Stompin' Tom Connors

Hopefully we replace positional coaches at RB and TE with competent people. I think coordinators responsible for game plans are more important in the grand scheme of things, but no question guys like Waller and Moreau developed really well under Smith, and we need to keep this as a position of strength and development (not sure how Witten is as a coach, of if he may want to go back to broadcasting, but that might be someone to tap)? Same thing with RBs -- you want a guy who can continue to develop a budding start like Jacobs, and ensure we groom replacements that we'll need to get on board as guys like Richard, Booker, and Riddick age out. It's a critical part of our offense, and we'll need competency here. Another Superbowl where I won't be thrilled about whoever wins. Can't complain as the Raiders were clearly a worse team than those who did make the playoffs from the AFC side (except arguably the Steelers, IMO) but look forward to the Raiders having a much more meaningful say in who makes the Superbowl next year. This is in my opinion the most crucial year in our development -- Gruden has had a few seasons to divest parts of the team he inherited, rebuild staff and personnel, and by most measures we've demonstrably improved. That said, this next season can't be an incremental improvement year of 9 wins. We HAVE to win 10 or more games AND be a wildcard team -- at the very least. No excuses, no settling for less. If we can't do that with the explosive offense we already are, and shore up our defensive needs to help our offense win games, then our window starts closing shut fast. I have been patient as we rebuild and have liked in general what I've seen, but it's now or never time. Going to be fun to watch. Wishing you all the very best going forward -- really enjoyed the camaraderie, intelligent thought, awesome discourse, and the passion of the Nation that's represented here by you all. Cheers.

You and @ICON211 have great points -- I wasn't really talking about the rate of the Raiders D blitz YoY or comparative to the rest of the league. It was great data you both brought up and appreciate the insight. My point was more about his philosophy and approach, and being known as one of the top blitz designers. Guenther really came to the fore as the LB coach for Zimmer, and the entire defensive philosophy of that team was aggressive blitzing. It was there that Guenther designed many of the blitz schemes and packages -- including the double-A gap blitz looks that are Guenther's hallmark. Guenther is also known as a guy who disguises the blitz well, valuing players who bring positional versatility up front to come at the QB from myriad positions, personnel groupings, and looks, always keeping the QB guessing on who was rushing and who was dropping into coverage. Under his system, the Bengals were 11th in the NFL in sacks in 2017 -- all with the absence of a competent edge rusher. In an article about how Guenther would leverage Mack in 2017, Guenther said: And that was true. Guenther's playbooks were chock full of designs for coming at the QB in a multiple of ways, with 14 different D-line fronts, 14 stunts and twists and 15 coverage approaches -- and specifically 20 different blitzes out of 4-down fronts, 26 out of the double-A, and 19 out of odd-man fronts. So the point wasn't so much whether Guenther was blitzing more or less than the league, and more about his being known for coming out of Zimmer's aggressive D tree and for being a DC who liked to design a D around getting after the QB in a lot of different blitz looks.

That. F'n. Rocks. Amy Trask is one of those unheralded executives that should be talked about more. She was an amazing FO person to have, and damned good at what she did. Another thing that doesn't get a lot of talk was Al helping pave the way for women executives as much as he did for minority coaches and executives as well. There is some woulda coulda shoulda with hiring BB, but you do wonder what could have been. But do agree with @LawFitztake that Al and BB -- as two strong personalities -- had the risk of clashing. Still, who knows. Who is that kind of DC now? And more to the point, which of this kind of DC is available? Gus Bradley for me is above average -- has weak spots, but has a solid and proven track record. He doesn't make me jump for joy, but he is absolutely and unquestionably better than what we had. Not sure who is head and shoulders better that we could have feasibly brought in.

BTW, @Hankmoody -- nice thread title update!

Right now? He lines up in a lot of different spots for Miami. I'd designate him as "utility" or "Swiss Army Knife." But he was officially drafted at the RB position for the Raiders. Second round is on me, gb.

Are you counting Bowden as the 3rd WR? I am not looking to win an argument. Your comments are always fair, though the default expression of them is often hyperbolic. Case in point -- not sure you can write off any of our WRs, or even say they don't look like much, when Ruggs looked decent (the issue in my mind was under-usage) and we really didn't see Edwards' usage to the point we can really tell either way. As to Bowden - what happens if he's just meh? Let's revisit this down the line, as there is no telling how this kid will turn out, but if the coaches see character issues and we could use even a cent of that money elsewhere, I don't think it's a bad thing to pull plugs early than suffer from sunk cost fallacies. And when the Raiders win the Superbowl? The Raider Nation that's been toiling through the lean years in these Raiders threads together for decades will be getting together for one massive in-person Silver and Black cornhole event.

I don't know why you are harping on one pick and throwing the babies out with that bathwater. It's not like Bowden is all of the sudden a super star, and I think Ruggs will be very serviceable, we saw promising things from Arnette and even Simpson, we still have to see what we have in Edwards, Muse, and Robertson. I'm willing to have waaaaaay more patience than that because after 40 years of watching football, I know that stars aren't made overnight. Believe it or not, rookies can improve over their first year performance. Wasn't too long ago that that expectation was the rule. I swear, we could win the Superbowl and some of you guys would complain that the confetti was cut too large.

The fact that they are installing protection in the nation's capitol to safeguard against things that might go awry thanks to the actions of elected representatives and their followers' actions is an incredibly sad wake-up call about where things are at in the US. ETA: As if a violent riot incited by the president, capping off a term of lies and manipulation isn't enough.

Just saw that Gus is bringing LB coach Richard Smith and DB coach Ron Milus with him. Don't know much about Smith but Milus is one of the game's best DB coaches. Absolutely huge.

Remember that Guenther was a huge blitz guy. Bottom line is that you need the talent on the field to execute any scheme. We don't have that talent. Hopefully we start fixing that ASAP. And you need a coordinator who can recognize what talent you have, and design both a scheme that optimizes it, and make in-game/season adjustments. Bradley is walking into a situation where there is an urgent need to rebuild this D and fill holes quickly, so any scheme he wants to install he kind of has carte blanche to go fill out the roster and make it happen. We'll see if he can bring the same level of play he brought to other teams when he served as DC.

If he was truly in favor of impeachment he'd be calling for an emergency meeting of the Senate on Wed or Thursday.

Who is? We need to make this happen in the draft and FA. I am hoping we go after guys like Ngakoue/Solomon Thomas or DTa like Robertson-Harris/Butler/Rankins -- guys who are young, proven, and can give us a push up front right when we walk in the door. Going to be an interesting offseason.

That immediately reminded me of this.

Honestly, I'd be satisfied if some of the best private logistics experts -- the Amazons, Walmarts, UPSs, etc. -- companies with proven track records of logistics and supply chains -- were to be more involved in roll out. I have a lot of respect for the military's ability to administer logistics, and not saying they should simply be replaced -- this can be an "and" not an "or." Forget creativity, what's needed is leveraging existing expertise and infrastructure.