Our latest episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast tackles today's AFC West rivalry game between the Silver and Black and the Kansas City Chiefs.
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00:00 Hi, everybody.
00:03 This is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation, Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast.
00:07 Sorry, I'm losing my voice.
00:09 I've been doing a ton of interviews on podcasts and television and radio and plus with all
00:15 the weather changes, traveling a lot.
00:19 Got me a little bit here.
00:20 So I appreciate you being patient.
00:22 I want to thank all my radio and TV friends that gave me some lozenges and some stuff
00:26 to help me to do this.
00:29 Here's Fall Tonight 3117.
00:31 This is going to be my complete recap.
00:34 Got a lot to discuss.
00:37 A lot I want to get into.
00:40 Let me just say very, very quickly, I love fans.
00:46 Without you, I don't have a job.
00:47 So thank you for all your subscribing and following and all of that.
00:50 I greatly appreciate it.
00:53 And I understand that my name's on everything that I do.
00:59 Well, when you make a comment in public, I'm going to address it.
01:04 If I disagree with it, you have a right to have your opinion.
01:07 But I'm just going to get to a place where I don't even read Twitter, which is terrible
01:13 because I love interacting with so many of you.
01:15 But this is the stupidity of some people.
01:17 AP's trash.
01:19 Get rid of them now.
01:22 Let Edgar Bennett or Patrick Graham be the interim coach or Aiden O'Connell's terrible,
01:27 whatever.
01:28 Everybody's entitled to those opinions.
01:31 But I think if you're making a rash, immediate judgment without being fair, that's fine.
01:38 You're welcome to do it.
01:41 I'm not willing to make that, but I'm not a fan.
01:45 So I'd like to address a couple of things tonight.
01:47 Aiden, excuse me, let's start with AP.
01:52 They came in with a very good plan, a very good plan against the world champions.
02:00 Against the world champion.
02:02 Now back when the season was over, I last year I told you guys, I didn't think this
02:06 was a playoff team.
02:08 When the schedule came out, I told you, I thought this team would be nine and eight.
02:12 And when training camp was over and I redid my prediction, I said they'd be nine and eight.
02:16 And oh, by the way, every time I told you after this game, they would be five and seven.
02:21 And that's what they are.
02:23 So they are what we thought they were.
02:26 They are what we thought they were.
02:28 Now, I have also said numerous times that you don't have a job like the Las Vegas Raiders
02:38 job and go hire somebody to learn how to be a head coach.
02:41 I just, I think, do I think it works out sometimes?
02:45 Yes.
02:46 But I think a lot of times it doesn't with guys that don't have head coaching experience.
02:51 There's too much.
02:52 There's the throwing of the flags.
02:53 There's the handling of the time management during the week.
02:56 There's so much that goes into it.
02:58 Now I've also told you I'm rooting for AP to get the job.
03:01 And the reason I am is he gets a 10 week job interview as an interim.
03:09 So he gets to learn all that.
03:10 So next year he's going to be a completely different coach.
03:14 But he's going to make some mistakes.
03:17 That's what rookies do.
03:19 Some of these trolls on Twitter, I hope there is people in your life holding you accountable
03:25 like you hold everybody else.
03:28 You just must be miserable human beings.
03:32 And it's only 1%.
03:33 But really Aiden O'Connell threw no interceptions tonight, only had one sack, did not hold the
03:41 ball as long.
03:43 And were there times that I think their offense could have done something different?
03:47 Uh-huh.
03:48 I do.
03:49 But if you can't, after when they went up 14-0, I tweeted out, if you can't see his
03:55 improvement you're not looking.
03:57 So then later on in the game when they had a three and out, oh, this didn't age well.
04:01 Well, I don't care.
04:03 I just mute those people and move on because I did the tweet two hours earlier.
04:08 But the reality is he's an improving quarterback.
04:11 Now I want to take you back because after the Giants game, there were people saying
04:16 he's our next stabler.
04:21 And we've written they want him to be stabler, but you can't call him that.
04:27 It's too small of a sample size.
