Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast on AP's Open Letter to Raider Nation, Will the Raiders Stay at 13 in the NFL Draft, Evaluating Telesco, and More
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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.
00:08 It's great to be with you all today.
00:10 Joined now by my great friend, Matt Heladick from thespun.com.
00:15 He and I have been doing a weekly segment either on the radio or a podcast, television,
00:19 whatever for probably this is I think our 16th year, whatever year, the year before
00:26 Rutgers joined the Big Ten after the season that year that he began and we've been friends
00:31 ever since.
00:33 Great to have you, Matt.
00:34 I tell you, thespun.com has got to be going crazy with all the Taylor Swift talk.
00:40 I want to very be centric on Raiders, but I have to very quickly say this to you.
00:49 As you know, I've been to a lot of Super Bowls and I have never seen one like it was last
00:55 night.
00:56 I mean, massive, the biggest crowd I've ever seen at Media Day around Travis Kelce.
01:04 I've never seen anything like it, even when Tom Brady was in the Super Bowls and nothing.
01:12 And then almost all the questions were about Taylor Swift.
01:18 It was just amazing to me, the impact.
01:22 It just it's floored me, it stunned me.
01:26 But like it or not, she has impacted and I think impacted in a positive way by bringing
01:33 in new fans, the National Football League.
01:34 Your thoughts?
01:35 I would agree.
01:36 I mean, you look at what the reported added value has been for Taylor Swift.
01:44 The study said it's 331 million or something like that.
01:47 I think that we've talked about before, there are some people who don't like the fact they
01:53 show on broadcast or maybe be getting fatigued with the storyline.
01:57 But to me, I think that overall, she's been a boon for the league.
02:01 And I think that it's great to see additional kind of people become involved in the NFL
02:10 from a fan perspective.
02:11 I think, you know, the league is getting exposure and gaining fans in markets that they may
02:19 not necessarily have had huge fans in the past.
02:25 They're making inroads with those groups because of Taylor Swift.
02:30 And listen, even if Taylor Swift isn't around the NFL in a couple of years because either
02:36 she breaks up with Travis Kelsey, or even if they stay together, he retires or whatever,
02:42 those people may stick around and say, "Hey, you know, watching football and watching some
02:46 of that was fun.
02:47 Let me check out a game or become a fan of the team or stay being a fan of the Chiefs
02:52 or something like that."
02:53 I think that's great for the league.
02:55 Yeah.
02:56 I got to tell you, though, I learned something this morning that I thought was fascinating.
03:03 I got a, I don't remember, it was an email or a follow.
03:07 I was going through all my email and all my social media, so I apologize.
03:10 I think it was an email and a follow from somebody who is not an NFL fan, but can't
03:17 stand Taylor Swift.
03:19 And so they found out that the Raiders were their biggest rival, and so now is a Raider
03:24 fan.
03:25 I thought that was kind of cool.
03:26 That is, hey, you take them where you can get them.
03:28 Anywhere you can find fans for a team or for a league, you take them.
03:34 All right.
03:35 You know it's bad when you go to fix your glasses and they're not even on your head.
03:38 All right.
03:39 I want to dig into the Raiders.
03:41 A lot of different things going on.
03:45 Getzey's not been officially named, so there's nothing to really talk about there.
03:50 Obviously, I mean, all indicators are that the deal is done, but until it's official
03:55 by the team, there's nothing really to talk about.
04:00 But I do want to address with you one issue.
04:06 Cliff Kingsbury and Luke Getzey are two completely different types of coordinators.
04:19 And so if the Raiders had come out with Luke Getzey first and nobody had ever thought of
04:26 Cliff Kingsbury, I don't think the fan base would have been as riled up as it is.
04:33 But because they go Cliff Kingsbury, which is air raid, and it doesn't mean he can't
04:38 do other things.
04:39 In fact, he talked in his interview about other things.
04:41 But then they go to Luke Getzey.
04:45 That's where the disconnect is with the fan base.
04:48 I don't think anybody hates, well, I'm sure there are.
04:51 I've learned that.
04:52 But I think it's not a hate thing for Getzey.
04:55 It just seems to be so diametrically opposed.
04:58 What do you think of that analysis?
05:01 I think that as far as fans, they pay attention.
05:06 They look at what coaches are known for, what they favor schematically.
