Podcast: Raiders Offensive Woes, Jerry Jones, Jim Irsay
In our latest Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast, we discuss the Silver and Black offensive woes, Jim Irsay, Jerry Jones, and much more.
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00:00 Hi everybody, this is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation Las Vegas
00:07 Raiders Insider Podcast, part of the Fans First Sports Network, joined by my compatriot
00:12 who joins me each and every week.
00:15 Not only is he a terrifically successful attorney and a terrific media member, he's also just
00:20 a great friend.
00:21 My one and only, my guy, the great Johnny Guitars.
00:25 Happy Halloween.
00:27 How about that, little Craig Biggio, little Jeff Bagwell.
00:32 No offense to the Astros folks, but happy Halloween to one and all.
00:36 Now that that is taken care of, I think that counts as a costume, we can get down to some
00:41 business.
00:42 Some of the business is going to be a little uncomfortable, but it is business time.
00:46 John, I want to talk about the Raiders.
00:49 They go into Chicago against a Division II quarterback, never threw a pass, never ran
00:55 a play against a Division I team, a game that they had far more talented players, but the
01:02 Raiders were not the better team.
01:04 $102 million offense, and they just laid an egg.
01:09 You have the NFL's returning leading rusher, Devontae Adams, Jacoby Myers, all of it, and
01:15 it's nothing more than a discombobulated mess.
01:18 John, you know I personally like Josh McDaniels, but I got to call a spade a spade.
01:24 It's horrible what's going on right now.
01:26 It makes no logical sense, your thoughts.
01:29 My thoughts are, once again, sometimes people say, "Do you guys always agree on everything?"
01:33 I say, "No, not everything, but ideally good minds thinking right about football come to
01:39 a common place."
01:40 The Raiders laid an enormous egg last week.
01:44 They took my words, unfortunately, and kind of applied them.
01:48 Here's what I think happened in reality.
01:50 They see a guy they've never even heard of this quarterback coming in, and they look
01:55 right past him, or enough players on the Raiders look right past the Bears, look right past
02:01 the Raiders.
02:02 They basically just think they're going to show up, roll out on the field, break a sweat,
02:06 and roll.
02:07 They don't.
02:08 The Raiders clearly lost that game in the first half.
02:12 Revisiting our discussion last week, I think the decision to start Brian Hoyer was still
02:17 correct.
02:18 When you heard what Brian Hoyer said in the postgame when you talked to him, I think he
02:21 was correct there, too, with a twist.
02:25 He said, "Look, this is the NFL.
02:27 This can happen anytime, any week, anywhere."
02:30 That's true, and Brian Hoyer knows that.
02:32 More than a decade into his career, not enough guys on his team knew that.
02:38 I want to talk about what happens sometimes, what we see across the sport happen when a
02:44 starter is out.
02:46 It seems like a team can go one of two ways.
02:48 This week, the Bears went one way, the Raiders went the other.
02:52 When you have your starter out, you can have the rare occasions, or hopefully often occasions,
02:57 in the NFL where the rest of the team rallies together, pulls together, and says, "Hey,
03:01 we've got to do more as a team to make up for the fact that our guy is out."
03:06 That's exactly what the Bears did, 14 to 3 in the first half, without question.
03:12 The Raiders, on the other hand, too many of them did not.
03:16 It was not all on Brian Hoyer the first half, but that's where the damage was done.
03:22 Then Brian Hoyer maybe tried to do too much at the right time the quarterback changes
03:26 made.
03:28 We don't know what's going to happen this week still as we're taping it now, but what
03:32 an enormous egg the Raiders lay.
03:38 I think this is ... How many times have we talked about this trade deadline?
03:42 Now we are up against it.
03:44 We got to see what happens.
03:45 What Raider football club shows up on Monday night, if they have the $100 million offense,
03:53 and they are in the teens on Monday night, let's see what happens after that.
04:02 John, I want to pick through a couple things here, because during the first 20 games, I
04:12 took a lot of criticism.
