In this episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast, we have a BOLD prediction about Maxx Crosby, we discuss Aidan O'Connell, Antonio Pierce, and more.
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00:00 Hi everybody, this is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fannation Las Vegas Raiders
00:06 Insider Podcast.
00:07 I'm joined now by my good buddy, the great Matt Holadek from thespun.com, not only a
00:12 colleague, but one of my best friends.
00:15 We got a lot to talk about.
00:16 I apologize about my throat, changing weather, and I have literally been doing interviews
00:24 all over the country.
00:26 I apologize about that, but that doesn't stop us.
00:29 We're going to keep going.
00:30 Matt, I want to dig in on the Raiders.
00:32 By week, I predicted before training camp, when the schedule came out, I thought they
00:39 would be 5-7 at this point.
00:43 After training camp, I still said I thought they'd be 5-7.
00:45 They're exactly what we thought they were, at least what I thought they were.
00:51 But this team, when you look at it, when you look at the remaining schedule, beating the
00:56 Chiefs at the Chiefs is going to be extremely difficult.
00:59 I consider that a loss.
01:00 That puts them 5-8.
01:04 Then they come up, they got the Colts, the Bolts, the Broncos, and the Vikings.
01:16 All winnable to me.
01:19 So this team is clearly right where I thought they would be, with a chance to go 9-8.
01:26 Again, we're going to talk today about Antonio, we're going to talk about his coaches and
01:30 players.
01:31 But just, to me, they're right where we thought they would be.
01:34 I don't think it's time to press the panic button on this team at all.
01:38 No, I mean, they got to this point, the circuitous route with firing Josh McDaniels and all
01:46 that stuff.
01:47 But I think record-wise, this is where I kind of felt they'd be as well.
01:52 I think I said seven wins in the fourth season, potential for eight, and I thought they would
01:57 be five and seven, basically, at this point.
02:01 I think that down the stretch, looking at that schedule, if I had to say right now,
02:06 I think they do lose to the Chiefs, and I think they win three of the other four games.
02:11 I have them now finishing 8-9.
02:13 So again, that's in that 8-9 win range, like you said, outside of the playoff picture,
02:19 but improvement from last year.
02:21 And I think that if that comes to fruition, I think that shouldn't be understated, especially
02:26 considering some of the turmoil they had early on, and the fact they had another coaching
02:30 change midseason for the second time in three years.
02:34 I want to talk about, we're going to go right down the list, but we're going to talk about
02:37 Aiden O'Connell, the quarterback, first.
02:41 I don't think we've seen enough to call him a bonafide QB1, nor do I think we've seen
02:46 enough to say he's a failure at all.
02:50 And there are people on both extremes, as you can imagine.
02:52 He had the highest QBR in the NFL on Sunday.
02:58 He played over 100.
03:00 He played extremely well.
03:02 They took one sack, but no penalties, no interceptions, no fumbles, no turnovers.
03:09 He is progressively getting better every single week.
03:13 You can see what they're working on with him, and he's not repeating mistakes.
03:18 Still holds the ball at times a little bit longer, but in fairness to him, he didn't
03:25 get sacked, so he was able to hold it a little bit longer because he had the coverage.
03:29 So I don't know that you would actually call that a holding it too long when he's got the
03:33 protection.
03:35 But this is a kid I think there's a lot of things to be encouraged about.
03:38 There are things to be concerned about.
03:42 I like a quarterback with an ability to run.
03:47 To me, Patrick Mahomes is the perfect balance.
03:52 He doesn't run every time he can, but when he runs, he's a weapon.
03:56 It's very hard to find a quarterback.
03:58 CJ Stroud is showing signs of it, but it's very hard to find a quarterback who can know
04:07 when to run and when to stay in the pocket.
04:10 But overall, I think the Rook, four games in, I'm not counting the Charger game because
04:15 Josh McDaniels did nothing to help him.
04:18 Four games in with a very limited playbook, I've been impressed.
04:22 Again, not ready to anoint him a failure or the future, but I've been impressed.
04:27 Your thoughts?
04:28 I think the thing that we're getting from him, assuming hopefully he stays healthy the
04:33 last five games, is that you're getting a nice base of tape to evaluate going into the
04:42 offseason.
04:44 Whether that's with Champ Kelly and Antonio Pierce, their permanent roles, or whoever
04:49 comes in, they will be able to see what they have in Nane O'Connell and say, "Okay, this
04:54 is where we want to go with this kid."
04:57 Again, it all sort of depends on where the Raiders are in the draft, what quarterbacks
05:03 are available, do they think there's somebody worth taking a swing on, or do they say, "Hey,
05:10 we feel comfortable playing this kid next year as our main guy, and that'll give us
05:18 a full season to evaluate him.
05:20 If we don't like where he's at after 2024, then we can pull the trigger on maybe a first-round
05:26 guy at the position to build around."
05:29 I think he's shown some really good things on tape.
05:32 I thought when I watched him against the Giants and Jets, I was really impressed by his composure.
05:38 I didn't think he looked rattled or flustered or confused by what they were throwing at
05:44 him.
