Bears Gameday Thread
Wow, what a start! Turn the so-called revenge game on its head. Go Raiders!
posted by Raider Take at 10:59 AM
Sunday, October 06, 2019
DEFENDING THE NATION!
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48 Comments:
WOW! Raiders are up 17-0! Probably would be 24-0 if not for 2 Incognito penalties. Picking up where Burfict left off. What a schmuck.
Other than that, the defense looks to have been held back by Burfict, and are all up in the backfield! 3 sacks, and Mack has ZERO so far! But we have another half, and we all know Mack steps it up in the second half. But I will take 209 total offensive yards against the BEARS! KEEP IT UP RAIDERS! JUST WIN, BABY!
When will they sit Conly??? He's absolute garbage!! Tired of seeing him get burned!!! Get rid of him already!!
Absolute garbage play so far in the 2nd half. The fumble on the toss back, and 2 3 and outs after that, gave the Bears all of the momentum so far. Come on Raiders!
RAIDER WITH A TOUCHDOWN, AND THEN CONLEY WITH A HUGE INTERCEPTION!!!! RAIDERS WIN, RAIDERS WIN, RAIDERS WIN!!!!!
RAIDERS WIN, RAIDERS WIN, RAIDERS WIN, RAIDERS WIN, RAIDERS WIN, RAIDERS WIN, RAIDERS WIN, RAIDERS WIN, RAIDERS WIN!!!!!!!!! RAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSS!
Fuck Mack,
Raiders showed why you don't pay record amounts for a defensive player. Donald is showing it in L.A. it's not winning football.
What a big win for the Raiders, MASSIVE.
Jacobs is a pro bowl RB, still makes mental errors once and a while, but he is a great draft pick that can help the team more than a DE.
When the Raiders fell behind it was one of those 'not again' moments, but look what this young team did, great to see.....and by the way, fuck Khalil Mack.
BOOM
Forgot a point.
League bias against the Raiders, one more time. Hurst hits the QB and semi lands on him, Mack does the same to Carr, can you guess what happened on both plays?
But we Raider fans are supposed to believe there is no bias from the league/refs towards the Raiders? Right.
I tell ya, that PJ Hall is looking pretty darn good, Kolton Miller too. Trent Brown blocks the sun.
Raiders Win
How about a shout out to Gruden for a great game plan and having his team ready even without their top wrs. the Raiders dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides.
Jacobs is the best RB the Raiders have had since Marcus and Bo.
NY, can I get a some props for calling the game plan (Jacobs 25 plus touches) before hand and telling you the Raiders could win this game. They are a completely different team for years now when they play on grass.
Regards,
Sandy
Gruden rocked it, and a shout out to the O-line/Cable, completely dominated them.
This team is definitely going in the right direction, great to see.
Feels good to be a Raider today, and by the way, fuck Mack.
I am a Raider
Sandy, turns out we were both right. Jacobs was fantastic! And the Raiders needed trickery with a fake punt to keep the final drive alive.
But who would have thought Jacobs would have so much success against a stout Bears D that held the Vikings to 40 yards rushing. He was consistently getting 5-8 yards on first down runs.
If anything, Raiders almost beat themselves with an unforced error on that fumble, and the defense let up for a while but came through in the end. Hurst dialed one up for a late sack.
Great game! Great win for the Raiders!
Two in a row on the road after two horrific games. Impressive!
Raiders O-line may have become elite today. No other team has dominated the Bears D like that.
Ny,
I agree with you on the oline Trent Brown has been worth every penny. Miller looks decent or at least improved. When Gabe Jackson comes back after the bye the combination Jackson Hudson and Incognito is the best interior in the NFL.
It'll be a little easier to face Monday morning coming up after this win.
Sandy
Gruden gets the game ball. His play calling on the last drive was inspired. He is building a bully.
Sandy
This is what I was talking about!! Just play hard for 60 minutes, and good things will happen.
Overcame big blunders, and found a way to win. Without blunders, probably would have won it easy.
Raiders are a work in progress, but starting to see bright light ahead.
