A Season in Review: 2018 Oakland Raiders

This week on the Silver and Black Shitshow...Nope, I'm going to give this that treatment. This is your annual "Season in Review"post presented by yours truly. As I type this post, this has a different vibe of sorts compared to past "Season in Review" posts over the years. I'll try to hold it together and hopefully, I don't make this as an actual Silver and Black Shitshow post.

By all accounts, this season was pretty depressing to watch. I saw last week's season finale against the Chiefs and it was a microcosm of how this season went down. This year was marred by some really shocking trades and a power struggle between Jon Gruden and Reggie McKenzie. It was all about Jon Gruden taking over the Raiders from top to bottom. The Khalil Mack trade prior to the start of the regular season was really a dagger to the heart of all of us and pretty much indicated that this season was over before it even started. Here's this guy who was a franchise-altering 1st round pick and arguably, the Raiders' best pick in a long while. And, they traded him for a bag of peanuts. Specifically, they traded Khalil Mack and a 2nd round pick for the Bears' 1st round draft picks this year and in 2020.

Looking back at it at hindsight, the Raiders could've done a better job in packaging this deal. The fact that they added a draft pick to go with Khalil Mack was plain stupid. A 2nd round pick too! So the Raiders just lessened Chicago's blow of mortgaging their future for a once-in-a-generational talent. And we get more insight about the trade that there was a civil war between Reggie McKenzie and Jon Gruden and Mark Davis. In fact, there were two wars occurring at the same time: the war between the Raiders and Khalil Mack and his agent and the war between Reggie McKenzie and Jon Gruden and Mark Davis. The Raiders and Khalil Mack couldn't agree on a contract. Reggie McKenzie presented heavy resistance against trading Khalil. A Raiders beat writer reported this story that teams approached Reggie about acquiring Mack and Reggie was like "over my dead body." But, Gruden and Davis had other plans. Two against one and the odds were clearly against McKenzie by a huge margin. The found a suitor in the Bears and you know the rest. A month later, they pulled another trade sending Amari Cooper to the Cowboys for a first round pick. We thought that was a better deal than the Mack deal. At least the Bears can afford Mack because Mitch Trubisky is on a rookie deal. The Cowboys gave up a first round pick for someone who is inconsistent. The Raiders were hoping that both deals fell in their favor.

It didn't work that way as the Bears and Cowboys won their respective divisions and are in the playoffs. Thus, lowering those 1st round draft picks. Although the Bears did lose on Wild Card weekend as the infamous legends of Nick Foles and Cody Parkey continued to grow. Talk about a plan that went backwards for the Raiders. We don't know too much of the long-term implications, but there's no question the Raiders took two big "L's" in trades that were supposed to favor them. Khalil Mack transformed the Bears defense into one of the best in the NFL. Amari Cooper gave the Cowboys' anemic passing game some life and they went on a hot streak after a sluggish start. Let's a play a game of what really constituted Amari Cooper's poor play? Raider fans would like to erase Coop's memory, but true fans never forget that the kid was a stud in terms of route running and secondaries respected his deep threat ability. Drops were his only ailment. He had 1,000 yards receiving  his first two years before dipping in production. Even Gruden admitted they had Cooper open in a couple of plays, but Derek Carr opted to the checkdown or he ran out of time because he was playing behind a bad O-line. Well, Dak Prescott was playing behind an injured O-line too and he was as bad as Derek was this season. But, he still found ways to get the ball to Coop. Then again, the Cowboys have Ezekiel Elliott and a competent running game. But, it's something to think about in retrospect. Not to mention, there were times Carr threw to Coop over the middle and he could've gotten him killed in those situations.

The irony behind these trades is that Raider Nation, we're a proud, loyal fanbase. We don't want anything to do with players who are not part of their team anymore. I look at forums, I see stuff like "Mack and Cooper are gone. Get over it." And then when they put up big games, the same fans who say "get over it" are saying stuff like "F*ck Khalil Mack" or "F*ck Amari Cooper." If they want us to get over it, why can't they stop talking trash about them when they have good games or especially when they have terrible games? They still bring up notions that Mack disappears or Coop drops a lot of balls. The Bears lost. The Cowboys lost. Yet, they all want us to get over them at the same time. I love Raider Nation, but seriously, is anybody pointing out the damn irony behind fans who still like to bash Mack and Coop's failures or get salty behind their successes in other teams, yet at the same time, they're telling us to get over them? Am I the only one? I probably am.

The Raiders' loss in Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper is the Bears and the Cowboys' gains. Enough said. This season was the repercussions of those trades as the Raiders were one of the worse teams in the league this year. The Raiders did have a lot close games to start this season, but they wound up losing. And then as the season progresses, it was clear as day that they were in a full-on tank job if you can say that. Tank jobs, front office overhaul with the firing of Reggie McKenzie, Derek Carr's uncertainty as the Raiders' franchise quarterback going forward, major roster turnover sums up this season in a nutshell. You can go back to all my Silver and Black Shitshow posts and these were common themes for the season. I won't address all of that. It is what it is. The only exciting wins was against Pittsburgh to derail their playoff hopes and against the Broncos in what is effectively the last game in the Oakland Coliseum.

