DA RAIDERS
Footballguy
the only person with carte blanche, is gruden.
ie: peterman and witten. wasted roster spots. gruden guys
ie: peterman and witten. wasted roster spots. gruden guys
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2021 Las Vegas Raiders - PLAYOFFS!!!! (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter Hankmoody
- Start date
DA RAIDERS
Footballguy
spotrac.com very cool website. tons of info on salaries. and it lets you play GM. pretty fun.
did you know we are paying bowden 700k next year? and pj hall 300k. i did not ouch
did you know we are paying bowden 700k next year? and pj hall 300k. i did not ouch
DocHolliday
Footballguy
The Bowden draft selection was horrible. Tossing him away a few months later was an even worse move. Thinking back to the last draft is really depressing.
Stompin' Tom Connors
Footballguy
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.
Don't know much about Smith but Milus is one of the game's best DB coaches.
Absolutely huge.
Stompin' Tom Connors
Footballguy
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.
kaso
Footballguy
Confetti is no laughing matter! Think about the birds and environment!I swear, we could win the Superbowl and some of you guys would complain that the confetti was cut too large.
DocHolliday
Footballguy
You can’t win with my Bowden argument. If he sucks, why did aGruden draft him in the third round? If he turns into a decent player, why did Gruden discard him so fast? My biggest problem with drafting Bowden is that the Raiders drafted 3 WRs in the first three rounds and so far, none of them look like muchI 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.
Tom, when the Raiders win the SB, I will send you enough confetti to fill your garage. You can even choose the size of the confetti.
Stompin' Tom Connors
Footballguy
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.
DA RAIDERS
Footballguy
What position do you think Bowden plays?
They took 3 wrs, with the first 4 picks last year. The NFL lists him as a wr.
I don’t really care that they dumped him. It looks bad. But, so did taking 3 wrs in the first 4 picks.
Hopefully this year’s draft, will make more sense, based on the team needs. That’s up to Gruden.
I’ll take the confetti however it comes. And i’ll Buy the first round!
They took 3 wrs, with the first 4 picks last year. The NFL lists him as a wr.
I don’t really care that they dumped him. It looks bad. But, so did taking 3 wrs in the first 4 picks.
Hopefully this year’s draft, will make more sense, based on the team needs. That’s up to Gruden.
I’ll take the confetti however it comes. And i’ll Buy the first round!
Stompin' Tom Connors
Footballguy
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.
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Stompin' Tom Connors
Footballguy
DA RAIDERS
Footballguy
Hankmoody
Footballguy
I do my best!
Seriously though, I have no clue what "with asterisks" means. Like just for emphasis add some random *** to it? Or can I cuss and the language filter will kick in? Because that would be sweet.
Official 2021 Las Vegas Raiders thread **** the Chiefs
Official 2021 Las Vegas Raiders thread **** the Chargers
Official 2021 Las Vegas Raiders thread **** the Donkeys
Official 2021 Las Vegas Raiders thread **** Stinkin' Ref's logic
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joey
Footballguy
I think the y mean something like this to catch your eye when scanning the thread topics:
*** Official 2021 Las Vegas Raiders thread ***
(Especially with the new board's tiny stars that are hard to see sometimes)
2 cents...
Stinkin Ref
IBL Representative
you brought me back in.....may not like the logic....but pretty much everything I said turned out to be spot on....nice win in week 5....nothing more really....I agree with most of the posts in here lately that the Raiders have a ton to work on still....and a lot of questions to be answered....always next yearHankmoody said:
Everyone please drop the victory lapping / trolling and keep this 100% on topic. Thanks.
Hankmoody
Footballguy
Chadstroma
Footballguy
I have been chewing on the Bradley hiring. I think bringing him on board is something that I believe will improve our defense but the question is how much.
It seems to over simplify things, we are going from a very complicated scheme with subpar implementation and game planning to a fairly simple scheme with reportedly great implementation and game planning.
From watching out games, the biggest issue we had is that so many players looked 'lost' on defense. We have made many FA signings of players that played well on teams before us but then we got them and their level of play either plummeted or diminished. That can happen here and there and then that can be explained in other ways but with many examples happening then you have to look at the common denominator, that being the DC. If proven vets struggle with that then how much more would rookies?