04:31 Come on now.
04:34 Has Aiden O'Connell showed some things that would make you think he has the potential
04:39 to be an NFL QB one?
04:42 Yes.
04:43 Has he showed you things to make you think, not a QB one?
04:49 Yes.
04:51 So it's still a learning process.
04:54 Now they just gave the defending Super Bowl champions, the world champion Kansas City
05:03 Chiefs all that they wanted, all that they wanted for really three quarters.
05:12 With Max Crosby at 60 percent, Colton Miller at 80, and both guys wearing down as the game
05:19 went on.
05:20 You're two best linemen.
05:24 I'm sorry.
05:26 I know some of you expect yourself to be perfect, and that's why you hold everyone to that.
05:30 But man, I'm not.
05:33 And a rookie coach with a rookie offensive coordinator who didn't have OTAs, who didn't
05:37 have mini camps, who comes in halfway through the season trying to make adjustments.
05:42 If you are good enough to make an adjustment that Bo Hardegre is trash, God bless you.
05:49 But you're probably also the same people that said Colton Miller was, and there was a lot
05:57 of them.
05:59 Or whomever.
06:02 You're the same people that said, oh, how about all the people that said Robert Spillane
06:05 when I told you how great of a free agent signing it was?
06:08 He's trash.
06:09 Pittsburgh didn't want him.
06:11 Well, when people at Pittsburgh told me, hell yes, we did.
06:16 You can't deal with that fact.
06:18 It's just one percent, but you can't deal with that.
06:19 You got to deal with people that live in reality.
06:22 I think Raiders have absolutely, Raider Nation is absolutely right to be disappointed you
06:26 didn't win this game.
06:27 This one was there for the winning.
06:29 Was there for the winning.
06:32 There were some mistakes made.
06:33 No doubt.
06:35 Let's talk about them.
06:36 Third and one.
06:38 And the Raiders are marching.
06:39 The offensive line is dominating.
06:44 Raiders come up short.
06:46 AP throws the flag.
06:47 Now I talked to them about a few things tonight.
06:50 I didn't get to this.
06:51 I'm going to talk to him about it tomorrow.
06:53 But he throws a challenge flag.
06:56 Now I believe, and I'm going to find out tomorrow, so I'm not reporting this as definitive, but
07:02 earlier in the year, he had made a statement after he threw a challenge flag that he was
07:09 going to have something in place where somebody up top tells him to throw the challenge.
07:14 He throws the challenge.
07:15 I didn't think it was a good challenge when he threw it.
07:19 But if somebody up front is telling him, that's part of the mechanism of learning to get a
07:23 system down as a rookie coach.
07:25 But if he has something in place and he's trusting him, he did what every other coach
07:30 would do, who trusts, and whoever you want to pick.
07:36 So if somebody told him to, that's not on him.
07:40 That's trying to get somebody, maybe you trust a little bit more, reviewing it.
07:44 Where I had a problem, and I don't think it was a mistake, I would have done it differently,
07:52 but I don't think it was a mistake, was on fourth and one, your offensive line is pounding
07:57 people and beating the hell out of them.
08:00 Just line up and go.
08:02 You're not going to win this game with field goals.
08:04 You need touchdowns.
08:07 And now I know his thinking, and his thinking was, I had a young rookie quarterback that
08:11 puts us up two scores, give him some confidence.
08:14 It's Daniel Carlson.
08:15 You never expect to miss it.
08:17 And you don't.
08:18 And I'm not dogging Daniel Carlson.
08:20 I mean, everybody allowed to have a mulligan once in a while, and that's when he got his.
08:25 He just missed it.
08:27 That happens.
08:28 Welcome to the real world, even the best.
08:30 I heard Michael Jordan say the other day in an interview, I think he said he missed, it
08:35 was either, I think it was 300 game winning shots.
08:40 Okay, everybody misses.
08:45 So I understand AP's thinking process.
08:48 Privately talking to somebody after the game, don't believe that, I don't believe he would
08:59 have went for field goal if it was a different place in the game.