In terms of positives around this roster, Jordy Nelson and Jared Cook have held up their end of the bargain as the vets. Doug Martin played well as the bell cow back in lieu of Beast Mode. Gareon Conley and Karl Joseph, holdovers of Reggie McKenzie's 2016 and 2017 draft classes, balled out when given the chance. I do like Maurice Hurst out of the 2018 draft class. I do think Arden Key has plenty of potential. Like I said in the past, you can't judge a draft class until year 3. There were some struggles for this rookie class. They can only get better.

There's so many stories heading into next season. The Raiders announced Reggie's replacement by hiring Mike Mayock as the new GM. I loved listening to Mayock's analysis on draft prospects on NFL Network. He's highly respected among scouts. I think the reasoning behind his hiring is so Jon Gruden doesn't become a complete control freak like he has been this season. Someone needs to be the voice of reason to keep Gruden from going full Chucky. Mayock is a great analyst and very elaborate on his scouting and mock drafts. But, it's a lot more different when it comes to handling pro personnel, contracts management, and drafting the right players come draft day, which Mayock lacks any experience in. Who knows? He could be a John Lynch who's doing a nice job with the 49ers despite zero GM experience in the past. Maybe even better. Raider Nation is always optimistic about any moves within the organization, whether it's a head coaching hire or a GM hire. For me, this team has tested loyalty time after time. We get optimistic about front office moves, offseason moves, draft picks, then the regular season hits and everything just falls apart. This has happened in the last 15 out of 16 years with this team. There's just zero tolerance for me at this point with what moves this team makes. I have to see it with my own eyes that this team is getting better. I don't care what the offseason plan is. What the draft strategy is. I need to be convinced that this team is going upward, especially since they have $98 million to spend in free agency and a trio of 1st round draft picks. You can have all that capital in the world and still find ways to blow it.

Now, onto the biggest question that the world is asking: where the hell are the Raiders going to play at? Mark Davis pretty much burned bridges with the City of Oakland. Oakland proceeded to do the same with a lawsuit. They're technically still the Oakland Raiders, but they can't play in Oakland because of the lawsuit. They tried to find a temporary home in San Francisco and they said no. Now, they're exploring outside the border, possibly playing home games in London. They do have an international game set. Can you imagine how much the travel expenses will be for the Raiders having to practice in their Alameda Facility, training camp in Napa, and then flying over to London for their pre-season and regular season home games? Not to mention, they have to play on the road games too. I'm wondering if Mark Davis has enough to account for that, plus relocation fees, plus that Bank of America loan he'll need to pay off to finance that stadium in Vegas?  And of course, the lawsuit will play a big factor in that too since Oakland is suing for damages, which of course involves money.

Since the move approval in 2017, this team has changed day-by-day, minute-by-minute from top to bottom. And quite frankly, time after time, I find myself distancing from this team and organization that I stood by and rooted for since I was a little boy, dating back to the Rich Gannon-Tim Brown days. By the time this team moves to Vegas, there will be little soul left of the mystique of what was the Oakland Raiders. Will they get better with the change of scenery? Maybe. But, they've transformed into just another soulless corporate entity for the National Football League with this move to Las Vegas. There'll be no Black Hole. There'll be no home field advantage. What there'll be are a bunch corporate executives who won't give a crap about any aspect about the game other than money, tourists who either don't understand football or the Raider tradition, and fans of opposing NFL teams with stronger followings than the Raiders, such as the Steelers and Cowboys. And what next as this team continues to look for a temporary home this year?

These last couple seasons since the move was announced has been really weird. It's saddening. It's depressing. Maybe even more depressing than the previous losing seasons the Raiders had in the past decade since the Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay. This team has played with so many of our emotions. I'll still be a fan, but I'm not as invested as I was in the past. I know, I'll be called a fake fan or some sorts. But, I stood by this team when the quarterbacks went from Gannon to Kerry Collins to Aaron Brooks to Andrew Walter, JaMarcus Russell, Daunte Culpepper, Josh McCown, Bruce Gradkowski, Charlie Frye, Jason Campbell, Carson Palmer, Terrelle Pryor, now Derek Carr. The one thing that separates me from any other fan is not the collection of jerseys or merchandise, or memorabilia, but attaining the knowledge and appreciation of the Raiders' history past and present. I appreciate the teams of the 70's with John Madden, Ken Stabler, Fred Biletnikoff, Cliff Branch, the "Soul Patrol" with Willie Brown, Jack Tatum, and George Atkinson. I appreciate the 80's with Tom Flores, Jim Plunkett, Marcus Allen, Howie Long, Mike Haynes, Lester Hayes, Matt Millen, and Lyle Alzado. Heck, even the lost decades. Anybody remember how explosive Napoleon Kaufman was in the mid to late 90's? Then, you also had the short-lived Bo Jackson era. Tim Brown and how underrated he was as a wide receiver, putting up numbers playing with average QBs until Rich Gannon came along in 1999. Change is always difficult. It's either we embrace it or we don't. It's simple as that. Like I said, maybe the Raiders will be a perennial contender in Las Vegas. But, it won't be the same as they're not going to be a Cali product. And I speak on that on behalf of both fanbases in Oakland and Los Angeles, not just Oakland even though they're better off as the Oakland Raiders with all due respect.

But you know how Raider Nation rolls. It's not a city. It's not a state. It's a Nation and it's worldwide. We'll see this upcoming offseason if the Raiders are ridiculously going to consider this "World Tour" this year before going to Vegas in 2020. If change is indeed coming, I have to see it myself. There's just too much uncertainty with this team. May the football gods be with the Raiders as a team and as an organization as they wander into the great unknown.