Podcast: Complete Recap of Raiders vs. Jets
Our latest episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast offers a complete recap of the Silver and Black versus the New York Jets.
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00:00 Hi everybody, this is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation,
00:05 Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast here at Allegiant Stadium.
00:09 We're just a short time ago, a few moments ago, literally, I walked out of the locker
00:13 room, out of the post game press conferences.
00:16 The Raiders win 16 to 12, I predicted 17, 13, so pretty much what I expected from this game.
00:23 The Raiders improved to 5 and 5.
00:25 And before you say, well it was just the Jets or just the Giants last week, you never apologize
00:33 for a win in the National Football League.
00:36 They're hard to get.
00:38 And you know what, I said to you guys before the season, I thought this was a 9 and 8 team
00:42 with the talent that they had and the staff that they had.
00:45 I still believe that.
00:48 They're playing like that.
00:49 I don't think they're a playoff team, never have thought they're a playoff team, but they're
00:52 back to 500, they're 5 and 5, they're where they should be at this point.
00:58 I think you can go back and look at the Chargers game, I think you can go back and look at
01:02 the Pittsburgh game, and there's one other one I don't remember, oh, and the Chicago game.
01:08 And if this staff was coaching then, I think they win all three of those games, then I
01:12 think they're sitting here at 8 and 2, overachieving.
01:15 But they're not, they're 5 and 5, it is who they are.
01:18 And I want to talk about this game, we have so much to talk about.
01:22 First off, I just want to address one thing.
01:25 I love Raider Nation, I appreciate you guys, and we are growing so fast.
01:31 Thank you for hitting the subscribe, the like, the follows, thank you for all of that.
01:35 Please keep doing that.
01:37 I always tell you, don't pay others for what we give you for free.
01:40 We've already put five videos up from the locker room.
01:43 We put Josh Jacobs, Devante Adams, Max Crosby, Aiden O'Connell, Coach Pierce, and all that's
01:53 up already for you.
01:54 But we've got so much for you, so much content.
01:57 Don't pay others for what we give you for free, so thank you for joining us and sharing
02:02 it and telling people about it.
02:05 I want to caution you, because I think there's a lot to be excited about your Raider team
02:10 right now, and understand that I approach this different than you.
02:15 I'm not a fan.
02:16 Now, I root for good people, and this Raider organization, top to bottom, from Mark Davis
02:21 on down, is full of good people, and people that I like and respect, but I have people
02:28 that I like and respect on the Jets team that just lost.
02:31 And my job is, I'm not a cheerleader, so when I put information out, I'll give you an example.
02:40 If you put information out to people who like, they praise you, put out information they
02:48 don't like, they bash you.
02:50 Well, I can't do anything about that.
02:51 I can't do anything about that.
02:54 And I don't care.
02:55 I don't do this for you to approve of me.
02:58 I don't live my life based on likes or approvals or follows.
03:04 I really work for an audience of one.
03:06 But my point that I'm trying to make is, is that I'm trying to give you analytical information.
03:14 You're the one who is, as a fan, is allowed to be emotional and do whatever you want,
03:19 but that's not where I come from.
03:21 And I say that because, I'll give you an example.
03:24 Early in the first quarter, multiple people were tweeting at me, "Aiden sucks.
03:30 Get him out of there.
03:31 Get Jimmy in."
03:32 I can't even fathom that.
03:34 Now it doesn't mean those people who have that opinion are bad people.
03:38 And finally, the last one, I just retweeted and said, "Raider Nation, do you agree with
03:42 this?
03:43 You have a rookie who was third string, got very little reps in a very complicated system."
03:51 So basically this is his second game with the new system.
03:54 And if you haven't seen the video of me talking to him after the game, we literally talk about
03:59 that.
04:00 Go watch that video.
04:02 For anyone to think you can make that judgment is foolishness, in my opinion.
04:07 Now guess what?
04:08 You're allowed your opinion, so am I.
04:10 So I don't agree with you.
04:11 Then don't watch.
04:16 But this is what I do for a living.
04:17 And I know there are a lot of teams that really like Aiden O'Connell.
04:20 I don't think we have enough information to judge him as a superstar, not a superstar,
04:24 but the kid's pretty talented and he finds ways to win.
04:30 You say, "Well, he's only a game manager."
04:32 It's game two.
04:35 So let the kid grow.
04:36 They continue to expand.
04:38 You saw some things tonight you didn't see last week.
