Long before the Chiefs game, the Raiders were headed down a dangerous road, but Arrowhead Stadium offered Jack Del Rio and the gang one final turn before going off a cliff.
With little hesitation, the Raiders season took the plunge on Sunday – only a small skid mark in the form of a Giorgio Tavecchio onside kick kept the Raiders season from going full speed off the cliff.
The playoffs are now a pipedream and it’s fair to wonder what went wrong.
These are a few observations from what’s been a surprisingly disappointing season in Oakland.
1 – The move to Todd Downing was a bust. If Downing somehow wasn’t the problem, how can there be any confidence within the organization that he’s part of the solution?
The first-time offensive coordinator presided over an offense that transformed from one of the league’s best to one of the very worst. Now that it’s this bad, who wants to see where Downing can take it with another year?
2 – It’s hard to watch Derek Carr stand and take responsibility for the Raiders failed season, but he’s correct that he hasn’t played well. After finishing third in the league MVP vote a year ago, Carr sometimes looks as uncomfortable as he did in his rookie year.
He’ll never throw anyone under the bus, but wouldn’t you love to know where he feels the offense fell apart this season?
(For what it’s worth, he probably does believe it starts with him.)
3 – Considering it took a series of fourth quarter miracles to get the Raiders to where they were a year ago, are we certain Del Rio is the man to lead the Raiders to the promised land? He changed the culture in Oakland so he deserves another chance, but it’s fair to wonder if JDR will be able to get the Raiders past the elite coaches in the AFC.
4 – What about Reggie McKenzie, is he still beyond taking criticism after what the Raiders did with this roster last season? That’s a tough call to make. He upgraded the offense at running back, tight end, and wide receiver while concentrating four of his first five draft picks in 2017 on defensive players.
Maybe McKenzie gets a pass for the debacle at cornerback after losing Conley to a mysterious leg injury, but what about the circus the Raiders have fielded at linebacker this season? Hopefully his trend of ignoring the linebacker position comes to an end in 2018.
5 – Has the impending move to Las Vegas affected the players this season?
It’s unfortunate that Oakland is being stripped of its team, but considering what the Chargers have done in a worse situation, the theory doesn’t really hold water. It comes down to the coaches and players. As much disdain as there is among fans for Mark Davis, Vegas isn’t an excuse.
But here’s an interesting question.
Do you think the politicians and the NFL would have been so aggressive with the Las Vegas move if the Raiders had played this poorly a year ago? Carr and the Raiders may still be the next big ticket in the NFL, but the guarantee doesn’t feel the same.
Suddenly, it feels like there might be a little more risk involved.
twitter: @raidersbeat
When the TEAM wins, all of Raider Nation wins. When the TEAM loses so do the rest of us. Still proud to rep my Silver & Black. RN4L
NO one should be looking forward to the end of this season. Just when we thought it was safe to hang the banners and talk trash to everyone. Then this season. And shine is off the new penny we saw last year. It’s not even worth a penny this season. So now what. Coaching carousel? A return to hiring and firing? Bad blood in the locker room?
This season may have set our prize QB back two seasons. DC’s confidence looks shattered. Through his own actions and in no small part the dropped passes from receivers being paid to CATCH the ball. And will all this fall on the O Co? Yes it will. It’s a shame DJR won’t get any of this on his shirt. I’ve wrote about this before but it still holds true. NO LEADERSHIP. Poor organizational leadership let Musgrave go and kept KNjr.. A lack of leadership didn’t find a way to stop the drop passes or fill in the LB hole. Everyone share’s in this from Mark on down and they get this off season to try and fix what wasn’t broke and what now is certainly broke.
SO let the coaching shopping begin. Let the contract talks with AC begin. Let Beast mode consider another year of ….this. All while we, Raider Nation, pray y’all get it right this time.
Well dammit..! I am out of excuses to paint over on JDR. The guy is clearly out of his league! I mean, he seems like a heckuva guy, husband, father, and former player.. but one thing he isn’t, is a darn head football coach! God Bless You Jack, but you’ve gotta move on bud. You gotta man up and admit the truth.