Nate
Glad you enjoyed the win. Say what you want about Incognito but the Raiders need his brand of nasty to win a game like that. Not to mention I went back and watched the scoring drives and Incognito was the star of the line yesterday on every Jacobs run he was just destroying guys and moving them downfield 5-6 yards a pop. As I have said since he was signed the man is a beast. Better than Osemele. He is still a pro bowl guard.
Sandy
NY,
Are you still down on the trade of Mack. Sure trading a Hall of Famer is never good. However, you can now look at the trade as they got Jacobs, signed Williams and Trent Brown and have one more 1st round pick. Not so lopsided anymore.
Raiders have 75 mm in cap space next year and if you add in what they got for cooper in terms of a pick (Abram) and freed up cap space you can see that Grudens plan to go for the full dismantle looks a little better today with an improving D and potentially potent O once they add some WRs.
Sandy
Sandy,
Incognito did play well overall, but he will be fined this week, if not suspended for pushing a Bears' defenders head into the turf after the play was over. If the League suspends him for the year, like Burfict, they will site his history of dirty/troubled play. So even though, Cable and the coaches got him to calm down and use his head late in the game, he may have hurt us for after the Bye Week if he's suspended; which is a real possiblity.
But what irks me about this is that nothing will be done to Earl Thomas for his ugly hit on Mason Rudolph, Thomas won't even be fined. Just like the Patriots' player who knocked out Josh Allen last week, not even fined. But yet, Mo Hurst and Incognito will be fined and Incognito possibly suspended. Denico Autry will be fined for his hit on Mahomes too. Watch.
With all that said, time for some positivity! Chefs lose, and the Doncos did us a favor by beating the DunderDolts, we are in sole possession of second place, and 1 game behind the Chefs. The Colts, gave a perfect defensive game plan against the Chiefs, and it was similar to the plan that we had against the Bears. Pressure, pressure, pressure, and press coverage on the WRs/TE. Gruden kept talking about how close the Raiders were to turning a corner, if these last 2 games are any indication, the Raiders have turned a corner.
Jacobs is a hell of a running back, and kudos to him for 26 Carries and 123 Yards. Doug Martin had our last 2 100 yard games against the Broncos and Chiefs to close out 2018, in our 35-3 loss. Now lets see if Jacobs can do it against the Packers in a few weeks. Hopefully we will have Tyrell Williams, Clelin Ferrell, Gabe Jackson, and JJ Nelson back. Because we will need them against a tough GB defense. Jacobs said after the game, "We got tired of hearing how good the Bears Defense was all week. They deserve that praise because they’re really good, but we’re really good, too. We wanted to let the world know who we are."
Another area I liked yesterday was Carr moving around the pocket creating time for him to make his reads. Yes, he missed some, but overall was spot on yesterday. I think he is more comfortable moving around (like Mahomes). He plays better at least. Gruden needs to let him have that freedom.
Interesting news came out yesterday too that John Elway is looking to trade off some vets and rebuild. Von Miller and Emmanuel Sanders being the biggest names. Right now the way things are with the Raiders, would you trade for either one of them? I'd trade for Von Miller if the Raiders could renegotiate his contract for a lower price because he is clearly not the same. I'd give a third rounder for him too, nothing else. But we know reality is that Elway is not going to make a trade with the Raiders. In fact, if I'm Donkey ownership, I am cutting Elway loose before he gives away the team. Elway's ego is what is causing the Donkeys to lose. But thankfully, neither the ownership or GM are very smart, and we may have a broken Donkeys team for a long time; and I am ok with that.
https://www.raidersbeat.com/report-khalil-mack-told-raiders-he-didnt-want-to-play-for-jon-gruden/
Suck on that
It was nice of him to report only part of the quote from Jay Glazer. All they reported was Mack said he didn't want to play for Gruden. The rest of what Jay Glazer reported was this:
"Mack’s position was fueled not by any specific animus toward Gruden but by Gruden’s apparent plan to kick the can on a new Mack contract until after he finished his rookie deal. Mack wanted something then and there, and he took a stand until the Raiders shipped him to a Bears team that was willing to give up major draft-pick compensation and make Mack the highest-paid defensive player in the league."
