Our latest episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast goes into what the Silver and Black stand for, and where they are now.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Hi everybody, this is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation Las Vegas
00:06 Raiders Insider Podcast.
00:08 I've got a lot I want to talk to you about this morning.
00:11 Well, I don't know when you're watching this.
00:13 This is very, very early in the morning, probably somewhere around two or three o'clock in the
00:18 morning on Wednesday.
00:22 So we've got a lot going on I want to discuss with you today about the team and just some
00:26 observations.
00:27 Let's start right at the top.
00:29 Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah to all of you.
00:33 Appreciate all of you.
00:34 Thank you for listening.
00:35 Hope you are able to get to spend this time with some people that you love.
00:40 We all know that family isn't just bloods and it's people that you love and care for
00:45 who are loyal to you and are there and part of your life.
00:47 So from me to you, I want you to know I don't take for granted that you guys bounce in here
00:53 every day and join me on the podcast.
00:56 And so I appreciate you.
00:58 I'm grateful for you.
01:00 And I read a story I say recently, but within the last few months about people not feeling
01:09 appreciated.
01:10 And it was really interesting to me as I read this article of how many people don't feel
01:18 like they matter and how as a society we communicate more than ever, but we really aren't saying
01:27 as much.
01:28 We're talking, but not listening.
01:33 And it really clicked in me.
01:36 And this was several months ago, I guess, not just recently.
01:40 And so I want to make sure that you know, I'm sure most of you have people who are telling
01:45 you all the time that they appreciate you.
01:47 But I want you to know from me that I sincerely appreciate all of you and I don't take it
01:51 for granted.
01:52 I'm not entitled to you listening.
01:56 I got to earn that every single day.
01:58 And so just from me and my family to all of you, thank you.
02:02 And we appreciate you.
02:03 All right, let's dig in on the Raiders now.
02:06 Oh, also one other quick thing.
02:08 I apologize.
02:10 Thank you to everyone who is subscribing, clicking, following, sharing.
02:15 Thank you.
02:16 Thank you.
02:17 Thank you.
02:18 Thank you.
02:19 Thank you so much to all of you.
02:20 We are growing exponentially.
02:21 If you haven't done it, give us a click or a follow or subscribe.
02:25 And as you know, we keep all of our content free.
02:29 I think today at the website, we're going to have probably between 15 to 16 pieces of
02:39 content that are all free.
02:42 When you add in videos that we'll post on our YouTube or on our audio only sites, we're
02:50 going to probably be well over 20 pieces of content.
02:53 It's all free.
02:55 And obviously, people get paid.
02:57 This is their jobs, but we're able to do that because you guys do subscribe, follow, share,
03:03 and we really appreciate it.
03:04 Now, if you don't follow me on social media, I'm on Twitter @HondoCarpenter, H-O-N-D-O-C-A-R-P-E-N-T-E-R.
03:13 And if you don't do that, maybe you do Instagrams or IG, excuse me.
03:18 I'm on IG as HondoSR.
03:21 You don't spell senior, it's just S-R, HondoSR.
03:24 Either way, thanks, everybody.
03:26 Really appreciate you.
03:27 All right, now let's get into the Raiders.
03:29 Have some interesting observations from yesterday that I want to dig in on.
03:35 If you didn't see my video, go back and watch it.
03:38 It's posted.
03:41 As you know, I told you, and this is what I love about the digital age, you can go back
03:45 and look for proof of performance.
03:48 I told you when they drafted Tyree that they saw him as a long-term play, that with this
03:58 injury, their expectation was him not to be 100% this year at all, which was wise because
04:04 he wasn't going to be.
04:05 But they were going to bring him along.
04:07 They had Koons, they had Chandler Jones, who's going to start on the other side of Max.
04:11 And because of obvious reasons, they've had to rush him along a little bit.
04:17 Nothing wrong with that.
04:18 He's getting better.
04:19 And you can see it.
04:20 I think the Chiefs game, not the Chiefs game, the Vikings game, he was extremely good.
04:24 He wasn't great.
04:26 I don't think he was an all-pro, but I thought he was extremely good and he's getting better.
04:31 Let's go back.
