Podcast: Five Biggest Things I Want to See Minnesota Vikings Week
Our latest episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast discusses the five biggest things I want to see from the Minnesota Vikings week.
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00:00 Hi everybody, this is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation Las Vegas
00:06 Raiders Insider Podcast.
00:07 It's good to be with you guys today.
00:11 As you know, the bye week is now over and we can begin to move towards what is a very
00:16 critical fantastic five game finish coming up from the Raiders.
00:23 Obviously they've got the Vikings and then they turn around four day window and bring
00:27 the Bolts back.
00:28 The Bolts is a game that I felt like the Raiders would have won if Antonio Pierce was coaching
00:33 back when they were in LA.
00:34 That was one that the Raiders gave away.
00:37 That was what was so frustrating about that game.
00:40 Then you obviously have Kansas City and Indianapolis and the Broncos to end the year.
00:49 So there's five really vital games.
00:52 Now the Raiders sitting here at five and seven coming out of the bye week, find themselves
00:56 with the Bills, the Bengals, the Broncos and the Texans that all have better grades from
01:01 them.
01:02 Those are all the teams on the outside of the playoffs who have yet to get in.
01:08 They're on the outside, but those are the teams ahead of the Raiders.
01:10 Now I don't think this is a playoff team.
01:13 I think they're nine and eight.
01:14 This is what I told you I thought they were going to be when the schedule was first released
01:17 and I reiterated it because I do two predictions a year.
01:21 I do when the schedule comes out and then I do when the training camp's over.
01:27 They're five and seven, which is where I told you both times I thought they would be.
01:32 Then again, I think they're on pace to be nine and eight, but we all know stranger things
01:37 have happened.
01:38 I don't know if you watched the Kansas City Packer game, but oof, geez, so Pete.
01:45 Stranger things happen, but they're still in that hunt.
01:49 Getting off of the bye week is so vitally important for them.
01:54 You normally want your bye week a little bit earlier, but this time it just worked out
02:00 tremendously because at this point of the year, everybody is hurt, but there's a difference
02:07 between being hurt and being injured.
02:11 It just wants to give people that time to heal.
02:13 Now, here are some things that I'm looking for out of the Raiders this week as they host
02:19 the Vikings at Allegiant Stadium.
02:22 What are some things that I'm wanting to see?
02:25 The players got a chance to get away.
02:27 It wasn't the same for the coaches because there is no practices, but I want to see what
02:33 are some new wrinkles.
02:36 I want to see that.
02:37 I know that there's been new wrinkles every week.
02:40 You may remember during the Miami Dolphin game, they were doing some things and people
02:46 were like, "Okay, we've seen enough of the jet sweeps.
02:48 We've seen enough of it."
02:49 I kept saying to you, "Well, there's a little bit more."
02:50 We saw in the last game, Jacobi Myers was going to throw a pass.
02:57 Those are some things that were being implemented, some things that were being worked on.
03:02 I want to see some more of that.
03:04 I want to see, again, Aiden O'Connell doesn't have to be Kenny Stabler or Patrick Mahomes,
03:09 but I want to see a little bit more attacking.
03:13 He's talked about it and it's a learning process, getting the football.
03:17 When Devontae is not available, I want to see them punish other teams.
03:24 That forces them to have to make some decisions.
03:27 What a great week for Josh Jacobs to get a rest.
03:32 Now let's come in with that offensive line and just, again, throw when they want to,
03:39 run when they want to, to be able to do things.
03:41 I would like to see some mixing it up a little bit more on first down, throw a little bit
03:46 more on first down, just again, mix it up a little bit.
03:50 Again, I think that the more you are able to implement other people, the more you'll
03:56 see production from Devontae because then teams have to make some very critical decisions.
04:02 When you throw the ball, it sets up the play-action pass.
04:07 Here are five things that I'm looking for this week as the Raiders host the Vikings.
04:13 Number one is I want to see them with a fast start.
04:16 I think that's really important.
04:19 Get that fast start coming out of the bye week, knock the Vikings right in the chin.
04:25 Now we've seen them start fast and kind of dwindle off a little bit.
04:30 So that's my second thing.
04:31 I want to see a second half fast start.
04:37 I think that's really, really important.
04:39 I don't think this team is going to get to 10 wins, but I think they could, certainly
04:44 could.
04:45 I don't think so, but I think they could.
04:50 But if you're going to have any shot of getting there or even getting the nine wins, which
04:54 is what I predicted, they can't just start fast in the first half.
04:58 There's going to have to be some second half showing of that.
