It’s been a challenging couple of months for Jackson Powers-Johnson, but after a solid performance at right guard on Sunday, it seems like the Raiders’ coaching staff has settled on keeping him in the lineup… for now.
On Thursday, Pete Carroll would only commit to Powers-Johnson starting the next game, and former Raiders’ offensive lineman Marshall Newhouse said later in the day that he has been confused by the way Carroll has been so hard on Powers-Johnson.
“I don’t understand the rhetorical game [Carroll] is playing with Jackson Powers-Johnson,” Newhouse said on the Just Win podcast on Thursday.
“If you can believe that he’s a better center than guard… I think he’s a big game-changing guard. I think outside of the mental aspect, a guard has a little bit more impact than the center because guys are lined up going the right way. I think a really good guard gives you a little bit more options as an offensive unit. We saw him just flying around. I mean, pinballing against people, just using power, aggressiveness, even on a couple of the interceptions he made the tackle on the interception.”
“So just that level of physicality… he has a little bit of Richie Incognito to him where he’s just trying to be a bully… This offensive line unit needs that, and they need it at guard,” Newhouse continued. “I don’t understand… there’s got to be something internal that we just don’t know about. Rookies generally, you don’t want to give them a job necessarily. You want them to know what it’s like to earn [the job], especially if it’s up against the vet, but [Powers-Johnson] is not a rookie anymore. And so, I don’t know who it’s serving [with] Pete speaking like that…”
“He’s going to keep playing. He’s playing his tail off. You can tell he’s hungry. You can tell he wants to raise the level of the line and of the offense. He’s a guy that I’m not worried about. His energy, I think, will be contagious… but again, Pete playing this game I don’t understand.”
What stood out about Newhouse’s comments was the mention of “something internal” that we don’t know about, and Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter might have shed a little light on that dynamic on Friday.
Based on a comment from Carpenter on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast, it sounds like the coaching staff is being pushed by someone above the head coach on the Powers-Johnson situation.
“As long as you don’t see the penalties and all of that, he better not come out of the starting lineup,” Carpenter said about Powers-Johnson.
“He’s a young player on a team that’s not a playoff team. Let the guy just freaking play. Alex Cappa isn’t going to be here in six years. If you develop JPJ, he will be. So let it go. And remember, Pete has bosses and everything else… so you can’t just always blame Pete or blame Brennan [Carroll].”
Carpenter didn’t say who he was referring to, but it’s worth noting that Tom Brady and GM John Spytek both have a history with veteran guard Alex Cappa.
The only other person in the building that Carroll would answer to is owner Mark Davis, but it’s hard to imagine Davis has a strong opinion on what the coaching staff should do with Powers-Johnson.
And just a guess… Spytek probably doesn’t make a lot of depth chart demands to a Super Bowl winning head coach, either.
Brady, on the other hand, has reportedly been a part of game-planning and sat in the coaches box two weeks ago against the Chargers.
Just something to keep in mind and maybe bookmark for a later date.
x: @raidersbeat
I hate the fact that Brady is part owner !!!!! F Brady
Amen!
Me too…plus he sucks @ this job. Guy is just cosplaying as a GM & he has zero experience/training for this. Dude is an idiot
Yes he seems to be becoming a freekin WEASEL
As I’ve said as soon as word leaked that Brady was trying to buy a portion of the Raiders. Why? The only reason I could come up with was because Mark is a MORON! Mark was once again duped into another terrible football decision by another guy with a huge ego who thinks they know how to run an NFL franchise. Gruden, McDaniels and now Tom each one has had success in the league and each one has ran a franchise into the ground. We all seen Gruden trade proven young players for picks that he would ruin. McDaniels took a playoff roster and ruined it within 9 months. Brady has guided the team to his buddy at GM, the coach that was good 8 years ago and a draft that was terrible, throw in the mediocre at best QB that they traded a 3rd for and you’ve got a clusterfook. Worst part is Mark will have a hard time getting out of this with his now part owner who paid a substantial amount less than what he should have.
Yes I have mixed emotions on this but one thing I know for sure is JPJ should always be playing and preferably at CENTER.
Mark is like a 13 year old girl who gets a crush on her favorite boy band member. After we made the playoffs, with all those distractions/setbacks, Mark destroyed team unity by getting Patriot West in here.
Now i firmly believe he hired those imbeciles to get Brady signed as quarterback just like he told Reggie to draft Carr for Gruden & just like he forced Marshawn onto Del Rio. Naturally Carr was the only one smart enough to figure this out & that McDonalds was a total fraud that wanted him out thus he signed a 1 year deal w/Carr able to get to free agency. Now since Brady laughed @ signing with us 2 years ago, he’s here now to to, us how much Telesco’s picks suck.
Everything Brady done has been wrong, Dart, Darnold, Cappa, etc.
Our whole base this off season is the same as last offseason, zero improvements, have to acquire DL/OL/QB/CB.
All while Mark told us Brady would help us find our quarterback.
Let’s also remember Mark removed the fan out of Vegas who wanted McDonalds fired.
Mark a dummy when it comes to football as stated by mama Davis back in Oakland. Great to see familiar faces in Vegas stands. Black Hole & some others. The Vegas fans
don’t appreciate the Raiders. Oakland fan base cheered when or lose as if they just won a playoff. I met some true Vegas fans
that came from Vegas to Oakland. As far as Brady he’s glad to see there are problems with them now. He’s probably sticking little
Raiders dolls with huge pins.