The Raiders’ offensive line was arguably the worst in the NFL last year, and there’s no question the offensive line has become a top priority since head coach Klint Kubiak was hired in February.
Through free agency and the draft, the Raiders have invested heavily in the offensive line in recent years, and the group appeared to be moving in a better direction in the first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals.
This week against the Texans, though, it sounded like the offensive line took some lumps in practice, and former Raiders great Lincoln Kennedy wants to see more from the offensive line before he’s going to be sold on the group.
On the Locked on Raiders Squad Show on Wednesday, Kennedy said he still doesn’t know if the offensive line in Las Vegas has the mindset he’s looking for…
“Right now, I cannot honestly look at this offensive line and say what type of attitude they have. I don’t see an attitude. I don’t see a tenacity. I don’t see any sense of identity when it comes to this offensive line.
I don’t know enough about Tyler [Linderbaum]. You know, Kolton Miller is quiet. He’s always been quiet. That’s just his mindset.
Don’t know enough about Caleb Rogers. I don’t know enough about [Spencer] Burford. I don’t know enough about D.J. Glaze in that sense because I think they were all trying to fit in. I don’t see a true tenacity, a true attitude when it comes to this offensive line. That hurts me because I know a team is a team without itself, without that attitude for offensive line.”
Kennedy has long been an advocate for Jackson Powers-Johnson and agreed with co-host Q Myers that the team needs JPJ’s attitude in the offensive trenches.
But Kennedy is starting to have doubts about Powers-Johnson and his ability to stay on the field…
“Let me preface this by saying I totally hope the best for JPJ. And it’s not just because he’s a Raider, but just because he’s a guy who’s trying to learn his way in the National Football League. I understand wholeheartedly why teams backed off of him from the draft. I get it. But I also see the desire of a young man who wants to be that guy.
When I watched the introduction of the team in the last preseason game, when they were playing the Cardinals at home, there was JPJ, there was Maxx Crosby… and there was Kolton Miller walking at the front of the team, leading the team out. That made sense to me. These are the leaders that you want of your team. But at the same point, you have to be able to stand throughout your teammates throughout the season and this is the biggest thing that I have with JPJ.
I love his tenacity. I love his aggression. I love his play. But you have to be available. And there’s a reason why he fell, you know, possibly from a number one draft choice to where he was. There were a lot of teams that suspected this was going to happen and I hate this for JPJ. Not for the Raiders. I hate it for JPJ. Because I really want to see this young man succeed.
I don’t know how you do it though. I don’t know how you do it with a game that involves contact, that a game that involves, you know, you know, grown *** men, you know, pushing themselves against one another.
If you can’t be available, I don’t know how you make it.”
Can the Raiders’ offensive line get some positive momentum against the Houston Texans on Thursday?
The Texans might have the best defensive line in the NFL, but according to reports out of Houston on Wednesday, the Texans don’t plan to play many of their starters against the Raiders on Thursday night.
That could end up being good news for the Raiders because their young O-line might not be ready for a defensive front like the Texans in real game situations.
Every indication is that the Raiders will play their offensive starters against the Texans, and if all goes as planned, the offensive line will be able to gain a little positive momentum against the Texans’ backups on defense.
x: @raidersbeat