04:13 People said, "Man, Hondo is the PR department, but I think you've got to give coaches time
04:18 to check out their system, check out players, whatever, after 20 games."
04:24 Listen, I hope Josh McDaniels, for the sake of the franchise, is there 20 years.
04:30 Whenever his successor comes in, I'm giving him 20 games.
04:36 The thing that stood out to me was several fold.
04:38 First of all, we know that Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels have had great success,
04:45 but outside of Tom Brady, that success has been extremely limited for both men.
04:52 I said before that I was hearing from the inside that if Bill Belichick didn't make
04:57 the playoffs, that Bob Kraft would move on.
05:03 I'm not saying it.
05:04 Well, I'm telling you what I'm hearing from people on the inside, the same people who
05:06 told me that Josh McDaniels was taking the job when everyone said he wasn't.
05:13 They've proven to be reliable for years and years and years.
05:18 Then it comes out, "Well, he's got an extended contract," which I'm, whatever.
05:24 I'm standing by it because of who I'm hearing it from.
05:28 When Josh McDaniels gets in here to be an offensive mind, for that owner to turn and
05:38 fire a coach who just, with a lot less talent, took a team to the playoffs, now that owner
05:45 is being screamed at at games.
05:47 He goes to a WNBA parade to celebrate his aces winning a championship.
05:54 Signs are being held up.
05:56 I lived through the fire milling era in Detroit.
05:59 I was close to Matt.
06:01 In fact, I'm the one that told him, I called Matt and told him, "I want you to know they're
06:06 going to fire you today."
06:07 Literally remember that.
06:09 You knew that story.
06:10 Others don't know that, but I did.
06:15 Firing's not coming.
06:18 He's going to get another year unless, only 5% chance he doesn't.
06:22 He's going to get another year.
06:24 I hope that's fine.
06:26 My job is not to call.
06:28 I don't create news, I report it.
06:30 This is toxic.
06:33 It's not good.
06:34 We know the Raiders can go and win in Detroit on Monday night.
06:39 Totally, they can come here and win.
06:40 By the way, I'm in Detroit.
06:42 They can come here and win.
06:46 I don't expect it.
06:47 Don't anticipate it.
06:49 We said three games ago, these next six games are going to tell us everything we need to
06:53 go because then they go home for two weeks to take on the guys from Gotham.
06:58 They need to win those two really bad.
07:00 Your just thoughts about the state of the franchise.
07:05 I'm beginning to wonder, not so much about Josh McDaniels, the person, but about the
07:11 situation that Josh McDaniels comes from when he becomes a head coach.
07:16 How many guys, it's not just that they're fantastic coordinators, but they're just in
07:21 really, really great jobs, really great teams, really great organizations.
07:27 Sometimes people can do a great job.
07:31 Sometimes it's just a great job, maybe.
07:34 So I wonder what the disconnect might be between the technical precision of Josh McDaniels,
07:41 the success that his career has been paved with as a coordinator, coming over to a head
07:47 coach, this is the second time around, and it feels like it's sinking or slipping back.
07:55 Now, we know what happened with the massive investment that Chandler Jones, that is likely
08:02 not to play again.
08:03 We understand that Josh Jacobs is laid into camp, but we don't understand yet, and we
08:09 can't put our fingers on why is this not connected better?
08:14 And I got to be honest with you, it was alarming to see the first half of that Bears game.
08:21 I can stay here as a total whatever and say, "Raiders are going to roll this week.
08:28 This quarterback, where's he from?
08:30 The Bears are down.
08:31 They're going to smack him."
08:32 I think I said 30 to nine.
08:33 Well, turns out that score wasn't far off, just badly flipped the other way.
08:41 So I think the franchise right now is, I actually think it's on the cusp of another, like, what
08:46 should we do situation.
08:49 If the Raiders are going to say, "Listen, we're sticking with McDaniels pretty much
08:53 no matter what."