05:12 You see, okay, this guy, yes, he has experience too, and he brings that to the table.
05:19 But he looks like he wants to do different things than Kingsbury did, Luke Getzey does.
05:28 So what is Antonio Pierce's vision for the offense?
05:31 Obviously you said 24 points to goal, which is great.
05:34 But how does he anticipate getting there?
05:36 How does he want to get there?
05:38 Does he want to be a team that spreads the field and throws it a lot?
05:43 Does he want to be a team that is more of a power running game or incorporates a quarterback
05:49 running into the system the way that Getzey had to in Chicago with Justin Beals?
05:54 If that's the case, then they don't really have that type of player with Aiden O'Connell.
05:59 But what does he see and how does Getzey want to modify things for the person that he has?
06:05 I also think one of the reasons why fans got riled up, and listen, I'm sure there were
06:11 some fans that were really excited to potentially have Cliff Kingsbury.
06:14 I'm sure there were some fans that really weren't that jazzed up about having Cliff
06:18 Kingsbury.
06:19 That's just the way it goes with any coaching search in any sport.
06:22 What we talked about in the past, just last week, I think even, about Raider fans being
06:28 a little beaten up, a little downtrodden because of what they've gone through all these years.
06:34 I think when you have a guy who was the first choice or offered the job, NFL media, multiple
06:44 reporters, but not just local guys like you, but national guys are saying, "He's going
06:48 to get the job.
06:49 This is who the Raiders want."
06:51 And then it falls through.
06:53 You're like, "Oh, here we go again.
06:56 The Raiders screwed it up.
06:58 What did they do wrong?
06:59 How come?"
07:00 I think that's one of the reasons why you might see some fan animosity, plus the fact
07:06 that the Bears, the last couple of years, haven't been great offensively.
07:12 But again, you've got to take into account personnel.
07:15 What did he have to work with?
07:16 What were his limitations at quarterback?
07:19 What were his limitations along the offensive line and skill positions?
07:24 What were his assets that he had to work with there?
07:27 And so things can really look different.
07:32 To me, I think with coaching in general, and it's true with a lot of head coaches, and
07:41 it doesn't just go with football, it isn't just pertinent with football.
07:46 There's great coaches who will make it work to at least, maybe not be on a championship
07:53 team every year, but we'll have a winning team and make it work almost every single
07:56 time they're out there.
07:58 There's bad coaches who just go around getting fired, or they get fired once or twice and
08:02 they don't get the opportunities.
08:04 And then there's good coaches who need, they can look great with the right mix of personnel
08:11 if they have things going and things are working.
08:13 And then if they don't have that, they kind of, you know, they don't, you know, it doesn't
08:20 look good.
08:21 And I think that in the case of Luke Getzey, that might be what you had.
08:25 You might have a guy who is a good coach, good offensive coordinator, but just needs
08:30 to find the right concoction of ingredients to put together a good offense consistently.
08:38 Yeah, I agree with you.
08:39 I think it's fascinating.
08:42 And I don't blame the fans.
08:44 These guys, these fans have been through so much.
08:48 I don't blame them.
08:49 I just find it interesting the way they reacted and I can see it.
08:54 You know what?
08:55 Here we go again.
08:56 And I agree with you a hundred percent.
08:58 All right.
08:59 Let's talk about Tom Telesco did an interview recently and talked about, I don't know who
09:05 we're going to pick.
09:08 He is still going through with the staff that's there evaluating, trying to learn what he
09:13 has.
09:16 I understand, again, Raider fan, you know, you go hire a GM that was fired, an offensive
09:23 coordinator that was fired.
09:24 I understand their frustration because it has been two decades of futility.
09:29 I get all of that.
09:31 But man, I don't think Tom Telesco, now he's going to be judged by Super Bowls.
09:39 This is the Raiders.
09:40 So I get that.
09:42 But as of right now, having done all that he could, I don't think he could have done
09:48 any better in this short time that he's been the man.
09:52 I'd like your thoughts on on Telesco and just kind of how he's handled this job interim.
09:57 I mean, here in the beginning.
09:59 Sure, I think, you know, he seems to have had the right approach just from looking at
10:04 his introductory presser where he said, you know, I don't know everything.
10:09 I'm going to start to, you know, coming in here and I'm looking forward to working with
10:12 Antonio Pierce and getting his lay of the land of the organization and what he knows
10:17 about our roster, what he knows about our personnel.