Nice way to spin what Glazer was really saying about Khalil Mack though. Gruden kicked it to the curb after Mark Davis and Reggie McKenzie had a contract that Mack was about to agree on. When Gruden reneged the deal, Mack held out, and the rest is history.
Bottom line, after Gruden reneged the deal and Mack held out, Gruden didn't want Mack there either, so he let him ride out. Stupid on Gruden's part, stubborn on Mack's part, but smart because he got a bigger contract with the Bears than he was about to get with the Raiders. But I think deep down, Mack still wants to be with the Raiders.
Suck on that
So Gruden came in and wanted Mack to finish out his original contract, Mack said no I want a new deal. Gruden said come to camp and we will work on it, Mack said no I will not show. So Gruden says fine and starts to see what a trade will look like. Mack was playing chicken and Gruden played along. Mack wanted no part of the Raiders, didn't show up to the facility and didn't return Gruden's calls. Mack wanted to be the highest paid and Gruden didn't want to be pigeon holed by one defensive player. Jacobs showed why it's better to trade divas who want all the dough and figure they can bend teams over a barrel to get it. Mack got what he wanted, now he is stuck on a team that has no QB.
Cry about Mack all day long, he is gone and Jacobs kicked his ass yesterday, Go Raiders.
Fuck Mack
No, Mark Davis and Reggie McKenzie had a contract ready for Mack to sign after they fired Del Rio and hired Gruden. The plan was to announce Gruden and sign Mack on the same day. Gruden came in and nixed the deal with Mack, and didn't want to pay Mack that much money, which was reported at the time to be similar to Von Miller.
So when Gruden nixed the deal after it was presented to Mack; Mack held out, and rightfully so. Mack got put over the barrell on that.
"didn't show up to the facility and didn't return Gruden's calls."
Gruden never called or talked to Mack, and ignored Mack at his intro press conference. Mack's agent was in constant contact with McKenzie and Davis, and Mack made himself available to sit down with Gruden, and Gruden gave him the cold shoulder which resulted in Mack not wanting to play for the Raiders at that point.
At the time, the highest paid defensive player was Von Miller (remember Aaron Donald hadn't signed yet). Mack's deal was reportedly comparable to Miller's, which is around $70 million, 5 or 6 years. That WAS doable for the Raiders. $90 million, no that is not doable. Context is the most important thing when it comes to talking about the details surrounding Mack's trade. It was Gruden who nixed the deal and refused to talk face-to-face with Mack; which is why Mack didn't want to play for Gruden. Tell me you wouldn't feel the same?
At the end of the day, Mack is gone. I can't change that, even though I wish I could. Mack is anything but a diva, too, he's a heckuva player. Jacobs not only ran all over him, but ran all over a tough Bears defense yesterday. Not only that, the Raiders are the first team to have a 100-yard rusher and a 200+ yard passer against the Bears since they traded for Mack! Damn proud of that too! At the end of the day, I will always root for the Raiders. But when it comes to the Khalil Mack trade, there is no way to spin it, Gruden didn't want Mack; and it showed from the time he walked in the building and gave Mack the cold shoulder.
Why wouldn't Gruden want Mack? How would you know if Gruden ever tried to call Mack? There were plenty reports from Gruden saying he has tried to contact Mack but he would not respond.
Mack made himself available to sit down with Gruden but Gruden gave him the cold shoulder? Dude, get a life. Mack didn't want to play for Gruden because he 'ignored' Mack in his opening presser? You are hilarious.
Your version of events is skewed (as usual), your sobbing for players, in your eyes, players can do no wrong and Gruden just lies his ass off and is never sincere, I get it. Mack got his 90 mill and I am glad the Raiders have Jacobs, fuck Mack.
FAKE NEWS by RT
In other news, the Redskins have fired Jay Gruden, and looky-looky; Bill Callahan is the interim Head Coach. He replaces his 2nd Gruden as Head Coach in his career. Dan Snyder is a noob!