04:42 And there's a couple of things that were instituted, one from last week, one from this week that
04:45 you didn't get to see.
04:46 They didn't need them.
04:49 And you saw him go and get the big win.
04:51 Now I want to address real quick.
04:53 I believe it was just before the end of the first half.
04:55 I could be wrong, but I believe it was right there.
04:58 He threw one into the dirt and people were like, "That's terrible, K."
05:02 I didn't put anything on Twitter because I want to give you fact-based information, not
05:06 go off of emotion.
05:08 And I asked him, "Did you throw that in the dirt because your guy was covered?"
05:15 And that way you wouldn't get an intentional grounding because that's what it looked like
05:18 to me.
05:19 Now maybe on the TV broadcast, "Oh, it looked like a terrible throw by Aiden."
05:23 And if that's the case, I don't blame you for having that opinion.
05:26 But I'm here.
05:27 And he said, "Yes, that was a throw.
05:30 He purposely threw it into the dirt because the guy was covered."
05:32 Okay, that's a big time decision.
05:35 If Jimmy Garoppolo would have done that at a couple of times this year, they probably
05:40 would have won a game.
05:42 So again, I thought it was a great performance by him.
05:45 He had the jitters early.
05:47 People were bombarding me on Twitter.
05:49 "He got to quit holding the ball so long."
05:52 I'd love to come into your office, get a new job on day two and see if you do everything
06:00 perfectly.
06:01 Now I've been saying since training camp, he holds the ball too long.
06:04 We all know that, but sometimes you're just going to learn it at the speed of the NFL
06:08 level.
06:09 And before I could even ask him today, he's like, "I just held the ball too long."
06:13 And the coaches went after him in the locker room for it, and they're going to stay on
06:15 him.
06:16 He's a kid, he's learning.
06:19 You just won two games.
06:21 Tell me all, I am convinced if you won the lottery with pitch because you had to pay
06:25 taxes.
06:26 But that's all right, you're fans.
06:28 I don't have that.
06:30 It's not my job to stay in my lane.
06:33 So I'm letting you know, I was very impressed with Aiden, and I had a chance to visit him
06:36 a little bit off the record after as well.
06:40 I was very impressed with how difficult he was on himself.
06:44 He has a long way to go to be a proven starter in this league, but he's two and one, and
06:53 he's doing what they ask him to do.
06:55 And the first one I would throw out because Josh wouldn't alter his scheme, but you can't
07:01 throw it out because it happened.
07:03 So he's two and one, technically two and all in my book, but still two and one.
07:07 So I thought that was good.
07:08 He did have the jitters early, which I expected after the emotion of last week.
07:15 And he threw an interception early and I just put a tweet out there.
07:20 It wasn't received very well.
07:22 He's going to learn from this.
07:23 Rookie made him a rookie mistake.
07:26 Just as part of the growing up process.
07:29 And I know that some people, some of you never make mistakes in your life.
07:33 Well, he does.
07:34 And I do too.
07:35 And I'm 52 and been doing it a lot longer.
07:38 And I make mistakes every day, but he's learning from it.
07:42 I love that he's teachable.
07:43 They're coaching him hard.
07:45 See sometimes because you guys aren't at practice or I don't know what you see on TV.
07:50 They are coaching him hard.
07:54 Bo Hardigrees is his buddy, but Bo Hardigrees in his face.
07:59 And that's okay.
08:00 And he likes it.
08:01 It's fun.
08:02 I want to talk to you about what I thought was really big tonight.
08:10 Because there was a couple of things I thought were monstrous.
08:15 One was Antonio Pierce going forward on fourth down on his side of the 50.
08:22 That guy coaches like he played, man.
08:24 He is all guts.
08:28 We're going to go out here to win it.
08:29 We're in it to win it.
08:30 Let's go.
08:31 If we lose, we lose, but we're in it to win it.
08:34 That was big.
08:35 And at the end of the first half, Raiders get the ball with less than a minute and they
08:39 just go on the attack.
08:40 Now two weeks ago, and I know there's a lot of people going to tell me, I don't want to
08:44 think about two weeks ago.
08:45 Can we all agree on that?
08:46 Can I get a big amen on that?
08:49 But two weeks ago, the Raiders would have just kneeled to try to get out of this situation.
08:55 The Raiders were like, no, no, we got time on the clock.
08:57 Let's go score.
08:58 Let's go score.
08:59 I thought that was a big, big, big, big, big move by Antonio for twice tonight.
09:06 He sent a message to his team.
