Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast on the thinking process of Antonio Pierce, Josh Jacobs and Zamir White, eight key players, and more
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Hi everybody this is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation Las Vegas
00:07 Raiders Insider Podcast joined by my good friend my assistant beat writer this guy right
00:13 here the man the legend the great Ezekiel Trezevant.
00:17 Zeke how you doing bud?
00:18 Doing well Hondo how about yourself?
00:21 I'm doing fine I appreciate you I gotta tell you I gotta give you some props this is how
00:26 much I respect you yesterday I was talking about Zeus, Zamir White and evidently a couple
00:32 of times I referred to him as Zeke so that tells you how high I think about you former
00:36 defensive end.
00:37 I wasn't expecting that that's hilarious listen I can see how you can get me and Zeus confused.
00:45 I'm gonna tell you something so I was gifted a pair of Air Force Ones and I put them on
00:57 they're comfortable I took a picture of them I didn't think anything of it because when
01:03 I told people I was getting them they're like you gotta send us a picture so I did.
01:08 It blew up because I had on old man white socks now I got messages from people of all
01:17 colors hey don't let them call you an old white guy I'm an old black guy and I wear
01:21 black I wear white socks I'm like okay good because when I was growing up when your dad
01:27 would wear black socks you'd be like dad you don't wear black socks or tennis shoes because
01:31 they come home from work take off their dress shoes and put on their tennis shoes.
01:35 Zeke it blew up I mean you saw it I said to you I don't mind being the brunt of a joke
01:45 I just want to know what the joke was I had no idea what was so funny people were telling
01:50 me you got to talk to Zeke Zeke's got to set you straight so luckily Shannon comes on she
01:57 had black socks for me she was appalled so I promise I promise no black Air Force ones
02:07 without black sock yeah whenever you're rocking the black shoes really especially with the
02:12 forces you got to go black on black I listen I want you to know as big as that as that
02:16 post point I want you to know that I received text messages about your white socks so that's
02:20 how big that that that picture so it was pretty good.
02:27 Do you have a pair of them a pair of black forces no not anymore I haven't had forces
02:33 in a little bit but I've had had some in the past though for sure is that something you
02:38 want one day yeah yeah yeah I'm down listen forces are timeless you know as long as you
02:45 can get some you know colors that you can wear with a lot of different outfits it's
02:48 not wrong with the Air Force but you're a Raider fan so I'm saying would you want the
02:53 black Air Force ones oh yeah I'm with it I'm with it listen black Air Forces always a good
02:59 one these were a gift to me okay I'm gonna buy you a pair hey you get a gift I get a
03:08 gift everybody gets a gift I'm with it I'm like Oprah you get a pair you get a pair go
03:15 one step farther you ready for this one Zeke I would like everybody who's interested in
03:27 a pair of Air Force ones I want you to send me an email name address sue size one sentence
03:36 only why you deserve okay now I'm gonna take one only one per email address if you go crazy
03:47 on me and start sending me 10 emails September email addresses no it's not for anyone else
03:53 it's got to be for you now this is the 30 I think this is what's today today Tuesday
04:01 or Wednesday Wednesday okay they've got to get to me by midnight Eastern tonight so if
04:11 you send me an email for them after midnight Eastern on the 31st I'm just gonna delete
04:17 not even gonna look at it I'm gonna take all the emails that are legitimate meaning not
04:23 somebody because I want to sell them on eBay just somebody with a legitimate story name
04:28 address sues I'm gonna put them all together and I'll number them so like if we get 100
04:39 I'm going to let my wife pick a number randomly on this podcast and I will announce the winner
04:47 and I'll buy them a pair of black Air Force ones so you get a pair and one other person
04:52 gets a pair is there any can you say thanks to hondo a clause listen thanks hondo clause
04:59 for sure I'm fat like Santa all right here we go brother let's get into some Raider talk
05:05 it's kind of fun though to give you a pair and give them a pair what size do you wear
05:08 by the way 13 yes sir I'm gonna hook you up hooking you up Zeke let's do it let's get
05:16 it happening all right let's get into some Raider talk now this is early in the morning
05:21 like six o'clock in the morning on on the 31st and as of right now it's not been announced
05:29 who AP's picking it as his offensive coordinator I think it will come today there are a couple
05:39 reasons that it may not but I would I would think not in any way that's all opinion not
05:44 reporting that is factual but there seems to be a little behest in Raider Nation why
05:51 don't we have this to me this is not a big deal I really respect AP is sitting down with
05:59 guys gathering information he's he's wants someone to win him over he doesn't care if
06:10 you failed at other places because he understands that sometimes assistants fail because a head
06:15 quarter head coaches I mean look at Patrick Graham who you and I both agree should be
06:19 a head coach the man is a genius a great football mind great man great person and he failed
06:27 with the Giants because of the idiocy of the head coach he understands AP does so he's
06:32 going through letting people win him I like the way AP's handling this I don't think there's
06:40 any reason for fans to be concerned I love the the way that AP is dotting every I cross
06:47 every T I'd like your thought on it yeah so I actually agree with you but I think it's
06:51 even to that point it's even bigger than AP because Mark Davis did the same thing right
06:56 in terms of the head coaching process in terms of the general manager process as much as
07:00 you may you know a lot of people may have been kind of nudging Mark Mark did the same
07:04 thing crosses T's he dotted his I's and I think it speaks to the organization in terms
07:08 of where they're heading they want to make sure that every choice that they make going
07:11 forward is the right choice so you know if you ask me I think especially because it's
07:15 the offseason it's early in the offseason I mean the season's been in has ended what