08:54 I hope he's got the permission to pull some weeds as he sees fit, because that performance
09:01 by too many of the guys on the football team last week was hardly, hardly professional.
09:07 If you want to talk about standards, where McDaniels come from in the heyday of the Patriots,
09:12 their standards are way up here.
09:14 Where would most of those sit?
09:16 Not good at all.
09:17 They better find a way to turn it around.
09:19 And I think McDaniels, to be honest with you, he's got to find like another gear where he's
09:23 got to maybe get after some people some more than he feels comfortable doing.
09:27 Otherwise, he's really in danger.
09:30 You know, Warren Sapp, who I have humongous respect for, and tons of respect for him,
09:38 but he's come out and blasted them for, and I can tell you, he is not running it like
09:45 Bill Belichick.
09:46 Now, is he demanding?
09:48 Sure is.
09:51 But he's not running it like New England.
09:53 I know that for a fact, he's not.
09:57 But for a lot of players, the discipline and culture that he's trying to bring is something
10:03 a little bit different than they're used to.
10:05 I'm not making any excuses.
10:07 There is no excuse with that $102 million offense to be an epic failure.
10:13 That's all on him.
10:14 So I'm the one who's also said this week has nothing to do with players.
10:19 It's all about coaching.
10:22 But a lot has gone into this, and to me, just go get an upset on Monday Night Football
10:28 with the nation watching.
10:30 I'm going to tell you, I'm here.
10:33 It don't feel like the Raiders are getting an upset.
10:36 If the Lions had ran over the Ravens, maybe.
10:40 They are so mad.
10:41 They're a caged animal ready to eat.
10:44 You often hear me use the term, "There's blood in the water.
10:46 Go be a shark."
10:47 Well, there's a gazelle down on the Serengeti, and the Lions are circling, and the gazelle's
10:55 wearing an eye patch.
10:56 This is just going to be—as a matter of fact, it's kind of fun being back here.
11:01 I'm doing all the media, all the TV, radio, all of it.
11:05 And a lot of them are like, "Oof.
11:08 Oof."
11:09 I'm like, "Yeah, I know.
11:10 I know.
11:11 I know.
11:12 It's going to be interesting."
11:13 All right, John, I want to talk about a couple other things.
11:16 I know many members, I know a bunch of players, much of leaders for the NFLPA.
11:24 I agree with this.
11:25 They would like to see all new stadiums be banned from having turf.
11:31 The fact that the Raiders can have natural gas—grass—being a dome, and oh, by the
11:37 way, in the desert proves everybody can do it.
11:41 Maybe there's a little bit of a struggle for some of the winter teams with the snow and
11:45 all that kind of stuff.
11:46 Now you do it with the dome.
11:47 But a lot of people are calling for a mandatory grass only on all new stadiums.
11:54 Now we're finding a German hybrid grass company who does a lot of soccer.
12:01 Let's talk about that.
12:03 Yeah, that's something that we're going to see this week because last year the games
12:07 in Germany—massive complaints about the field surfaces.
12:11 It's really hard to remember, but they weren't good.
12:13 Part of the reason it's so hard to remember was the Super Bowl last year was flat out
12:18 marred by a ridiculous surface.
12:20 So surface is on everybody's eyes and mind.
12:23 What we're going to see this week is a hybrid surface that—really, I remember the idea
12:30 for almost 20 years ago, basically, where you'd have some hybrid turf and then grass
12:34 growing inside or between it.
12:37 It sounds like technology's caught up here a little bit, and you're looking at really
12:42 about 95% natural grass and then the rest synthetic.
12:46 Now if you take your mind back to the horrible grass fields in the NFL—FedEx field, Heinz
12:53 field—we've all seen them at times look really bad.
12:56 You can maybe understand why some places in the field might need more than less.
13:01 But let's see what this technology looks like.
13:04 This could be a good thing.