05:45 And considering, here's the thing, neither of those teams is very good, but the Giants
05:50 and Stephens have been playing well coming into the game, and the Jets actually do have
05:53 one of the better defenses in the league.
05:55 Their offense has just been what's kept them down.
05:58 So I think when you look at the fact he was able to do what he did in those games this
06:04 past Sunday against Steve Spagnuolo, a guy who's won multiple Super Bowls as a defensive
06:09 coordinator and is known to make things tough on young quarterbacks, he posts that QBR that
06:17 you mentioned.
06:18 I think that for a guy who's picked in the mid-rounds of the draft, fourth round, where
06:23 you're kind of just, you know, if you hit on anything there at quarterback, you'll take
06:27 it.
06:28 If you hit on a backup in the fourth round, you'll take it.
06:30 I think he's shown a lot to be impressed with through the first, you know, four or five
06:35 games of his development so far.
06:37 What that'll mean long-term, can't say yet.
06:40 But I think it's way too early.
06:42 All right.
06:43 I want to ask you about one of the things about Aiden that stuck out to me, and I'm
06:50 there, I'm getting to talk to him and be around him, is the moment hasn't been too big for
06:56 him.
06:57 There's been times he didn't know what to do because he's just young.
07:01 I mean, he comes in, you're the third guy automatically, so you get third guy reps in
07:06 all the camps, and then bam, your coach throws you in the week of the Charger game.
07:13 Doesn't alter the system to work with what you do best or what you're prepared for, asinine.
07:19 But the thing is, the moment's never been too big.
07:23 As soon as the game's over, you know I'm talking to him, and it's, "Man, I did this, I did
07:28 this, I misread that," whatever.
07:30 The game's never been, it's never been a moment of, "Man, I don't know what happened."
07:34 None of that.
07:37 And that's allowed his teammates to have a ton of faith in him.
07:40 To me, that stuck out.
07:41 Has that resonated with you?
07:45 I think it has.
07:46 And again, like you said, his first four starts has gone against some tough defenses, played
07:51 two top AFC contenders in Kansas City and Miami, and I think that when you look at the
07:56 way his teammates have seemed to rally around him and support him, that's important.
08:03 Because you know, it just didn't really click at all this year with Jimmy.
08:10 I don't think that's a statement against him personally, it's just, it didn't work, things
08:17 just didn't seem to click within the framework of the offense and with the other personnel.
08:23 It's important for a rookie quarterback to be able to go out there and feel like his
08:27 teammates have his back and support him.
08:29 I think we've seen that so far for Aiden O'Connell.
08:32 And I think that these next few games are going to be a big test for him too, because
08:39 when you look at it, some of the teams they play, you've got the Chiefs again on the road,
08:44 and Arrowhead going to be a hostile environment.
08:46 The Vikings are a 500 team, but their defense has played better under Brian Flores, and
08:51 he loves to blitz.
08:52 So he's going to throw a ton of stuff, the kids and sink, at Aiden O'Connell.
08:58 And then looking at the Broncos, now that game's in week 18, so there's a little bit
09:03 of football left to be played, but the Broncos right now are the hottest team in football
09:06 probably.
09:07 They're playing a lot better than they did at the beginning of the season.
09:10 Vance Joseph's defense is looking nothing like the unit that gave up 70 points to the
09:15 Dolphins.
09:16 They've played very well.
09:18 So I think he'll have some big tests ahead of him, and I'm really interested to see how
09:21 he fares.
09:22 All right, let's talk about Max Crosby.
09:26 This is a guy with a work ethic like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Irvin "Magic" Johnson.
09:33 He is an absolute, I mean, sometimes I joke and say he's not human, but I hate to do that,
09:40 and here's why.
09:42 Because fans only see the people on the field, and they forget they are totally human.
09:51 But he is not normal.
09:54 The way he works, I mean, this is a guy, doesn't practice last week, in the hospital one day,
10:00 the first guy ever listed as doubtful in 2023 on a Thursday that ended up playing, and even
10:08 though maybe 60% on Sunday, I asked him, you can go back and watch the video, he didn't
10:14 want to answer.
10:15 I'm just telling you, about 60%.
10:19 Still gets a sack.
10:20 Still relentless.
10:22 This guy, in my opinion, has emerged now, and if you watched hard knocks with the Dolphins,
10:29 as the best defensive player, if he were on a better team, this guy would be getting much
10:37 more talk.
10:38 He in my opinion has become the best defensive player in all the National Football League,
10:44 and it's all him.
10:45 It's all of his work ethic.
10:46 He is a dog.
10:48 He is everything that you want your football player to be.
10:52 I don't care what position they play.
10:55 Off the field, he's a gem of a human being.
10:58 I consider him a friend.
10:59 A gem of a human being.
11:02 Great husband.
11:04 Great father.
11:05 Great son.
11:06 He's small.
11:08 He's got his foundation, which is near and dear to my wife and I's heart about teen sobriety.
11:15 He is a great example to his teammates.
11:17 He's a leader.
11:18 He brings guys together, but yet at the same time, not afraid to call guys out.
11:24 This guy, over this year, has just become, in the words of Deion Sanders, him.
11:30 I think he's the best defensive player, arguably I think he's top three players in the entire
11:36 league offense or defense.