07:19 two weeks ago three weeks ago they have nothing but time right so what's the extra couple
07:23 days to make sure you get the right person moving forward especially at the office of
07:27 coordinator position because you don't want to be next year or two years down the road
07:31 and looking for another offensive coordinator because you've rushed at this point in the
07:35 process so I think AP is doing the right thing and like you said you already have Patrick
07:39 Graham there so you don't have to find a defensive coordinator so why not take the time the extra
07:43 time to find you a offensive coordinator to pair with that defense that you have that
07:47 played well this season good point all right let's talk about Patrick Graham legitimate
07:54 real candidate at Seattle as you know I had talked about before Pete Carroll was even
08:01 let go there was one team that had not yet let go of their coach that I felt he had a
08:06 shot I mean it was very close candidate in Seattle I you and I share a deep affinity
08:15 for him I respect him as a man the way he has built relationships on that team on both
08:22 sides of the football I respect his mind he's one of the smartest human beings on any subject
08:28 not just football I mean he is a genius mentally a matter of fact I it would not surprise never
08:36 he just a genius um well I'll say it I I would be stunned if he's not menzo I mean that's
08:42 how smart that the man is he understands the game backwards forwards he's caring about
08:49 people this guy anytime that you start a season with Patrick Graham on your staff is a good
08:59 day if he doesn't get up we've been saying it from day one if he doesn't get a head coaching
09:05 job he'll be back here as the defensive coordinator to me there's nothing one of the biggest gets
09:15 for the Raiders was keeping and be able to keep Patrick Graham if that happens your thoughts
09:19 on Patrick like you said right we have both spoken you know many times on and off the
09:25 podcast you know in terms of how we feel about Patrick Graham and and deservedly so he's
09:29 done a great job I think the one thing that I like and you spoke about how smart of a
09:33 person he is and how great of a man he is off the field off the field but for me what
09:38 I like is his ability to make adjustments on the field there's a lot of smart coaches
09:42 out there who aren't able to translate their intelligence to and through to the players
09:47 and get that product on the field and what I saw with what we all saw with Patrick Graham
09:51 this season was he has the ability to do that even when the situations aren't necessarily
09:54 favorable so you know you saw the ups and downs of this team or in terms of the defense
09:59 but in the long run when it push came to shove that defense came through and I think it was
10:02 a direct correlation with Patrick Graham everything he did this season did not work but the majority
10:08 of it did and it speaks to his knowledge of the game like you said inside and out whether
10:12 what he you know what he puts out there works this time he has the ability to go back in
10:15 make the adjustments and get the best product so I think his intelligence was shown on the
10:20 field hands down the biggest keep or the biggest get was keeping Patrick Graham had they lost
10:25 Patrick Graham or if they lose Patrick Graham that's a major hole that they would have to
10:28 fill and they're almost they would almost be starting over again in terms of the defense
10:33 you know in terms of trying to get that progress going forward so keeping him on the staff
10:36 was huge and it's going to be a big deal going forward.
10:39 I 100% agree with you you know you mentioned something that I thought was really bright
10:46 is he tried some things that didn't work because I think that talks about his mindset I don't
10:52 know everything let's try sometimes we think genius means no failure I don't think you
10:58 can be a genius and not fail I know a lot of people who are afraid of change are afraid
11:07 of of of doing new things because they're so afraid to fail that they'll never taste
11:13 success I think that's part of the taste of genius is yeah I don't I don't care if it
11:18 fails I'm going to try it because I'm not worried about my ego I'm worried about my
11:22 success thoughts.
11:25 Listen it's funny you say that because coaches a lot of times can't coach with their ego
11:31 and that can cost you some games big games right if you start coaching with your ego
11:35 so Patrick Graham is a great example of not coaching with his ego but coaching with his
11:40 mind coaching with his strengths and his knowledge of football so that's one thing that I appreciated
11:45 about him is is hey you know a couple of those weeks especially earlier on the season you
11:49 know he went at it with a certain direction and when it didn't work he said okay let's
11:52 go back to the drawing board and figure it out I think the biggest example of that would
11:57 be moving Tyree into the inside right that was something that kind of came later in the
12:01 season but it showed his open-mindedness in terms of trying new things and you saw the
12:06 results of it so I think it speaks volume in terms of his ability to adjust to make
12:10 adjustments and to learn and not coach with his ego so yeah Patrick Graham is doing a
12:15 great job and he will continue to do so.
12:18 And I love the way so this this this transitions to Antonio Pierce on a really good point.
12:26 Interestingly Antonio Pierce has taken some criticism for listening to Marvin Lewis, Tom
12:33 Coughlin makes no sense to me you know my relationship with Rick Gosling who many people
12:40 consider the greatest NFL writer of all time none of my big articles don't go through him
12:47 he edits for me I'm constantly picking his brain he's not only my a guy that I look at
12:51 as a mentor but one of my best friends.
12:55 To me no matter how successful you are you constantly want to have wise counsel you constantly
13:01 want to have people weak people don't like strong people Nick Saban says it this way
13:07 mediocre people hate high achievers high achievers hate mediocre people.
13:11 To me the fact he wants Marvin Lewis around Tom Coughlin around Patrick Graham around
13:17 three men brilliant three men tremendous at what they do tells me everything I need to
13:28 know about AP.
13:29 My dad used to say show me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are and that's
13:33 the case boy I think that paints even a brighter picture of Antonio Pierce.