05:01 So that's my second point.
05:03 The third thing I'm looking for is offensive ingenuity.
05:08 And what I mean by that is very, very simple.
05:11 I don't want them to be a pass team.
05:12 I don't want to be a run team.
05:14 I like the balance, but I want to see more of we're going to run when we want to, not
05:19 when you dictate it.
05:20 I think it just makes Josh McDaniels a much better player when he's put into a position
05:27 where they don't know what he's going to do.
05:31 And if you've distributed the ball a little bit more, I think that's very, very important.
05:35 Again, that was number three, the offensive ingenuity.
05:41 The fourth thing that I'm looking for, and I think it's very, very important, is I want
05:47 to see the Raiders control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
05:55 All the big guys had an extra week to get healthy, to get better, to get some rest,
06:02 to heal some hurts.
06:03 I want to see them come out and take dominance of the line of scrimmage.
06:08 I believe that this Raider team, the way they are equipped, can do that.
06:14 Absolutely, they can do it.
06:17 I've had a lot of people ask about rookies, you know, Jade Nesta, or actually Nesta Jade
06:23 Silvera, Byron Young.
06:26 And you may remember a few weeks ago, I asked AP and Tony Pierce about that.
06:32 And certainly they have to, you know, continue to practice better.
06:37 But a lot of it has to do with just the play of the veterans.
06:39 I mean, Adam Butler, John Jenkins, Bilal Nichols, Jerry Tillery.
06:44 Listen, we've all been very hard on Jerry for some big mistakes.
06:51 But that's been corrected.
06:53 We've not seen more of it.
06:54 And these guys are playing at a very, very high level.
06:58 We know about Max.
06:59 I'm going to get more to the defensive line in a minute.
07:04 And then on the offensive line, I want to see them just come out and dominate.
07:09 This is a great bye week for Colton Miller.
07:12 A very good week for him.
07:15 Greg Van Roten, this was a good week for him.
07:17 Andre James, a good week for him.
07:19 Jermaine Luminor, Dylan Parham, great weeks for these guys.
07:22 Just get that healing process down and then come out and take command down this stretch.
07:29 Just come in and take command down this stretch.
07:33 Very, very vitally important.
07:36 And that was number four.
07:39 The fifth is I want to see production from the defensive end position not named Max Crosby.
07:47 I want to see something more there.
07:51 In fairness, the Raiders' plan coming into the season was they would have Chandler, but
07:57 they don't.
07:59 But they don't.
08:01 So then you come into the process and what can Malcolm and Tyree give you?
08:09 What can Malcolm and Tyree give you?
08:12 This isn't just Tyree Wilson.
08:14 It's Malcolm Coons too.
08:16 And it isn't just, okay, Malcolm has a big game, Tyree doesn't.
08:19 I think they both need to show out this week against the Vikings.
08:23 Those are five critical things that I'm really looking for this weekend from the Raiders.
08:32 Very vitally important from the Raiders.
08:34 Now there are two things I want to discuss with you this morning outside of those five.
08:40 Number one is players are putting on tape for the next coaching staff.
08:47 Now I have been emphatic.
08:50 I hope that Antonio Pierce wins it.
08:52 I want him to win it.
08:54 But we don't know what's going to happen at this point.
08:57 We have no earthly idea.
09:00 And because of that, they need to be putting stuff on tape.
09:06 They need to be doing it.
09:07 They need to be establishing that.
09:10 They need to be showing that.
09:12 That needs to be something that they're thinking about also though is we're going to put some
09:16 stuff on tape.
09:18 We want AP to get it.
09:19 If he's here, we want to show him why he needs to keep us.
09:23 But if he's not here, we need to show the next guy why they need to keep us.
09:28 And oh, by the way, if we're a coming free agent, we need to show prospective teams what
09:33 they're going to get from us.
09:35 I think that's going to be something that's truly important.
09:40 And I think Antonio Pierce is not getting enough credit.
09:44 He's talking about how the race is on.
09:49 I don't think that's a quote, but basically we're coming down the stretch and we're running
09:54 out of time.
09:55 That was his term, running out of time, not the race is on.
09:57 I think that type of motivation to the players is really vital, extremely vital.
10:05 Hey guys, remember, I hope to be here.
10:08 You hope.
10:09 I mean, I think you hope I'm here, but some of you are going to be free agents.
10:14 Some of you maybe need to show the next staff why to keep you around.
10:17 I think that's big, very, very big.
10:21 And I think the more you find areas to motivate people, the more you show areas to people
10:27 to get them thinking bigger than just today.
