Buckle up Raider fans, here is the dirt on what went wrong (at least according to this report). It would certainly explains how things went south.
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Things are starting to get leaked here and there about Raiders 2017 season. David Carr went on the radio and said he was "surprised Jack Del Rio lasted that long" and Derek Carr finally admitted the Raiders were a "different team" after the Washington game.
Most reporters either know most of the story and don't want to write or speak about it because they are scared of Raiders Media Relations Department. I don't plan on going to any away games in 2018, so I have no problem telling the world what I know, what I know is 100% accurate and I have quadruple sources on the Raiders season and all the drama. Those people range from players to former and current staff members.
Lets start with Jack Del Rio. When Jack Del Rio was in Jacksonville players did not like his strength and conditioning program. Players would often get hurt, that rolled over to the Raiders where injuries were the norm and the players hated this program. Jack Del Rio did not connect with the players in 2017 all because of one thing and that's politics, like actual politics as
Del Rio was a massive Donald Trump fan and he still is. He was not shy about it either, so it was not the smartest move of the Raiders P.R. team to set him up with a twitter account. can argue no coach should be on twitter, there is not one good thing that could come out of it. That's exactly what happened with Del Rio. Jack Del Rio "Likes" of everything Trump did not mesh well in that locker room and the team simply gave up on Del Rio. Players skipping practice without any warning, just not showing up or bothering to call, players not showing up to team meetings. Raiders held a little get together for the team called "Tell the truth Tuesday" which during the season players would be ignoring what Del Rio and other coaches were preaching. Marshawn Lynch rarely attended and when he did he would put his head down and just sleep during them.
There was week 13 when Marshawn Lynch showed up on Tell the Truth Tuesdays with his reality TV film crew. Del Rio informed Lynch he could not film in the room, which is fair but Lynch didn't like it and he left. When players like Bruce Irvin simply decided not to show up on practices on Wednesdays Jack Del Rio came up with an excuse and called it "Woodson Wednesday" which was named after retired Raider Charles Woodson who would rest his body since he was 37 years old at the time. Bruce Irvin just turned 30 in November. He didn't show up because he simply did not want to.
Raiders brought Jack Del Rio in to fix the defense, they already had Carr so the thought was hire a great offense coordinator and Del Rio will have that defense ready to play. Instead, the defense was terrible his entire tenure in Oakland. Del Rio at least had Bill Musgrave in 2016 who got the best out of the talent on the team on offense, but Del Rio decided not to retain Musgrave and went with the QB coach in Todd Downing. The truth is Todd Downing is a good QB coach, but he was never a guy who could draw up plays and it showed big time. Downing had a very close relationship with QB Derek Carr but that relationship went sideways very quickly. Downing's schemes were so erratic and dumbfounding that other coordinators in the NFL would laugh at them in the film room. Downing became yet another coach on this team that the players simply had no respect for. Raiders had talent on offense, yet Downing would never utilize it.
One thing Downing, Del Rio and Carr all love is the bible app. Players on the Raiders think Downing and Carr spent more time on the bible App than they did on a playbook.
Raiders also abandoned backup QB's in EJ Manuel and Connor Cook which is bizarre considering Raiders moved up in the draft to select Cook. But Cook often left behind in QB meetings was just an after thought. He was inactive most of the season just like he was in 2016. So when Derek Carr got injured in week 3 with broken bones in his back Raiders had to get EJ Manuel up to speed. The coaches ignored the backups all offseason and during the season now they were counting on Manuel to win them games. Downing gave EJ Manuel 15 plays to run against Baltimore and was told not to take any shots down the field. For all attended purposes Manuel was handcuffed to a scheme that had no big shots down the field and destined to fail.