13:38 And my question would be what else is Antonio Pierce supposed to do right you know on one
13:43 hand he's inexperienced and he doesn't he hasn't had a head coaching position and when
13:47 he goes in and gets veteran coaches that can help him out legitimate veteran coaches not
13:51 just random guys off the street guys that have won Super Bowls that have been in the
13:54 bigger games in the NFL when he goes and gets that counsel gets that you know those people
13:58 behind him he's knocked for that too it's kind of like where where is he supposed to
14:02 go as a head coach but to your point I think it speaks to his ability to say hey you know
14:05 what I know what I don't know and bigger than that I know multiple people multiple people
14:10 who know those things that I don't know so I think it speaks to how good of a coach AP
14:14 is and how good of a coach he has the position to be so I think it was a good idea for him
14:18 to go to those guys and bring them on staff or just kind of consult with them on the side
14:23 I think it's a wise wise thing for him to do.
14:25 All right let's turn to the NFL draft I think the Raiders got a good spot at 13.
14:33 You know what there may be a quarterback that drops to them if not you know they're going
14:38 to get a terrific offensive lineman or a defensive lineman there's a lot of options there corner
14:45 a lot of great options for the Las Vegas Raiders.
14:50 There's a lot of people who say we got to move up and get a quarterback.
14:53 Well we've been talking about this on the podcast.
14:56 I've got an article coming on it a nearly 60 percent of quarterbacks picked in the first
15:01 round fail and yet to move up you've got to mortgage your future trying to buy your present.
15:10 If they're not convinced there is a dude which you know this we are growing so much as a
15:17 podcast some of our new listeners may not there's a term in the NFL for a dude which
15:21 is a can't miss.
15:22 If you're not convinced there's an Andrew Luck a Peyton Manning a CJ Stroud if you're
15:28 not 100 percent convinced there's a dude you stay where you are.
15:35 Now because of the changes in 2011 you can pick a guy at 13 and if he fails it isn't
15:42 life ending.
15:45 And so if you stay at 13 and pick a guy and it doesn't work you're not going to fire AP
15:50 you're not going to fire Telesco for that people fail.
15:53 You move up and he fails folk getting fired.
15:59 Your thoughts.
16:00 A thousand percent.
16:01 I'm pretty I don't want to say passion but I'm pretty passionate that I feel like the
16:05 Raiders should stay at 13.
16:06 And like you said you know we're in Las Vegas.
16:08 Are you talking about gambles on both sides.
16:10 Right.
16:11 Hey if that guy is and I disagree with you I don't think you have to be 100 percent sure
16:14 Hondo I think you've got to be 110 percent sure if you're going to trade that many picks
16:19 and go up and not it's already bad enough that you'll be trading up right.
16:23 The guy has to be good regardless of position.
16:25 You have to be even more right because it's quarter it's the quarterback position right.
16:29 You can drive the defensive lineman or whatever may be failing and get a pass you trade up
16:33 and for a quarterback and he does not hit.
16:36 Good luck on that.
16:37 And then you got to think also you know Tom Telesco right.
16:41 Just getting hired.
16:42 Is he really going to mortgage his legacy with the Chargers on a maybe this year one
16:48 right.
16:49 I mean why would he take that risk for himself or for the team and risk being wrong.
16:53 That would be monumental.
16:54 And also like we like we've said a bunch of times I personally do not feel like the Raiders
16:59 are that far off to where they need to go mortgage next year's picks the year like you
17:03 don't want to do that right.
17:04 They're too close to do that.
17:05 So I think they should stay put.
17:07 I think there's going to be top talent at a position they need or multiple positions
17:11 that they need at 13 if they just wait it out.
17:14 So there's no need to go trading next year's first and all this for you know a quarterback
17:18 that may or may not work out and I'm not sure that there's any quarterbacks that you can
17:22 guarantee you're going to work out this or even even Caleb.
17:26 So it can go either way even with him.
17:27 So in my opinion I feel like the Raiders should stay put.
17:30 I think they're in a golden position to get some quality talent at 13.
17:35 I 100 percent agree with you by the way this Monday is going to be my first mock draft
17:39 Monday.
17:40 All right.
17:41 Let's go.
17:42 It's that time.
17:44 I'm excited about my mock draft Monday.
17:46 All right.
17:47 I want to one other person I want to tell about one of the thing that I want to get
17:50 into some players I want to talk about but a particular group of players.
17:56 Trey Tucker is a guy that I think is next year's breakout player.
18:02 I think this kid has super stardom.
18:07 This is a kid remind me a lot of Henry Rucks huge speed.
18:13 Showed flashes as a rookie showed concerns as a rookie but in year two before the horrific
18:23 stupid mistake he made Henry Rucks was showing all pro tail.
18:30 I think Trey Tucker is a guy next year that is going to just take the lid off it.
18:36 I think he's going to be a starter from day one.
18:38 I am a big I am riding and driving the Trey Tucker train.
18:44 Listen I'm right there with you.
18:47 He's got the he's got the potential obviously we've seen it really since he was drafted
18:51 right we all we've all kind of had eyes on Trey even since the preseason last year when
18:55 he was struggling we all kind of had eyes on Trey because we knew he had the potential
18:59 to kind of you know make a run for it.
19:00 So I think with a full offseason of a new coaching staff a new offensive coordinator
19:04 coming in and spending time with him and putting the work in to figure out how to use him the
19:09 best way possible.
19:10 I definitely think he's going to be that guy that's going to make a name for himself.
19:14 He's shown the flashes like you said this year you know taking the top off of defenses
19:18 big gains large gains to kind of spark the offense.
19:20 I think you give him some time to learn the game even more over the offseason more time
19:23 to to train with the quarterback for next season and the sky really is the limit for
19:28 Trey in year two going forward.
19:30 So I'm excited to see what he does.
19:33 You know you saw late in late part of the season just how well he played and I think
19:37 it's going to continue next year.
19:39 Awesome.
19:40 All right.
19:41 I want to talk to you about next year's money year guys and you know this but again we're
19:45 growing these are guys who are going into year three and in the NFL if you can get to
19:53 year three it's called the money year.