04:33 Earlier this year, people were really complaining about his getoff, which if that was his getoff,
04:39 it was a terrible draft pick.
04:42 The problem is he was probably playing around 50% when the season started, which is what
04:49 their expectation was.
04:51 So I just kept telling the people, "Relax, I get it.
04:54 It looks terrible, and it does, but understand."
04:59 And then recently some people were saying, "Oh no, he's 100%.
05:02 He's a bust," which I knew was not factual.
05:06 Not saying that people lied, maybe that's just their opinion.
05:10 But I asked him yesterday and he admitted, "Yeah, I'm not 100%."
05:14 Probably sometime next year.
05:15 But I thought the video was fantastic.
05:18 I really like Tyree a lot.
05:21 You may want to go back and watch that.
05:22 I think you'll enjoy it.
05:23 I want to also tell you about Devontae.
05:28 Talking to Devontae, he used the word "embarrassing" to Sunday's loss, and it was.
05:36 It was.
05:37 Let's not try to spin anything.
05:40 Let's not try to turn chicken poop into chicken salad.
05:44 It wasn't.
05:45 It was embarrassing for the offense.
05:49 Nobody should be embarrassed on special teams.
05:52 Nobody should be embarrassed on defense.
05:55 I know it's a team sport, but one part of the team costs the Raiders, and it was offense.
06:04 One of the things that I like about Devontae, and there are a lot of things I like about
06:08 him outside of football, I'm not going to get into those because it's irrelevant to
06:12 you.
06:14 Not that you don't matter, but you don't tune into me for that stuff.
06:17 But one of the things I really love about Devontae is he's brutally honest, and he wears
06:23 his emotions on his sleeve.
06:26 Now, I think he made a mistake by not sticking around Sunday as a captain and talking after
06:36 the game.
06:37 I understood why.
06:39 I didn't think he was a bad person for not doing it.
06:42 Certainly, as a media member, I'm not entitled to anything.
06:44 But I just think as a captain representing his teammates, you don't want to keep, "The
06:50 rookie has to go talk."
06:52 I thought it was a mistake on his part.
06:54 Didn't think it was a character flaw.
06:56 Didn't think he was a bad guy.
06:57 I just disagreed with it.
06:59 I don't think you leave your rookie out there when you're a captain.
07:01 I think you step up and talk, too.
07:04 But what I love about him is he wears his emotion right on his sleeve.
07:07 You never wonder what he's thinking, ever.
07:12 And man, I like genuine people.
07:15 We all have faults.
07:16 We all fail.
07:17 Man, I'm a grace addict.
07:20 But I like people that are that way, that are genuine.
07:24 And that's Devontae.
07:25 And when he talked about it being embarrassing, and that he's still not over it.
07:31 And you heard AP say, "I'm throwing the film away," which is AP's prerogative.
07:36 He's the head coach.
07:37 He's a winner.
07:38 But you heard Devontae, "No, I'm not.
07:40 I'm going through it."
07:42 I thought it was a great window.
07:47 And again, that video's up, too.
07:48 You can go watch it.
07:49 I thought it was a great window for you, the fan.
07:56 And I want to explain this to you in detail, why I felt it was a good window for you.
08:00 When you're not around these guys every day, and you're not talking to them, and you're
08:04 not there, it doesn't mean that you're less of a person.
08:08 You know, when I go in for my yearly physical at my doctor, I'm glad they're not at the
08:12 Raiders.
08:13 So whatever your calling is, whatever it is that you've chosen to spend your life, and
08:18 your calling, or your career, God bless you.
08:23 And so when you are around, remember I've told you before, I think my job is to gather
08:32 what we see and then disseminate it to you.
08:36 And one of the things that really stood out to me about Devontae is you hear people say,
08:45 "Oh, they don't care.
08:46 They're making millions."
08:47 No, no.
08:51 There are some people, and it's all about the money.
08:54 They don't care.
08:56 I'm getting my money.
08:59 And that's fine.
09:00 It doesn't mean that they're terrible human beings.
09:02 Some people, some of you have jobs right now.
09:04 You hate the job, but you need the money.
09:07 Doesn't make you a bad person.
09:08 I just hope and pray that you find a place where you can go plug in and we're getting
09:13 up every day and working isn't a dread for you.
