The Raiders have made a lot of mistakes in the last year, and most of those mistakes have come on the offensive side of the ball.
The decision to hire offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was a mistake and it’s starting to look like the decision to start Gardner Minshew over Aidan O’Connell was a bad idea, too.
Looking back to the team’s quarterback battle that extended into the second week of the preseason, there were many who were surprised the Raiders decided to start the season with Minshew at quarterback, and according to Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter, the decision was a joint effort from the GM, head coach and offensive coordinator.
”It was a Luke Getsy, Antonio Pierce and Tom Telesco decision,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast in August. “They would all tell you it was a three-headed decision.”
When neither quarterback stood out in the preseason, many expected head coach Antonio Pierce to choose O’Connell over Minshew, in part because of their relationship going back to last year. There has been a level of trust between O’Connell and Pierce, and it was the reason why O’Connell was perceived by some to have an edge on Minshew going into training camp.
It’s anyone’s guess what happened in the quarterback meetings between Pierce, Getsy and GM Tom Telesco, but listening to Carpenter on his podcast this week, it sounds like Getsy was the strongest voice for Minshew in the meetings.
“They’ve made some corrections, some massive corrections. They’ve got Aiden in there. I think, and I don’t know this, I’m not quoting him, I’m giving you opinion here. I believe that AP went with Gardner because that’s what, I know it’s what his offensive coordinator wanted, and I believe in my opinion that he acquiesced to trust his coordinator,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
By definition, that’s a fairly strong statement by Carpenter. To “acquiesce” is to accept a decision ‘reluctantly but without protest.
As for the decision to hire Getsy in the first place, Carpenter said it was Getsy’s experience that probably gave him the edge over interim OC Scott Turner, who was already with the team.
“I think there’s a lot of, probably a lot of people asking… what if they’d gone with Scott Turner [instead of Getsy]?” Carpenter said. “I think there was some concern with Scott because of inexperience, not because of talent, and because of him being a first-time head coach. I believe there was the feeling of, we probably need somebody that’s got some experience. It’s what I believe happened. That’s how they ended up with Getsy. But that’s water under the bridge. It doesn’t matter.”
If they don’t accomplish anything else in the regular season, the Raiders need to figure out what they have in O’Connell.
The second-year quarterback out of Purdue has plenty of doubters among the fan base, but if he continues to play the way he did against the Chiefs, the quarterback situation in Las Vegas might not be as desperate as advertised.
As for Minshew, he is now out for the season with a broken collarbone, and there is a good chance he won’t be back with the team next year. He turns 29 before the start of next season, and the Raiders are expected to invest in a rookie quarterback in the draft.
According to Over the Cap, cutting Minshew would cost the Raiders $7.6 million in dead money, but would free up $6.3 million in salary cap space. O’Connell’s cap number is just over $1 million in each of the next two years.
x: @raidersbeat
How apropos.
Turner and O’Conner will turn it around and show us if he’s got game to be a QB in the NFL
Getsy was a loser in Chicago with Fields as QB, Fields went to Pittsburgh and started playing good, Getsy was the problem, Raiders should of never hired him, glad he’s gone
I really love O’Connell, his deep ball with Accuracy is awesome. He showed me this week he is getting better with movement in the pocket. With our front line being weak. I mean QB’s are constantly under distress. Minchew isn’t accurate or can trow deep well. But with the O-line not able to open holds for the running game or give the QB time to sit back and wait for deep passes, under Luke Getsey system. Remind some of you, He wasn’t our first choice. Kingsbury had excepted. Then backed out by then who was available?? So we just had bad luck from McDaniels (F) the Nation. This year I say draft for Hunter, use him as we did Charles Woodson. CB who also used as WR. sparring.
And Dave Ziegler really wanted CJ Stroud, but was overruled. Here comes the part of the year where selective leaks come out from people trying to save their jobs.
As for Hondo, I’m not sure anyone has carried more water for AP over the past year, so If take this report with a major grain of salt.
The other problem with scapegoating Getsy, of course, is that AP hired him, and it’s not a coincidence in my opinion that Getsy was never a threat to replace AP the way Kingsbury or another higher profile OC might have been.
He should have started all along. I blame Telesco, of course he didn’t want Aiden to start and Getsy. It made him look like a fool for giving a back up 15 million. Getsy because he doesn’t know how to coach an O-line he wants his QB to be able to run away from pressure. I guess he didn’t realize that Minshew runs himself into pressure.
AP has his short comings,but I still think he needs a year to figure it out. Because if he’s gone all coaches are gone and defense starts from scratch. The only coach out there worth dumping the AP for has a job in San Diego now
Power Offense and players on D comeback healthy. We will be competitive.
Man 16 years raider nation has been waiting to get a winning team come on Raiders get your sh—- together man we need true leaders on this team like max Crosby. He’s going to get tired of all this bullshit and ask for a trade man come on mark get your head into the raiders and not so much with your basketball team
Once again Hondo blabbing like he knows something but it either speculating or is being told this by the horrible GM that is Telesco as he tries to save his job after bringing in noodle arm Minshew and giving him better than back up money. And what Hondo doesn’t state is Kingsbury was on record of agreeing but than didn’t. Reports of a third year being the reason. Who chose not to give him a 3rd year ? Telesco or Davis? AP screwed up by agreeing to Telesco,Minshew and Gutless Getsy as his crew. AP has shown not to be good at game situations and only one decent FA from last year signed albeit for far too much $$. If we wait for Telesco to draft enough good players and wait for him to bring in one good free agent at a time it will take a decade for Davis to realize why the Bolts finally got rid of him. Clean house and hire Ben Johnson as HC/OC to run the show and give him the opportunity to suggest what GM he’d be comfortable with. Then get Salah, Eberflus or any actually good DC as P.Graham isn’t that. Mark messed up by not hiring Rich then hired Mcdummy only to cater to AP instead of hiring Harbaugh. His HC choices have been terrible dating back to hiring D.Allen instead of keeping Hue (as HC/OC not defacto GM). A year later they could’ve had A.Reid. Don’t stay with AP and Telesco any longer than this year.