19:55 It's where guys make their money.
19:59 It's where they say OK I'm part of the long term plan here.
20:02 Malcolm Coons was a guy all last year going into the year talked about believed in him
20:08 but he had to have a big money year.
20:10 Luckily for him McDaniels gets fired.
20:14 The lid comes off.
20:16 Patrick Graham lets him loose and man now he made money in his money year.
20:22 Let's talk about some of these guys.
20:24 First one is Amir White.
20:26 I'm a buyer on the Zeus train.
20:29 I believe in this young man.
20:32 You and I have talked about this.
20:33 He's got muscles in places of his body I've never seen.
20:37 I mean he looks like a piece of granite.
20:41 This kid is just a wonderful young man as a person.
20:47 He's loved by his teammates.
20:49 He's humble.
20:50 He's a hard worker.
20:53 There is nothing about this kid.
20:55 Forget he's a football player.
20:57 If he just worked at McDonald's it's the kid you want your daughter to marry.
21:01 I just love this kid.
21:03 Your thoughts on Zeus.
21:04 Z.
21:05 Yeah.
21:06 So listen I think you know I have a very firm belief in Zeus and his his abilities I think
21:12 for him it's just opportunity.
21:14 Right.
21:15 And unfortunately for him you know he was playing behind one of the best running backs
21:17 in the league for the last two years and Josh Jacobs.
21:19 So it wasn't necessarily a thing that he did wrong.
21:22 He's just at the wrong position if you will because the guy in front of him was so good.
21:26 What we saw this year when he had the opportunities when he was the center of the running attack
21:31 we saw what he can do.
21:32 So I think he's shown the ability to to be a starting running back in the NFL specifically
21:37 for the Raiders.
21:38 Obviously we just have to see what happens with Josh.
21:40 But I think given the opportunity he's going to prove that he can do exactly what he did
21:44 in the last what four games of the season this year.
21:46 So you give him an offseason you build around him you make a game plan around him.
21:50 I think I think he's shown his abilities.
21:52 I agree with you.
21:53 We're going to tell about Matthew Butler the defensive tackle.
21:56 I.U.T.
21:57 Like him he's been very warm every time I talk to him.
22:05 But he's shown us nothing.
22:09 This is a guy that I mean even with Koonce you saw something.
22:14 I've not seen anything.
22:16 Maybe you have.
22:17 That's why we're talking about him.
22:19 But I mean I wouldn't be shocked if he's a casualty and not even on the roster next year.
22:23 I'm not predicting I'm not making a prediction yet but I have not seen it and it's not personal.
22:29 Neither one of us dislikes him.
22:31 It's just a nothing burger.
22:34 Where am I wrong.
22:35 Listen I was going to say not personal at all.
22:37 You know I personally have spent the last two three weeks dissecting you know the defensive
22:43 line and the stats in terms of players that are going and you're right.
22:46 If you look at the numbers is is just not there necessarily.
22:49 Now obviously football goes well beyond the numbers.
22:51 That's not what we're saying here.
22:53 But in terms of his position there are other guys that are around him that are producing
22:56 more and it's not a knock on him personally.
22:59 It's just the fact of the matter that casualty was the right word.
23:01 When you said casualty I think that's the perfect word to me when you say casualty it's
23:05 not personal.
23:06 It's all business.
23:07 It's all numbers.
23:08 It's all money.
23:09 It's it just doesn't add up.
23:10 And I agree with you.
23:11 I think next season he could be a casualty for the Raiders.
23:14 Yeah and you know what's amazing is it's hard to look at the numbers.
23:17 He doesn't have any.
23:19 Yeah.
23:20 Like if you go look at the numbers it speaks for itself.
23:22 That's not anybody's opinion.
23:24 That's just the numbers they're they're doing.
23:25 They're making the opinion here.
23:26 It was his own production.
23:27 So it's not again a knock on him.
23:30 It's not personal.
23:31 It's just the fact of the matter.
23:33 The third guy entering his money here.
23:37 He made some now see we're talking about Jeff Jones.
23:42 I mean to tell you this is a guy that halfway through the year many thought wouldn't get
23:49 a money here.
23:50 Wasn't on a roster.
23:52 Like Kelly Antonio Pierce talked to him go get him bring him in and he lit it up.
23:57 It's great for him to be with Antonio.
23:59 It's great for him to be with Patrick Graham and man that kid's on the precipice.
24:05 If he can have a money year like his sophomore half a year this guy's gonna make some Jack
24:11 listen I think I think the number for Jack I think he's on I think his contract is two
24:15 million dollars.
24:16 If I'm not mistaken I'm the top of my head.
24:17 You know two million dollars left.
24:21 They got two years with this guy for a total total of two million.
24:27 So so yes like you said if he comes out this next season and he plays like he did this
24:32 last half of the season you talk about big money.
24:35 He's earned it at that point right.
24:37 Come up you know to not even be on a team halfway through the season this year and come
24:40 and play the way he did.
24:41 I mean come on.
24:42 That that is huge.
24:43 So he earned it right.
24:44 Like we talked about Malcolm Malcolm Butler not necessarily having the numbers.
24:49 Jack has the numbers.
24:50 He has the presence.
24:51 He has the influence in the locker room.
24:53 Another year like this last half of the season and you got to pay the man for sure because
24:57 he's on he's on a hell of a deal right now for the team.
25:01 And everybody Zeke knew he was talking about Matthew Butler.
25:03 He just said I know you mean it.
25:07 Next is a guy you and I like as a player you and I like as a man.
25:13 I think he has shown himself.
25:15 I think he's he's going to evolve into a Robert Spallane type player.