09:08 No, I believe in you.
09:09 Let's go.
09:10 Let's go.
09:11 Now I want to talk about the offensive line.
09:15 This is not going to be a real popular opinion.
09:17 Okay.
09:18 Well, the first part is, you know, they, they had their hands full with the Jets and at
09:21 times they struggled, but Colton Miller's one of the best left tackles in all the national
09:26 football league.
09:27 He played Jermaine Illumina or moves from right to left.
09:32 And I know there were plays that he got blown up.
09:35 I know that, but I thought he played well.
09:39 That is a hard move from right to left.
09:41 In fact, go watch the interview with Bo.
09:43 I mean with Bo, with Antonio Pierce afterwards, he'll tell you the same thing.
09:46 He said the same thing as a very difficult move.
09:50 Do I think the Raiders offensive line was great tonight?
09:52 I don't think they were great, but they were also going against one of the best defenses
09:58 in all of the national football league.
10:02 So when you put that in context, darn right, they did well and they won.
10:09 They won.
10:11 So I said this a few weeks ago, Antonio Pierce has a 10 week job interview.
10:16 Okay.
10:17 Through two weeks, can we all say he has an A?
10:20 Now I want to temper a couple of things and then I want to get in, but let's just talk
10:23 about a little bit more.
10:24 I told you guys how big of a deal it was when they signed Robert Spillane.
10:30 Go back and watch the videos I did on him.
10:33 Go read the comments or I'm told I'm an idiot for saying that he was how good, big of an
10:37 ass that he was going to be.
10:39 He was phenomenal tonight.
10:42 He played out of his mind, big interception.
10:45 But again, you're seeing the misfit defense.
10:49 They just keep fighting.
10:52 They just keep scrapping.
10:54 They're just like a bunch of pow right in the kisser and they just fight and they scrap
11:02 and they're just, it's just, is that, listen, I know there's no Alzedo.
11:08 I know there's no Millan.
11:09 I know there's no Holly long.
11:11 I get it.
11:14 But isn't that what you think of when you think about a Raider defense?
11:17 That blue collar, let's go, let's hit somebody.
11:26 I love that kind of football.
11:27 Again, I'm not a fan.
11:30 I'm a fan of the game of football.
11:32 So I respect that.
11:35 Now I want to go back to a tweet I had and you can go back and look when the jets started
11:40 their last drive.
11:41 I just tweeted.
11:42 This feels like turnover time.
11:44 You could tell that the jets were tired and now that the week's over, I can tell you that
11:51 this staff told the Raiders D listen, if we get Zach Wilson in some adversity, he's going
11:58 to make some poor decisions.
12:00 You could tell he sensed the adversity.
12:02 So I'm not a genius.
12:06 I just know what the coaches were telling the players and the coaches were right.
12:10 And man, that was just a big pickoff by Spillane Raiders win.
12:15 And I just, there was so much I want to go over tonight.
12:19 Now I want to say this.
12:24 I'm sure some of you are thinking Superbowl.
12:28 That's what fans do.
12:29 It doesn't make you bad.
12:30 You're entitled to any opinion you want.
12:33 Okay.
12:36 I don't think this is a playoff team.
12:38 I told you, I think they could scratch in if they stole a win, but I don't think they're
12:42 going to.
12:43 Okay.
12:44 They've won two, they're five and five.
12:48 I fully expect them to lose the next two and then be five and seven.
12:53 So the next two are Miami next week.
12:55 We head down to South Beach.
12:56 I'll be there of course.
12:59 And then the next week they come home Thanksgiving weekend to take on the Chiefs, a game that
13:05 I think they'll lose.
13:07 Then they have a bye week.
13:08 Then they play Minnesota here.
13:11 I think they beat Minnesota.
13:13 Then they play the Chargers.
13:14 I think they beat the Chargers.
13:17 Then they go to Kansas city on Christmas.
13:19 I think they lose.
13:20 Then they go to Indianapolis.
13:21 I think they win.
13:23 And then they end with the Broncos and they finish at nine and eight.
13:27 So next week, I don't want to hear this.
13:29 Oh, the sky's falling.
13:31 We suck.
13:32 We're terrible.
13:33 No, you're not a football team.
13:35 You're not a playoff team about to play two playoff teams.
13:40 You got a rookie quarterback and you just don't know all that you've got.
13:47 So again, I ask you to just temper it.
13:51 In fact, I may take a two week sabbatical from reading any Twitter comments, but you
13:57 take that time and you step back and realize what you have and realize what you're doing
14:07 and understand this is a maturation of the team.