Our offense has proven it can go against any team in the league. A middling defense would go a long way to taking us from a 8-8 team to an 11-4 team. Of course we want to have a great defense to go along with a great offense so I am hoping that some of what I have read that his defensive scheme has evolved.
Regardless having a team that knows what it is suppose to do and how to do it should go long way to improve our play on defense which will go a long way to have us win more games.
It seems to over simplify things, we are going from a very complicated scheme with subpar implementation and game planning to a fairly simple scheme with reportedly great implementation and game planning.
From watching out games, the biggest issue we had is that so many players looked 'lost' on defense. We have made many FA signings of players that played well on teams before us but then we got them and their level of play either plummeted or diminished. That can happen here and there and then that can be explained in other ways but with many examples happening then you have to look at the common denominator, that being the DC. If proven vets struggle with that then how much more would rookies?
Our offense has proven it can go against any team in the league. A middling defense would go a long way to taking us from a 8-8 team to an 11-4 team. Of course we want to have a great defense to go along with a great offense so I am hoping that some of what I have read that his defensive scheme has evolved.
Regardless having a team that knows what it is suppose to do and how to do it should go long way to improve our play on defense which will go a long way to have us win more games.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
Mark Davis is buying the Las Vegas Aces (WNBA team)
Chadstroma
Footballguy
Report: Raiders Expected To Re-Sign Nelson Agholor
The Raiders have been working toward a contract extension with wide receiver Nelson Agholor and according to Sports Illustrated’s Hondo Carpenter, there is sentiment around the league that Agholor will ultimately return to the Raiders.
Carpenter indicated that a league source told him Agholor is likely to get around $15 million over two years from the Raiders when the deal is finally done.
Considering Agholor was expected to test free agency, why and how would this information be known so soon?
The short answer to that question is that agents and teams tend to talk long before free agency begins. It’s no secret that the free agent pool at wide receiver is a lot deeper than it was a year ago and that only hurts the market value. High-priced free agents (like Allen Robinson) might be able to leverage a better deal as free agency gets closer, but Agholor pretty well knows his value by now – and it sounds like that value is around $7.5 million per year.
All things considered, Agholor most likely has more value with the Raiders than he would anywhere else. His career will only benefit from being paired with Derek Carr. He was clearly Carr’s most trusted wide receiver this year and if he can put up two more good seasons with Carr, Agholor stands to hit free agency again at 29 years old with a solid resume.
Bottom line… Agholor’s return to the Raiders would be good news for just about everyone involved – with the exception of maybe Bryan Edwards.
The Raiders have been working toward a contract extension with wide receiver Nelson Agholor and according to Sports Illustrated’s Hondo Carpenter, there is sentiment around the league that Agholor will ultimately return to the Raiders.
Carpenter indicated that a league source told him Agholor is likely to get around $15 million over two years from the Raiders when the deal is finally done.
Considering Agholor was expected to test free agency, why and how would this information be known so soon?
The short answer to that question is that agents and teams tend to talk long before free agency begins. It’s no secret that the free agent pool at wide receiver is a lot deeper than it was a year ago and that only hurts the market value. High-priced free agents (like Allen Robinson) might be able to leverage a better deal as free agency gets closer, but Agholor pretty well knows his value by now – and it sounds like that value is around $7.5 million per year.
All things considered, Agholor most likely has more value with the Raiders than he would anywhere else. His career will only benefit from being paired with Derek Carr. He was clearly Carr’s most trusted wide receiver this year and if he can put up two more good seasons with Carr, Agholor stands to hit free agency again at 29 years old with a solid resume.
Bottom line… Agholor’s return to the Raiders would be good news for just about everyone involved – with the exception of maybe Bryan Edwards.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
Ex-Raiders executive Amy Trask explains how she almost changed NFL and Patriots history
The NFL coaching carousel is in full swing, and the New England Patriots are also somewhat involved: inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo is expected to interview for the Philadelphia Eagles’ vacant head coaching position. The Patriots themselves, meanwhile, did not have to fill that most important role on their staff in quite some time.
Bill Belichick took over the job in 2000, and since then has turned the organization from an afterthought into the lone dynasty of the salary cap era — winning six Super Bowls along the way and earning himself a future spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. History, however, could have gone in a drastically different direction had one particular coaching search ended in another way back in 1998.