10:21 I think one of the things.
10:24 And it's funny you said that about not knowing who we're going to pick yet.
10:26 I think this is one of the things that all NFL fans struggle with around this time of
10:32 year, especially if your organization has been losing.
10:37 The NFL is such a year round product.
10:41 When you have been when your team is basically eliminated from playoff contention or looking
10:47 like it's going to be eliminated from playoff contention during the season, a lot of fans
10:53 start to look right at mock drafts.
10:56 And when they start to do that, they're thinking, who can we get?
10:59 Who can replace?
11:00 And then you get into the offseason and there's mock drafts coming out.
11:06 All the time.
11:07 And I see it every day with Giants and Jets fans in New York getting angry at who someone
11:16 on ESPN, Mel Kiper or Matt Miller or someone for another website, mocks to them now almost
11:24 three months before the actual draft, before the combine, before the interview process
11:29 and all that stuff.
11:30 Listen, those guys have their intelligence that they get, their intel they get from around
11:35 the league.
11:36 So they do talk to people.
11:37 But right now it's all educated guessing.
11:39 So I think fans want that immediacy.
11:42 They want to know, Tom Falesco is coming in.
11:46 This is who we're targeting.
11:47 We're going to trade up to get our quarterback, Caleb Williams or Drake Mayer or whoever it
11:51 is, or we're going in this direction to draft.
11:55 We want to know, boom, boom, boom, what the future is going to bring.
12:00 And that's not necessarily the process in the NFL.
12:02 So I think that that might be one of the reasons why you see fans kind of get anxious around
12:08 this time of the year because you're already ready to move into free agency and the draft
12:14 and you still have to wait by your time before that stuff comes up.
12:20 I got to tell you, I will be stunned and I'll be more than stunned.
12:26 I don't think the Raiders are going to get Caleb, Drake Mayer or Jaden Daniels.
12:31 I just don't think that's going to happen.
12:33 I wasn't reporting they're going to do that.
12:35 I was just throwing out a scenario.
12:36 No, no, no.
12:37 I'm going to my next question because I agree with you.
12:41 I don't think either one of those are on the table.
12:45 So we're going to take those off the table.
12:49 And so if those three are not on the table, first of all, as you know, I talk to a ton
12:54 of people around the league trying to garner and get information.
12:59 In my first mock draft, we had the Raiders taking J.J. McCarthy in the second round because
13:04 that's where his value right now is.
13:08 And I was talking to an NFL executive that said right now, if the draft was today, you
13:12 could get J.J. in the second.
13:15 And this is an executive with a team that does not need a quarterback, a team that drafts
13:21 quarterbacks very, very well.
13:23 And he said, we have him, him and Drake May as our only two first round grades, which
13:30 I found to be fascinating.
13:33 And he said to me, but by the time people get to spend time with J.J. McCarthy and watch
13:42 him at Pro Days and everything else, watch him at the Combine, he said, I think he could
13:47 move up even before some of those guys that are now top three.
13:55 What are your thoughts on J.J. McCarthy?
13:57 He made a great point to me.
13:59 He said for everyone that talks about his passing numbers are not that good, he completes
14:04 73 percent of his passes, which is unbelievable.
14:08 And most of the games in the Big Ten, Michigan wanted to run the ball.
14:12 He goes, but go put the video on of him in the playoff against Alabama.
14:19 He had to compete against two first round corners, one first round safety with another
14:25 one who's probably going to be a first round safety.
14:28 He goes and look at how he passed against that coverage, against that amount of talent.
14:34 This guy, again, they don't need a quarterback, but very high on J.J. McCarthy.
14:39 I'd like to hear what you think of him.
14:43 You know, I think from watching him, I think he's.
14:50 I would put him below.
14:53 He's the big three so far, obviously, which is where I think he firmly is.
14:57 I think QB four is a fine range for him at this point.
15:02 One of the things I think that you kind of alluded to, it complicates matters with the
15:07 evaluation of him.
15:09 And to be fair, I'm this is I'm going by my eyes watching him during the season, reading
15:15 and consuming draft media that I trust that I know put the effort, things like that.
15:20 I'm not personally breaking down hours of J.J.
15:22 McCarthy films.
15:23 I just want to give that disclaimer.