09:04 So again, you can disagree with that decision.
09:06 I don't think it was a rookie mistake.
09:07 I understand his thinking process.
09:09 Let's get my rookie quarterback a two score lead, get some confidence.
09:14 Again, I would have went for it, but that's a process.
09:19 And you know what?
09:20 He's going to evolve as a coach.
09:21 It amazes me all these people who expect perfection out of human beings, but they don't expect
09:26 it out of themselves.
09:29 And that's just the reality of the situation.
09:31 So I think that was good.
09:32 I think the offensive line dominance was early, was impressive.
09:38 They were pushing around Kansas City.
09:42 Now, but don't forget, this is the team that most people expected, including Vegas to win
09:50 the Super Bowl.
09:51 They're defending world champions to act like they weren't going to make a player.
09:57 They weren't going to make a run to come back.
09:59 It's just foolishness, complete foolishness.
10:04 And when they went for it, I mean, when they kicked the field goal on fourth down and missed
10:08 it, you could just feel almost a deflation of the ball.
10:13 They still come down and get the 14 point lead.
10:18 But there was struggles.
10:21 There was struggles and the Raiders aren't good enough to beat the Raiders and the Chiefs.
10:28 They had to just beat the Raiders, the Chiefs.
10:31 And the Chiefs found their sea legs and got back in the game.
10:36 I thought a couple of things, Bo Hardegre, and I know this is going to get me a lot of
10:40 criticism, but guess what?
10:41 I don't make podcasts to make you like me.
10:45 That's not my job.
10:47 My job is to give you a podcast that brings you the best insight and information that
10:52 I can get.
10:55 Bo Hardegre, no OTAs, no minicamps as the offensive coordinator, had to throw out a
11:01 bunch of Josh McDaniels' crap because it didn't work.
11:05 They don't have the personnel.
11:08 So he's got a limited playbook, trying to make adjustments.
11:12 He's trying to repair what went bad the week before, which, oh, by the way, he did, and
11:16 we'll talk about in a minute, in case the other teams say, well, this is where they
11:20 struggled last week.
11:21 Let's attack that and add some new stuff.
11:25 Anyways, I'll give you an example.
11:28 How many remember me telling you at the Miami game to pay attention because there were some
11:35 things that were being set up by the offense?
11:37 Well, they didn't run those plays then, but they ran them tonight when you saw Jacoby
11:43 Myers take the ball on a little pass and he was going to throw a pass downfield.
11:48 Those were some wrinkles that were in the Miami game, but they got down and then it
11:53 was not the way Vic Fangio worked the defense.
11:56 It didn't work.
11:57 Obviously, I wasn't going to tell you exactly what the play was because that's proprietary
12:02 information, but I wanted you to see that something that was in the playbook for Miami,
12:06 I'm sorry, Miami, but that's how it came around.
12:10 All right, so bull comes out, scripted, everything looks great.
12:16 Kansas City makes adjustments.
12:17 I've been telling you all year, Kansas City, this is the best Kansas City defense that
12:22 we've seen in a long time, years.
12:27 They're the defending world champion and they made adjustments against a Raider team that's
12:33 left tackle is playing at 80% and that percentage went down as the game went on.
12:40 They only had one penalty as a team, no sacks.
12:44 Aiden had no interceptions.
12:46 I'm sorry, you don't think that's improved?
12:48 They're not playing the freaking Giants.
12:50 This is the world champions and there are no moral victories.
12:53 You should be disappointed in a loss.
12:55 This was one you could have won, but also the reality of the situation is, is that this
13:01 is an improving team.
13:04 AP, these guys are fighting for him.
13:09 What about, um, you know, we're talking about, you know, a rookie head coach learning a rookie
13:17 offensive coordinator, but it's not just that they're learning.
13:20 They're learning without the benefits of OTAs, without the benefits of mini camp, without
13:25 the benefits of training camp where they're the leaders setting the agenda.
13:31 I'm sorry, that's reality.
13:34 And that's where I live.
13:35 I live in real Phil.