Rumor mill is heating up about the Raiders interest in Stefon Diggs, and a possibility of a trade during the bye week. Especially after Trent Brown tweets at him to come to Oakland today, further adding lighter fluid to the heated rumor. Bill Barnwell started the rumor with this:
"a three-team trade between the Raiders, Vikings and Miami Dolphins. In the deal, the Raiders would get Diggs and a 2020 sixth-round draft pick from the Dolphins. The Vikings, meanwhile, would get wide receiver DeVante Parker and the lesser of the Raiders' two 2020 first-round draft picks. The Dolphins would get a 2020 fourth-round pick from both the Vikings and the Raiders."
I like this a lot too. I guess we will see what happens.
Nate,
I would not rush to give a 1st for Diggs. He is very good and has a reasonable contract but I think a 2 is more than enough.
In terms of Mack, I would love to see where you get your "facts". I have never seen anywhere credible that substantiates what you are saying that Gruden nixed the contract.
What I have seen is that on two occasions Mack was offered a contract that would have made him the highest defensive player in the league and both times he turned it down. He had refused to report to camp and play on his 5th year option.
The Raiders were not going to match the Bears offer hence he had to go. It is total BS that Mack wanted to sign either of those two first offers. Don't blame it on Gruden that is lies. Mack wanted huge money the Raiders were not willing end of story.
Sandy
Mack is great, but he is one man. Give me "Eleven angry men" and we can beat any team!
https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/10/06/jon-gruden-raiders-khalil-mack-bears
"In terms of Mack, I would love to see where you get your "facts". I have never seen anywhere credible that substantiates what you are saying that Gruden nixed the contract."
Jerry McDonald a few days ago:
"Go ahead and make the argument that Mack is worth being the highest paid defensive player in NFL history. He certainly looks the part. But the Jon Gruden-led Raiders had no intention of parting with a maximum of $141 million and $90 million guaranteed. If a pair of former linebackers like Jack Del Rio and Reggie McKenzie were making the call, then maybe Mark Davis writes the check.
Under Gruden (and now assisted by Mike Mayock), no defensive player is worth that kind of money. Gruden is an offensive coach and it’s an offensive league. The Raiders have committed more than $93.2 million under the salary cap to offense and $61.8 to defense. The Bears have $76.3 tied up in offense and $89.4 million on defense. Two completely different philosophies.
The Raiders paid their quarterback, Derek Carr, before Gruden and Mayock arrived.
Make no mistake, the Raiders weren’t the only team in the league that wouldn’t have paid Mack. Bill Belichick has his quarterback in Tom Brady and recycles his defense most every year. Defensive stars like Richard Seymour got dealt when huge paydays came due.
If you’ve already determined Mack isn’t going to get the money he wants, you can play hardball and attempt to force him to play under a fifth-year option (and a possible franchise tag in 2020), or risk a holdout that could go well into the season on a rebuilding team.
Or you can get what you can in terms of future picks, and essentially let a player who gave you everything he had and then some get his best possible deal."
The only thing in his article I disagree with is the type of money the Raiders needed to pay out. It was no where near $90 million guaranteed. You can find that in the archive articles of CSN Bay Area, Mercury News, Inside Bay Area, or any other local beat writer. The $90 million guaranteed talk came after the Bears signed Mack, before that, it was all around $70-75 million guaranteed. The difference was Aaron Donalds' contract, which happened before the Mack trade.
I've done nothing but provide articles since the dumbest trade in Raiders history went down that show that Gruden didn't want Mack around. I'm not going to go back and research it for you when you can do it yourself, just like I'm not going to ask for your source when you say that Mack turned down 2 offers by the Raiders. I have yet to read an article that suggests Mack turned down 2 offers from the Raiders!
Bottom line, did I like the trade? No. Is there anything I can do about it? No. Have I moved on from it? Mostly. Do I think it was a stupid trade? Absolutely, and will continue to debate that point. Do I still root for the Raiders regardless of the trade? Damn straight! Am I happy the Raiders gave it to the Bears defense, Khalil Mack and all? HELL YES! Will I still follow Mack's career? Yes, once a Raider, always a Raider; and I wish him the best, except when he plays against the Silver & Black. Prep the bye week, bring in some players (hopefully), and JUST WIN, BABY!
