want to give Hall, Key and Hurst time to develop. I’m all for veterans like Rucker and Rubin teaching these guys how to become professionals and winners. However, that is not Gruden’s mindset.

Gruden prefers veterans. Sure, he’ll let the best players play but the only reason why he signed these aging veterans was because he thought they could compete for rotation and starting spots today.

Moreover, the Raiders didn’t re-sign Reggie Nelson and add Marcus Gilchrist because they felt the young trio Obi Melifonwu, Shalom Luani and Karl Joseph could handle leading the secondary. Don’t be surprised if the first two veterans start over the other guys despite the playing time and draft capital the Raiders invested in them early.

This phenomenon is happening throughout the Raiders roster. Oakland brought in veterans Leon Hall and Shareece Wright because they weren’t comfortable with Dexter McDonald or Antonio Hamilton as depth at corner. They even brought in Daryl Worley and Rashaan Melvin to challenge last year’s first round pick Gareon Conley for the lead CB role. Nick Nelson was drafted as the last piece to the complicated secondary picture.

At linebacker too, the Raiders signed veterans Emmanuel Lamur, Tahir Whitehead and Derrick Johnson. They didn’t bring in that sort of experience to let it sit behind developmental prospects like Marquel Lee, Nicholas Morrow or even rookie Azeem Victor.

The point is, there is a lot of smoke about how half of these guys won’t make the roster because of their age. I’m not buying that.

You don’t add an old car to your garage to take up room for the new cars you already got in your lineup. You buy that old car because it offers you value and an experience that even a new car smell won’t give you.

Thus, don’t be surprised if you see older players playing over younger players during Gruden’s first year. Signing guys like Nelson, Lamur, Whitehead, Johnson, Wright, Gilchrist, Rubin, Rucker, Carridine, and even Melvin and Worley was about more than just a culture or price tag.

The Raiders brought these veterans in because Gruden believes they believe they can push for playing time. He isn’t going to care how much draft capital he has invested or how much development the previous regime put into any given prospect. That’s great if the Raiders win early and often.

It only gets complicated if the Raiders aren’t a serious contender. Then, fans and executives are going to push to develop young players and stop wasting reps on guys who are probably at the end of the road.

Moreover, what do all of these veteran signings tell us about our young players? Clearly, Hall, Hurst and Key aren’t as ready as they would’ve hoped. They wouldn’t have signed all those veterans if any of them were ready to be more than situational depth. They’re probably not in love with any of the last regime’s projects like Ellis, Edwards Jr., Vanderdoes or Hester either.

The same goes in the secondary. If they were confident in the health of Conley, Joseph and Melifonwu would they add Wright, Gilchrist, Nelson, Worley and Melvin to the mix. Linebacker has a similar impact. I’m sure Gruden gave guys like Johnson, Whitehead and Lamur some reassurance they would be in the mix to play in Oakland which is why they wanted to come here too.

Ultimately, yes a lot of these veterans are good enough to start and get some serious run. However, that is the scariest part. That speaks to the talent on this roster as a whole if all these aging veterans are the best the Raiders will field. Let’s not act like any of them really had a long line of suitors.

Plus, what does that say to the confidence of our young players? How are they going to feel getting passed up by some old veteran every day? How will they deal with sitting on the shelf and collecting dust? Will it inspire them or disengage them? Will they be able to develop in practice if they don’t have gametime reps?

I guess that is what Gruden wants to see. He wants to see what young players step up and beat out the veterans on the rosters as well as what players aren’t moved by the added competition in front or behind them in position drills.

Still, it is a big risk. Unlike cars staying off the road, prospects don’t keep their value by not performing. It is also a different approach than the last few Raiders regimes which have relied on young players over players. They’ve gambled on giving drafted and undrafted rookies a shot to prove themselves on gamedays instead of going with a slew veterans.

Obviously, that approach hasn’t groomed anything but a mediocre defense. Hence, the new approach is welcomed by many in the Silver and Black.

Nonetheless, I’m skeptical to the approach until I see exactly how much gas all these veterans have and where is the development of our young players. Preseason will give me the first answers to these questions.