And for eff’s sake: TODD DOWNING needs to get fired ASA-mother-effing-P!!! Rookie OC is drowning in a cesspool of disgusting play calls and horrible, horrible preparation! Geez, a blind man can tell you that.
FIRE DOWNING! FIRE DOWNING!! FIRE DOWNING!!!
As a die hard Raider Nation fan, I AM DISGUSTED TO MY GUT! YUCK!!!! over and out..
Obviously the raiders need a shake up and you start the process at the top!!!
The Raiders are getting what they deserved for their treachery. Fine, go to Vegas – and fail miserably!! Meanwhile, I’m going to watch Jimmy G and the rise of the Niners. Say what you will about my not being a real fan ( I guess holding my PSL for 12 years , only 3 of which were quality years, even when I couldn’t afford it anymore doesn’t count), but at least the Niners are staying here.
All of you Raider fans that don’t mind being f##ked over by your team’s abandoning you for Vegas can sit and bang your heads against the wall while this team continues its decline. I’ll be watching and enjoying the Niners rise, just as I did with Joe Montana when the Raiders abandoned us the last time. I enjoyed it immensely!
Del Rio and Mckenzie ill put down my point and reason for them
Del Rio hes to blame for hiring Downing we shoulda got 1 when we dropped Musgrave was good but i know he more than likely got the blame when Carr got hurt to me we had game won instead of pass play he shoulda called run plays then Carr woulda been in his 1st playoff game heres names i woulda chose for OC coordinator instead of Downing 1)Matt LaFleur he has Goff and offense looking pretty good 2) Kyle Shanahan was my other choice to me he gonna be good he got left with a Rebuiling team
Mckenzie besides pretty good drafting my issue with him is handing out Carr 25mil per year contract dont get me wrong i love Carr but soon its gonna put us in a hole cause theres players whos contract named Cooper will be coming up hes having a down year and drops i thunk Carr shoulda got a raise but look at teams who make playoffs every year their qb contract is less i woulda gave him a 10mil per season and if he proves hes that qb that leads this team to playoffs every year then sure pay him around the 25mil range but you all got to admit im right on this why you think we dropped huge contracts when McKenzie was hired to me im in awe of our horrible season we need to get better in our Cb position Mack and company would get more sacks if there was better coverage lmk your all opinion
What about Obi Melifonwu, why the hell isn’t he playing!?!
Plenty of blame to go around. 1 Reggie.He’s the GM. Linebacker 4 us is like an incurable disease. 2 Jack. When you see your coaches not maximizing their talent you must step in.3Downing. Does he realize he has 2 good tightends.Clive was healthy all year. Him and Cook on the field at the same time with Crab and Amari. WOW! 4The defense. You draft a safety to stick tightends and he doesn’t play. Reggie Nelson plays and he cannot play. Look how many times he gets torched over the top.
I have been a die hard fan since almost 30 years. Live in eastern Canada but have been a season ticket holder for two years. I stand by my team and do believe they have a lot of the right pieces.
I am curious if Derek Carr is not back to 100% physically and mentally – the mental part of the game – under throwing and over throwing players, not making great reads – broken leg last year, broken back this year – maybe playing really nervous….. putting a lot of pressure on himself, and not able to perform properly. I am also concerned about very suspect offensive play calling. The D has looked better since the coaching change. At 12 and 4 last year, we all got a nice taste of what it was like to have a decent record. It is extremely hard to go back to the old ways that became commonplace year after year. Go Raiders.
Derek is looking more and more like David these days. It’s common for a quarterback, once he’s been seriously injured, to regress. Some of the great ones, like Brady and, closer to home, Plunkett, can come back and still have a great career. The majority, though, become backups.
As far as I’m concerned the whole problem is the offense I sit and watch all these games and there is no creativity there’s nothing but predictability first down hand it off to lynch every time there has been no element of surprise when you telegraph what you’re gonna do it’s a lot easier to stop and so many games Carr doesn’t even try to go downfield I sit there the whole game and say to myself what idiot is calling these plays?