Back then, the Oakland Raiders were looking for a new head coach after firing head coach Joe Bugel following a 4-12 season. Thus, Raiders owner Al Davis embarked on a coaching while assisted by chief executive Amy Trask.
Earlier this week, Trask appeared on the SB Nation NFL Show to talk about the process of looking for new head coaches. She also told an anecdote about that 1998 offseason, when she almost helped change the course of the NFL forever.
“In my almost 30 years with the team, Al only included me in one coaching search,” Trask said. “One time in almost 30 years, and, by the way, I think we know he hired a lot of coaches. One of times he allowed me in, he invited me to meet all the candidates, and I recommended one and he didn’t hire him.”
That coach later led the Patriots to their unprecedented run of success.
“I recommended that he hired Bill Belichick,” continued Trask. “He did not hire Bill, he went on to hire Jon Gruden, who also... Very good coach, did a very good job with the team, I’m not suggesting otherwise, but I recommended Bill. And then Bill went on to have the tremendous success that we’ve seen him have and I used to smile ear-to-ear when Al would periodically say to me, ‘Kid, you know how to pick a coach.’”
Belichick entered that interview coming off his first season as the New York Jets’ defensive coordinator, and later spent two more season with the organization before jumping ship amidst a tumultuous 2000 offseason. The rest is history, but he still recalled the interview with the Raiders ahead of a regular season game in Oakland in 2011.
“He’s a great mind,” Belichick said at the time. “It was unlike any other interview I’ve ever had with an owner because he was in in-depth, his interview was so in-depth, really about football, about Xs-and-Os and strategy and use of personnel and acquisition of — all the things really that a coach would want to talk about.
“He was asking a lot of questions about what we did defensively. You kind of don’t want to give too much information there because you know, he’s running the defense. He wasn’t really too interested in talking about offensive football.”
Davis went on to hire Jon Gruden, who led the team to a 38-26 record in four seasons before being traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002. One has to wonder how the Raiders, and especially the Patriots, would have fared had Al Davis listened to Trask in 1998 and went with Belichick instead — and how this year’s coaching hires will shape the league for years to come.
The NFL coaching carousel is in full swing, and the New England Patriots are also somewhat involved: inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo is expected to interview for the Philadelphia Eagles’ vacant head coaching position. The Patriots themselves, meanwhile, did not have to fill that most important role on their staff in quite some time.
Bill Belichick took over the job in 2000, and since then has turned the organization from an afterthought into the lone dynasty of the salary cap era — winning six Super Bowls along the way and earning himself a future spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. History, however, could have gone in a drastically different direction had one particular coaching search ended in another way back in 1998.
Back then, the Oakland Raiders were looking for a new head coach after firing head coach Joe Bugel following a 4-12 season. Thus, Raiders owner Al Davis embarked on a coaching while assisted by chief executive Amy Trask.
Earlier this week, Trask appeared on the SB Nation NFL Show to talk about the process of looking for new head coaches. She also told an anecdote about that 1998 offseason, when she almost helped change the course of the NFL forever.
“In my almost 30 years with the team, Al only included me in one coaching search,” Trask said. “One time in almost 30 years, and, by the way, I think we know he hired a lot of coaches. One of times he allowed me in, he invited me to meet all the candidates, and I recommended one and he didn’t hire him.”
That coach later led the Patriots to their unprecedented run of success.
“I recommended that he hired Bill Belichick,” continued Trask. “He did not hire Bill, he went on to hire Jon Gruden, who also... Very good coach, did a very good job with the team, I’m not suggesting otherwise, but I recommended Bill. And then Bill went on to have the tremendous success that we’ve seen him have and I used to smile ear-to-ear when Al would periodically say to me, ‘Kid, you know how to pick a coach.’”
Belichick entered that interview coming off his first season as the New York Jets’ defensive coordinator, and later spent two more season with the organization before jumping ship amidst a tumultuous 2000 offseason. The rest is history, but he still recalled the interview with the Raiders ahead of a regular season game in Oakland in 2011.
“He’s a great mind,” Belichick said at the time. “It was unlike any other interview I’ve ever had with an owner because he was in in-depth, his interview was so in-depth, really about football, about Xs-and-Os and strategy and use of personnel and acquisition of — all the things really that a coach would want to talk about.