13:38 And I think there are a lot of things with this Raider team to be incredibly encouraged
13:43 with.
13:44 I take the last field goal.
13:46 I'm not really going to count that and you lost by 11 points.
13:52 Technically we all know you lost by 14, 31, 17, but the field goal at the end, the Raiders
13:58 went for it and didn't get it.
14:01 Those are free points.
14:02 It's like an empty net goal in hockey.
14:05 But they, they went toe to toe and showed that they're improved.
14:10 And let me ask you a question.
14:15 You think the Raiders looked that good five weeks ago?
14:18 Oh, hell no.
14:21 Heck no.
14:23 Heck no.
14:25 Come on now.
14:27 And I think that you saw, okay, let's talk about Bo Hardegre.
14:30 The offensive wide receivers and tight end downfield blocking.
14:35 Now in fairness to you, I don't know what you get to see with the TV version, but go
14:42 back and watch it.
14:44 It was not good.
14:46 It was okay against the Jets and Giants, but it took a step back against Miami.
14:53 And they worked on it all week in practice.
14:55 I know for a fact they did.
14:56 And it was considerably better.
14:59 And it really helped them get out to the early lead with the downfield blocking.
15:03 Now, because of that, Kansas City made a couple of adjustments that negated it a little bit.
15:10 But Kansas City's had years and OTAs in many camps this year, in training camps, in all
15:15 the practices, all the weeks, they stay on the same page.
15:18 That's just fair.
15:21 It's just fair.
15:25 Now I want to talk about Marcus Peters, who early in the game had one really good physical
15:34 play.
15:35 I mean, grabbed a guy and threw him out of bounds.
15:36 So I've been very critical of Marcus and rightfully so.
15:40 He's been terrible.
15:42 Go back.
15:43 I told you earlier, they did not want to sign him.
15:48 They brought him in.
15:49 A lot of people are like, what's going on with Marcus Peters?
15:50 Well, they're hoping not to have to sign him.
15:52 They did because of bad radar drafting with previous regimes.
15:57 But he was never the answer.
16:00 And I tweeted, I'm going to give him credit.
16:03 He was really super physical.
16:05 Great.
16:06 Good for him.
16:08 But after that, he did nothing.
16:11 After that, he was like a bump on a stump.
16:15 I mean, it was horrible.
16:17 And then he goes off to the sideline.
16:19 He gets benched by AP.
16:22 And he throws a temper tantrum like a petulant child.
16:25 I did not see it, but I was told by multiple people.
16:28 So I believe it happened in people that I trust.
16:30 He throws his helmet.
16:31 AP is going after him.
16:32 And after the game, credit AP.
16:34 This is his maturation as a coach.
16:37 He could have said, he was injured, like a lot of coaches would have.
16:42 He said, no, coach's decision.
16:45 When asked to elaborate, coach's decision.
16:47 Know what that means?
16:48 I sat his ass down.
16:52 I will be shocked if he doesn't get cut.
16:55 I know for a fact he almost got cut early October.
17:09 But I expect him to get cut.
17:12 Now he may say to AP, all right, I'm done.
17:15 Whatever.
17:16 That may happen.
17:18 But after throwing his helmet, throwing a temper tantrum like a petulant child, I fully
17:24 expect him to be gone, which will be good.
17:30 His teammates will not be upset.
17:33 There will not be one player on this team that I know of, and I'm sure there might be,
17:37 who's going to be upset.
17:41 He was great early, but probably starting late September, you kind of got the impression
17:53 his good behavior and his contribution to the team was kind of going south a little
18:00 bit and going in the wrong direction.
18:03 They'll actually save money.
18:07 They have a bonus that he gets paid every time he's active.
18:12 They would have probably saved money cutting him.
18:15 But still, I thought that was maturation by AP.
18:22 Pulling the guy out, sitting him down and going after him.
18:25 Good for AP.
18:27 He's holding everybody.
18:28 After the game, talked to a few players about it quietly, not on camera.
18:33 They were all like, great.
18:35 Hold everybody to the same standard.
18:37 No problem.