11:39 I think Patrick Mahomes has his work ethic, which is what makes Patrick special.
11:43 Again, I love what Max Crosby has done, and I think it's extremely special.
11:51 He's going to get my vote for player of the year.
11:52 What are your thoughts?
11:53 Well, I think looking at this past weekend, and obviously you're there during the week
11:58 and you see what guys are dealing with and injury status and get that information from
12:04 the people within the building and around the organization, so you knew what he was
12:08 up against.
12:09 Listen, at five and six going into the game, you're still technically in the playoff hunt.
12:16 They are.
12:17 But, it would have been very easy to say, again, doubtful usually means almost 100%
12:23 not playing.
12:24 If you're guys that have been listed as doubtful haven't played all year, it would have been
12:29 very easy for him to say, "I'm going to sit this one out."
12:33 Nobody would have blamed him.
12:34 "I'm going to use the bye, I'm going to get healthy, and I'm going to come back after
12:38 the bye ready to go for the last five weeks of the season."
12:40 I think a lot of players would have done that, and I don't think anybody really would have
12:44 had an issue with it.
12:45 I think people would have understood it.
12:47 He was determined to get out of the playoff.
12:50 Matt, your connection was fragile.
12:52 We missed what you just said.
12:53 I said, "No."
12:54 I said, "I think a lot of people would have had, a lot of players would have just sat
12:59 out that game and used the bye to get healthy and come back ready for the last stretch of
13:04 games."
13:05 There wouldn't have been a problem.
13:08 I think fans would have accepted it.
13:09 They wouldn't have had an issue with it.
13:10 But he was determined to get out there and play.
13:13 You said his 60% is better than pretty much anybody else's almost 90% or 95% let alone
13:22 100%.
13:23 I mean, it was very impressive.
13:24 He's put together, I think, and I do think it's good for him that Raiders have had a
13:31 handful of primetime games this year, whether it was the Jets game on Sunday Night Football
13:37 a few weeks ago, whether it was the Pittsburgh game, whether it was the Monday night game
13:42 in Detroit.
13:44 Some opportunities for him also playing both New York teams, so the New York market gets
13:51 to see him locally.
13:54 I believe, did they play?
13:59 They didn't play Philly this year, so I'm trying to think of other big markets.
14:03 Boston playing the Patriots.
14:07 People outside of the West Coast, outside of Raider Nation get to see when he's back,
14:11 see what he brings to Halo every week.
14:12 So I think it's great for him.
14:15 I got to tell you, I do interviews, as you know, all over America, and I do a lot of
14:22 nationwide ones, the big national shows as well as local markets.
14:27 I tell everybody, "This guy's worth the price of admission."
14:31 You're going to laugh, but you know exactly what I'm talking about.
14:33 This is a guy I would pay money to go see, and I get paid to watch him.
14:40 This is a guy that, I mean, my children, this is what's cool for me, and you'll appreciate
14:45 this.
14:47 You and I get to know these guys as humans, and there are a lot of times your kids will
14:53 say, "Boy, I like this guy, I like that guy," and you're kind of like, "I know him.
14:58 I don't like him," and you don't want to get into details, just please.
15:02 I love that my kids love Max.
15:05 I love that.
15:07 I tell every parent I know.
15:09 He has a beautiful, inside and out, an absolute beautiful wife.
15:16 I don't mean this in any way disrespectful to her, because let me tell you, as awesome
15:20 as he is, she's fantastic.
15:24 That's the kind of guy, forget football, if he worked as a construction worker, this is
15:30 the kind of guy I want my daughter to marry.
15:34 He's an overcomer.
15:35 He's tough.
15:36 He's him.
15:37 He's not entitled to anything.
15:39 I'm going to go back and share a story.
15:42 Now I'm told there is a similar story to this with Kobe Bryant, although I can't verify
15:50 because I didn't cover Kobe.
15:53 Years ago, Michael Jordan, they wanted him to take a night off.
15:58 It was the season where they won like 70 games, and they were so far ahead in the playoff
16:02 races.
16:03 I'll never forget, Michael said, "But what about the guy who saved his money to buy his
16:11 son a ticket to this game for Christmas or his birthday?"
16:18 Why do I tell him I just wanted a night off?
16:22 Michael Jordan refused to take a night off.
16:25 This is what's cool about Max.
16:27 Again, I fully admit he's a friend.
16:31 You may say you're biased.
16:33 I might be, but I don't care.
16:37 This is a guy, maybe 60%, injured with a bye week to get an extra week of rest.
16:46 This is not.
16:48 I'm not doing that to Raider Nation.
16:50 I'm playing.
16:52 This guy does not like the fans.
16:54 He loves them.
16:56 They love him.
16:57 He loves them.
16:58 I'm going to share this with you because I'm about to make a very bold prediction.
17:06 As long as the Raiders do nothing to screw it up so that he wants to leave, okay?
17:13 I'm going to give him that caveat.
17:18 When his career is over, he will be the most popular Raider of all time.
17:24 We're talking Kenny Stabler, who's awesome.
17:28 I grew up in that era.
17:29 I love him and Jim Plunkett.
