Raiders might have a team worth rooting for
The ramifications of the long breakup fully set in on Monday night.
That first week, even with the new name, didn’t quite hit. But the Raiders playing a home game in Las Vegas — that struck a chord from over here in the East Bay.
It’s unofficially official: The Raiders are gone and they’re not coming back. Would you leave sweet digs like that?
And with a new city and sweet new stadium, I couldn’t help but notice that the Raiders might just have a new kind of team, too.
Don’t get me wrong, the Raiders’ defense has not turned a corner yet — it’s still the porous 11 Raiders fans have come to know and hate.
But the offense? Through two weeks of the 2020 season, and following an impressive 34-24 win over the Saints on national television, I think it’s fair to say that there’s something cooking there.
It took a few years and a big move, but it looks like Jon Gruden — three years into his 10-year contract — finally has the personnel to run the schemes he wants to play.
There’s been some adaptation to the modern era of football, but truth be told, the formula from Gruden’s last goaround as a head coach still works in 2020.
Some things never go out of style.
Gruden’s 2020 Raiders has a do-it-all running back, Josh Jacobs, running behind a big,
beefy and powerful athletic offensive line. Jacobs ran for 88 yards on 27 carries Monday night, and the Raiders’ offensive line, despite being a smorgasbord of starters and backups, controlled the line of scrimmage (and beyond) for most of the game.
The wide receivers could use more seasoning, sure, but you can see how those pieces fit in the puzzle.
But who needs great wide receivers when you have an elite tight end
and some more-than-capable backups?
Anyone who watched the Raiders last year knew that Darren Waller was a superstar, but after a 12-catch, 103-yard, onetouchdown performance, the nation is now in on the secret.
The big question remains: Is quarterback Derek Carr the game manager that Gruden wants under center?
After two games, it’s hard to say that he’s not.
There’s a long way to go, but Carr looks in control and a bit more adventurous in 2020. So far, he’s 50-of-68 for 521 yards,
four touchdowns and no interceptions.
That will certainly do. And it’s not like you can argue that the Raiders are at full strength, buoying his stats. There’s a reason the wide receivers on this team are so
young.
Of course, this is football, and the only constant is injuries. Well, that and the Raiders having a bad defense.
But defense doesn’t
seem to matter much in the NFL these days.
The next few weeks for the Raiders will be hellacious. At New England, the Bills in Las Vegas, and then Kansas City on the road. We’ll have a much better read by mid-October (which is still early by NFL standards). But if Carr is proven correct for taking an early season victory lap — boy is he currently happy to issue a verdict on the “haters” (aka anyone who has seen him play the last few years) — the Raiders might be taking an extra lap or two after the regular season is over.