18:38 Love it.
18:39 Again, I'm sure there'll be one or two, but I can't think of anybody on this team who's
18:45 going to be upset if Marcus Peters is booted.
18:48 How about Nate Hobbs?
18:50 I mean, he just continues to grow in front of us.
18:57 Continues to grow.
18:58 And I just want to give him a lot of credit.
19:01 He played very good.
19:03 So, there was 10 minutes to go in the game.
19:10 Great play call on a deep ball.
19:13 Devontae has his guy beat if he's hitting stride, which I believe he would have been.
19:18 It's a touchdown.
19:21 Clear pass interference.
19:23 Horrible pass interference.
19:24 No call.
19:25 I've never seen Devontae that angry on the field.
19:29 I mean, he just going at the ref.
19:33 Going at him.
19:35 Is that Bo Hardegree's fault?
19:38 Now, remember, you take away the field goal and they lose 28-17.
19:45 So now it's a 24-28 game.
19:52 Again, what you should or could you don't matter.
19:57 There are no moral victories in the NFL.
19:58 I'm not trying to pretend that there are one, but I'm trying to be a realist.
20:01 Okay, it was a great play call by Hardegree.
20:03 It was a great throw by Aiden O'Connell and a great route by Devontae.
20:07 But the Chiefs got away with one.
20:10 That's reality.
20:11 Does that mean they all suck?
20:15 Of course not.
20:19 Is it Josh Jacobs' fault that as Colton Miller continues to wear down, who shouldn't have
20:25 even been playing?
20:26 He was questionable.
20:27 He was all guts.
20:28 And in the second half, clearly in pain, he's just being a tough, big, ugly offense.
20:37 And I'm not calling him ugly.
20:38 I love Colton, by the way.
20:40 But a big, ugly offense, a line, and grinding and pain.
20:46 That's just the reality.
20:48 That's the absolute reality of the situation.
20:51 You can call it whatever you want.
20:54 But it's reality.
20:56 And Kansas City, and this is the best defense they've had in years, made quality adjustments.
21:01 Now, again, we're not looking for moral victories because there aren't any moral victories in
21:06 the National Football League.
21:08 You either win or lose.
21:10 And this franchise's motto is just win, baby.
21:13 I get that.
21:14 And I respect that.
21:15 But at the same time, I'm not a fan, so I don't have to be.
21:21 I can look at the reality of the situation.
21:24 I said you'd be 5-7 at this point.
21:27 You are.
21:29 And you just put up a big fight against the world champions.
21:34 I know you're mad because you did let one slip.
21:38 This one was there.
21:39 You would have had to play a near-perfect game, which is almost impossible to do.
21:45 But still, you can feel it.
21:46 It was close.
21:47 It slipped through the fingers.
21:49 But that pass interference, nothing you can do there.
21:57 And it was set up perfectly.
21:59 Good play calling.
22:00 You know, sometimes people will look at a run that goes up the middle for a yard and
22:03 say, "That was a crappy call.
22:04 It only went for one yard."
22:05 Okay.
22:06 But do you remember a few weeks ago when they're playing Miami, and I told you as the game
22:13 was going on, there's some things they've worked on, and you're not liking some plays.
22:20 Remember how upset people were with some of the quick outs and screens and some of the
22:24 handing the ball off to the receiver coming in motion?
22:28 Well, you saw one of those plays tonight.
22:31 Jacoby Myers gets a ball on an end around, but he's trying to throw it.
22:35 Nothing's there, so he's smart enough to throw it out of bounds.
22:39 That was something that they've had in the playbook for a few weeks.
22:47 But the reality is, you can only use that at a certain point.
22:52 And it opened up.
22:53 But they don't have OTAs in many camps, training camp, and all the practices to have this book.
22:59 You know, most teams have a five or six-inch ring binder of their offensive plays right
23:06 now.
23:07 And the Raiders are down to a small book because they had to throw so much out that
23:12 they didn't have the manpower to do or the ability to do under the Josh system.
23:19 They're playing a game of hopscotch with one leg.