15:25 But from watching him during the season and from, you know, consuming and reading and
15:31 looking at different things and watching different breakdowns now, one of the things that makes
15:35 it tough to evaluate him is that he didn't get the opportunities to throw the ball all
15:41 around the yard the way that some of these other quarterbacks did or had to for their
15:47 teams to be competitive.
15:49 You know, for J.J. McCarthy, Michigan dominated or was in control of most of the games on
15:56 their schedule.
15:57 You know, they did their three non-conference games.
16:00 They were they were clearly the better team.
16:04 They in the Big Ten, they blew out at least in the second half, almost everyone they faced
16:11 other than Ohio State and Penn State.
16:14 And in that Penn State game, when they run the ball, 20 something straight plays, 30
16:18 straight plays, something, you know, that was just a crazy number.
16:22 And I don't necessarily think they did it because just because they had no faith in
16:27 McCarthy.
16:28 I think they respected Penn State's ability to defend the pass and said, we have the horses
16:33 up front and in the backfield to just run the ball down their throats.
16:35 We don't need to throw.
16:37 So when you have that, I think all those factors make the evaluation a little tougher.
16:44 And no, he's not going to have the highlights.
16:48 Now I know I don't think he has the skill set totally of the upside of a, you know,
16:54 as Caleb Williams said.
16:55 But no, he's not going to have all the highlights of a Drake May because Drake May had to do
16:59 almost everything for his offense the last couple of years.
17:02 He had some quality receivers.
17:04 Yes.
17:05 But, you know, Drake May was the fulcrum of the UNC offense, whereas Michigan had McCarthy,
17:11 who was a very good college quarterback, who will play in the NFL and has potential to
17:16 be very good in the NFL, I think.
17:18 But they had great running backs.
17:20 They had an awesome offensive line.
17:21 They had a defense that just dominated opponents.
17:25 So I think that also makes it very interesting.
17:30 There's a possibility I could see where he goes to a team either in the second round
17:36 or I think he could move up in the first.
17:38 And the team, the fans aren't that excited about it on draft night, but maybe he develops
17:44 into something down the road where they're like, wow, we potentially got to steal.
17:48 Yeah.
17:49 All right.
17:50 So I'm going to ask you right now, and I understand that we're only in early February, but if
17:55 you had to predict right now how many players, I mean, how many quarterbacks go in the first
18:03 round of the draft, how many would you say?
18:05 Well, the top three, I think, would definitely be in there.
18:09 I know that there are some people saying that Drake May is going to drop, but there's always
18:13 people talking about dropping quarterbacks every year, and I feel like they never fall
18:18 as precipitously as some project.
18:19 So those three guys, your Williams, your May, your Jaden Daniels, I think are definitely
18:22 going.
18:24 I think at least four.
18:26 I do think either a JJ McCarthy or a Bo Nix or a Panix gets into that first round, depending
18:32 on what a team likes and what they value.
18:35 I think we see at least four, potentially five.
18:39 I would set the over/under right now at four and a half.
18:44 At four and a half?
18:46 Yeah.
18:47 I think it's amazing.
18:48 It was interesting for me talking to some NFL people recently.
18:54 One guy said they only had two people with first round grades.
18:59 Another guy told me we only have three with first round grades.
19:02 It's just interesting to me.
19:04 And then talking to teams who traditionally aren't great drafters, "Oh man, we've got
19:11 six guys here that we think are first round prospects," or whatever.
19:15 It's just interesting to me because there's no continuity.
19:20 I like to listen to the teams.
19:21 So for example, when I'm looking at running backs, I like to talk to teams who traditionally
19:30 draft running backs very well.
19:32 I listen to them, or I'll listen to when it comes to quarterbacks, teams that draft quarterbacks,
19:37 teams that constantly fail at it.
19:40 I like to get them just to know what they're thinking.
19:43 So when I make my mocks, but it's fascinating to me.
19:46 The draft is absolutely fascinating, isn't it?
19:49 It is.
19:50 And it's like a puzzle.
19:51 You're putting together a puzzle when you're making a mock draft.
19:54 You're taking all the intelligence that you have from around the league, and you're taking
20:01 your own evaluations, and you're plugging in what you think teams are going to do.
20:05 And then, "Okay, if this happens, this domino falls, where do these other teams go next?"
20:12 There's a science to it, which is pretty fun.
20:15 I agree with you 100%.