13:06 There's a lot of—now there's a lot of research about the types of injuries on grass
13:11 versus turf, the amount of injuries on turf.
13:13 Look, we all know it's gotten better.
13:15 For God's sake, remember the vet in Philadelphia.
13:18 You could see the creases and the holes in the turf way back then.
13:23 Those days are long gone, but this is still something good to pay attention to.
13:28 So we are going to have some extra eyes on what we see in Germany this week because there
13:32 is a need for more grass.
13:35 The technology seems to be there without a question, but also now we've got maybe a
13:39 new angle in the technology.
13:40 It's going to be exciting to see because we do not want the turf or the surface to
13:44 be a story.
13:45 Ideally, it's not a story at all when we're watching these games.
13:49 I have a very good friend of mine that several years ago when he was a free agent picked
13:54 a team.
13:56 Everybody thought he was going to Team A, and he ended up going to Team B because they
14:00 had grass.
14:02 And that was the first time it really—I remember him saying—in fact, he was at my
14:07 house, we were fishing.
14:13 We were at my house fishing and I said, "Are you excited to go to Team A?"
14:16 And he's like, "No, I'm going to go to Team B."
14:20 And I'm like, "What?"
14:21 He's like, "Yeah, man, they got grass."
14:25 And it was the first time it hit me.
14:26 Of course, remind me off-air, I think you know who I'm talking about because I think
14:30 I may have told you this story before, but if I didn't, I'll tell you.
14:35 That's the first time I realized that is a big deal.
14:38 And now that I'm older and I see it all the time, it's a huge deal.
14:41 But I want to get to another thing.
14:44 Jim Ursay is a fascinating owner to me.
14:47 Do you know he's the oldest tenured owner in the National Football League?
14:53 I do.
14:54 Do you know he's got one of the greatest collections of guitars in the entire world?
14:58 Yeah, I learned that this week.
15:01 Now I do know he travels with a band because he actually called me once and wanted to know
15:05 if I wanted to interview him because his band was coming to Vegas.
15:10 Jim Ursay is good for the NFL.
15:13 And he came out on Twitter and blasted the refs, wants to see a lot.
15:19 Now I am told that XFL did really did a lot this year with quick reviews.
15:27 They got some young kids, and I say young kids, 22, 23, 24, who are used to grew up
15:34 in the video game culture, can go back, look, go back, look, great, yup, done, good.
15:40 I don't know that he hit the nail on the head where I 100% agree.
15:43 I'm just glad there's an owner talking about we need to do something different.
15:49 Your thoughts, Johnny Guitars, on what he said and how bad is the officiating in the
15:55 National Football League?
15:56 Because I'm going to tell you right now, I think the National Football League officiating
15:58 is getting terrible.
16:00 Well, it's wild to see an owner say the NFL, they made some incorrect calls.
16:08 That's wild.
16:09 I don't know if that really helps unless something comes out of it.
16:13 What I hear Ursay saying, and I don't know if he's saying it super clearly or not, is
16:17 he's kind of in favor of our discussion about the need for basically an off-field official
16:23 that they keep inching towards, the need for some expanded technology, camera angles, maybe
16:31 some chips in the bowl, like GPS chips so you don't have to measure, all that kind of
16:35 stuff, and maybe just some reform.
16:42 I heard Aaron Rodgers kind of echo this earlier this week, but I think he may have been wrong.
16:46 He said, "Oh, I don't think the officials are going to mind about this."
16:50 That's not the impression I get.
16:51 The impression I get, the reason that this hasn't happened before, the reason we haven't
16:54 had off-field officials in the NFL for more than a decade growing and expanding, is because
16:59 of the guys on the field, because of the referee egos.
17:02 I don't know if that's true or not, but that's the way it looks.
17:08 I'm friends with three NFL referees.
17:10 I'll share more with you off-air than I will right now.
17:16 I'm trying to get one of them after the season to come on and to do a podcast where he's
17:21 in the dark and we change his voice so people don't know who he is.