Del Rio and Downing rushed Derek Carr back just after 1 week even know Carr was nowhere near healthy but Del Rio did not think Raiders could win with Manuel and Connor Cook would have to be active and this bothered Downing and Del Rio. Nobody really knows why the coaches did not like Cook but it was clear that it was a team divided of factions. The biggest faction made all the decisions, and that was Del Rio, Downing, Carr and Amari Cooper. Khalil Mack used to be in that group but he fell out of favor midway through the season. Some people believe he was not "Christian enough" for the group. Raiders went on to lose game after game, and it was week 6 when WR Michael Crabtree finally said something in front of the team. Crabtree didn't understand why he wasn't getting the ball when he was open so much. Derek Carr sat silent during this, but Del Rio did not. Jack Del Rio in front of the team yelled at Crabtree and told him maybe he would get the ball if he could catch it. The following week 7 against the Chiefs in Oakland Michael Crabtree was targeted only 3 times but in a ironic twist it was Crabtree who would catch the game winning touchdown.
The Raiders would win that game in Kansas City and some thought maybe things would go back to normal, head coach Jack Del Rio even apologized to Michael Crabtree about the scolding but even with the win there was a huge distraction. Marshawn Lynch during the game ran out on the field to help his "cousin" Marcus Peters after Peters hit Derek Carr late. The team was confused, at first they thought Lynch was out there to help them but instead Lynch made it clear that Peters was his priority, not the team. Things got more weird when Lynch after the game left with Peters and Peters laughed at the Raiders team. Raiders may of won the game but Peters knew that team would not like this at all and it would do more damage in the end, he was right. The Raiders players were no fans of Lynch after that game. Carr never liked him and now he had a good reason too.
There were chatters that the team wanted Lynch off the team, only Donald Penn was defending him. Which didn't go over well, especially with Michael Crabtree who during the game, Penn told Crabtree to get open more and Crabtree said something back which then the two got into a shoveling match, OL Coach Mike Tice had to separate Penn and Crabtree on the sidelines which was caught on camera and reported on during the game/ . Lynch was banned from practicing with the Raiders after that episode so instead he went and practiced with a high school team which the coaches were not happy about.
The team couldn't cut Lynch and this latest stunt took them by surprise considering Lynch in week 4 seemed like he was actually serious about playing. Lynch had a private meeting with O Line coach Mike Tice, it turned out Lynch did not know hardly any of the protections it was embarrassing for Lynch, Tice sent him home with a playbook. That's highly unusual to give a player a playbook after four games and entire Training camp with the team.
The 2017 season was a complete mess, and the Raiders did not play as a team. Yes, the Washington game was the decline of this team. Even know some saw it coming with Marshawn Lynch signing. About that Washington game. The rumors that "All black O Line wanted the white QB injured" is false. That simply never happened. But, the rumors still hurt the team and it was in Derek Carr's head. He did not trust Donald Penn anymore, and he also did not trust Rodney Hudson who hardly even speaks to Carr outside of practice. It's very clear on film that after that Washington game Carr does not go through his reads and throws the ball as quickly as he can. Former Raiders QB Rich Gannon said on the radio th athe believes Carr does not trust his O Line. Rich Gannon is on record saying he thinks Carr simply does not trust his teammates, and it might be a Carr problem. Carr not necessarily having a Type-A or in-your-face personality will have to be addressed, Gannon said. "I really believe you've got to be more demanding of your teammates, and you've got to hold them to a higher standard," Gannon said he told Carr. "They lack a sense of identity on offense. More importantly, they don't have execution. They don't have precision, the attention to detail.
Now the 2017 season is over. It's time for Gruden to clean up the mess. Hopefully, the Carr is not 100% totaled.
Link:
http://www.theraidersdaily.com/2018/01/lets-air-out-dirty-raiders-laundry-and.html
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My thoughts:
Apparently Del Rio was more clueless then he appeared. a) You don't bring politics into the locker if you want a cohesive team. b) You tone down the religious beliefs if you want a cohesive locker room.
Lynch has gotta go. I do not think he was really committed to the Raiders. I am not just saying this because of this report. I saw him pull himself out of every game multiple times. He is a distraction.
The are lots of reports that Crabtree is going to be cut. Unless they bring in an upgrade I think that would be a mistake. They do not have a lot of depth or talent at the position.
In hindsight, letting Musgrave go was a huge mistake.