25:20 Let's talk about Luke Masterson.
25:22 I mean I think you and I are both riding that train as well.
25:25 Yes Luke is talented and he plays his position well in terms of like you said right behind
25:30 Spallane obviously Diablo right there as well in terms of the linebacker core.
25:34 Masterson is a great in terms of you know addition I don't say addition but he fills
25:38 the holes especially if Spallane is not there or Devine is not there.
25:41 He does his job well and he does it admirably right.
25:44 So whenever he's on the field it's not like he's a liability by any means.
25:47 So he's got great potential.
25:49 I think going forward especially if he continues to develop Masterson has a bright future.
25:54 Sure.
25:55 Sure.
25:56 Next let's talk about Thayer Munford.
25:58 They wanted him to beat out Jermaine Illuminor this year.
26:03 That was the plan.
26:04 I was told that before the year.
26:05 Hey we're hoping that he beats Jermaine.
26:10 He didn't.
26:11 This is a guy that's shown a lot of flashes.
26:14 He's a low round graphic again like Masterson.
26:17 He's not a guy that comes with a big price tag.
26:21 I think he absolutely has shown flashes of really being great.
26:29 I think for him this is going to be a big money year because I think the Raiders there's
26:34 a good chance.
26:35 Now how the draft falls determines a lot.
26:39 But I think there's a chance they could be making a first round investment in a right
26:43 tackle and then which is going to put him in you know fighting Illuminor for that swing
26:48 spot.
26:50 But I like Thayer.
26:52 I think Thayer has a chance of being an absolute starter in this league.
26:56 I believe in him.
26:58 He's a guy though in his money year he going to have to make some money.
27:03 Listen I think you hit it right on the head when you said the draft will determine a lot.
27:06 Right.
27:07 If they go out there and they draft the offensive lineman 13 overall you know the conversation
27:11 around around there is going to be a little bit different just because of logistics.
27:14 Right.
27:15 But in terms of his ability and staying on the team let's say they do keep him I think
27:19 he's a great addition to keep on the team whether he's starting or not.
27:22 I think it's a great idea to keep him now.
27:25 Obviously the money turns out a little bit differently if he's a starter versus if he's
27:28 not a starter.
27:29 But I think if he has a good season especially showing his ability to help add to the depth
27:33 of the offensive line I think that's going to be where his his where he makes his money
27:38 right is being able to either a be a starter when needed or be being a great depth player
27:42 to whoever they may already have.
27:44 I think he's worth keeping especially if he has a productive season this year.
27:48 Yeah and I think I if I had to bet on Thayer I would.
27:54 I want to talk about a guy who is one of the stars of this team who does not get enough
28:00 praise.
28:03 This is a guy that champ Kelly deserves all the credit in the world Dylan Parham.
28:09 All he's done is come in keep his mouth shut start every game for two years.
28:16 He's an absolute star.
28:19 He's one of those guys that he's not surly at all.
28:24 Doesn't really like doing interviews not against him but he's not looking for the attention
28:30 goes to work every day.
28:32 All of this.
28:33 There isn't a guy in that locker room that doesn't like Dylan Parham.
28:37 There isn't a guy in that locker room that would question his work ethic.
28:40 There isn't anybody in that locker room going to question his talent comes to work.
28:45 Great man.
28:47 Just he is exactly what you want when you make a draft pick you want somebody is going
28:52 to be great on the field off the field play do his job.
28:58 Dylan Parham doesn't get the praise.
29:00 Forget it being a money here from him.
29:01 He's done earned the money.
29:03 This guy's potential.
29:05 He's already star.
29:06 He's a potential superstar.
29:08 Listen like you listen you hear you couldn't have explained to me any better than you did.
29:13 And one thing I'll say about him is in terms of the interviews he doesn't necessarily like
29:16 doing them but he almost always does them.
29:19 And I think that speaks to his you know his ability to connect with people especially
29:23 his teammates.
29:24 But one thing that I noticed a lot in those interviews just from listening to him talk
29:27 is that he's very very smart.
29:29 He's very very cerebral in terms of every little thing that he does in terms of knowing
29:32 the playbook in terms of coaching up his teammates.
29:34 That's another thing that I noticed about him just being in the locker room.
29:37 If I looked around you don't you don't really hear him a lot.
29:40 He's not necessarily a loud guy by any means but I look over to him and he's over there
29:43 talking to the guy right next to him and to left and to the right of me you can see that
29:46 they're talking about football.
29:48 You can see the guys coming up to him asking them questions and again like you said he's
29:52 not looking for the attention.
29:53 All right.
29:54 He's not there for the praise by any means but his play speaks for itself.
29:57 He's dependable.
29:58 You know he's going to come to work.
30:00 I think AP calls it a lunch pail guy.
30:03 Not glamorous not beating his chest not loud but he gets the job done.
30:06 He's there almost every game if you will.
30:08 So that's kind of why I had that smile on my face when you brought him up because he
30:12 is that good of a player.
30:13 Right.
30:14 And he's that good of a person as well.
30:16 So going forward man he's going to be huge for the team.
30:19 Like you said he's already earned the money in my opinion.
30:21 His production has spoken for itself.
30:23 So going forward I think he's going to be someone the Raiders decide to keep.
30:26 So we'll see.
30:27 Zeke I want to ask you real quick before we move on from Dylan.
30:31 I was asked recently I was talking to some Raider fans and I brought Dylan up and I said
30:37 I'm surprised more people don't talk about him.
30:40 And somebody said how would you describe him.
30:43 He reminds me because of his intellect a lot of Patrick Graham.
30:48 Just his football IQ and his regular brain is through the roof.
30:55 Do you think I gave a fair analysis sir.
30:58 A thousand percent.
