On Tuesday, Raiders’ veteran defensive tackle Adam Butler made an interesting statement about the offense and defense not delivering in the first half of the season and added that “everybody can see what’s going on [and] we know what’s going on.”
Butler didn’t point the finger at anyone, but his comments seemed to be directed at someone or some situation in the building. He didn’t clarify, so our only option is to speculate.
Listening to Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter this week, it sounded like there might be some in the locker room wondering what’s going on with the coaching staff, and the way certain players and coaches have been the beneficiary of more patience than others.
“[The defense is] performing really well… and the offense isn’t. OK, you fire your special teams coordinator and then you have a quarterback playing on one leg. And you keep him in there. Those are all things that you better believe players question,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
“OK, how come it looks like all the change is coming to special teams? And you’re willing to try guys at new positions on defense. Why does the offense seem to be untouchable? Special teams wasn’t [doing their job], guys got fired. Why is [the offense] the sacred cow? Why have all these changes been done? And the offense is worse.”
“These are legitimate questions,” Carpenter continued. “These are not questions that bear fruit of negativity or division. I’ve had a lot of you ask, ‘Do you think the locker room gets split?’ No. Is there a potential of that? I don’t think at this point, but what there is, is it’s not division to ask questions. I’m sorry, if you’re mad that Geno Smith kept playing or you think it was wrong. That’s fair.”
Reading between the lines, it sounds like not everyone in the Raiders’ locker room thought Geno Smith should have been back in the game on Thursday with one healthy leg.
Taking that speculation a step farther, would anyone have a problem if an elite quarterback had fought his way back into a game on a bad leg?
Probably not.
For that reason, it’s fair to wonder if some in the locker room have already had enough of the Geno Smith experiment. There have been whispers in the wind about that starting to happen in the last few weeks and it could be that Butler’s and Carpenter’s comments this week were both hinting at something in that direction.
x: @raidersbeat
The ST coach wasn’t the problem. The OL coach isn’t the problem. The defense is playing good. Not any better than that. The DC isn’t above average. The OC hasn’t worked very hard to exemplify its strengths. Our HC is blatantly fielding favorites which is obviously affecting morale.
The offensive line coach is definitely a problem more than any other coach except the head coach.
Sub coaches coach. They aren’t on the field during games. A coach has no responsibility to miss blocking assignments or poor effort. In an offensive line coach has no input on who’s on the field during the game.
Y’all need to figure out just how much a sub coach can and cannot do. Cause you got it all wrong.
That’s bs, he’s the coach works with his players every day, helps evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and recommends who should play. He moved JPJ from his center position, then benched him and had weaker players starting in his place. If you think he doesn’t have some pull with his old man on the OL then you are sadly mistaken.
Sadly mistaken. Too funny. Instead of thinking you know something you don’t, maybe you should try to reach out to somebody you trust to get an answer that will give you a clue.
Weekly planning: The offensive line coach works with the rest of the offensive staff throughout the week to create a game plan, which includes analyzing opponent film and developing strategies to exploit weaknesses.
Technical expertise: They provide crucial input on how to execute plays, such as what blocking schemes will be most effective against a specific defense or how to adjust the blocking on a particular play.
Adjustments: They are responsible for teaching players how to make adjustments on the fly, like a change in blocking call, based on how the defense lines up.
Collaboration: While the offensive coordinator or head coach may have the final say, the game plan is a collaborative effort where every position coach provides their perspective and expertise.
You’re gonna need to dig a little deeper, sweetheart. Pete Carroll runs things a little differently and has for decades.
Generic responses don’t cut the mustard.
I have never seen a game where the special teams coach isn’t on the sidelines, just because you say something means as much to me as a turd, just trying to show your ignorance of the game sparky.
Too funny. There’s enough information out there for dumbasses like you to educate yourself. But you choose to think you know everything. You only make yourself look ignorant. Go ahead get the last word in. It’ll make you feel better.
The kicker has been playing poorly, missed xtra points and FG. Normally a team would just change kickers but I guess the blown ST blocking assignments led to the ST coach dismissal. Plus I don’t think his salary is significant, like the OC.
The kicker missing kicks. Is it due to mental absence because of dysfunction on the team? Or is it because a bookie is pulling strings out of his back?
It’s not so much the missed kicks as it is, which ones he missed.
I thought Hondo Carpenter was one of Ben Cartwright’s sons from Bonanza.