Sandy, I have to admit I feel a little better about the Mack trade after this game. But not just because the Raiders appear to have gotten good value out of the pick with Jacobs, but because they also managed to get Trent Brown and make a significant upgrade to the team. But Mack's spot is still a void. Pass rush looked decent against Daniel but that isn't saying much. Dude stood in there waiting for it. I don't expect Aaron Rogers or Deshaun Watson to be such easy targets over the next two games.
But hey, if the Raiders can channel their newly found ground game through the season, they can be tough to beat. But this is still very much a work in progress. It's still a question of what team shows up on game day.
Mack is that rare player that any team is lucky to draft. Teams usually keep players like Mack, JJ Watt, Von Miller, Aaron Donald, etc. It's pretty stupid not to. But Jacobs is solid, and the Raiders still have another chance to make good in the draft (even if it is only a 1st for 2nd rd swap).
Meanwhile, Gruden got some vindication. He's gotta feel good about it. I'm happy for him. He deserves some closure after taking a lot of criticism.
Nate
I sometimes enjoy your comments but you have a penchant for making crap up, reading rumors on the internet, concocting theories and then stating it as fact. Sort of like the nonsense you sprouted last week about AB quitting on the Raiders cause they signed Vontaze.
I read Jerry McDonald and he was just speculating that Gruden would not pay that money for a defensive player he was not providing an account of what actually happened.
There never was any fact pattern where Mack and or his agent went to the Raiders and said pay me 90 million and I will be there. Mack was going to hold out period. You often site bloggers such as Levi Damien who are not real journalists. Can you show me one statement from Mack or his agent that says we asked the Raiders for X amount of dollars and they turned us down. Why do you think there has never been any word from Mack's camp about negotiations? Because there was none.
You can hate the trade but you do not need to make up crap and put Gruden down via your unfounded rumors. Why don't you blame Mack for refusing to report and negotiating in good faith or not accepting the $75 million you say was offered? Wait I forgot you were actually in the room on the call with the agents and no what happened--lol.
Where did I get my facts from? Mark Davis and Reggie are both on record as saying we twice offered Mack the most money for a defensive player in history and he turned it down both times.
Sandy
Again, show me where Mark Davis and Reggie both said on record that they offered Mack a contract twice, and he refused it twice. I've never seen it. Again, read the JMac article, and read Jay Glazer's article. Both talk about the Raiders and Gruden not wanting Mack, and not wanting to pay Mack market value (at the time, which was before Aaron Donald's contract, which was Von Miller money around $70 million) due to difference of philosophy about offense and defense. Even JMac said if Gruden wasn't a factor, it would have been Reggie and Del Rio's decision, which we would still have Mack. Yet you keep pushing that they made two offers that he turned down, but won't site your articles? I have given you two articles out of many (not named Levi Damien). Talk about making crap up....
Speaking of Levi Damien, he is on site at the Raiders facilities asking questions and getting answers and reporting on those things. He may not work for a big newspaper, or the Athletic, but he is a reporter/blogger who has inside information, more so than I do. That is including having several personal conversations with Marc Badain (team President) through my friend Steve, Tom Delaney (Sr VP of Football Ops), Amy Trask, and a few former players.
Raiders make first move during the bye week, they have traded the 2021 5th round pick to the Bills for WR Zay Jones. Also, MLB Commish Rob Manfred told Mayor Libby Schaff that the A's are thinking about moving to Vegas because the City of Oakland has filed a lawsuit against the A's. After refusing to work in good faith with the Golden State Warriors and the Raiders for a "City-Walk Stadium" for all 3 sports, Oakland may end up with ZERO teams. Unreal, and really sad for my birth city; who needs the jobs and good economy it would have brought.
https://www.raidersbeat.com/davis-raiders-offered-khalil-mack-record-contract-in-2017-mack-wanted-to-wait/
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/raiders-had-option-to-sign-khalil-mack-to-deal-cheaper-than-bears-extension-before-trade/
Here you go. I forgot you were a Raider insider and your friend "steve". whatever that means.