09:18 But you saw in that video, that's not what it is for Devontae.
09:23 This isn't a paycheck.
09:26 I can guarantee you, and I know him, I'm around him.
09:32 If you said to Devontae, "We're going to cut your pay in half, but in exchange you'll get
09:36 a Super Bowl," done.
09:40 Done.
09:41 He's made generational wealth.
09:44 He's a winner.
09:46 And that's his commitment.
09:48 It's who he is.
09:49 It's his character.
09:50 I want to win.
09:52 And I think that should say something to you.
09:55 Now, that leads us to the next point.
09:58 A lot of talk in the Raider Nation right now about tanking, playing Jimmy, not playing
10:04 Jimmy.
10:05 And I want to address this because I think this is really important.
10:08 Now, obviously I'm not God.
10:10 So if you disagree with me, I'm not upset with you.
10:12 I'm not angry with you.
10:13 You can put in the comments, "Hey, this is why I disagree with you."
10:15 I'm good with that.
10:16 I'm good with that.
10:18 When you're an organization whose motto is just win baby, then you can't say to people,
10:26 "All right, take this off.
10:31 Just stop."
10:33 You have a coach that's competing and fighting to eventually get a job.
10:38 That's not fair.
10:39 It came down from Mark Davis.
10:40 Okay, I want all the injured players and all of the high-priced players who have contracts
10:46 that are guaranteed for next year not to play.
10:49 That's certainly his prerogative.
10:51 He's the owner.
10:52 But what's it say that you do to AP?
10:54 Now, if he's already made up his mind, that's a different story.
10:59 But it also, though, it sends a message that, okay, there are times when quitting is okay.
11:08 So let's assume next year some star player or some really good player is on the last
11:14 of their deal.
11:15 Do they get to say then, "All right, you know what?
11:19 I'm going to quit because I'm probably not coming back here, and it's better for me."
11:25 You get into such a difficult area.
11:30 On yesterday's show, which if you didn't see it, I thought it was fantastic.
11:35 Not because of me, I thought Matt was fantastic.
11:38 On yesterday's show, I talked about a team that tanked, and it's a team that struggled
11:48 to get a winning mentality back, and in my opinion, still struggling to get back to where
11:52 they need to be, where they used to be.
11:56 But a need comes down from an owner, and you have to obey it.
11:59 I just think it's a dangerous slope.
12:02 I want to get into yet another point of something Devante said yesterday.
12:07 Now, it reminded me of something Michael Jordan said, and I've also been told that Kobe Bryant
12:15 said this, although I did not hear him say it.
12:20 Devante talked about all the people who save up their money to come to a game, and they
12:26 couldn't score any points against Minnesota.
12:32 I think about those people.
12:34 I remember one time, Michael Jordan, his team, heading into the playoffs, the season's just
12:41 about over.
12:42 They had nothing to gain with a win or a loss.
12:44 A loss isn't going to hurt them, a win isn't going to help them.
12:47 They were the best team.
12:48 In fact, I think that year they went on and won the title, which I'm sure they did, but
12:52 I think, I'm not 100% certain.
12:58 A lot of people, "Oh, Michael Jordan will sit this out, let him rest," whatever.
13:02 Here comes Michael Jordan.
13:04 Never forget that.
13:05 And he said, "There are people who save their money to come see me play.
13:14 Why would I sit?
13:16 If I can play, I'm going to play.
13:20 Why would I disrespect them?"
13:21 See, Michael remembered what it was like when he wasn't a star.
13:30 He certainly didn't live in poverty, but his parents were wealthy, and he knows what it
13:36 was like to have to save money to go to stuff.
13:40 So I'm going to say this to you.
13:42 I know, because I hear from you guys, and by the way, I love it.
13:45 Thank you so much for emailing or whatever.
13:49 I know people who are Raider fans, because they ask and say, "Hey, is there a chance
13:54 we can meet you?" or whatever, who are going to the Chiefs on Christmas Day.
14:00 I think her name was Madison, but I don't remember.
14:03 I had a question and answer article a week or two ago from a little girl whose parents
14:10 are taking the whole family to Kansas City for a game on Christmas Day.