“He was asking a lot of questions about what we did defensively. You kind of don’t want to give too much information there because you know, he’s running the defense. He wasn’t really too interested in talking about offensive football.”
Davis went on to hire Jon Gruden, who led the team to a 38-26 record in four seasons before being traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002. One has to wonder how the Raiders, and especially the Patriots, would have fared had Al Davis listened to Trask in 1998 and went with Belichick instead — and how this year’s coaching hires will shape the league for years to come.
LawFitz
Footballguy
Big Belly and Big Al never would've co-existed. It would've been another Cleveland situation, most likely.
As for Bradley, I am unimpressed by his system and track record. Hope I'm wrong, but I would've much preferred a creative/innovative type. This league is multiple levels beyond rushing with the DL only. Unless you have the recent vintage Superbowl Giants front, that system is antiquated and ineffective. What the Colts and Cardinals are doing is the future - i.e. exotic pressures where the OL gets confused regularly about who is coming and whom to block. Not that their D's are perfect, but you can hide a lot of flaws when you get pressure and they get pressure. Bradley smells like a dinosaur by comparison. JMHO. Again, I hope I am wrong.
As for Bradley, I am unimpressed by his system and track record. Hope I'm wrong, but I would've much preferred a creative/innovative type. This league is multiple levels beyond rushing with the DL only. Unless you have the recent vintage Superbowl Giants front, that system is antiquated and ineffective. What the Colts and Cardinals are doing is the future - i.e. exotic pressures where the OL gets confused regularly about who is coming and whom to block. Not that their D's are perfect, but you can hide a lot of flaws when you get pressure and they get pressure. Bradley smells like a dinosaur by comparison. JMHO. Again, I hope I am wrong.
Stompin' Tom Connors
Footballguy
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.
Ed Wood
Footballguy
Ed Wood
Footballguy
Tom, I'll defer to you cuz on this because I know you don't miss a game but he didn't look like a huge blitz guy to me. Did a quick search and I found this from an October 23, 2020 article:
"Some have suggested that defensive coordinator Paul Guenther should dial up more blitzes, but he is actually calling more blitzes that he did a year ago, according to Pro Football Reference. In 2019, the Raiders blitzed only 17.5% of the time, which was the second-lowest rate in the league. This year, they are blitzing 23.1% of the time...the Raiders could blitz more (the Steelers and Ravens both blitz more than 45% of the time), but Guenther’s philosophy has never been one that involves excessive blitzing."
https://www.raidersbeat.com/the-raiders-are-blitzing-at-a-higher-rate-than-2019-but-still-not-doing-it-very-often/
Ed Wood
Footballguy
Haha, ICON beat me to it.
I really gotta read all the posts I haven't seen before I post. I mean who likes re-runs... 
Ed Wood
Footballguy
Re: Bradley. I'm always willing to give anybody a chance but based on the posts from far more knowledgeable observers than me this smacks of "meet the new boss, same as the old boss." I hope I'm wrong. I guess we'll know in three years. 
And this aside...I know a lot of people who didn't like the McKenzie era use as ammunition the fact he never got another GM job. Does anybody think Guenther will get another DC job in the NFL? He's only 49.
And this aside...I know a lot of people who didn't like the McKenzie era use as ammunition the fact he never got another GM job. Does anybody think Guenther will get another DC job in the NFL? He's only 49.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
I doubt DC. Like most he will either get a shot with a positional coach or get a gig in college.Re: Bradley. I'm always willing to give anybody a chance but based on the posts from far more knowledgeable observers than me this smacks of "meet the new boss, same as the old boss." I hope I'm wrong. I guess we'll know in three years.
And this aside...I know a lot of people who didn't like the McKenzie era use as ammunition the fact he never got another GM job. Does anybody think Guenther will get another DC job in the NFL? He's only 49.
Stompin' Tom Connors
Footballguy
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.
DA RAIDERS
Footballguy
But the raiders have been at the bottom, in regards to blitzing, his entire tenure. I’m confused
DocHolliday
Footballguy
The DC certainly matters and their ability to design pressure on the QB matters even more. If Gruden doesn’t get some talent on that side of the ball, it doesn’t matter what DC is designing pressure. The end of the season grades on the Raider D paints an ugly picture that most of us saw. The secondary couldn’t cover and the D line applied little pressure on the QB.