20:17 Okay, Matt, staying on the Raiders theme, I want to talk about Antonio Pierce.
20:27 Comes out with a big Players Tribune.
20:30 Did you see it?
20:32 Yeah, I did.
20:33 I'd like your thoughts on it.
20:36 I want to know what you thought.
20:37 He wrote an open letter to Raider Nation.
20:40 What did you think?
20:41 Well, I think that, again, we talked before about Raiders, Raider Nation, Raider fans
20:48 being a little bit apprehensive, or being a little bit beaten down by the last couple
20:53 of decades of what's gone on there.
20:54 And I think that Antonio Pierce is doing a nice job of setting the tone, saying, "Hey,
21:01 we're Raiders.
21:02 This is Silver and Black's back.
21:03 This is the type of attitude we want, how we want to conduct ourselves, how we want
21:08 to project ourselves."
21:09 Again, you do have to deliver wins and losses.
21:12 That's the bottom line in this business.
21:13 The ultimate thing he will be judged on.
21:15 But for now, going into his first offseason, coming off half a season as an interim coach,
21:22 he has, I think he has that aspect of the job down.
21:26 He understands what the fan base needs.
21:29 He understands what his players need.
21:31 He understands the type of confidence he wants to project and the image he wants to project.
21:38 I thought the players' jubune was a pretty cool way to do that.
21:43 So I think that it'll be, you know, it's going to be a lot of fun to see how he handles his
21:49 first full season in that division.
21:51 I think the AFC West in general next year might be the most interesting, fascinating
21:57 division in the NFL because just from the coaches alone and the personalities you have
22:02 there.
22:04 But I liked it.
22:05 I thought it was a good step for Antonio Pierce.
22:07 All right.
22:08 Now, I want to stay on this a little bit because I think this is pretty funny.
22:14 I hate the Pro Bowl.
22:18 I hate it.
22:19 It's a flag football game.
22:20 I understand.
22:21 I get it.
22:23 A lot of guys didn't want to play in the Pro Bowl because why take a chance of getting
22:28 injured?
22:29 I remember a few years ago, Sean Taylor, you know, many people believe if not the greatest,
22:35 one of the greatest safeties to ever play the game.
22:37 He goes up in a Pro Bowl game and just crushes someone.
22:40 Punter.
22:41 Brian Moorman.
22:42 Yep.
22:43 I'm sorry, what?
22:44 Brian Moorman from the Bills.
22:45 Yeah.
22:46 The Punter.
22:47 Yeah.
22:48 So a lot of people were like, it's not worth getting injured in that.
22:53 And I agree with them, by the way.
22:55 But to me, a flag football game is making a mockery of it.
23:00 If I'm the NFL, I no longer call it the Pro Bowl.
23:05 I just call it the All-Madden team.
23:08 First and second, both sides of the, I mean, both AFC and NFC, just AFC first and second
23:13 team, NFC first and second team, All-Madden.
23:18 Give out an award at Honors Night or whatever, but don't have the game anymore.
23:23 To me, it's making a mockery.
23:24 Now, some people say I'm just an old man telling people to get off my lawn.
23:29 But I've talked with a couple of players about it who've been Pro Bowlers or one of them
23:36 on the cusp of being a Pro Bowler, and they agree with me.
23:41 What are your thoughts?
23:42 What do you think of this?
23:43 That's funny.
23:44 We had this conversation in the Spun Slack, employee Slack chat the other day.
23:49 We were talking about the Pro Bowl and different things.
23:54 And one of my colleagues said it, and I kind of agree.
23:58 I think that the entire genre of professional all-star games have just completely lost their
24:08 luster.
24:09 I think that when I was younger, I think there's still some value to the skills competition,
24:19 like the Home Run Derby and the MLB.
24:23 The dunk contest isn't what it used to be when Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, and guys were
24:27 in it when it started, but that can still be fun for the NBA.
24:30 Three-point contest is still fun.
24:32 I like the idea of the skills competitions they had Thursday night with the Pro Bowl.
24:37 That can be kind of fun too.
24:39 But the all-star games in general, and I really can't speak to the NHL all-star game, although
24:47 one of my colleagues who's a diehard NHL fan, biggest hockey fan I work with, and one of
24:52 the biggest hockey fans I know, doesn't like the NHL all-star game.
24:56 So that's just one man's opinion, but it kind of factors in what I'm saying.
