Best of luck the rest of the season, SaintsFans (1 Viewer)

[drumsky]

I kinda dred writing this post as I know y'all hurting after last night. again, I live here in NOLA, so I want the Saints to do well and I'm not here to gloat. everyone was very cool leading up to last night's game, and I thank you for that.

With that said, I'd be remiss if I didn't post my thoughts, because in the grand scheme of things, last night was a huge win for the Raiders as an Organization.

Let me start by recognizing 3 people I thought contributed as much as any to the win.

1) RT Denzelle Goode - simply stated, he went up against the best of the best in Cam, and more than held his own.

2) LG John SImpson - a 4th round pick outa Clemson who wasn't even active last week, he played 60+ plays after Incognito got hurt early. he wasn't perfect, but he held his own. I expect he'll be our starting LG next year. good job kid!

3) LB Nick Morrow - he's not the best LB out there, but he made as big a play as any last night. a valuable backup who came in and contributed.

Now let me mention the 3 people I'm happy for.

1) Derek Carr - he's taken a lot of grief since the 2016 year. after getting his arse kicked as a rookie in 2014 (we started 0-10 that year), he played very well in 2015, and then had the magical 2016 season. it ended Xmas eve when he broke his leg. then in 2017, with expectations sky high, the wheels came off. he also broke a bone in his vertebrate. the fans were brutal. 2018 was more of the same. last year, we started decent (6-4) but then lost 5 outa 6 to finish the season. all this while everyone is saying Gruden was gonna sh*tcan him. as he said last night, the day he moved into his new house in Vegas, Tom Brady's picture was on the front page of the newspaper.

he's persevered. he deserved that moment in the spotlight. kudos to him for playing a great game against a great defense.

2) OL Coach Tom Cable - down 2 starters and the backup RT, the OL still played pretty damn well. yeah your streak of no 100 yd rushers is intact, but we were able to run for 110+ as a team, enough to keep the balance in the offense. Cable has done a great job for us, especially since he's taken a line built for the power-scheme when he got here, and added a lot of zone to the run game. our OL is the real deal, and it's in no small part due to one of the grand old men of the game, Tom Cable.

3) Jon Gruden - the Return of Chucky has been no walk in the park. first, the Mack holdout and decision to trade him for 2 1st rounders. then the trade of Cooper. the the AB Saga (that's a whole nother post by itself). fans were questioning his playcalling, just like they did his 1st time here. but he's broken mold in a number of ways for the better, and he's really building a TEAM. I don't think we'll top the Chiefs for the division (not near enough defense yet), but we're a relevant, competitive team and I fully expect us to compete for, if not make the playoffs. Great Job Chucky !!!

anyway, thanks again for being gracious. best of luck the remainder of the year. and I'll check in down the road. WHO DAT !!!

 

[Snakehead]

I was hoping we'd get a win before y'all had your coming out party. I had thought you might go a different route at QB just to have a fresh face with the move and rebranding as the Las Vegas Raiders, but Carr has a high completion % and can lead a young team. It's going to pay off sticking with him. His interview where he pretty much said "screw all y'all, I'm the QB" is needed as a leader and shows a strong backbone not to back down and cave under pressure.

I have agreed with the moves that Gruden and Mayok have made. Trading Mack and Cooper made people freak out, but Mack is what he is. He'll get close to or barely over double digit sacks and will disappear against good competition. Y'all stole the picks from Chicago. Getting another 1st for Cooper was also huge. Sure he's talented, but he's about a ~75 reception per year WR and with Mayok being the draft guru he is, that production is replaceable with the rookie class from this season.

The offensive weapons y'all have make for a very physical matchup and is a great counter to the Chiefs who I'd say is more of a flashy/finesse team. Waller is a physical freak and knows how to play that position. Bryan Edwards is as stud and he's going to wear CBs out. Ruggs can be that flashy playmaker allowing Edwards and Waller to run defenses ragged. Renfrow should be a 1st down machine with his crisp routes. Pound them with Jacobs and just wear teams out.