The Raiders got a much-need win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, and the hope going forward is that they won’t revert back to the team that barely competitive for portions of their four-game losing streak.
There were rumors last week that there was “friction” forming in the Raiders’ locker room and starting linebacker Germaine Pratt was released on Monday after not making the trip to Indianapolis in week 5.
Without question, Pratt wasn’t a great locker room presence, and he might not have been alone.
Former Raiders’ great Lincoln Kennedy said he was hearing rumors last week and his comments lined up with some of the reports that were making rounds last week.
“They hadn’t won a game since New England and there was a gaping wound over this team. It was starting to fall apart,” Kennedy said on the Locked on Raiders Squad Show podcast.
“There were rumors I had heard from afar, living in Phoenix, that people were starting to not get along anymore, and this is what happens in a locker room when you suffer from consistent losses, but they found a way to right the ship.”
Kennedy’s co-host, Q Myers, followed up on his comments and said the mood in the locker room after Sunday’s game definitely seemed like a team coming together.
“I can tell you, after being in that locker room and talking to multiple players, and we talked to a handful of players after the game, just them saying that what we were able to do in practice, the way that we, you know, saw things, drew it up, looked at it on film, and said this is what we were going to do and to be actually able to go execute it the way that they wanted to and creating some turnover, something that they haven’t done in a while, getting to the quarterback, something that they haven’t done in a while, like all that coming together made them come together even more,” Myers said.
“I can tell you, regardless of any of those rumors that are out there, and you have the player-only meeting [rumor], Maxx Crosby said that was BS, and Elandon Roberts says that was BS,” Myers continued.
“He said, ‘Man, I don’t know what meeting they were in, because I’m in every one of them, and that was all stuff that’s just internet stuff.’ So this team is all together. They all have Geno’s back, and they all have each other’s back, and you can see that camaraderie in the locker room following the game. It was really a good sight to see.”
It will be interesting to see how the Raiders respond this week because they have one of the toughest challenges of the year waiting in week 7.
The Raiders travel to Kansas City for an early game on Sunday and the Chiefs are getting back to their championship form after winning three of their last four games.
If there was ever a time for Geno Smith and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly to figure things out and turn the Raiders’ offense around… this is the week they desperately need it.
x: @raidersbeat
Winning, even against a Sh!t Team, has a Funny way of Making things better. Even if it is just lipstick on a Pig – Winning isn’t everything… It is the ONLY Thing because it is not whether you win or lose – it is whether you WIN!!!!
True, but I’ve never been so indifferent to a win since Patriot West part 1.
I have a feeling we will be Tennessee next year. Start off horrible after a horrible season & have to start all over with another Brady flunkie.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that one of the worst teams in the NFL has 2 of our former GM’s in their personnel department
Didn’t Pratt lead the colts in tackles Sunday?
Maybe the locker room is fractured due to Pete & Brady’s boy
Yes, he played 79% of the defensive snaps and had a nice day, overall. Guess, the Raiders only want “yes” men in the locker room?! It’s hard to imagine that he was any more difficult to deal with than Michael Bennett, who was a real character with the Seabags under Carroll.
“Just Win Baby” Al Davis
they didnt right the ship, they escaped against the worst team in the league. the o-line was swiss cheese and the titans offense was completely nonfunctional. This next week is going to be a disaster
Like others have said they beat the Titans. If we played NE this past week instead it would’ve been a blowout. This entire off-season has been a disaster and the season is the product. I’m still assuming we will win just enough to not get a game changing player or if we had the opportunity this regime will select another RB or another position that isn’t of any value. I mean the entire draft of 25 was nothing but overvalued, overdrafted or just plain and simple terrible projects.
My thinking, as well. This begs the question of, Who’s job is it to evaluate the players? The HC or GM? Because someone should be held accountable for not recognizing the lack of talent along the OL. I mean without a competent OL the QB, Wr and RB play will be poor. One woukd think that an experienced coach like Carroll would spot the deficiencies?
As a retired manager I can assure you that having a negative whiner on your team makes the entire group unhappy. Best cure is let the whiner go.
Yeah there could be friction in the locker room that’s always going to be but let’s look at the reality of it we’ve got a shitty bunch of coaches that can’t coach these young men all of them are shitty why is that other teams consider and jatter and shuck and jive and get the offense moving and ours just always move stagnant it’s our freaking coaching we’ve got no razz and why is it that the razors so scared to fire people either Midway through or before Midway through other coaches are getting fired around the league get rid of Chip Kelly get rid of our special teams guy get rid of the guy who coaches the defensive backs was always getting fucking burnt bottom line we need a new revamping of coaches men that want to coach men that can coach