25:01 I just think the entire professional all-star game thing has lost its luster.
25:06 When you're younger, I used to love to watch the MLB all-star game because that was before
25:11 interleague play got really expanded, so it might be your only chance to see guys from
25:16 the NL go up against guys from the AL.
25:19 NBA all-star games used to be unbelievable.
25:28 You would get -- I mean, they were always high-scoring, but you would get some type
25:34 of element of actual gameplay, and in the fourth quarter, teams would really lock down
25:38 and they would play for real, and it would be great.
25:41 Now it's a lay-up line, dunk contest, almost some jump.
25:44 It's like just guys going up and down the court getting some cardio in.
25:48 The Pro Bowl hasn't -- I haven't been interested in the Pro Bowl in 30 years, 25 years, I'm
25:53 saying, I don't know, something like that.
25:55 It just doesn't hold my attention at all.
25:57 I don't know.
25:59 It still means something to make the Pro Bowl.
26:02 It still means something to be an NBA all-star, to be an MLB all-star, NHL all-star, without
26:07 a doubt.
26:09 But the games themselves, at least to me, don't have the appeal, nearly the appeal,
26:14 that used to.
26:16 I remember -- and now, you and I are spoiled.
26:19 We grew up in the '70s and '80s, and I remember the dunk contest.
26:23 I mean, I watch everybody with the Jumpman logos on their clothes.
26:28 I remember sitting at home watching it.
26:33 I remember watching all the skills competitions.
26:38 I remember one time, literally, rushing home from church because my dad and I had to watch
26:46 the baseball all-star game.
26:48 It was two pitchers going against each other, and you knew it was only -- they were only
26:52 going to get three innings as the starter.
26:56 And now it's gotten to the place where this is such a business -- and I don't blame the
27:01 players here -- where the players are like, "Listen, I can't afford to get hurt.
27:06 Boy, baseball season is so long.
27:10 I want those three days off, those five days off, whatever it is, to relax because my body
27:16 takes a beating."
27:17 I remember watching the all-star games.
27:20 I mean, come on.
27:21 I remember when Irvin came back after he had left the league.
27:24 I think it was Tom Chambers was a guy.
27:28 I think he was with Seattle, but he wins the MVP.
27:32 I think he was the one that won, but some guy at the -- you always expected the home
27:36 guy to really shine.
27:40 It meant something.
27:42 And when it doesn't anymore, I'm not blaming anybody.
27:46 Things evolve.
27:48 Things change.
27:50 People that can't embrace change can't embrace growth.
27:55 So I'm not an old man reflective nostalgically.
28:00 I'm an old man being honest, saying, "Have the skill competitions."
28:05 I love that.
28:06 At least I remember watching Dan Marino trying to hit targets being moved by golf carts.
28:13 Again, I love all the skill competitions.
28:17 Just give the awards.
28:20 Have the skill competition and move on.
28:21 I'm glad we agree on that, and I think it's important.
28:25 Okay.
28:26 Now, talking about people embracing what they can't change, there is a huge, monstrous controversy
28:37 here at the Super Bowl.
28:40 The Chiefs are practicing and using the Raiders' practice facility, which is the best in the
28:46 NFL.
28:49 They're also using the Raiders' locker room at Allegiant Stadium.
28:56 And I got to tell you, Matt, I've never seen nothing like it.
28:59 I tweeted a picture yesterday and just said, "Man, I had to take a double take to see Chiefs
29:04 names, and I mean Chiefs stuff, on the Raiders' locker room."
29:11 I mean, I had people threaten to kill me for spreading a lie.
29:16 They're not using the Raiders.
29:18 They're using UNLV.
29:19 It was nuts.
29:20 And, okay, I've been to every game ever played by the Raiders at Allegiant.
29:28 I walk into the same locker room every time.
29:31 I know what their locker room is.
29:33 The Chiefs are in it.
29:35 But at the end of the day, I was stunned.
29:38 I understand Raider fan not liking it.
29:40 I was stunned.
29:42 The vitriol and the emotion of Raiders.
29:47 Hey, it goes back to 20 years of futility.
29:51 I get it.
29:52 They're angry and they're mad, but it isn't like Mark Davis can stop it.
29:56 I mean, the NFL, we just learned the other day, is bringing in 1.1 to 1.3 billion into
30:03 the Vegas economy this week.