17:32 We're talking Matt Millen, who's one of my best friends.
17:35 We're talking Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen, Jim Otto, who my father felt was God personified
17:44 on the football field.
17:46 You can pick any of the greats.
17:47 Howie Long, Jack Tatum, Matt Matuzak, Al Zaydo.
17:54 He is going to be the most popular Raider of all time.
18:00 They love him.
18:02 He loves them.
18:05 He is committed to be the best that he can be.
18:10 He does not take a practice off.
18:12 He does not take a rep off.
18:14 He does not take a game off.
18:16 He is go, go, go off the field.
18:21 He is all about people, great father.
18:25 Again, that's a bold prediction, but I stand by it.
18:30 What are your thoughts on that?
18:33 That is saying a lot because you're talking about a Raider history that includes three
18:38 Super Bowl games.
18:39 Six decades.
18:40 Six decades, yeah.
18:41 And countless Hall of Famers.
18:43 So for you to make that statement, I know what he shows on a daily basis has to be beyond
18:50 impressive and not just what he does on Sundays, but what he does around the facility and away
18:54 from the field during the week as well.
18:59 I think this is a guy that is a building block, like we talked about.
19:04 He's someone that you kind of set it and forget it.
19:06 He's on the field.
19:07 You know he's giving you 100% and he's going to be a factor.
19:13 And I think that where he's kind of, you know, he's been impactful since he came into the
19:19 league, but he's gone from being a guy like, "Oh, this guy's good."
19:24 He can play to being one of the best, if not the best at his position.
19:29 Just like that it seems like.
19:31 But it's all a matter of the dedication he's put in, how hard he's worked, how hard he's
19:36 developed and just kind of the general attitude he brings to the field that's enabled him
19:42 to make those strides.
19:44 Nick Saban has said this many times, but I've heard him personally, that mediocre people
19:50 hate high achievers and high achievers hate mediocre people.
19:55 And this is what I really love about Max is he holds himself to a standard and then expects
20:04 everyone around him to be at that standard.
20:08 I've seen other people who hold everybody to a standard, accept themselves.
20:14 And this is what's really cool.
20:16 He is loved in his locker room, not universally.
20:19 There's a couple of guys that don't like him.
20:22 One of them, doesn't matter.
20:24 Couple guys that don't like him.
20:26 That's because they're mediocre and mediocre people don't like high achievers.
20:30 And so what I love, and I know this because I learned this from somebody in the organization,
20:38 they watch who hangs around him, who gravitates to him.
20:43 Because if you're going to gravitate and hang around with Max, you're going to have to live
20:48 at a standard.
20:51 And that is all they want to see.
20:53 And I love the fact, here is a guy that, think about this one.
20:57 I mean, I got to cover him at Eastern Michigan, which to be very honest, when you say cover
21:05 him, you know, I had his coach on my radio show every week and I went to a few games,
21:12 but it wasn't like I cover the Raiders now because Eastern Michigan just isn't that big
21:15 of a product.
21:17 But this is a guy that coming out of high school, nobody wanted him.
21:26 I mean, there was very little interest.
21:29 He had a teammate that Eastern Michigan really liked.
21:32 So they were interested, but he goes to Eastern Michigan.
21:40 He goes, he fights upstream the total time he's there.
21:44 He just fights and scraps.
21:48 Coming into the NFL, a lot of people, well, you know, maybe, whatever.
21:53 People disrespected him in the combine process.
21:57 Raiders get him, what does he do?
21:59 Just competes against himself.
22:02 This is a guy, no entitlement, just absolutely, I am going to work harder than any of you.
22:09 I've told this so many times, you got to come out, you fly out, stay with me.
22:15 I want you to come to training camp next year because it'll be 120 degrees outside.
22:20 Well, unless this coach does it differently like John Gruden did.
22:23 It's going to be brutally hot no matter how they do it.
22:28 And it'll be day 13 of training camp, day 15, and people are dragging and hurt.
22:35 He's still winning the sprint.
22:37 He's still out working everybody.
22:40 And the thing that Max does that I respect is he never, he hasn't lost this.
22:47 Now he has generational wealth.
22:50 He's been able to provide for his family in a way, and he comes from a great family of
22:54 hard workers, but he's able to provide in a way that they weren't able to do, not because
22:59 they were bad, because they all worked hard and provided well, but he has generational
23:04 wealth and the money didn't change him.
23:09 If anything, the money somehow made him more on edge to work harder, to prove I deserve
23:18 it.
23:19 It's just, he's a unicorn.
23:22 That to me is the amazing part of the Max Crosby story.
23:29 Isn't that cool?
23:30 It is.
23:31 And I think it's a testament to his personal character and a testament to everything that
23:35 we talked about that he's overcome and battled through.
23:39 And the fact that he maintains that level of authenticity, that level of being grounded
23:49 and brings that effort still every day and it hasn't changed him, that's special.
23:54 It's something you don't see in everybody, especially the elite players.
23:59 Well, actually you may see it sometimes in the elite of the elite, but sometimes in the
24:04 good players, they're content or they get to a point and they plateau.
24:13 But with him, obviously he hasn't done that.