17:26 I think you know who I'm talking about.
17:29 I asked them, he goes, "I don't mind anything that helps us get the game right."
17:35 He said, "But the problem I have is the game is boom, boom."
17:40 He said, "The rules are so constantly changing."
17:46 He goes, "I want to get it right.
17:48 I feel terrible when I get a play wrong."
17:51 To me, you may remember Ed Hightower, the very famous college basketball ref who's a
17:59 great friend of mine.
18:00 Even when he was a ref, remember he'd come on my show and he made all the other refs
18:05 mad.
18:06 They just want to get it right.
18:08 I remember him telling me, he called Izzo one time, he cost Tom Izzo a Big Ten championship.
18:15 He goes, "I was sick to my stomach and I had to call Izzo and just tell him I'm sorry
18:20 I screwed up.
18:21 I miss it."
18:22 I know, again, very good friends with three NFL refs.
18:27 I know they want to get it right, but the NFL has to do something because you have a
18:33 billions and billion dollars company and people are making decisions.
18:39 I heard it this week.
18:40 I'm trying to remember who told me.
18:44 Braylon Edwards, the great Michigan Wolverine wide receiver, the great NFL wide receiver.
18:48 It may have been Braylon.
18:49 If I'm wrong, I'm not lying, but I think it was Braylon.
18:51 I was hanging out with Braylon.
18:55 Somebody told me, and I thought this was really super fascinating, that once Vegas gets involved,
19:08 that's when the world is going to change.
19:10 Maybe it was somebody else telling me that Pat McAfee said that.
19:13 I don't know which one it is, but it was one of them.
19:15 But anyways, to me, that's an angle I had not thought about.
19:19 In fact, we're not a college football podcast, but I was told the biggest angle
19:25 of the Michigan thing is that this is costing spread and Vegas gets involved and says, fine,
19:30 we won't put Michigan games on the board anymore.
19:34 That's big for the big 10.
19:35 So it's fascinating.
19:36 All right, let's go to the 49ers.
19:37 Interesting little development here.
19:38 Do they have fifth quarterbacks?
19:45 Are they going down this road again in San Francisco?
19:48 Holy cow.
19:49 So Brock Purdy's got concussion symptoms on the way back.
19:54 We know that San Francisco already traded Trey Lance.
19:58 I've got family out in the Bay Area.
19:59 They're starting to think, are we going through this again?
20:02 What's going on here?
20:05 What's gone to the 49ers in the last couple of weeks?
20:08 Holy cow.
20:09 So now they've got some real problems.
20:12 Again, check the date.
20:14 It's very close to the trade deadline.
20:17 And I think in a perfect world, God forbid, they'd have to make a deal to get a quarterback.
20:22 We know who they would love to ideally get in a fantasy land.
20:27 Are we now going to see 49ers?
20:29 Yeah.
20:30 So I mean, that would be a massive swing, especially because what happens if Purdy just
20:35 comes back in a couple of weeks?
20:36 But are the 49ers now stuck in a position where they have to go get a quarterback?
20:42 I think we're going to, obviously we're going to know by next Tuesday, but I have a feeling
20:46 they're going to know before this game kicks off.
20:48 And this is a massive curve ball.
20:50 It's a 17 week season, but this is a real serious curve ball.
20:53 This is a team that looked like they would be playing for a chance to go to the Super
20:57 Bowl again.
20:58 Now they may be looking at, I don't know what number quarterback you want to count this
21:03 as, but they got a real issue with the quarterback position again.
21:06 All right.
21:09 Speaking of the quarterback issue, I want to talk about Jimmy Garoppolo.
21:12 The Raiders are married to him this year and next year.
21:17 He has shown no reason to want to stay in this marriage.
21:22 They've played seven games.
21:23 Now, John, you remember, you can tell we got, we got thousands of new listeners.
21:28 I said when they signed him, give him the benefit of a doubt.
21:33 If he stays healthy, 17 games, Dave Ziegler and Josh McDaniels are geniuses.