14:11 I think there's some big lessons that are going to be learned the next two weeks.
14:16 Big lessons.
14:18 The aerial attack of the dolphins is insane.
14:22 And we know that the Raiders are very young when it comes to the aerial attack.
14:27 Very young.
14:28 So that's going to be big.
14:31 That's going to be very, very big.
14:33 And that's going to be part of the maturation.
14:35 Then you come back the next week, you play the world champion Chiefs.
14:39 That's part of the maturation.
14:42 Just part of it.
14:44 And I'm just going to challenge you.
14:46 I know you're fans.
14:47 You have every right to do whatever you want.
14:48 But I would temper the next two weeks.
14:51 There's going to be mistakes.
14:52 There's going to be failures.
14:53 They're going to continue to put more on Aiden.
14:58 But he's going to have a learning curve.
15:01 This defense is going to get tested.
15:02 It's what happens when you put a hundred and two million dollars into your offense and
15:08 60 in your defense.
15:10 Okay.
15:12 They just don't have a lot of horses over there.
15:16 And it's just it is what it is.
15:19 So do I think that, you know, these next two weeks, oh my God, the sky's falling?
15:25 No, I expect to be sitting here two weeks from tonight talking to you about, I told
15:30 you that thought they would lose the next two.
15:32 Now they go into the bye week, make some adjustments and go on a little bit of a winning streak.
15:37 Talk.
15:38 I want to talk about a couple of players that I thought were really good.
15:41 I already mentioned Germaine Illumina, which I know I'm going to get roasted for.
15:45 I really don't care.
15:47 I thought that and Antonio Pierce agreed with me and I'm going to stick with Antonio Pierce's
15:52 opinion.
15:53 I thought Josh Jacobs ran for 116 yards.
15:56 How big was it tonight to see JJ get over a hundred?
16:00 He was over a hundred last week.
16:01 We dropped down just below because of the way the game ended.
16:04 But you get it.
16:06 I thought Aiden 16 of 27, 153 yards, sack three times.
16:15 One TD.
16:16 I'm talking about that TD throw.
16:18 Michael Mayer made a man's catch.
16:23 But if you go back and watch the video, Aiden put it in a spot that either Michael Mayer
16:28 was going to get it or nobody was going to get it.
16:31 That was a great throw.
16:33 Now Mayer made a great throw getting it.
16:37 I mean, he made a great catch, but that was just something that was special to see.
16:41 That rookie to rookie combination I thought was really impressive.
16:44 AJ Cole, best in the league.
16:48 Holy Toledo can that guy punt the football.
16:51 I thought he was exceptional.
16:53 I want to talk about, I want to get to something here super quick.
16:59 Let me find it.
17:00 It's right here.
17:01 Here we go.
17:03 Something stood out to me and I've got all the stats right here in my hand and I'm looking
17:12 for it super quick.
17:16 A guy, he had one tackle tonight, but Amari Burney.
17:22 He did a couple of things I really liked, especially in coverage.
17:25 There was a couple of times where Zach Wilson, three times in particular, Burney was on his
17:33 guy and his coverage was really good.
17:36 Only had one tackle.
17:37 By the way, what an open field tackle it was.
17:39 But I thought he was extremely good in pass coverage.
17:41 I thought Jerry Tillery tonight made some really key plays.
17:45 In fact, he had four tackles and I thought Jerry Tillery played extremely well.
17:51 Divine Diablo, Robert Spillane, those guys were all good.
17:56 Now I do want to address Amik Robertson who got knocked out cold.
18:03 It's no secret on here what I think of Amik.
18:04 I love Amik Robertson.
18:06 Just love the kid.
18:07 Great kid.
18:08 His teammates love him.
18:11 If you're a person of faith, I'd ask you to just say a prayer for him.
18:14 He got tattooed pretty good.
18:18 But say a prayer for him because I don't want to see anybody.
18:21 I don't care what team you root for.
18:23 I don't want to see anybody get hurt.
18:26 What are the takeaways from this game, this recap?
18:29 The Raiders found a way to beat a team they should beat, but with an offense that is clearly
18:38 a work in progress.
18:39 I mean, remember, they went OTAs, mini camps, and then the first eight weeks under a scheme
18:46 that wasn't working.
18:47 So two weeks under what Bo Hardegre's done, they've beaten two teams they should have
18:52 beaten, but there would have been no shame in losing to that jet defense.