23:24 That's hard to do.
23:26 It's very hard to do.
23:28 I'm not making excuses from it.
23:29 I'm telling you the reality.
23:31 So let's keep going here.
23:34 One of the things, Jacobs had a second down drop, could have been a third down drop, but
23:44 he had a drop going across the middle that would have been a first down.
23:48 Could have been a big gainer.
23:50 He drops it.
23:51 Is that on Hardegre?
23:53 Is that on Aiden O'Connell?
23:54 No, it was on Josh.
23:55 Now, we're not sitting here picking on Josh.
23:59 He's a warrior.
24:01 He fought his butt off.
24:03 But the reality is that's a drop.
24:05 Well, it often sucks.
24:06 Okay, how do you put that on Hardegre?
24:10 How do you put that on Aiden O'Connell?
24:12 No, I want to talk real quick about Max.
24:21 Shouldn't have been playing.
24:23 Should not have been playing.
24:26 But he just willed himself to do it.
24:30 And he was maybe at 60%.
24:32 You can go watch the video.
24:33 I talked to him about it in the locker room.
24:34 He didn't want to answer.
24:36 I was told he was about 60%.
24:38 I believe that.
24:40 And still just fought.
24:43 And I'm going to say this.
24:44 This team is fighting for AP.
24:48 They want him to get the job.
24:50 If you're a Raider fan and you don't want him, there's nothing wrong with that.
24:57 That doesn't make you a bad fan.
24:59 But if you want a rookie coach who's never been a head coach and not him, okay, then
25:05 next year when he doesn't have the benefit of an intern, he's going to make these mistakes.
25:12 So be prepared.
25:15 Be prepared.
25:18 But I think AP has done nothing to show me.
25:22 I think what he did to Marcus Peters won him even more respect in his locker room.
25:28 And I think the game planning, considering they are so limited on offense, and that's
25:33 just the reality.
25:34 Oh, get rid of Aiden.
25:36 He can't do anything.
25:37 Really?
25:38 Well, he hasn't had a chance to learn a whole lot of stuff with a very limited playbook.
25:45 And remember, it's not just Aiden.
25:48 It's all the other players that have to know the place too.
25:53 That is the reality of the situation.
25:57 So what stood out to me tonight?
26:01 I felt like this was coming into the year, I did not think the Raiders would have a big
26:05 chance and they did.
26:10 That tells me they're improved.
26:12 A few weeks ago, going into the Detroit game, I told somebody they're going to get crushed.
26:19 I didn't think that a McDaniels-led team had a shot to be as competitive as they were tonight.
26:27 Just didn't see it.
26:29 And guess what?
26:30 They weren't.
26:32 Do I think AP is learning?
26:34 Yes.
26:35 Do I think he called a perfect game?
26:36 No, but no rookie coaches.
26:39 So to me, I expect rookies to be rookies.
26:42 And those of you that have followed me for a long time know I'm being consistent, number
26:47 one.
26:48 Number two, I like considering that he didn't have OTAs, he didn't have mini camps, he didn't
26:54 have training camps, he didn't have all the practices with a very limited playbook.
26:58 I like how Bo Hardegre is bringing Aiden along and bringing the offense along.
27:06 I like that.
27:07 I respect that.
27:09 That's respectable.
27:11 And no interceptions tonight.
27:13 Couple times he held the ball real long, but it wasn't something that was all night.
27:17 Couple times he did hold the ball, but he had the time to do it.
27:21 No sacks, excuse me, one sack, but no penalties on this team.
27:26 Played discipline.
27:27 I mean, imagine your team fighting and you got Marcus Peters over here acting like a
27:31 petulant child.
27:35 How do you think that does for team morale and chemistry?
27:38 It's a cancer.
27:40 Being paid $5 million, you know, they're pouting, arguing with your head coach.
27:46 But that's something to be proud of.
27:50 So I think you're seeing discipline from AP.
27:54 I think you're seeing growth from Hardegre.
27:56 I think you're seeing growth from Aiden.
28:00 You just saw your best offensive lineman and your best defensive lineman go out there like
28:05 warriors injured.