10:35 You know, in football, they love to talk about, you know, we just think about the next game
10:38 in front of us.
10:39 And that's true.
10:41 But I also think it's important to keep people envisioned with the big picture and that,
10:48 Hey, you're not just playing for today.
10:52 You're playing for tomorrow.
10:53 You're playing for the next opportunity, playing for whoever the next coaches, whether it's
10:58 me being AP or whomever think that's big.
11:02 Lastly, I want to end with something because I had several people ask me this on over the
11:07 weekend, but especially yesterday evening as losses for certain teams begin to mount
11:16 and whatever.
11:19 But then we were talking about AP and people want to know what do I think he has to do?
11:26 Keep the job.
11:27 Well, I've said before, if he got to 10 wins, I think the Raiders would get into the playoffs.
11:35 Not a hundred, but I think they would.
11:37 I think that would make it very difficult for Mark Davis to fire him.
11:45 Extremely difficult at nine wins, which is where I predicted.
11:49 I think it would be difficult for Mark to let him go.
11:53 Man, you got the team to over 500.
11:57 That's a big deal.
11:59 I think that would be very, very difficult for him.
12:04 Eight and nine, I would think that there would be a chance that AP would get the job.
12:13 And again, this is Hondo opinion here.
12:16 This is just Hondo opinion.
12:18 I think there'd be a chance he could keep the job at eight wins.
12:24 A legitimate chance.
12:25 I don't think it's over 50%, but remember Jim Carrey from the one movie, I don't remember
12:33 the name of the movie, but it was, "So you're saying there's a chance."
12:36 Yeah, at eight wins, I do.
12:39 If they get to seven, I think it would be difficult.
12:46 Six, I don't think any chance at all.
12:51 And at seven, very minimal.
12:55 So I think that's how it breaks down.
12:58 I think of course Antonio Pierce is thinking about, "I would like to be the head coach."
13:03 But that's not, I mean, he's not thinking about, "I'm going to use that to motivate
13:07 them.
13:08 This is about them."
13:09 So when I say, "I don't think he uses it with the players," but I know the players are talking
13:14 about it.
13:15 I know the players want him to be the head coach.
13:18 And I think those are all things that are important to them.
13:21 So again, we covered two vital issues, which were really important to discuss.
13:27 And then the five biggest things I'm looking for this weekend, I think the Raiders are
13:31 in a prime position.
13:33 I think the Raiders are in a really good position here.
13:35 I think the bye week sets them up for what could be really good.
13:43 Clearly, I think we need to see more out of Aiden O'Connell.
13:51 Clearly I think we do.
13:53 And I think he has done a lot of really good things.
13:58 He had one sack last time, but there were no penalties on the team, which I understand.
14:02 That's the entire team.
14:03 That's not just Aiden, but no interceptions.
14:07 That was great.
14:08 I think he's making exponential steps every week.
14:11 I just want to continue to see him making those steps.
14:15 And that's what's going to really determine this team over the next five weeks is going
14:21 to be as good as Aiden O'Connell is.
14:25 We know what the defense is going to do.
14:26 We know what Josh Jacobs is going to do.
14:29 We know about the line.
14:30 We know about the receivers.
14:34 But I also know that Aiden has a really good relationship with Michael Merritt.
14:39 And I want to continue to see that develop, two rookies.
14:43 But Aiden O'Connell has an opportunity to go show this team, "Hey, I led us to above
14:48 500," or "Got us to 10 wins."
14:52 Again, I think the 10 wins is possible, but not probable.
14:58 But still, this is a chance for Aiden to go show the Raiders, "You don't have to pick
15:07 anybody.
15:08 I'm your guy."
15:11 And again, I think this is what's going to be fascinating these last five weeks, just
15:17 going down the stretch, learning the team, and watching the fight.
15:23 Now, I do think it's going to be incredibly advantageous to the Raiders this weekend,
15:30 because I think they're going to have the home field the next two games.
15:35 I told you at the Chiefs, I didn't think it would be a home field meeting as many Raider
15:42 fans as Chiefs, and it wasn't.
15:44 Although the crowd, in my opinion, was louder for the Raiders than the Chiefs, even though
15:49 there were more Chiefs fans there.
15:52 But that's because of tickets that were sold prior to the change in the regime.
15:57 I think the Raiders, the next two weeks, I think the rest of the season, are going to
16:03 have their home crowd.
16:04 I think it's going to be not as big of a home crowd for the Broncos, again, because of people
16:09 buying tickets prior to the regime change.