30:59 And that's it.
31:00 So going back to kind of his interviews whenever you interview him I've noticed whenever I
31:04 interview him I've noticed that his responses you can see his brain moving a million miles
31:09 an hour.
31:10 Right.
31:11 And I think that speaks to his intelligence.
31:12 Same with Patrick Graham.
31:13 If you ask Patrick Graham a question you can see his mind just move and it just goes.
31:17 And I think you hit it right on the head.
31:18 He has it already there.
31:20 He's a very very cerebral dude.
31:22 And you know going forward he's going to he's going to keep on adding to the team.
31:26 So I think you explain his personality perfectly.
31:29 And I think it fits the locker room.
31:30 I really do.
31:31 I really do.
31:32 I think his personality fits the locker room perfect.
31:34 So yes I would say you explain his personality pretty well.
31:37 Yeah I just think the world and then we come to a guy DJ Turner has shown some flashes.
31:48 I don't think it's like Matthew where there's nothing.
31:51 He's shown flashes.
31:53 He does what he needs to do on special teams.
31:56 I mean I just this is a guy that there is a place for him on this team potentially.
32:04 But it's going to be a money year for him.
32:07 He's going to determine whether or not he makes the dough in 2024.
32:13 I again I think you and I both like him.
32:15 I don't think it has anything to do with none of these guys.
32:18 It's personal.
32:20 But this is a guy that has shown some flight with Matthew Butler.
32:24 I like him.
32:25 You like him.
32:27 But there just hasn't been a lot of reasons for hope for him.
32:32 Doesn't mean he can't.
32:34 Doesn't mean we're rooting against him.
32:36 With DJ he's shown some flashes now.
32:41 He's shown some things really.
32:43 OK OK I see you.
32:44 I see you.
32:46 Your thoughts on DJ.
32:48 So yeah with DJ like you said the word was flashes.
32:52 And you have to ask yourself how much do the Raiders value those flashes and how much potential
32:57 do they think they have in him because of those flashes.
33:00 So I think this is going to be one of those words where again with Butler could he be
33:04 a casualty.
33:05 Yes but he's a little bit a step above Butler if you will in terms of his potential going
33:09 forward.
33:10 We'll see what he does.
33:11 And also in terms of special teams you know just from spending time looking through the
33:15 roster.
33:16 I think a lot of people forget that's an important part of this game too.
33:19 So a guy might not be the next great starter.
33:22 But guess what you need people to fill out that special teams side of things too.
33:26 So there is a lot of value in a great special teams player.
33:28 So I think we've got to keep that in mind going forward.
33:31 So we'll see how things fall for him.
33:32 All right.
33:33 I want to ask you about a guy that I think could be a superstar.
33:40 He's not.
33:41 He's not a parum.
33:44 But I put him on the level of a Zeus.
33:48 I'm looking at the I put him on the level of a Masterson.
33:53 This is a guy that I think could be a long term Raider and be a great contributor.
33:59 Isaiah Palomar.
34:01 I really like him a lot.
34:03 I like I like his thinking.
34:06 I was watching some film the other day Z.
34:09 And a couple of plays that he made where he made adjustments.
34:14 And I'm thinking OK what is he seeing to make that adjustment.
34:18 And there was nothing to see.
34:19 It was nothing got.
34:21 It was film.
34:22 It was OK.
34:23 You could tell he's been in the film room because he's making this adjustment before
34:27 the quarterback's given him anything to adjust to.
34:30 I like him.
34:31 I like him personally.
34:33 I like him professionally.
34:35 I like his style.
34:37 You know you can't have all Jack Jones's in the defensive backfield because then it's
34:43 just too much personality.
34:45 I like that he'll sit back.
34:47 Let everybody shine.
34:50 I like the kid.
34:53 I'm buying on the kid.
34:55 This is a money year.
34:57 And like I think with Masterson like I think with Zeus.
35:02 I think he's going to do something this year.
35:04 I think this is going to be a good year for Palomar.
35:06 So completely agree.
35:09 But this is another way that I think that he is similar to Zeus and maybe similar to
35:13 Masterson.
35:14 He just needs the opportunity.
35:15 Right.
35:16 And what I've noticed just on a very large scale about Isaiah this season is even starting
35:20 back in the preseason almost every time he got on the field almost every time he had
35:23 a chance to play he made a play.
35:26 It might have been an interception here.
35:27 It might have been a deflection there.
35:28 It might have been a whatever maybe he made a play almost every time he got a chance to
35:32 show what he could do.
35:33 So I agree with you.
35:34 I think he's you got to keep him on the team just because of his potential.
35:38 And I also think you talked about the film aspect of him right.
35:41 He clearly studies his film but his instincts right.
35:44 A lot of what he possesses is natural.
35:46 You can't coach it right.
35:47 So you can let him go.
35:49 But the chances of you finding another player that naturally has that instinct is going
35:52 to be very very slim.
35:53 So I think they have to just build on that natural instinct build on the things that
35:57 he's already shown.
35:58 And Isaiah has a lot of potential.
36:00 I'm excited for him going forward to for sure.
36:02 I agree with you.
36:03 All right.
36:04 Last subject I want to talk to you about today is by the way your article the other day about
36:09 the Raiders staying at 13 was a very very good article.
36:12 Very very good one.
36:13 But I want to talk about the Josh Jacobs Zeus situation.
36:21 You and I are both aware AP wanted him back.
36:25 Now wanting someone back and a deal being able to get done are two different stories.
36:31 You and I both believe and I think we have reason to believe that on maybe some things
36:36 we we can't discuss that Josh was willing to take less money to stay a Raider because
36:46 he wants to play for AP.
36:50 So the balance is going to be for AP and Telesco.