The Raiders are facing cap issues right now but it’s not really a problem when you see how easy cap space can be made available by releasing a handful of players and/or restructuring their contracts. The Raiders need to free up some space and begin the overhaul of D with FA since their are so many jokes to fill.
The Raiders are facing cap issues right now but it’s not really a problem when you see how easy cap space can be made available by releasing a handful of players and/or restructuring their contracts. The Raiders need to free up some space and begin the overhaul of D with FA since their are so many jokes to fill.
SDJohnny
Footballguy
https://www.insidenu.com/2021/1/19/22239142/breaking-northwestern-to-hire-oakland-raiders-db-coach-jim-oneil-as-new-defensive-coordinator
We're being raided for our coaching "talent".
Regarding Gus, I'm hoping for the best but I would have been happier if we would have hired an up and coming minority coach. 1) I think they would connect better with our young players and 2) if that coach goes on to a HC job the Raiders would get 2 3rd round picks. -like SF is getting this year and next. https://jetswire.usatoday.com/2021/01/15/49ers-get-nfl-draft-picks-jets-hire-robert-saleh-head-coach-rooney-rule/
We're being raided for our coaching "talent".
Regarding Gus, I'm hoping for the best but I would have been happier if we would have hired an up and coming minority coach. 1) I think they would connect better with our young players and 2) if that coach goes on to a HC job the Raiders would get 2 3rd round picks. -like SF is getting this year and next. https://jetswire.usatoday.com/2021/01/15/49ers-get-nfl-draft-picks-jets-hire-robert-saleh-head-coach-rooney-rule/
Chadstroma
Footballguy
It might be he was allowed to seek other positions. I did read somewhere he was looking to bring in a few people of his own.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
A really good article on the Cover 3
https://justblogbaby.com/2021/01/19/raiders-gus-bradleys-cover-3-scheme-dead/amp/1/
https://justblogbaby.com/2021/01/19/raiders-gus-bradleys-cover-3-scheme-dead/amp/1/
Chadstroma
Footballguy
Yup...
New DC Gus Bradley is starting to flesh out his staff, and he’s hired Richard Smith and Ron Milus as his linebackers and defensive backs coaches respectively, Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal tweets. Smith and Milus held those same roles under Bradley with the Chargers previously.
DA RAIDERS
Footballguy
Smith and milius were announced the same day Bradley was hired.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
SDJohnny
Footballguy
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/two-raiders-offensive-coaches-hired-234511682.html
What was looking like an overhaul of the defensive staff by the Raiders is looking more like much more. For the defense, it was the firing of Defensive Coordinator Paul Guenther that brought on an almost entirely new defensive staff, led by new DC Gus Bradley.
The offense is also going through some overhaul, but for the opposite reason — because of their success.
Two offensive coaches are reportedly leaving for promotions elsewhere — Running Backs coach Kirby Smith and Tight Ends coach Frank Smith.
Smith is taking the offensive coordinator job in Seattle, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Wilson joined the Raiders’ offensive staff in 2019 after a season in Arizona with the Cardinals. He has been a running backs coach in the NFL since 1997 and finally got the call to be a coordinator.
Frank Smith is headed to the Chargers as Run-Game Coordinator on the staff of new head coach Brandon Staley.
Smith was credited with the development of Darren Waller and Foster Moreau. Waller awarded Smith with the Coach Corps ‘Game Changer Award’ in January of 2020 for helping his career take off. The Chargers are getting a good one.
So, add running backs coach and tight ends coach to the list of staff the Raiders will have to hire this offseason.
What was looking like an overhaul of the defensive staff by the Raiders is looking more like much more. For the defense, it was the firing of Defensive Coordinator Paul Guenther that brought on an almost entirely new defensive staff, led by new DC Gus Bradley.
The offense is also going through some overhaul, but for the opposite reason — because of their success.
Two offensive coaches are reportedly leaving for promotions elsewhere — Running Backs coach Kirby Smith and Tight Ends coach Frank Smith.
Smith is taking the offensive coordinator job in Seattle, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Wilson joined the Raiders’ offensive staff in 2019 after a season in Arizona with the Cardinals. He has been a running backs coach in the NFL since 1997 and finally got the call to be a coordinator.
Frank Smith is headed to the Chargers as Run-Game Coordinator on the staff of new head coach Brandon Staley.