19:01 So they won the games they're supposed to do.
19:03 Again, 10-week job interview, and you see Antonio Pierce, it's 2-0, and just continues
19:11 to mold this team.
19:13 Again, the going forward on fourth down, huge call.
19:16 The decision-making that he did, big decisions.
19:20 End of the first half, let's go.
19:23 Score points.
19:24 I mean, yeah, that, okay.
19:29 The ball that Aiden threw into the ground couldn't have been that last drive because
19:34 that last drive they got points.
19:35 Okay, I'm glad I thought about that.
19:38 But that one he threw in the ground, I mean, that's progression by Aiden O'Connell.
19:43 Young guys playing.
19:44 A lot of young guys playing.
19:46 A lot.
19:47 Still no Byron Young, still no Nesta Jade Silvera, but guys are playing, and guys are
19:55 playing for their coach, their responder.
19:57 They just won, baby.
19:59 Raiders pierced the heart of the Jets.
20:01 You like that?
20:04 So again, I think this franchise has greatly improved over the last two weeks.
20:08 I think there are so many things for you to be encouraged about.
20:12 Enjoy it.
20:13 I think these next two weeks are going to be a learning curve.
20:18 I don't think Miami is a Super Bowl team.
20:22 I don't.
20:24 But they're a dark horse contender for it, but I certainly think they're a playoff team
20:28 with it, and their strengths are Raider weaknesses.
20:32 I think it's going to be a long day, next two weeks, but that's okay.
20:38 If you understand and you've tempered your expectations, then I think you say, "Okay,
20:44 these next two weeks, I'd love to steal one if you can, but let's go learn.
20:49 Let's go get better."
20:52 And I think that's what you're going to see.
20:54 I think Antonio Pierce has done an amazing job.
20:56 I think Patrick Graham continues to do an amazing job with what he has.
21:00 Bo Hardegre has done a great job.
21:03 There are a lot of reasons.
21:05 If you're a Raider and you're discouraged, "I don't like Aiden O'Connell."
21:12 Okay, that doesn't make you bad.
21:14 It doesn't even mean you're dumb.
21:17 That could be a very fair opinion, but it's this season, and he's what you have right
21:22 now, and he's winning.
21:25 And you know what?
21:26 You want to see your players do well.
21:28 You want to see your players improve.
21:30 I thought the physicality, I don't know if you could tell on TV.
21:34 If you were here in the stadium, you heard it.
21:37 Sitting across from me is Darryl Craig Harris, who's our photographer and videographer.
21:41 He's down in the field.
21:43 Darryl, could you not hear the pads were popping tonight?
21:47 They were fired up for sure.
21:48 I hope you could hear him.
21:49 He said, "They were fired up for sure."
21:50 I mean, the pads were popping.
21:52 That was a physical football game.
21:54 If you like football, that's what you love.
22:01 That was Christmas, man.
22:03 That was Christmas in November if you like the physicality of football, and it was.
22:09 And it was a great game.
22:12 Really fun to watch.
22:14 It wasn't pretty, but dadgummit, I like it when football's not pretty.
22:18 The only thing that would have made it better is in the middle of a rain or hail storm or
22:22 snow storm and mud, but we're in Vegas and it's warm.
22:27 So recap, 500.
22:32 The Raiders look like what I told you they were when the season started, 9 and 18.
22:38 They look like that.
22:40 They're still learning.
22:41 Lots of upside.
22:42 Lots of young guys getting a lot of reps.
22:45 And Antonio Pierce told the players, "We're playing with house money."
22:49 And he's coaching the way he played, with grit and a lot.
22:56 When you go to your water cooler tomorrow, wherever you are, because we have people watching
23:00 around the world, when you go to your water cooler tomorrow at work, you can wear your
23:08 silver and black, because they're not going to win them all.
23:13 And it's going to be a battle, but teams are going to know they played the Raiders.
23:19 It's been a long time.
23:20 I've been covering this team four years, first time in four years that I can say it.
23:25 They play old school Raider physical football.
23:29 Remember, from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast, part of
23:34 the Fans First Sports Network, my name is Hondo Carpenter.
23:37 Thanks for joining us.
23:38 Hit the like, hit the follow, share it with your friends.
23:41 And Craig Harris, who's sitting right here, took all the great videos and pictures.
23:45 And from all of us here at Allegiant Stadium, part of our team, thanks for joining us tonight,
23:50 everybody.
23:51 We'll see you tomorrow.
23:51 [END]
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