24:15 He's continued to work, he's continued to progress.
24:17 He's continued to be who he is at all times, no matter how much success he's having on
24:22 the field.
24:23 You know, the thing that I like most about Max is I like the person and I feel bad for
24:32 fans.
24:33 I'm not, this isn't against fans.
24:35 I know Max the man and I know Max the football player.
24:41 And I think he's going to be the greatest Raider of all time.
24:47 I think he's the best defender and on his way to being the best player in the NFL.
24:51 I don't think he's there yet, but I think he's close.
24:55 And with all the accolades you can give him on the football field, it doesn't come close
24:59 to who he is as a person.
25:01 The fact that I told you I would want my daughter to marry somebody like him, just the human
25:06 being.
25:07 I mean, here he is, he's got a beautiful wife, but inside even prettier than the outside,
25:12 which is very similar to my wife.
25:14 Beautiful, beautiful baby, great family.
25:18 His family is just top notch.
25:21 His commitment to people.
25:23 I'm going to say this to you and this may shock you.
25:26 My wife and I have never struggled personally with sobriety, but sobriety has been an issue
25:32 that has been part of our life with other people around us.
25:37 If Max Crosby once had Super Bowl, so bad because he's a champion.
25:44 But if you went to him and said, "Max, you can have a great career, make a ton of money
25:51 and win one Super Bowl or have one kid learn your story and not have sobriety issues."
26:03 To not have one parent wake up one day and find out that their child with sobriety issues
26:09 is dead.
26:12 What would you pick?
26:14 And I know Max, he'd say, "Give me the second one."
26:18 And to me, when you are as classy of as a human as you are a football player and you're
26:23 one of the best, that's pretty darn cool.
26:27 That's pretty darn cool.
26:28 All right, let's keep moving.
26:29 Josh Jacobs.
26:31 This is a guy that I think the Raiders screwed up how they handled his franchise tag.
26:39 Not that it was wrong and not that everybody knew a deal was done, but they could have
26:42 got it done earlier and had him in training camp.
26:46 This guy is a competitor.
26:48 He's a fighter.
26:50 He's a scrapper.
26:52 Even with teams doing everything to sell out to stop him.
26:55 I love the adjustments to the scheme now where at least he's getting more touches.
27:01 This is another guy.
27:03 I think he has done very well.
27:06 I think he's done well under AP.
27:10 If they can get him for the right money, this is a guy I think you give a two or three year
27:15 deal to if you're the Raiders.
27:16 You don't go longer than that because he's a running back.
27:19 But especially if you can get a two year deal, I think you go do it if you're the Raiders.
27:22 Your thoughts on that?
27:24 I think it's been impressive the amount of workload he's handled and been asked to shoulder
27:30 and done without a problem considering he's in a contract year.
27:35 He had the contract dispute already and it is a season of transition for the Raiders
27:43 where they are building for the future.
27:46 It's not like it's a team that's in the playoffs competing to be a contender in the AFC.
27:55 He's still putting his body on the line.
27:56 He's still willing to shoulder that load and show up every week.
28:03 I think it's very similar the situations through this entire process and I think the way their
28:09 scenes have played out with him and Saquon Barkley here in New York.
28:13 Guys who have teams that are losing records but they are playing extremely hard and they're
28:19 out there even if they're not 100%.
28:22 They're taking the ball every week even though it's a contract year and they're willing
28:26 to put those.
28:30 Those carries, that mileage, that adds up for running back.
28:33 You may only get one chance at a payday if you're a running back.
28:37 It would be nice for the Raiders to keep a player like that.
28:41 I think not just for their football productivity on the field but also the culture of having
28:47 a guy who has done that in the past and is able to buy in and be an example for younger
28:54 guys stepping in.
28:55 Yeah, I think if you're able to go to him and say, "Listen, we want to give you a two-year
29:02 fully guaranteed $24 million deal."
29:05 I think he would take that and then you got them done for the next two years.
29:10 It's settled and you keep moving.
29:11 I think that's affordable deal.
29:15 Now that that leads us to our next question.
29:20 Let's just go ahead and ask it right now.
29:22 I want to talk about the future of the Raiders.
29:27 Antonio Pierce, I think this guy has done absolutely everything that he can do to show
29:32 people that he can do this job.
29:36 Now I want to make a couple things very clear.
29:39 I believe when you are a rare franchise, when you are a Las Vegas Raiders which is one of
29:47 the elite franchises, I don't think this is a place where you come to learn to be a head
29:53 coach because there's a learning curve to being a head coach.
29:56 But when he got the interim job, I told everyone this could be good because this internship
30:04 allows him to learn the nuances of the game.
30:08 I've talked to so many coaches over my career who's like, "I didn't realize all the media
30:12 demands."
30:13 They're like, "Yeah, I figured you do three press conferences a week."
30:16 They didn't realize you meet with the commentators for that week's games.
30:21 There's radio.
30:22 There's just so much that goes into it.
30:24 There's personnel meetings.
30:26 There's so much because they're used to being coordinators or coaches in the rooms.
30:29 You're just not in the room all the time.
30:31 You can't be.
30:34 Are there issues?
30:35 Is he learning about clock management?