36:55 Where do we value Jacobs at.
36:59 Do we give him a two year deal and put some some of it into how many games you're healthy
37:07 enough to play.
37:10 Now I think that's fair because I think the Raiders are going to begin the transition
37:15 to Z.
37:16 It's like when the Cowboys had Ezekiel and Troy Pollard and they begin to make the transition.
37:24 I think you've got to protect yourself with some incentives about Zeke being healthy because
37:31 other than two years ago he struggled with health.
37:37 But at the same time I don't think you punish him if he's healthy and you go with Zeus.
37:42 I think it's going to be a unique situation.
37:44 I don't think it's a guarantee that he comes back but I do believe it's a guarantee both
37:49 parties want to be back together.
37:52 It's going to be though this is where Telesco has going to have to do a very good job of
37:58 saying to AP OK I agree we want him.
38:01 But if we're also going to make a transition to Zeke because we got a couple more years
38:04 of cheap money on him to find out who he is.
38:10 This is going to be tenuous.
38:11 This is something a lot of people are talking about that I find very tenuous.
38:16 Listen this is you know and the reason again the reason I'm smiling like that is because
38:20 this is going to be one of the most important decisions that they make going forward right
38:23 in terms of how much they pay Josh if they pay Josh if they resign all those kinds of
38:26 things and you know Zeus being on the roster makes it that much more interesting right
38:32 because now the Raiders have a choice they have a choice to make but they also don't
38:35 necessarily have to make it.
38:36 They can bring Josh back and like you said still have Zeus in the backfield so it's going
38:40 to be interesting to see what they do.
38:42 But what I will say is this though is that the Raiders in my opinion have been preparing
38:46 themselves for this moment since they drafted Zeus.
38:50 They knew this time was going to come and this is it's not a bad thing.
38:53 It just speaks to how much talent they have at this position right.
38:56 But they knew what they had in Josh.
38:57 They knew he was at the time the best running back in the NFL and they knew that hey money
39:02 is going to be an issue for this guy sooner or later.
39:04 We have to prepare ourselves.
39:05 We have to protect ourselves like you said and I think that's what they did when they
39:08 drafted Zeus.
39:09 So in terms of AP warning Josh back I think everybody wants the relationship to continue.
39:14 It's just a matter of if it will.
39:16 So I think that's going to be the first big roster decision that Celeste goes on to have
39:21 to make is obviously what to do with Josh Jacobs going forward.
39:23 So we'll see.
39:26 I think it's going to be fascinating to watch how this all unfolds.
39:30 So this is Zeke I said to everybody the other day this is the I've covered the team five
39:36 years now.
39:37 This is the first time where there's not anything to complain about.
39:44 You finish the season on a high note.
39:47 Enjoy your offseason.
39:49 Some people and it's such a minimal percentage but we're in the same division with Andy Reid
39:55 Sean Payton and Jim Harbaugh.
39:57 Well you beat Andy Reid.
39:58 Yeah.
39:59 So what.
40:00 Christmas in Kansas City you make Taylor Swift watch a street fight and you want it
40:09 and you want to dominate it.
40:12 Yeah I mean it was.
40:15 I guarantee you.
40:16 Never mind.
40:17 I'm not going to get there but anyway.
40:19 All right.
40:20 Then you beat the Broncos twice with Sean Payton with two different quarterbacks.
40:29 Then you should have beat the Bulls the first time if Josh McDaniels would have let that
40:37 go.
40:38 Yeah.
40:39 You beat him the second time.
40:42 There should be no consternation.
40:45 You are the Raiders.
40:47 You're like the hot chick that doesn't realize it.
40:50 Zeke you ever heard that country song.
40:53 She don't know she's beautiful.
40:58 No but it sounds like a good song.
41:02 I want you to go listen to it on YouTube today.
41:05 She don't know she's beautiful though time and time I told her so.
41:10 I understand it's been 20 years of futility and struggle.
41:15 I understand Raider Nation's frustrated but now is the time to start letting those hopes
41:21 germinate take root because remember you're the freaking Raiders.
41:28 You are not the ugly chick.
41:30 You are the hot chick and you need to remember remember who you are.
41:35 Am I wrong.
41:36 Listen when it comes to the Raiders that is 100 percent correct.
41:39 I mean you just named it right in terms of how they did against the Broncos in terms
41:42 of how they did against the Chargers.
41:43 It sounds like they're the second best team in the AFC West if you ask me and if things
41:47 would have went a little bit differently for them this season they would have been in the
41:50 playoffs and when I do mean just a little bit differently right you win an extra game
41:54 or two here they're scored touchdown against the Vikings.
41:57 You're probably in the playoffs right.
41:59 So you know they're right there.
42:01 They're knocking on the door.
42:02 What I'll say about in terms of the outlook of the fan base and outlook for the Raiders
42:06 is it's the NFL.
42:07 Right.
42:08 Let's take a step back.
42:09 It's the NFL.
42:10 No league gives you hope like the NFL.
42:14 If you're the if you're a bad team in the NBA or you're mediocre team in the NBA you
42:17 have zero chances of winning the championship.
42:18 You can go and go down the list for other leagues as well.
42:21 In the NFL you can have a bad season this year and be in the NFC championship next year.
42:25 Right.
42:26 So everything in terms of where the Raiders are and where they're headed to me speaks
42:30 positivity and also I'll also say this as people that are as media that are in the locker
42:35 room that's with the guys every day we have a pretty good idea of the vibe.
42:39 Right.
42:40 So if it's a negative vibe trust us we know we feel it because we have to go report on
42:43 it.
42:44 That's not where they are right now.
42:45 It's all positives or at least it should be all positives on what should be a bright future.