Sandy
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25252751/mark-davis-oakland-raiders-1-8-start-buck-stops-me
I respected Paul Gutierrez when he was a local beat writer, but now he works for ESPN and isn't always in the building. His story sounds like Mark Davis is trying to save face on the whole debacle.
CBS sports article reports:
"Negotiations never progressed between the Raiders and Mack beyond their initial exchange of proposals shortly after the 2017 season concluded. Raiders officials commented after trading Mack to Chicago roughly a week ago that they never came close to bridging the gap with Mack." JMac and others noted that this offer after the 2017 season was the one near Von Miller contract that Gruden nixed when he came on board, and then proceeded to low ball Mack. This story even indicates that Gruden offered him a contract, and the fact that the story is titled that Mack asked for less than what the Bears offered, further proves what Jay Glazer reported just last week, what local beat writers reported when the trade went down, and what I've been saying all along.
We will probably agree to disagree over the details of how this went down, and that is ok with me. I have no ill-feelings toward anyone here. The end of the day, we all love the Raiders and want them to be the best in the League. Again, its over and done with. I'm not happy about it, and it leaves a nasty taste in my mouth much more than the Marcus Allen trade did. I get it, Gruden is an offensive guy and isn't going to invest money into defense. Del Rio and McKenzie were defensive guys and would have. Mack wasn't asking for more than any other top ranked defender was making before the Donald deal, and wasn't outrageous for what any other Top 5 First Round pick is expected to be paid. I am happy for Mack, but I am not happy with the Raiders defense.
BTW, I usually don't throw names around, but yes I do have contacts within the Raiders Organization. My buddy Steve is an avid Raiders fan here in Austin and does sports Radio here in Austin, El Paso, and San Antonio for High School, college, and Cowboys football coverage. I may be in Houston with my son for the Raiders game in a few weeks, with press passes for his radio show, and trying my hand at interviewing some of the players on both teams for his show and getting into sports radio myself. I will be wearing a DC Jersey, so look for us on the sidelines, I will be the one being handed a restraining order from Gruden as I continue to ask him about the details of the Mack trade. :)
And there you go, what Mark Davis says doesn't mean anything to this guy.
".....According to Raiders owner Mark Davis, the Raiders reached out to Khalil Mack shortly after signing Derek Carr and offered him a contract that would have made him the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. But Mack didn’t want to do a deal at the time, with the understanding that he likely make more money by doing the deal a year later.
“Jon [Gruden] wanted him,” Davis told ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez. Everybody thinks that Jon’s the one who wanted to get rid of him. Jon wanted him badly. Why wouldn’t you want this guy? Reggie wanted him badly. And I wanted him badly, too. But, if in fact we were going to give the type of money that we were going to give to him, and we had Derek on that type of a [contract], how were we going to go ahead and build this football team, with all the holes that we had?”
“My thought was, ‘Listen, he signed a five-year contract, if he’s the type of guy that I think he is, he’s going to honor that contract,” Davis said. “And he’s going to come in and play for the $13 million for this year and then we’ll work for him during the year and get it. Word came back through certain players that know him and talk to him and know me as well, that he wasn’t going to come in. He was going to do the Le’Veon Bell (holdout). At that point, I said, ‘F it. The guy hasn’t talked to anybody. We’ve got to do something.'”
He only cherry picks to further his agenda and ignores facts that go against his narrative. Tosses aside quotes from Davis and Gruden that go against his narrative. No sense trying to get to the truth because this guy only believes his own 'truth' which is skewd.
Been saying it for a while, this site is into creating it's own 'reality' about the Raiders and has mocked anyone who goes against it. Been that way for years on here.
If they are one with that levi guy, that tells it all. Their shameless promotion of their articles as 'proof' in their attempts to slander the Raiders. Pretending to be fans, all the while dumping on the team.
Fake news and fake fans, who needs them?