16:13 But these next two weeks, I expect big Raider crowds.
16:16 Big.
16:17 It's going to give them a lot of momentum at home.
16:21 It's going to be in the friendly confines of Allegiant Stadium.
16:25 And think about this, guys.
16:26 We could be sitting here in 11 days, the Raiders at 7-7.
16:37 I expect them to be there.
16:39 Expect them to be there.
16:41 And then it's a three-game race.
16:45 And what if we see some exponential things?
16:48 We saw the Chiefs get upset by the pack.
16:54 Anything can happen.
16:55 Christmas Day, Santa leaves a little magic at the Chiefs.
17:01 You never know.
17:02 So a lot of good things coming up.
17:04 A lot of things to be encouraged about if you're a Raider fan.
17:09 Really a lot of things you can be encouraged about if you're a Raider fan.
17:15 And I find that to be, I think that's the most exciting part about the whole deal, is
17:20 there's a lot here to be watching.
17:22 If you're a fan, that's huge.
17:24 If you're an analytical bystander like myself, I still think there's a lot of great things.
17:31 There's people, not only does the team have a bunch of goals, talk about team things,
17:36 8-10 wins, get in the playoffs, but there are a lot of individual things I'm looking
17:42 for.
17:43 I mean, I talked about this last week, but Josh Jacobs last week was within 160 yards
17:51 of the NFL leading rusher.
17:52 And we had him by a week, so clearly those numbers go up.
17:57 But still, he's in the hunt.
17:59 I think there's a lot here for Devontae, Michael Mayer, Jacoby Myers, Hunter Renfro, Aiden
18:05 O'Connell sending a message.
18:06 How about Malcolm Coons, Tyree Wilson?
18:10 How about those defensive tackles that have been playing really, really well?
18:14 What about those young guys trying to get up and break in?
18:18 There's a lot of great team stories and a lot of great individual stories.
18:24 There's a lot of reasons to be excited about Silver and Black Raider football.
18:27 I am, and I can't wait, and I'm sure that you can't either.
18:32 So again, from all of us here at Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation, Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast,
18:38 thank you for joining us.
18:39 Merry Christmas to all of you.
18:40 Now, let me just give a couple of plugs that are really going to be good.
18:45 Tomorrow, we're going to be joined by an incredible wide receiver who most of you know who he
18:53 is, Braylon Edwards.
18:54 Braylon was a star at the University of Michigan.
18:59 Comes out the big shiny draft pick, wide receiver, had a great career in the NFL.
19:05 He is a tremendous friend of mine.
19:08 He is not just a guy I know.
19:12 Even though he's a Wolverine and I'm a Spartan, I hold him in the highest of respects as my
19:18 friend he's going to be on.
19:22 And he has a friendship with Antonio Pierce that goes back to their playing days.
19:27 And he also played for Jim Harbaugh.
19:31 His nephew plays for Jim right now.
19:33 And he's just going to bring us some really great perspectives about Antonio Pierce.
19:41 He loves AP dearly because they're great friends.
19:45 But you're going to learn a lot about AP from Braylon.
19:48 That's tomorrow.
19:49 And then on Wednesday, got a very special guest, which normally in season, I don't do
19:55 a lot of this type of guest, but it's my good buddy, the violator, Wayne Mabry.
20:02 Wayne's going to join us.
20:04 Wonderful guy.
20:06 He has become a friend of mine since I moved to Vegas and began covering the Raiders.
20:13 Really respect him as a man.
20:15 You're going to learn a story of how he earned my respect.
20:20 He had an interaction one time with a child, and I'm going to share that with you.
20:24 It's going to be great, but we're really going to have a great time with Wayne and a bunch
20:28 of other stuff.
20:30 But it's Vikings Raiders week.
20:34 We're down the final stretch now.
20:37 This is like a triple crown race in horse racing and down the stretch they come.
20:42 We're there now.
20:44 This is it.
20:45 Five weeks, five weeks for a fantastic finish.
20:48 For two games in four days, it's going to be really, really big.
20:52 Looking forward to it.
20:54 I'm sure that you are too.
20:55 Thanks for joining us, everybody.
20:56 Again, Merry Christmas to you and your families.
20:58 God bless you.
20:59 Everybody will talk to you real soon.
21:00 And again, don't forget, this is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation, Las
21:05 Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast, part of the Fans First Sports Network.
21:09 Thanks for joining us.
21:13 If I can ever find the thing.
21:16 We'll get out of there.
21:17 There we go.