21:38 If he doesn't, they own it.
21:40 They own this.
21:43 Seven games, he's only played four and a half.
21:45 He can't stay healthy.
21:47 Here's my question to you.
21:48 I've not seen anything from Jimmy Garoppolo that convinces me of anything other than,
21:57 I don't think Jimmy Garoppolo is a very good quarterback.
22:00 Now in his defense, the Raiders have played three quarterbacks and none of them have looked
22:07 impressive.
22:10 So that, he deserves that in his defense.
22:13 But with that being said, if you're the Raiders, do you keep them around as a several million
22:21 dollar backup and go with a young guy?
22:23 Because then you got, then you can see what you got.
22:26 Or do you keep riding them if you think he gives you the best chance to win?
22:31 I think you do what's, if you're in win mode, you got to go with the guy that the coach
22:35 believes puts him in win mode.
22:38 Regardless of what you think, regardless of what I think, regardless of what Raider fan
22:41 thinks, that's what they got to do.
22:43 What's Johnny Guitars doing?
22:46 If you're in win mode and you think you've got the guy that's going to put you in the
22:50 best position to win, you go with him.
22:53 If you're not sure who that is, whole different story.
22:57 I don't know what value of trade Garoppolo would have, if any, at this time, but I would
23:01 be finding out right now.
23:03 I would think it's pretty much zero.
23:05 There's none.
23:06 There's none.
23:07 I've talked, I've talked, I've talked because fans are asking me all the time.
23:12 So I'm constantly talking to executives.
23:14 What do you think these guys are?
23:16 That's how I was able last summer when I reported the Raiders wanted a four, but would probably
23:21 take a five for Hunter Renfro.
23:24 And fans at the time, no, they're going to get a one.
23:27 No, they're not.
23:28 Because I knew what GMs are telling me.
23:31 They're not going to get a one.
23:32 He's injured too much.
23:33 The contract, they may get a four, but probably a five.
23:37 But I'm talking, I mean, I'm told zero trade market, none.
23:40 In fact, I was told by an NFL executive, let me read you this text.
23:44 I was told this by an NFL executive, said this, "Ivante and Max Crosby aren't on the
23:55 market.
23:56 That's very clear and evident.
23:59 But I'm going to tell you right now, if they were, the other 31 teams would line up to
24:03 get them, all of the 31.
24:06 Other than that, there may be some guys that teams have interest in, but your two biggest
24:11 players would be on the market and they're not available.
24:14 I believe them.
24:16 They're trying to win."
24:17 I thought that was a good text.
24:19 Yeah.
24:21 That lays it out.
24:23 Relative to Garoppolo, what I would do, you're stuck with him next year.
24:28 You've got O'Connell.
24:30 I'm dead serious.
24:31 I'd draft another quarterback.
24:33 I think you need to get into the motion of pretty much drafting a quarterback every year
24:37 because of the way that- I'm okay right now.
24:41 Unless they sign a free agent, which I don't see, they're going to draft.
24:45 Yeah.
24:46 So you're kind of stuck.
24:48 Listen, we talked about this.
24:50 You talked about it, laid it out.
24:52 As of right now, the durability is an issue.
24:54 If Garoppolo somehow comes back and plays the rest of the season straight, that's a
24:58 different story.
24:59 But it's a real issue right now.
25:02 Understand that they are married to him next year and understand that that quarterback
25:06 room is going to look a little different next year.
25:10 This is a real tough spot.
25:11 When you take the gamble, every starting quarterback in the NFL, nearly every one of them in the
25:17 history of the sport is a little bit of a gamble.
25:20 This seemed like the right time, the right place for Garoppolo.
25:24 It seemed like- because the issues with the foot, not really a big deal.
25:29 It's just the cumulative and the amount of different injuries that's now piled up.
25:34 Like we've talked about, it feels like he's really one away from seriously being limited
25:38 in effectiveness.