30:37 Yes, he is.
30:39 His first challenge was a mistake.
30:41 So he gets somebody up in the booth.
30:44 I asked him yesterday and he didn't want to throw anyone into the rug.
30:48 Somebody on Sunday tells him to challenge, he throws a challenge on third and one.
30:51 I wouldn't have thrown that.
30:52 But when the person you have upstairs is telling you to throw it, you throw it.
30:57 So that's not a rookie coach mistake.
30:59 Now it could be a rookie coach mistake by who you put in that spot.
31:02 I don't know.
31:03 I'm just saying.
31:05 I get it.
31:06 I understand it.
31:08 This team is playing hard for him.
31:10 I don't care who you are.
31:11 If you can't see that this team has improved, you're just either a Chiefs fan or you're
31:15 never happy.
31:16 You're somebody that would win the lottery and bitch about paying the taxes.
31:21 This is a team that's better, more well-rounded, more competitive, more fighting.
31:29 And I'm going to tell you something.
31:31 The key players in that locker room want him.
31:38 They want him.
31:40 And I think he's done everything to win the job.
31:42 Now someone said to me, "Well, would you give it to him right now?"
31:45 No, I wouldn't.
31:46 If he'd beaten the Chiefs, yes.
31:49 But let this play out.
31:52 But if they beat the Chiefs, yes.
31:56 But if this guy gets to eight or nine wins, and yesterday's podcast I talked about it,
32:03 I'll talk about it now.
32:05 If he gets to eight or nine wins, it doesn't matter who Mark Davis talks to or who's in
32:11 his ear.
32:12 To me, eight or nine wins, I think you give him a three-year deal and say, "Listen, we're
32:18 going to give you a three-year deal because you haven't been a head coach before.
32:21 But you get to the playoffs, it automatically extends to five years, and it's a raise to
32:27 XYZ, and by the way, the raise is retroactive."
32:32 I think that's a great deal for Mark Davis.
32:35 It's a great deal for the Raiders.
32:37 It's a great deal for AP.
32:38 Your thoughts?
32:39 You know, it's funny.
32:42 One of the things that has fascinated me is I want to see how it plays out with -- because
32:47 as we know, in college and pro football, the interim guy never -- usually doesn't get the
32:55 full-time gig.
32:59 But because of what happened two years ago with Ritz Versace doing such a good job in
33:03 getting the Raiders to the playoffs and he had the support that he had, not just from
33:08 the players but also from a lot of the fan base, and then they didn't hire him full-time
33:14 and the McDaniels hire didn't work out, I wonder if Mark Davis is more amenable to promoting
33:21 an interim head coach full-time and will think longer about it in the offseason.
33:30 Now I guess, again, it depends on how these last five games go.
33:34 It depends on how -- what does he foresee doing at the GM position because if he's not
33:41 keeping Kent Kelly, it would be irresponsible.
33:46 You can't force an outside GM to keep your interim head coach as a full-time guy.
33:53 So we'll see what he does, though.
33:55 But I think that so far, Antonio Pierce has put a lot of good things on tape.
34:02 I think he's put a lot of good things out there on his resume with how he's handled
34:07 everything.
34:08 That would serve him well when it comes time to consider if he's worthy or ready to be
34:14 the full-time guy.
34:17 Totally agree with you.
34:18 I'm going to ask you this question.
34:23 If you had to make a prediction today, do you think he's the head coach of the Raiders
34:28 next year?
34:31 You know, it's so tough for me to do without that kind of inside-the-building access that
34:36 you have.
34:37 I'm kind of just looking at it from --
34:38 But let me tell you, that's why I have you on this podcast every week because you are
34:45 in New York, you're a national media guy, and you see things from the macro.
34:53 I see things from the micro.
34:55 So there are times I'm in the building, I see things that others don't.
34:59 I'm talking to people on a regular basis that you're not.
35:02 But still, there is a value to our listener, to your bird's-eye view.
35:07 I'm just asking you, based on what you see, what you're hearing, do you think he's the
35:11 coach next year?
35:12 If they win eight or more games.
35:14 To me, I think if he finishes strong, I think he will be.
35:19 To me, it comes down to, does Mark Davis have somebody in mind, dead set that he won?
35:27 Like John Gruden when he was hot.
35:29 Or how they wanted Tom Brady to be the quarterback last offseason, even though it didn't work
35:34 out.
35:36 If they had someone like that, that he knows he can get and he knows he wants -- I'm not
35:41 saying that these guys, I'm not reporting that these guys are under consideration.
35:46 I'm just throwing examples because I've seen people, I've seen Raiders fans ask about these
35:51 guys.
35:52 A Bill Belichick, a Jim Harbaugh, someone like that.
35:56 And I'm not saying that they are legit possibilities, but someone that's proven it at the level
36:02 and would be, you know, no one's always a can't-miss hire, but a hire that makes a lot
36:09 of sense.
36:10 I think you really have to think long and hard about giving him that job full-time if
36:17 he finishes with eight or nine wins because he has so much experience within the organization,
36:21 so much experience with the players in the roster.
36:23 And you can kind of get sort of a base built there.
