Let’s try something new this week and hit on five of the top quotes around the Raiders from the week.
It’s been a busy week for the team and plenty of Raider storylines have dominated the headlines. You’ve seen most of them already, but here are a few that might have slipped through the cracks.
Enjoy as you head into a safe weekend…
Lincoln Kennedy wasn’t surprised by the Raiders’ loss to the Panthers.
“I’ve got to be honest, it wasn’t a surprise to me,” Kennedy said about the Raiders loss to Carolina on his Morning Grind podcast. “The reason why is because I’ve learned, in my experience, not only as a player but also as an analyst, that anything can happen in the world of sports.”
“The Raiders team didn’t show up,” Kennedy continued. “Andy Dalton had a phenomenal day, just like many geriatric quarterbacks in the past. I’m talking about Matt Ryan when he played with the Indianapolis Colts… that was an embarrassing loss and the list goes on.”
Kennedy also added that he thinks the Raiders should double down on the running game this week, despite the fact that Luke Getsy’s group has been the least-effective running team in the NFL through the first three weeks of the season.
Was it a mistake for Antonio Pierce to publicly call out his team after Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the Panthers?
Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer doesn’t think so.
“This is the sort of thing that only an ex-player can get away with at this early juncture in his time as a head coach,” Breer said this week. “He can get away with it because he has skins on the wall. He knows what relentless effort looks like from between the lines. He has the credibility to deliver a line like this and have it resonate in the locker room.”
To this point, the players have responded positively in public interviews, but the proof will come on Sunday when we see how the Raiders respond in the game.
Did Luke Getsy say the Raiders are getting better at running the ball each week?
He said it’s “all relative” but the running game is incrementally getting better.
“I think we’ve got to take the execution from practice and apply it to the field,” Getsy said at Thursday’s press conference.
“I think the execution has gotten better in practice and each and every game. All relative, right? But I felt like the execution up front was a lot better this past week than it had been. I think that part of it is getting better… I think the one thing that was improved [last week] was it wasn’t third and longs like it had been. I think that part of it is a testament to improving that run game.”
Is Maxx Crosby going to play this week?
Crosby’s ankle injury on Sunday was clearly worse than the team had let on through the week, and Raiders beat writer Vic Tafur doesn’t think he’s a lock to play against the Browns.
“Maxx has gotten his days off in the past… and I never thought it was a big deal,” Tafur said on Thursday on Just Win podcast. “But we talked to him [today] and he wasn’t like ‘I’m definitely playing.’ It was definitely a different answer… I think he’s going to play. I expect him to play, but I don’t think it’s 100 percent like in the past when you knew he was going to get out there.”
Considering the way he looked last week (one week removed from the injury), it would seem like a reasonable estimate that Crosby will be at around 75 percent health this week.
High ankle sprains don’t mend quickly and it’s hard to imagine that his 61 snaps against Browns helped in the recovery process.
There’s a reason Crosby didn’t practice this week. Rest for the ankle is better than stress. It might be wise to let him heal and come back in another week as close to 100 percent as possible.
Is it panic time yet for the Raiders?
Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter says we’re not there yet, but Sunday’s game against the Browns is going to tell us a lot.
“If they go out this week and they lay an egg like they did against Carolina and get their butts kicked, then I think it’s time legitimately for some either massive concern or even borderline panic,” Carpenter said this week on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
x: @raidersbeat