25:40 So they have to hope, they have to get some luck here that this is going to help turn
25:43 around somehow.
25:44 Otherwise, they are really, really up that creek.
25:48 All right.
25:49 So I've been talking, we've been talking, let's be honest, it's both of us, that the
25:54 trade market in the NFL this year could be the biggest ever.
25:58 I'm talking to several executives, the market's hot.
26:02 Lots of people are talking.
26:03 I was told by someone today, there's more chatter than ever.
26:08 And I'm like, why isn't there more deals?
26:10 And it's because people are like, well, do I give up draft capital?
26:15 What do I do?
26:16 The NFL to me is amazing, but I still expect by Tuesday, there's going to be some action.
26:24 I think some things are going to happen.
26:26 How big do you think it's going to be?
26:28 I think it's going to be big by Tuesday.
26:30 Yeah.
26:31 I mean, I don't know why we're seeing players like Dalvin Cook leak that they want to be
26:37 new.
26:39 We've seen some deals already.
26:40 I think we're going to see number wise, we're going to see more deals.
26:44 I don't know that we're going to see some kind of blockbuster haymaker, but as I'm looking
26:48 at the schedule, obviously most teams are going to know by late Sunday night where they
26:54 are.
26:55 And yeah, I think we're going to see, I don't know if we're going to see double digit number
27:00 of moves, but pushing double digits.
27:03 This has already been active.
27:05 If you are in position to have the kind of year that you want to have, you probably need
27:12 to take a shot at it and go for it.
27:15 There's some teams that may need a guy here or there.
27:17 There's some other teams.
27:18 I mean, the Giants have been pretty clear that they don't want to move Barkley.
27:22 At the same time, the other side of town, you've got a guy that sounds like he wants
27:25 to look and move.
27:27 Players are supposed to play.
27:28 That's fine.
27:29 Teams got to run their teams.
27:31 So I don't care if it's the Giants or whoever it is, if you need a running back, you got
27:35 to make that call.
27:36 And if the deal is the best thing to do for the Giants, you got to make that move.
27:40 This is professional football.
27:42 Let's see who has the stones, who's got the guts, who's got the smarts to make a good
27:48 deal between now and November 1st.
27:52 And I love Jerry Jones.
27:53 It comes out, of course, for a trade.
27:55 Of course, Rick, I love Jerry Jones.
27:57 Well, I, is that the best idea though?
28:01 I don't know why he said that.
28:02 I'm like, you just pretty much made yourself look more desperate.
28:06 So maybe he's trying to reel somebody in by like, Hey, come over here.
28:09 You can get a real good deal.
28:11 Otherwise, that seems like a maybe misplaced comment.
28:15 It was interesting to see.
28:16 It was classic Jerry Jones.
28:18 You do love it.
28:19 But now all he's done is put a few more eyes on the Cowboys.
28:24 Let's see what they do.
28:25 Cause they do not.
28:26 They don't do they look like the keeps on giving.
28:30 Yeah.
28:31 I mean, and it's like, Jerry, did, do they look like a Superbowl contender right now?
28:36 No.
28:37 Do they look like they're a player or two away?
28:40 Not really.
28:42 Let's see what they do.
28:43 I agree.
28:44 All right, John.
28:45 If you're the Raiders, there's just so much that needs repair and, and you just don't
28:54 sell the future, but man, if you can land somebody, you do it.
28:58 But yeah, if they can move Renfro, for example, if they can move Renfro, or if there's somebody
29:05 on their team, who's accessible, that is wanted, they've got to seriously consider it.
29:11 No question.
29:12 There's a lot of teams that are in that boat.
29:14 It's not the boat you want to be in, but they've got no question.
29:17 They've got to do that.
29:18 If they're in that boat, they will.
29:20 All right, John, our fearsome foursome.
29:22 Here we go.
29:23 Give me our four games.
29:24 We're picking against each other.
29:25 These are the four most interesting games of the weekend period.