30:05 When they rent the stadium, they rent it.
30:07 It's like saying, "Okay, you can rent my house, but you can't sleep in the bedroom."
30:11 I mean, when you rent the house, you rent the house.
30:13 I was fascinated by it.
30:16 Did it shock you, the amount of vitriol that came out about that?
30:20 Yeah, I think that...
30:23 You would know this better than I would.
30:25 Does it go off of who's the designated home team for the game, gets to use the facilities?
30:31 I saw somebody say last year in Glendale, the Eagles were the home team, NFC was a designated
30:39 home team.
30:40 They got to use the Cardinals facilities while the Chiefs had to use Arizona State.
30:49 Now this year, the Chiefs are the home team.
30:51 They get to wear the home jerseys.
30:54 So they have access to the Raiders facilities while the Niners are at UNLV.
31:00 When I was told, and I got this from somebody who works for the NFL, but it wasn't like
31:06 an official statement, was that if the stadium is an NFC home stadium, then the NFC team
31:15 is home.
31:16 If it's an AFC stadium, it's an AFC stadium.
31:19 That's what I was told.
31:20 So that would work out exactly like last year.
31:22 Cardinals, Eagles, both NFC.
31:24 Raiders, Chiefs, obviously both AFC.
31:28 I think it goes back to, I think it became a big story because there was commentary obviously
31:34 on the difference in quality of the facilities at UNLV.
31:38 We're going to get to that next.
31:40 At the Raiders.
31:45 People are saying, "Oh, the Chiefs are getting advantages because they're the favorite team
31:50 and the NFL loves them.
31:52 They want them to win," and all that conspiracy kind of stuff.
31:55 Many of the Raiders fans, they're sick to see the Chiefs use the locker rooms.
32:01 I know that that would happen if the Eagles were using the locker rooms and the facilities
32:05 at Jerry World or at MetLife Stadium, or the Cowboys were using the Commander's facilities
32:14 or the Giants facilities, things like that.
32:16 Those rivalries run deep.
32:17 I'm sure Al Davis is tearing over his grave seeing all that Chiefs stuff in the locker
32:21 room and seeing them prepare.
32:24 But it is funny how seemingly innocuous things turn into such bigger things now in the age
32:33 of social media and the age of immediate information.
32:43 In the past, if they were using that, it might get reported on television news or the radio,
32:50 but it would get reported in the next day's paper.
32:53 Maybe there's a photo in the next day's paper, but people have time to see it and digest
32:59 it.
33:00 Now, if you tweet out a picture of it or someone else posts a picture of it, it gets out there
33:04 immediately and fans can react in the moment with all the emotion they have from seeing
33:10 that.
33:11 I think that's where you see that vitriol come into play.
33:14 Yeah, all right.
33:16 Let's talk about the NFL because the UNLV facilities, I mean, the field, again, by all
33:23 accounts is very, very soft.
33:25 It's not a great field.
33:28 There's nothing really the NFL can do, but in the future, do you think it behooves the
33:35 NFL?
33:36 Would you like to see the NFL pick one site and keep it there?
33:39 I like that it moves around.
33:41 I like that you're going to see it in Tampa.
33:44 You're going to see it in Dallas.
33:46 You're going to see it at SoFi.
33:48 You're going to see it in Vegas.
33:49 You're going to see it in Arizona.
33:51 I like that.
33:52 No issue with that.
33:53 You're going to see it in Miami.
33:56 I like occasionally you're going to see it go to a Northern Dome stadium like Ford Field
34:00 or where the Vikings play or Indianapolis, whatever.
34:04 I like that.
34:05 I like it moving around, but for the sake of continuity, would you like to see it one
34:12 place where all the facilities are equally good or does it not matter to you?
34:17 Again, I would like to see them continue to stick to keep moving it around the way they
34:22 do.
34:23 No, I think they should keep moving it around.
34:25 I like it.
34:26 I think that's part of the allure of the Super Bowl, too, that it's in different places and
34:31 it's for covering the game, for fans traveling, you get different experiences in different
34:39 spots.
34:42 What I could see happening is, and obviously this type of format, this practice of the
34:50 home stadium goes to whichever team is from the same league as that host has been going
34:58 on.
34:59 It's not something that's new this year.