Smith was credited with the development of Darren Waller and Foster Moreau. Waller awarded Smith with the Coach Corps ‘Game Changer Award’ in January of 2020 for helping his career take off. The Chargers are getting a good one.
So, add running backs coach and tight ends coach to the list of staff the Raiders will have to hire this offseason.
Stompin' Tom Connors
Footballguy
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.
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.
DA RAIDERS
Footballguy
cheers brother!
my hope for these replacement coaches, is to not hire gruden toadies. i'm not holding my breath.
my hope for these replacement coaches, is to not hire gruden toadies. i'm not holding my breath.
Ed Wood
Footballguy
We've all been uber patient. It's time Gruden earned his $10 million a year or whatever it is. I wrote up a long spiel this weekend but have condensed it to this:
The Raiders were 6-10 when Gruden came on board. Does anybody know the record Reid inherited when he came on board in 2013? A far cry from 6-10. The Chiefs were so bad they had the first pick in the draft in Reid's first year. They were 2-14 bad. They drafted a solid tackle with the first pick (reminiscent of Kolton Miller) and a kid named Kelce at the top of the third round.
Reid then took that 2-14 team and went 11-5 his first year. He fell back a little his second year at 9-7 and has been no worse than 10-6 since.
Gruden should be much further along than 19-29. Reid was 31-17 in the same span.
Has there been some progress? Yes. The offense is in the upper tier of the NFL and he has Carr playing at an elite level much of the time. But the defense is no better than it was before Gruden came on board and you could argue it's worse. Fourteen of his 25 picks have been on the defensive side of the ball and there's not a gem to be found. And free agency has brought almost nothing but fools gold.
If the owner was anybody but Davis and the coach was anybody but Gruden that seat going into this fourth year would be red hot. Unfortunately, because of that pairing, I don't think it'll be now or never time EVER. With a 10-year contract (I've mentioned this before), Gruden can tear it down, rebuild it and tear it down and rebuild it again.
I hope it doesn't come to that.
DocHolliday
Footballguy
Count me as not being Uber patient. My patience ran out around week 14 of the season. It was apparent that Gruden failed miserably. The lack of talent on the field was obvious.
You must have talent to win in the NFL. When you compare the Raiders to the four teams that played yesterday, it is obvious that the Raiders have a long way to go. The Raiders have many holes to fill and won’t have the cap space to fill many of those holes through FA and don’t have extra draft picks this year. The worst part is that the Raiders don’t have the right people in place to bring in the talent.
ICON211
Footballguy
I will root for anyone playing either of the Broncos or the Chiefs. Go Bucs!!
Watching the AFC title game and looking at the Chiefs roster was very frustrating. You look at their team and you see Mahomes, Mathieu, Kelce, Chris Jones, Clark, Hill, Kelce. They are loaded with big time players, some who have big contracts. It made me think about the Mack trade again (which I was on record as being ok with). We had a team full of garbage and were told we had to trade him in order to have a roster that could compete. I don't hear KC talking about moving their guys. I don't know how, but they figure it out.
Watching the AFC title game and looking at the Chiefs roster was very frustrating. You look at their team and you see Mahomes, Mathieu, Kelce, Chris Jones, Clark, Hill, Kelce. They are loaded with big time players, some who have big contracts. It made me think about the Mack trade again (which I was on record as being ok with). We had a team full of garbage and were told we had to trade him in order to have a roster that could compete. I don't hear KC talking about moving their guys. I don't know how, but they figure it out.
kaso
Footballguy
DocHolliday
Footballguy
DA RAIDERS
Footballguy
Looks the rb coach, wilson, will likely stay. He lost out on the OC job, in Seattle.
If he still leaves, something is seriously amiss in grudenvile.
If he still leaves, something is seriously amiss in grudenvile.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
Witten is going to sign a one day contract with Dallas and retire.
Witten said in December 2019 he “for sure” wanted to coach when he finished playing.
He would make for a good positional coach at TE.
Witten said in December 2019 he “for sure” wanted to coach when he finished playing.
He would make for a good positional coach at TE.
Ed Wood
Footballguy
Great observation! You really see quality football with these teams, not teams like the Raiders (and many others) that run hot and cold. And I forgot what good coaching was like because I haven't seen it in so long. LaFleur and Stefanski are outstanding...the way Gruden used to be.
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