14:16 They do a big present for their family.
14:19 So do you not play your players who can play?
14:24 What about them?
14:26 So you just show up in Kansas City without your team even putting a semblance of a fight
14:33 together?
14:34 That would be disrespectful to them.
14:38 No, if they come out and say, "This player's hurt, and if they play anymore, it's going
14:42 to exaggerate the pain," or exaggerate not the pain, but exaggerate the injury, don't
14:48 play them.
14:51 That's competitive, and that's reality.
14:54 But if somebody can play, I'm sorry.
14:57 I understand that you disagree, and if you're a fan saying, "I want the better draft pick,"
15:01 I get that.
15:02 I totally see your argument, and I believe that it's germane.
15:07 I just don't know how to grab onto that.
15:14 Now, I will say this.
15:18 A lot of people have said to me, "But what about Jimmy G?"
15:23 They are still technically involved.
15:26 Someone sent me this yesterday, and I have not verified it, but it was somebody that
15:30 I trust, said that the Raiders had a 51% chance of making the playoffs if they win all their
15:38 remaining games.
15:39 Now, do any of us think that they're going to win?
15:41 Yeah, I'm sure there are some of you that do think they're going to win every game.
15:44 I think they could.
15:46 It doesn't mean I think they will, but I think when you are still in the hunt, even though
15:54 the majority of opinion is they're done, you still bite, scratch, claw, fight, and do everything
16:03 that you can do, because that's what you do.
16:08 It's the integrity of the game.
16:10 You do it for the game of football.
16:12 Does that make sense?
16:14 You do it for the game of football.
16:18 You do it for your fans.
16:20 You do it for you.
16:23 You dig in there and do it for you.
16:28 Hey, I'm going to give my best.
16:31 I'm going to do my best.
16:34 I'm going to dig in there and fight and scratch and claw, and until the very end, I'm going
16:41 to give my best.
16:42 Now, I want to answer this question, because I obviously didn't grow up a Raider fan like
16:47 many of you have.
16:49 I grew up a Raider respecter.
16:53 If it was Monday night, it was great.
16:55 How many?
16:56 Howard, Gosell, most of you kids don't even know who I'm talking about, one of the greatest
17:01 football announcers of all time.
17:03 It was Raiders.
17:06 You watched it.
17:07 You always knew the Raiders were going to be several things.
17:09 Number one, tough.
17:13 Number two, you knew they were going to compete.
17:16 There was no quitting the Raiders.
17:18 Number three, you knew that they were going to score points.
17:24 Bueller.
17:25 I'm sorry.
17:26 Thank you for putting up with my quirky sense of humor.
17:31 That makes me laugh.
17:32 But you always knew that about them.
17:34 All right, you know the toughness is back.
17:36 I've told you the last Sensei AP took over, the physicality.
17:41 Look at what they did to Justin Jefferson.
17:45 Marcus Epps just tattooed him.
17:48 There was so much big hitting, big, big, big hitting.
17:53 Powerful.
17:54 They're not scoring points.
17:59 That's bad.
18:00 But they are competing.
18:05 For me, if they were out of the playoff contention, like last year, they didn't bench Derek until
18:10 after the Pittsburgh loss when the playoffs were out of the question.
18:15 I think you have to look at everything.
18:17 Now, I had several of you email after yesterday's show when I wanted to address this, asking
18:23 me, "Do you think Jimmy would be any better?"
18:28 Yeah, I do.
18:29 I'm not saying better than Aiden.
18:31 I don't know that.
18:32 But everyone else has seemed to have gotten better without the previous regime.
18:38 So I think there's a good chance that Jimmy's going to be better.
18:42 Jimmy has never been a bad quarterback until this year with the Raiders.
18:47 I think that's important to mention.
18:49 But there's a lot of people that look bad.
18:51 Earlier in the year, Josh Jacobs looked bad.
18:56 So I think that has to be a viable option.
18:58 I think you've got to look at what are we going to do about play calling.
19:05 I don't care who you are.
19:09 But whoever the offensive coordinator is, when you go against the Minnesota Vikings
19:14 with all of your weapons and you can't score, you've got to look at offensive coordinating.