Here is my final two cents:
1) It is rather strange that Mack nor his agent have ever said anything publicly about the negotiations etc. Not typical and speaks volumes as it relates to the fact he wanted out and turned down two offers. I have no problem with him turning down those offers because his goal was money regardless of what team paid it.
2) Mack has every right to get paid top dollar and he is a Hall of Famer who deserves it. However, this theory about Gruden not wanting him, pulling an offer from the table etc and that he wanted to be a Raider for life is total BS. He wanted to get paid max dollars and any other theory whether from Nate, or some writer is crap.
Here is what we know for sure: Khalil Mack was planning to renege on the last year of his contract and was trying to hold the team hostage for a demand for more money coming off a losing season in which the raiders defense was ranked in 20's. He got his money and that is what he cared about. The Raiders were not going to spend that much.
Sandy
After that great game I hate to get back into the weeds of the Mack deal but I will say, taking Mark Davis and Jon Gruden on their word to the media is as foolish as it sounds.
What was said in the live telecast of the Raiders Bears game was that Mack and Gruden never really spoke after Gruden was hired. That was always my understanding as to why Gruden was so willing to make the trade... he had a chip on his shoulder (always has).
But here we are. Mack's faux replacement Josh Jacobs had a great game and looks like a stud. Dude looks like a hybrid of a downhill runner like Lynch with the athleticism of the great Marcus Allen. McFadden never really had the edge and the instincts this kid shows. It's still way too early to place Jacobs up there with the aforementioned Lynch and Allen but he's going to be fun to watch.
Meanwhile, Raiders did their fan base a huge favor by winning a game and going 3-2 before the bye.
Two weeks of bliss!
Enjoy it!
Ahhhh, but we are supposed to take the word of a blogger? Talk about foolish.
Strange happenings at WR. Raiders started the season with Antonio Brown, JJ Nelson, Ryan Grant and Tyrell Williams. Only Williams remains after 5 games. That's bizarre.
Marcel Ateman hasn't really grown into any role with the Raiders WR corp, and I'm disappointed that Doss isn't more involved. Trevor Davis is a return guy who was brought in to cover for Harris. His biggest plays on offense in two games were runs.
But the Raiders this week traded for Zay Jones, a 2017 2nd round pick of the Bills. Strange that the Bills would even trade him, let alone trade for the Raiders 2021 5th rd pick. This kid caught 158 passes as a senior in college in 2016 and 399 catches total. Sounds like he's from Krypton.
His NFL stats are little more down to Earth. But he led the Bills with 56 receptions for 652 yards and 7 TDs last year after he posted 5 TDs in December alone.
Am I missing something? Does this kid have cooties? Why would the Bills trade their 2017 2nd round pick and top WR last year for a 5th round pick in 2021?
So I checked a couple more reports. Apparently, Jones has the same syndrome as some Raiders WRs and has under-performed Bill's expectations, with only 7 catches in 2019. Also, he's had some off-field issues, which doesn't bode well for Raiders 'character policy.'
But at 6'-2" 200 lbs with more NFL game experience than Jones, Renfrow, Ateman and Doss combined, he's probably worth taking a chance that Derek Carr can get him the ball.
The biggest problem for the Raiders (and us) is that Derek Carr is now working with an almost entirely different WR corp that is learning the Raiders offense on the fly.
I dont think there should be anymore talk of whether Gruden is a good coach. Whatever else happens this year he has proven he is a masterful game planner, great motivator and a leader with the vision to build a team and culture.
He is doing all of this after losing multiple starters, having to retool the offense on the fly and starting rookies. All with the hardest schedule in NFL history.
Give credit and much respect to the great Jon Gruden. The Raiders are so fortunate to have him back.
Sandy
Sandy,
No offense but this isn't the time to be handing out participation trophies. Nobody should get a free pass, particularly a guy who makes $10M a year to build a winner. By that same standard, we would still be singing the praises of Jack Del Rio (a huge Raiders fan by the way) who looked great... until he didn't. Gruden's job isn't done. He's barely begun.
Sure. Gruden's a throwback. He's fun to watch and he's gotten better at his craft after a very rusty start. But his game planning has been in question since he re-arrived. Indeed, the last two games were great wins for a rebuilding team and show promise. I tip my hat.