36:27 And like you said, you don't have to give him a five-year yield start.
36:30 Give him a three-year deal.
36:31 Tell him, listen, we want to, you know, we're not giving, guaranteeing it for you just yet,
36:37 but if you continue to show the progress, then we'll bump it up.
36:41 And see, now I would go to him and say, listen, here's the deal.
36:44 We're going to give you a three-year fully guaranteed deal, fully guaranteed.
36:50 But at any point over those, which means you're going to get the three years.
36:53 So at any point over those three years, you get to the playoffs, it automatically extends
36:57 to five with a raise to X and the raise is retroactive.
37:03 To me, that's a no-brainer.
37:06 And if you do that, you have to give the job to Jim Kelly, which over the way I'm an advocate
37:14 for, so I'm happy with that.
37:15 All right.
37:16 I want to talk about just a couple more players.
37:19 Devontae Adams.
37:21 This is a guy, now the previous leadership, there was some guys that weren't going to
37:28 get traded.
37:30 There was no chance in hell and they got a ton of calls.
37:33 I know that for a fact.
37:35 A ton of calls on Max Crosby.
37:38 They wouldn't even listen.
37:39 Max Crosby is going nowhere.
37:41 We're not trading them.
37:44 They got a ton of calls on Devontae.
37:46 And they're like, listen, we're not going to trade them, but we'll listen.
37:49 Because if somebody wanted to do something stupid, like three first rounders, they would
37:53 have dealt Devontae, but it had to be stupid.
37:57 So basically he was untouchable.
38:01 There was no desire to trade Colton Miller.
38:04 Do I think they would have?
38:06 Yeah.
38:07 I think you could have got Colton for two firsts.
38:09 But still, that's almost untouchable.
38:16 I think you could have gotten Josh Jacobs, but would you be willing to give up a first
38:22 for him?
38:23 He would have been a first.
38:25 Again, Daniel Carlson, AJ Cole.
38:30 Those guys aren't going to go anywhere.
38:31 They're the best in the business, but they're kicker and punter.
38:35 So I guess if you wanted to give up a first, you could have got them both.
38:37 But it's essentially not touchable because nobody's given up a first for either one of
38:41 those.
38:42 The point of the matter is, here's Devontae, who is, in my opinion, the best wide receiver
38:49 in the business.
38:50 The best route runner.
38:51 I mean, he does not have the speed of Tyreek Hill, and no one's pretending that he does.
38:56 But Tyreek Hill cannot run the routes that he runs or do what he does.
39:02 I believe that with Devontae, as long as the Raiders don't do something stupid, he wants
39:13 to be here.
39:14 Now, you know, I broke the story he was coming.
39:17 I broke the story that after Derek was benched that he wanted to stay.
39:23 I broke all the Devontae stuff.
39:28 As long as they don't do something stupid, I totally see him wanting to be here.
39:36 That said, let's assume the Raiders do something stupid.
39:41 They do something to anger the players, and he wants to go.
39:47 I am not saying this is a possibility.
39:50 I'm hoping that the Raiders don't do something stupid.
39:54 But they deal him to the Jets for a one, which is what he would cost.
39:58 Now the Raiders have two first-rounders that they can package, possibly move up.
40:04 Universally, the number one quarterback in this draft, with everybody I'm talking to
40:10 around the league, is Drake Mayne.
40:13 But there are some other guys people like, but there are question marks.
40:18 So you could package those two first and try to move up to get a Drake Mayne with something
40:24 else.
40:25 Or do you keep those two first, get an offensive lineman, get a defensive lineman, come back
40:31 in the second round, try to pick a quality quarterback that people like.
40:36 The point of the matter is, I think Devontae has done nothing to show me he's not the best.
40:43 He's a competitor.
40:44 He's a fighter.
40:45 As long as the Raiders don't do anything stupid, he wants to be here.
40:49 What are your thoughts on the value of Devontae Adams?
40:53 Well, I think one thing I've counted out of all that I need is, it may not take the Raiders
40:59 doing something dumb for him to want to leave.
41:02 I can see the Jets being willing to give them an offer they can't refuse for Devontae.
41:09 Because here's the thing, the Jets are going on now to be 13 years of a playoff drought.
41:14 Aaron Rodgers was basically given the keys to the franchise last offseason.
41:19 He's the reason that they didn't hack us the O.C.
41:22 They signed a few guys that he was close with from Green Bay, none of whom have worked out
41:28 so far.
41:29 Obviously, Aaron Rodgers is hurt.
41:31 That's just more really bad luck than anything else.
41:34 But if Aaron Rodgers is going to play next year, he basically has the Jets just completely
41:43 under his grasp.
41:46 If he wants Robert Sala to stay as the head coach, he'll still be there.
41:49 If he wants Hackett to stay, he'll still be there.
41:50 If they want to go out and get another quality receiver, who better to get than Devontae
41:57 Adams?
41:58 If Garrett Wilson is really just a bunch of mishmash in the position right now, they might
42:03 be willing to throw something heavy at the Raiders for Devontae Adams.
42:08 So it might not be the Raiders screw something up and he wants to leave.
42:13 The Jets can make an offer that the Raiders can't refuse.