19:20 You've got to look at play calling, which AP is, and I'm going to ask him today about
19:26 it if he's going to make any changes at quarterback or play calling or anything like that.
19:34 But I think you've got to look at all of it.
19:37 And I just think they're competing for a lot.
19:40 And I don't think that that's fair to the game.
19:44 I don't think it's fair to the fans.
19:45 And I know there are fans that say, "Bullcrap!
19:47 I want them to tank!"
19:48 Okay, I get it.
19:49 I understand.
19:50 I'm talking about in totality.
19:54 And I just think that's a fundamental – it's disrespectful to the game of football.
20:01 And listen, there are people who will come on Thursday night who aren't fans of the Raiders
20:10 because they want to see Devontae Adams.
20:12 They want to see Max Crosby.
20:15 It's cool.
20:19 They are those type of players that generate that type of attention, and they deserve it.
20:27 Okay.
20:28 Now I want to talk about Robert Spillane.
20:31 I remember last year – and you go back and watch the videos and find what I wrote.
20:36 I took severe criticism because I talked about how good he was, how good he was going to
20:42 be, and now everybody sees it.
20:44 I don't do that to Pat Hondo.
20:46 I do it because I hope people now can see and understand his value.
20:54 He's up for Pro Bowl, and I hope that Raider Nation is really showing up and voting for
20:59 him.
21:00 That guy is a complete beast of a warrior.
21:03 And I hate to use that term because I come from a family of military, and my father was
21:07 a warrior.
21:09 But he has that – I mean, he breaks a hand, keeps playing.
21:13 So when I use the term "warrior," I'm certainly not minimizing our men and women out there
21:17 defending America.
21:20 But it's a mentality.
21:24 I'm going at it.
21:25 I'm not quitting.
21:26 I'm all out.
21:29 I can probably think of a better term there.
21:31 So I'll think about it.
21:32 He's a beast.
21:34 And I love that about him.
21:37 And you should too as a Raider.
21:39 And I think that's really important that you get out there and reward that.
21:45 The team hasn't asked me.
21:47 He hasn't asked me.
21:48 That's just my personal opinion.
21:49 I think you should reward it and go vote for him for Pro Bowl.
21:53 Now, let's talk about the game.
21:57 Because Justin Herbert's there.
21:59 There is zero excuse.
22:01 Zero.
22:03 For the Raiders to lose this.
22:05 None.
22:06 Okay?
22:07 I don't think anyone saw the offensive performance that happened last week.
22:15 So coming into the game, I think you could have said, "You know, wow, we're struggling,
22:22 but look at who we played."
22:26 And that would have been fair.
22:27 It wouldn't have been an excuse.
22:30 It would have been fair.
22:32 But they just tanked last week.
22:36 And so I think coming into that performance was bad.
22:43 But they've had a couple days now to make whatever adjustments AP thinks to make.
22:47 And there is no excuse for a loss here.
22:50 None.
22:51 This is all on the Raiders.
22:53 If I'm Mark Davis and I'm evaluating AP, you know, how my team performs against the Chargers
23:04 on Thursday night is going to tell me a lot.
23:09 A lot.
23:10 You know, you go up and you compete and you fight like you did against the Chiefs the
23:13 first time up there and arrowhead on Christmas Day.
23:16 All right.
23:17 That's a justifiable loss.
23:18 I can see it.
23:19 I don't like it, but I can see it.
23:22 But not this one.
23:24 No excuse.
23:25 Absolute.
23:26 If AP is going to keep this job, must win.
23:30 And I think they're going to win, by the way.
23:32 I think they would have won if Herbert was healthy or not.
23:34 But this is why this one is so vitally important.
23:38 And lastly, I want to talk about this.
23:41 AP on Monday talked about, I asked him, if you didn't watch the video, you can go back
23:47 and watch it, about the deep ball and attacking.
23:51 And he was very, as he always is.
23:53 This is why I love interviewing him.
23:55 He's always so transparent.
23:57 He's like, I asked for it every week.
23:59 I want it every week.
24:00 And I'm going to continue to do that.
24:04 So I asked Aiden yesterday, and you can go back and watch.
24:10 I said, AP's talked about it.
24:12 He asked for it.