35:00 I wonder if the league will do more to ensure or look into the quality of the alternate
35:10 practice facilities being up to snuff.
35:14 One of the things we have seen the complaints about, UNLV, is the field, the conditions
35:18 are softer.
35:20 It's softer than what the Niners would train on at home or you would be accustomed to.
35:25 So does, you know, everything goes into hosting Super Bowl, it's an insanely in-depth event.
35:35 Does the league kind of go to these places and say, hey, you have to make sure that it
35:40 fits these parameters and you have all these things in place so that we give the teams
35:47 the best possible experience?
35:49 Maybe they change some of their best practices for that, I could see.
35:52 But I'm firmly of the belief that it should be moving around.
35:58 Listen, you want to rotate the same group of cities, which they do, fine.
36:04 But I think, I love the fact that the Super Bowl moves around.
36:09 I love the fact the Final Four moves around.
36:14 I think it's pretty cool, too, even the College Football Playoff moves around.
36:19 I think those type of things are, when it's a neutral site game, I like that practice
36:27 of getting in different parts of the country.
36:28 And it's such a boon to the local economies of all these places that I think that it should
36:34 stay with the way it's been done forever.
36:37 All right, Matt, give me your prediction for the Super Bowl.
36:40 Who wins and why?
36:41 And score.
36:42 I'm not picking against the Chiefs in the playoffs until they lose.
36:48 So I'm picking the Chiefs.
36:49 I learned my lesson.
36:51 I picked against them to lose to Buffalo.
36:54 And I picked against them to lose again to Baltimore, thinking that this is the year
36:57 the Chiefs will finally get beaten in the playoffs.
36:59 Somebody will get them.
37:01 No, it didn't happen.
37:02 I'm picking the Chiefs because they have Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey and Andy Reid.
37:10 And I'll put it this way, even if the Chiefs do lose, I'm picking them to get to the Super
37:15 Bowl next year, assuming they're in the playoffs, because I'm not picking them to lose to an
37:18 AFC team in the playoffs until they do it again.
37:21 Because this team is just, the role they're on is something special.
37:28 What's the score?
37:29 I have 27-24, Chiefs.
37:33 Now I know I'm here in Vegas, but last time I heard it was the Chiefs were favored by
37:39 one point.
37:40 Do you think that's still pretty accurate?
37:41 I actually haven't looked at the line.
37:44 The last line I looked at was an armbar, but I haven't looked at the actual betting line.
37:50 But it's pretty close to just a straight up toss-up at this point with these two teams.
37:55 I think both teams are pretty evenly matched.
37:57 All right.
37:58 I predicted Kansas City to make it to the Super Bowl and win the Super Bowl at the beginning,
38:03 as you know.
38:04 I did it with you.
38:07 I am going to ride with them because I thought they would lose to Buffalo.
38:10 I thought they would lose to Baltimore.
38:15 And I'm going to ride them because I picked them.
38:17 But I would like to see San Francisco win the game.
38:21 But to me, this is a 27-28 game, something like that.
38:34 28-27 ballgame for the Chiefs.
38:38 But let me just tell you, there'll be nobody happier than me if San Francisco comes back
38:45 and is able to win it.
38:46 All right.
38:47 Last question for you.
38:49 It's a Raider question.
38:51 Do you think, based on what you know today, and we're going to give you plenty of time
38:57 before the draft to change your opinion, two questions.
39:01 Will Caleb Williams go number one?
39:04 And number two, will the Raiders stand pat at 13?
39:09 For right now, I would say yes and yes.
39:13 I really do believe he goes number one.
39:16 Now whether it's the Bears or not, or a team makes that kind of godfather offer to get
39:20 up there, we'll see.
39:22 But I believe that even after all the scrutiny and all the things that go into the draft
39:28 process, a team is going to just say that that skill set, that potential is too much
39:34 to pass up.
39:35 He's going to go one.
39:37 Right now, I'll say the Raiders stand pat, and I'll need to look into it a little bit
39:41 more as the process plays out, because that could obviously change over the next almost
39:47 three months to the draft.
39:48 I agree with you 100%.
39:50 He is the great Matt Holadek from thespun.com, joining us each and every week.
39:53 As always, it is so good to talk with you, to chat with you, to have you on the podcast.
39:59 Thanks for joining us.
40:00 We'll see you next week, recapping the Super Bowl.
40:02 All right, there you go, everybody.