29:29 They're the four most interesting you've got to see.
29:31 Of course, outside the Raiders, Cleveland at Seattle, both teams going along pretty
29:36 well, both teams, some injury issues you want to say.
29:40 I mean, look, it's not Seattle like it was 10, 15 years ago, but it's still on the road
29:45 at Seattle.
29:46 Do the Browns have enough to beat Seattle?
29:49 No, I'm riding with the birds.
29:53 I like the Seahawks by less than three.
29:55 I like that.
29:56 Everyone likes the Browns defense.
29:57 We know what's going on there.
29:59 Now, Jacksonville is going to Pittsburgh.
30:02 What's the big deal?
30:03 It's really a game kind of Jacksonville needs.
30:05 If Jacksonville wins this one, they might even take another game lead in their division.
30:10 Jacksonville at Pittsburgh.
30:12 I like the Jaguars in this one.
30:13 I think they're going to shift shift of gear.
30:16 Riding with the hair, Trevor Lawrence.
30:19 They got a big mural of him.
30:21 Not far from me, just outside of Metro Atlanta.
30:24 The hair is good.
30:25 Maybe the Jags are a player or two away.
30:28 Maybe they're a year or two away from being able to contend for the AFC.
30:31 I think the guy is a very interesting guy to watch and that franchise is going the right
30:36 way.
30:37 Just a question of how fast.
30:38 Now, where did that game come from Monday night from the Vikings?
30:43 I don't know.
30:46 Not that many days later.
30:48 A little bit quicker turn.
30:51 They go to Green Bay.
30:53 Always good, but a lot more on it.
30:57 Vikings with that momentum.
30:59 Green Bay, are they really in a spoiler role?
31:01 I don't know.
31:02 It's the bottom line.
31:03 Is there anything to the Vikings left?
31:06 Is this the start of a run again or are they going to fall on their face at Green Bay?
31:10 Kirk Cousins.
31:13 It's almost a two-word Kirk Cousins.
31:16 Cincinnati and-
31:17 He's going to lead the Vikings on the road to a win at the Green Bay Packers.
31:24 If they do, all of a sudden, the Vikings are starting to turn a corner.
31:28 If you look at their schedule ahead, you're like, "Oh, that's okay."
31:33 The downside of that game, of course, was San Francisco.
31:35 They return home, Cincinnati at San Francisco.
31:40 This game, all of a sudden, means a little more than we thought it did because of the
31:46 situation the 49ers are in and the fact that they're on a little bit of a skid.
31:53 49ers.
31:56 I like Cincinnati's this one.
31:58 I think Cincinnati's going to-
31:59 You're like, "But it's in San Francisco.
32:00 If it was in the Natty, I'd be taking Natty."
32:03 There's no way the 49ers can lose three in a row.
32:07 There's no way.
32:08 No way.
32:09 For some reason, I see a way.
32:11 I'm going to take Cincinnati.
32:12 Those are the four most interesting games of the weekend.
32:15 As we get-
32:16 Most important now, what's your prediction?
32:18 Raiders, Lions?
32:20 Yeah, I don't think this is going to go well for the Raiders.
32:25 I think it's going to end up being something like 27-17, Lions.
32:30 It's going to be a game that the Lions have control of almost the whole entire way.
32:35 I was dead wrong last week.
32:36 Hopefully, I'll be dead wrong this week.
32:38 I don't think this is going to be a good trip for the Raiders.
32:42 I agree.
32:43 He is the one guy we all love.
32:44 You love him.
32:45 I love him.
32:46 Mother-in-laws love him.
32:47 Mothers love him.
32:48 Friends love him.
32:49 He's the coach prime of the attorney world.
32:52 That's great.
32:53 The great Johnny Guitars.
32:54 Thanks, Johnny.
32:55 By the way, I'm Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation, part of the Las
33:00 Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast, part of the Fans First Sports Network.
33:03 Thanks, everybody, for joining us.