28:08 One questionable, one doubtful, according to, I think it was Adam Schefter.
28:12 If I'm wrong, I'm not lying, but I believe it was Adam Schefter.
28:16 Marcus is the first doubtfully listed player on a Thursday that ended up playing on a Sunday
28:21 in the NFL all year.
28:22 I mean, he was in massive pain.
28:26 Someone asked me, did they re-injure anything?
28:28 I don't believe I would use the term re-injured, but when it was clear the game was over, AP
28:32 pulled them.
28:35 So what do I think?
28:37 I think the Raiders let one slip, but continue to show.
28:40 So now they have a break.
28:42 We'll be getting into during the break.
28:43 I got a lot of very special podcasts coming during the break.
28:46 Just trust me, very special.
28:48 You're not going to want to miss one of them.
28:51 I've got an article coming probably on Wednesday, my next deep dive article.
28:56 I told you it was going to be Tuesday.
28:57 It's probably going to be Wednesday because of editing.
28:59 It's written, but because of editing.
29:04 Stay tuned to find out when that'll drop.
29:05 I'm going to have another article coming on Mark Davis's mindset and where he has to be
29:12 with this team and what he's going to do.
29:15 I think you're going to find that fascinating.
29:16 I'm going to take you behind the curtain of what's going to go into the decision on the
29:20 future of the Raiders and what people around the league are telling me.
29:24 It's going to be fascinating.
29:27 You're going to want to love that article.
29:28 That's two really good articles coming this week.
29:30 My question and answer article this week.
29:33 We're going to go in a deep dive into Champ Kelly.
29:37 We're going to introduce you to Champ Kelly in a way that you don't know him.
29:42 You got a team improving, improving, no TAs, no mini camps, no training camps and no takeover
29:50 mid season.
29:52 And then having to throw a ton out.
29:55 You're seeing discipline being restored to the team and you're watching your team fight.
30:01 I don't blame you for being pissed your team lost.
30:08 Don't blame you.
30:12 But if it's your team, I would expect you to be wise enough to look and say, all right,
30:18 let's make decisions.
30:19 Now I've told you all along, I like a quarterback with legs.
30:23 I think that's hurting the Raiders right now because teams know Aiden won't run.
30:29 It hurt him with Derek.
30:34 But if that's not what you want, let's assume that Pierce wants a quarterback with some
30:44 legs.
30:45 Okay.
30:46 He's making sure this rookie gets every opportunity to show what he is.
30:51 He may be a career backup.
30:52 He may go on and be a QB one star.
30:55 We don't know.
30:56 A lot of people said Peyton Manning sucked after his fourth and fifth game.
31:02 Am I saying he's Peyton?
31:03 No, not at all.
31:04 I'm saying he's Aiden O'Connell.
31:08 We don't know what he is.
31:09 We're learning.
31:11 So what's my complete right recap?
31:12 I think you have every right to be pissed that you lost this game.
31:15 I also think you have a lot of things to be encouraged about.
31:20 Your bye, normally you don't like them this late, came perfectly for you.
31:25 I expect the Raiders to go four and one over the next five games.
31:30 I expect them to get hammered good by the Chiefs and to win the next four.
31:35 Could they win the Chiefs game?
31:37 Uh huh.
31:39 Yup.
31:41 And there's some good teams on that schedule they could lose to, but they're going to be
31:45 healthy after a bye and they're going to be ready to battle and fight to try to get this
31:51 job for AP.
31:53 So I think your franchise is right where we thought it would be.
31:58 And if you're a realist, you don't like it because you want to be seven and five and
32:01 not five and seven or 12 and O.
32:05 But if you're a realist, I think you're seeing improvements.
32:08 You're seeing this team fight scrap.
32:11 They're still fighting for that coach.
32:12 They believe in him and his system.
32:14 They're fighting for the staff and the staff's coaching them hard and they're taking it.
32:21 You don't have to like the loss, but I think there's a lot more to be excited about with
32:26 your franchise than not.