42:16 I can see a situation where that unfolds.
42:19 Value-wise, if he stays with the Raiders on the field, it's an immense value.
42:23 He's one of the best, if not the best, in his position.
42:25 He gives you that trusted guy for a young quarterback to work with.
42:29 He gives you that kind of bailout guy for an offense.
42:32 You know that he can make plays for you.
42:34 You know he's there.
42:37 You can trust that he will get open in a big spot.
42:41 So I think the value he has is through the roof.
42:44 It'll be interesting to see how that plays out in the offseason.
42:47 You know, I'm going to say this.
42:50 I disagree.
42:51 I think if the Raiders did something stupid, Devontae would want out.
42:57 If they don't do something stupid, then somebody's going to have to make them a stupid offer
43:02 to get him.
43:03 Now, I don't care how stupid your offer is.
43:05 I know under the previous leadership, Max Crosby was simply not up for sale.
43:09 They didn't want to get rid of Devontae.
43:11 He didn't want to go.
43:13 But if somebody would have offered something stupid, they would have listened.
43:16 I think you have to always listen for something stupid.
43:19 I am going to give you this caveat, and I'm going to be talking about this after the season.
43:25 But if the Jets were to offer their first rounder and their defensive lineman, Q…
43:31 Quentin Williams?
43:33 Huh?
43:34 Quentin Williams?
43:35 Yeah.
43:36 And Quentin Williams?
43:39 I think the Raiders make that deal.
43:40 Now that's a stupid offer.
43:42 If you're New York with one year on Aaron Rodgers' deal, that is such a stupid offer.
43:49 You don't make that offer.
43:50 And I think it would be stupid.
43:53 If he wants to be a Raider, but the Jets are willing to make that offer, the next plane
43:59 out of Dodge would take Devontae.
44:01 But again, I don't see the Jets doing that, but it's fascinating to me.
44:06 All right.
44:07 One last question I told you I want to ask you about, but to me, Robert Spillane, one
44:13 of the best free agent signings.
44:16 This guy has been a beast.
44:18 I told everybody when the Raiders got him how upset the Steelers were and how good of
44:26 a player it was.
44:27 Last year, I think it was the last six or eight games, I don't remember, he played
44:29 every rep on special teams, every rep on defense.
44:33 He is a workhorse.
44:35 He breaks his arm, I mean his hand, finishes the game, has surgery during the week, plays
44:41 the next week.
44:42 This guy has been a beast.
44:45 He has a work ethic very similar to Max Crosby.
44:50 This guy's been a great free agent signing, and in my opinion, one of the best free agent
44:53 signings in the FC.
44:54 Your thoughts?
44:56 I think what he's given is that stability and that reliability in the middle.
44:59 You need a strong backbone to your defense, and he certainly has provided that at linebacker.
45:04 Like you said, he's out there every week, he's out there every rep.
45:08 He gives you that production against the run, but also has shown he can play the pass as
45:14 well.
45:15 He sealed the Jets game a couple weeks ago with that interception.
45:17 I think he's the type of player that you look for when you're trying to build something
45:22 and get a ground floor established like the Raiders were this offseason and are right
45:29 now going forward.
45:30 I think he's fulfilled all of those expectations and then some.
45:34 I think that he's a guy you can continue to count on beyond 2023 as well.
45:42 Great signing.
45:43 All right.
45:44 First of all, we didn't start the podcast with this, and I apologize, everybody.
45:48 Merry Christmas to all of you.
45:49 Matt, Merry Christmas to you, my friend.
45:51 I appreciate all of you.
45:53 We have grown so fast and so exponentially.
45:58 Thank you for liking and following and sharing all of our information.
46:01 We try to bring you the best Raiders information.
46:04 Don't miss tomorrow's podcast, going inside the mind of Mark Davis.
46:09 I said earlier, I believe in the program, we talked about this yesterday, that's not
46:14 true.
46:15 I was thinking about it's going to be tomorrow.
46:17 Make sure you're watching.
46:18 We're going to have a lot of really deep dive information with you guys on how Mark Davis
46:23 is going to handle this process moving forward.
46:25 But Matt, personally to you, you've been a friend of mine.
46:29 I think it's been 13 years now, hasn't it?
46:31 I think so, yeah.
46:32 Yeah.
46:33 I mean, you stayed in my home.
46:35 My son calls you Uncle Matt.
46:38 You know how much I love you, how much I appreciate you.
46:40 Merry Christmas to you.
46:41 Merry Christmas to all of our listeners.
46:44 I just appreciate you all.
46:45 Again, thanks for following.
46:47 Thanks for subscribing.
46:48 Thanks for sharing all of our information.
46:49 Remember, never pay anybody for what we give you for free.
46:54 From all of us at Sports Illustrated's FAN Nation, Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast.
46:58 From Matt, who represents thespun.com.
47:00 And man, you should be putting that in your favorites, reading it every day.
47:04 Remember, we're also part of the Fans First Sports Network.
47:07 Thanks for joining us, everybody.
47:08 Have a great time.
47:09 Hope your Christmas shopping's going good.
47:11 God bless you.
47:12 We'll see you back here tomorrow.