But com'on man, this is not the time to remove accountability. We're only five games into the season. The only difference between this year and past years is that we're not already eliminated from the playoffs.
Looks of work left to do... with high expectations!
Cheers! Enjoy the bye!
Accountability? Is that what you call it? I'm sure glad we have 'fans' that keep their (Raiders) feet to the fire because we all know Gruden would slack off if not for the 'super fan'.
You aren't whining, you are just keeping Gruden accountable, wow, that's some important job you have there? Break out the clown car so ny can drive nate all over town. Funny stuff.
SLAP
NY,
2016 was an aberration and obviously not sustainable. Gruden is building something that will last both in terms of a youth movement, style and culture.
Del Rio could not carry Gruden's jock when it comes to coaching. No way Del Rio wins the last two games.
His game planning has not been in question it was a severe lack of talent that has been the problem.
Ye of little faith.
Enjoy the bye as well but I expect a singing the praises of Chucky post form you when they win one of the next two.
Have a good weekend
Sandy
Hey, Sandy.
If Chucky can beat either the Packers or Texans, I will be singing his praises. I do feel like he's put his best foot forward the last two weeks. He's motivated this team and they have clearly responded. But can he keep it up? And will he be able to make adjustments after other teams adjust to his scheme? Hope so! That's what we should expect from a $10M year HC.
I have to respectfully disagree with your Del Rio comment. He won plenty of games he shouldn't have won. How about that Saints game with a 2-pt conversion for the win? 2016 Del Rio was willing to take chances and those all seem to go his way. Raiders were scoring 35 pts per game. He had us all fooled.
Gruden (and Al Davis) built a winning team in Oakland but then Gruden beat that team with Tony Dungy's team. He didn't do much after that. His winning percentage is barely .500, and it's almost identical to Del Rio's. I think you would agree, he has to be better than that.
He's got a long way to go to be placed up there with Shula, Laundry, Noll, Belichick, Parcels and many many others.
I hope we end up with another Bill Cowler, and not just Jay Gruden's brother.
Trent Brown is being sued for domestic violence in a California civil court by Diorra Marzette-Sanders, his girlfriend whom he has a son with. She has called the police to their residence several times, but he has never been charged. Now that there is a civil suit against him, the League is investigating. I wonder how Freddie B feels about this? If he has reached out to Trent and talked to him? If it comes out that he has done these things he is accused of, how long will he be with the Raiders?
Rams have made a splash of moves. Aqib Talib has been put on the shelf, they traded Marcus Peters to the Ravens, and acquired Jalen Ramsey and Austin Corbett (OL Browns). WOW!
This is the kind of thing I was expecting Gruden to do in the bye week. Oh, he made a trade, Zay Jones, so we will see what kind of impact he has with the team. They also cut and re-signed Marcell Ateman. Gabe Jackson is back at practice this week as well. We have the Packers this weekend, so look out for the Referees in this game. The second most loved QB in the NFL is Aaron Rodgers. JUST WIN, BABY!
Raiders were hoping that Tyrell Williams would be at practice today (Wed) for the Packers game, and local beat writes are saying he is not out on practice field. Also missing is Trent Brown.....
Raiders may have (once upon a time) had a chance with the Packers WRs all banged up... The thought of Aaron Rogers throwing from a spread formation into the Raiders secondary with little to no pass rush is pretty frightening.
My prediction is that Guenther is so intimidated by Rogers that he will play coverage and only rush his base four. My hope is that he dials up blitzes from all angles and keeps Rogers off balance (I can dream).
Today is a wing and a prayer day. I'll take a dozen of each.
GO RAIDERS!
BTW, Trent Brown and Tyrell Williams are both inactive!
Can't help but make one more observation: After having a roster stacked with WRs including AB, Williams, Grant and Nelson as their top 4 WRs, the Raiders are without all of them.
Here are the active WRs today:
Trevor Davis, Keelan Doss, Hunter Renfrow and Marcell Ateman.
Should be interesting.
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