32:29 I know some of you, the world sky's falling.
32:32 Okay.
32:33 I'm going to say this real quickly, and this is not a Republican or Democrat or a political
32:37 statement.
32:39 I always laugh when people talk about the demise of America.
32:44 I was raised by a warrior.
32:46 Terrific man.
32:48 I wish every one of you could have met my dad.
32:53 And when America would go through tough times, he would always say, son, remember when the
33:01 chips are down, you bet on the American people.
33:05 We believe in America.
33:08 Remember when September 11th hit and everybody quit being Republicans and Democrats and everybody
33:15 was Americans.
33:18 Now I am not equating a football loss to the tragedy of 9/11.
33:23 We both know there is no comparison, but what I am saying is this adversity can make you
33:34 better.
33:37 And I think if you're a Raider fan right now, you don't have to like where you're at.
33:44 You can determine, I'm not staying here, but I think there's enough here for everybody
33:50 on all the different prisms of Raider Nation to say, okay, we have some hope now.
33:57 We got hope.
34:00 A couple of weeks ago going into this game, it would be, dear God, we just don't want
34:03 to lose by 30.
34:05 Now it's okay.
34:06 We had a, we had a solid shot against the world champions.
34:11 And oh, by the way, if this, if AP had been the coach all year, you wouldn't have saw
34:18 all the red in the crowd you just saw.
34:22 Don't fool yourself.
34:23 And that had a big deal to do with this game.
34:27 But I think now's the time for Raider Nation to say, you know what, there are some good
34:30 things happening in Raider Nation.
34:33 Are we where we want to be?
34:35 No.
34:36 But man, we're headed and we're getting there.
34:38 You know what, at the end of the year, the evidence may, the preponderance of the evidence
34:42 may be, yeah, it's time to get another quarterback.
34:45 Okay.
34:46 That's okay.
34:47 It's not the end of the world.
34:49 But you got five games left.
34:56 You don't have to make that decision today.
34:59 I think AP's giving you every reason to be encouraged about his ability to lead this
35:04 team and to get this team fighting and ready.
35:08 I'm convinced every day and I'm around it all the time that he is demonstrating he's
35:16 the right guy.
35:18 But at the end of the time, maybe everyone's like, nah, boy, there was hope, but it didn't
35:23 work out.
35:24 Okay.
35:25 Then you go get somebody with head coaching experience.
35:26 You can go get a Jim Harbaugh if you want a Jim Harbaugh, or you can go get whoever you
35:30 want.
35:31 You don't have to make that decision today.
35:36 But I think there's a lot of reasons to be encouraged.
35:39 Your running game is being restored.
35:42 Your quarterback's accuracy is significantly better against, oh, by the way, the world
35:47 champions with a very good defense.
35:50 Your offensive coordinator with the hand he has dealt, he's making chicken salad out of
35:55 chicken poop.
36:00 Your defense is still fighting strong.
36:03 Your players shouldn't even be playing or just don't want to let their teammates down.
36:08 There's a lot of good here.
36:11 I'm sorry.
36:12 I live in real real.
36:13 The complete recaps this one slipped away.
36:17 You could have won, but the team's improving every day.
36:23 They're what we thought they were, but they're moving past it.
36:29 You can definitely see there's a chance for them to finish.
36:32 I think they can't finish with a better record than I predicted, which was nine and eight.
36:39 But I think they're better right now than I thought they would be at this point.
36:45 And that's AP.
36:46 All right, everybody, from all of us at Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation, Las Vegas Raiders
36:50 Insider Podcast, part of the Fans First Sports Network, thank you for joining us.
36:54 From all of us to all of you, God bless you.
36:57 Have a wonderful day.
36:58 Merry Christmas to you.
36:59 Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.
37:00 Enjoy it.
37:01 We're going to have all kinds of podcasts every day of the bi-week.
37:05 Woo, some great interviews, some great guests coming, and a lot of great analysis.
37:11 So from all of us to all of you, God bless you.
37:12 Thanks for joining us.
37:13 We'll see you all back tomorrow.
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