42:49 So in my opinion it's it's an exciting time in terms of where these guys are and you know
42:55 make a couple of additions here subtractions there.
42:58 They'll be right back in the playoffs next year.
42:59 In my opinion I heard from a couple of players a couple of days ago I did a podcast and I
43:03 talked about it.
43:07 Do you not know your Raiders.
43:10 You beat these guys.
43:12 You know that one of the players to send me a text you'll feel know who it is.
43:16 Preach that crap.
43:18 And they didn't say I have I have no idea who would say that.
43:26 Smile gives it away.
43:27 Yes.
43:28 Hey listen make sure next time you pick them to win by double digits I know.
43:35 Yeah.
43:36 Yes.
43:37 Inside joke.
43:38 Sorry everybody.
43:39 All right.
43:40 So listen I want to remind everybody I bought I was given a pair of force one.
43:49 I have black socks.
43:52 I promise.
43:53 OK.
43:54 I'm buying Zika pair because somebody gave me one so I want to pass it on.
43:59 But I want to give one pair away to you the listener.
44:04 Here's my email.
44:05 I'm giving it one time Spartan Nation mail M a I l at Yahoo dot com.
44:12 You must put in the subject line Raiders Air Force One.
44:18 Now I need three things.
44:21 Your name your address your shoe size one sentence.
44:29 Why we should pick you.
44:31 If you're one sentence is like I'm going to put it to a side we're going number each one.
44:38 So let's say we get 100.
44:40 I'm going to bring my wife on the podcast probably going to be Friday's podcast.
44:48 She's going to pick a number.
44:50 One of those numbers.
44:52 We're going to announce the winner on the podcast on Friday and then I'm going to buy
44:58 you a pair of black Air Force One.
45:02 Now come on Z.
45:04 That's given.
45:06 I'm terribly excited.
45:07 I'm very grateful.
45:08 I just have a question for you in terms of the winner of the shoes.
45:11 Are you going to add a pair of black socks with the shoes or not.
45:15 Just the shoes or socks included in.
45:20 You just want a pair of socks don't you.
45:23 Love my socks man.
45:24 I need I need a pair of socks.
45:26 Fine.
45:27 I will give each of you one pair of black socks.
45:31 It sounds like a deal to me.
45:34 I know Z when you get your shoes in your socks you got to take a picture and you got to tweet
45:40 it out.
45:41 I'm with it.
45:42 Let's do it.
45:43 All right good.
45:44 So send me that.
45:45 Now remember today is Wednesday morning early.
45:48 You got to have all emails to me by midnight Eastern or eleven fifty nine tonight the 31st
45:57 any email that comes after delete gone.
46:00 You got to have it to me today.
46:01 I want to give those away.
46:02 We'll announce it on Friday be a lot of fun.
46:05 We're going to have a good time together.
46:07 Lots of stuff coming up.
46:08 Lots of great stuff coming up.
46:10 Talk about some of the articles you got coming Z.
46:12 Oh listen.
46:13 Listen I'm coming off.
46:15 Listen give me give me a second.
46:16 So what I do is I just try to think of you know the most interesting aspects of the team.
46:20 So a lot of mine are opinion based.
46:22 Don't get me wrong.
46:23 But just stay tuned.
46:24 Stay tuned.
46:25 The last week has been fun of just kind of coming up with articles where I think the
46:29 Raiders could improve or what they can do into next season.
46:32 And more is on the way.
46:33 Trust me on that one for sure.
46:35 I got an email I got to read this.
46:38 Comes to us from C. Thomas.
46:42 He said Hondo how do you determine what stories you tell Zeke to write.
46:47 I'm just curious.
46:49 Now I'm curious.
46:54 Do I tell you what to write.
46:56 No literally like the question you just asked me a moment ago kind of speaks to it.
47:01 The quick answer is like no not at all.
47:03 Like whatsoever.
47:04 In every out of all the articles I've written you've probably have given me direction on
47:09 you know specific direction or maybe a handful of them if that.
47:13 And even on those it was never hey write this.
47:15 It was one thing two things run with it.
47:19 And that's one thing that I've always appreciated because honestly I struggle if I get put into
47:23 a box like that.
47:25 Hey write this write this write this.
47:26 I'm not as productive as that.
47:27 So you know the answer to the email hardly ever.
47:33 I got that's what I'm kind of studying over my words right now.
47:34 It literally never happens.
47:35 And it helps me out tremendously to have that free range to kind of just write what I think
47:39 is best.
47:40 So yeah you kind of let me do my thing and that that means a lot to me.
47:44 Well you're a terrific writer and I don't think terrific writers.
47:47 I mean occasionally I've had you know I can think of one article in particular where I
47:52 said I want you to address this and you did it.
47:55 I mean I told you that thought it was a masterful piece of writing.
48:00 I didn't even care how you addressed it.
48:02 I just wanted you to address it.
48:04 I've got to tell you I love reading your articles.
48:07 I enjoy your articles.
48:09 I love your style and your voice and how you write.
48:13 You're one of the best and we're blessed to have you Zeke.
48:16 Hey man thank you.
48:17 Thank you as always for more than anything.
48:18 Thank you for the opportunity.
48:19 I'm always I don't ask for a whole lot in life but an opportunity.
48:23 You've given me that so I appreciate it.
48:26 Well and some black Air Force Ones.
48:27 Oh yeah that's coming too.
48:30 He's the one and only the great Zeke Trezevant.
48:34 We love him.
48:35 We appreciate him.
48:36 We respect him.
48:37 Remember follow me on Instagram at @HondoSR.
48:40 You can also find me on X formerly known as Twitter at Hondo Carpenter or SI.com/NFL/Raiders.