24:13 He wants it.
24:14 Why is this team not attacking much down the field?
24:17 Is it the plays being called?
24:21 Or is it failure to execute?
24:22 And Aiden, again, very transparent.
24:24 It's both.
24:26 OK?
24:27 Fine.
24:28 I asked Devante about it.
24:30 He said, yeah, it's critical in this league.
24:33 We got to be able to do it.
24:34 So here's the deal.
24:37 If I'm AP and that's what I want, I'm telling Bo and I'm telling Aiden, this is what I
24:42 want.
24:44 So if it's not getting called, you're replaced.
24:49 And if it's not getting executed and I can go back and watch the film and see guys were
24:52 open and you didn't execute it, I'm replacing you.
24:56 So head coaches do.
24:59 And I think that we're going to see the Raiders.
25:03 Am I thinking there's going to be eight bombs?
25:05 No.
25:06 But I think you're going to see more of an attack down the field.
25:10 Aiden has to quit holding the football so long.
25:12 And again, if you go back to draft day and watch the videos or what I wrote, that was
25:17 the problem then.
25:18 Now, in fairness to him, he's much better.
25:24 The problem is, I think one of the sacks that he had on Sunday was on the offensive line,
25:30 the rest were on him.
25:31 The rest were on him.
25:32 And he's got to get rid of that football.
25:37 And that means finding where somebody's at.
25:40 He has the arm strength to, even in the pocket, you could throw it away in the pocket.
25:43 It's just got to be in the general vicinity of somebody.
25:47 And that's what I'm watching for.
25:50 Against the Bulls, I want to see, does the team adjust to what AP's asking for?
25:58 And if they don't, does he replace them?
26:02 That's head coaching stuff.
26:04 So I'm really watching that closely.
26:07 That's going to tell me more about AP's future than anything.
26:11 Here to four, everything I've seen has been very good from AP.
26:15 Very good.
26:16 When he made his first challenge mistake, the next time, he made sure he had somebody
26:22 upstairs telling him to challenge it.
26:23 Now, they were wrong.
26:24 That's not on him.
26:25 So I very much like that.
26:29 I like how they're doing it.
26:32 And those are some things that I want to see out of this game.
26:34 Now, tomorrow, we're going to get into a lot.
26:37 In fact, tomorrow's podcast, before the game, is going to be very lengthy with a ton of
26:41 really good information.
26:42 But these are just some things I wanted to quickly touch on.
26:45 I wanted to touch on Robert.
26:46 I wanted to talk about competing.
26:48 I want to talk about, I want to see how the team responds.
26:51 And if they don't, or how does AP respond?
26:55 I wanted to get in, you know, that's what the deep ball and the attacking, I wanted
26:59 to get into all of that.
27:00 I think it's important stuff that we discuss.
27:02 So there you go, everybody.
27:03 I hope you're doing well.
27:05 Thank you for joining us today.
27:06 Again, tomorrow's going to be very lengthy, but I really think you're going to enjoy it.
27:10 Remember, follow me on Twitter @HondoCarpenter, H-O-N-D-O-C-A-R-P-E-N-T-E-R, on IG @HondoSR.
27:20 And also want to remind you, if you don't want to watch the video, and who wants to
27:24 look at me, you can go watch the audio on Spotify or on Apple.
27:30 And also there, additionally, every day, I do a second podcast, which is five to 10
27:36 minutes called Riding with Hondo, in which I really give you some observation and some
27:43 things that I'm seeing from inside the building.
27:46 Or maybe I just got off the phone with somebody and got a tip, or I just got a text from a
27:51 player, whatever.
27:52 Anything that's like that, I do those, they're usually five to 10 minutes.
27:55 I hope you're checking those out.
27:57 So from all of us here at Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation, Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast,
28:01 part of the Fans First Sports Network, thank you for joining us.
28:04 Again, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah.
28:06 God bless all of you.
28:07 I appreciate you and we'll see you tomorrow.
28:09 Thanks for tuning in.
28:10 Let me put my glasses on.
28:11 Sorry, old man problems.
28:12 I can find out where to turn this thing off.
28:13 Thanks.
28:13 I can find out where to turn this thing off.