Final Score: LV 32 DEN 31 [W] (8-8)
Well, looks like this is the first and last post of 2021 on this blog. Welcome in and Happy New Year! TrueRaiderLaker has finally reached its endgame after a 10 year run and what a way to end it as the Raiders finish at 8-8 with a dramatic come-from-behind win against the AFC West team I hate the most, the Denver Broncos in a 32-31 victory. Though, this was a challenge to get a hold of this game if you're residing in the Bay Area. Since this game was meaningless, we had to see the Arizona-LA Rams game as that had more playoff implications on the line. But, there's a reason why we have Internet. And I managed to catch the game on a non-descriptive livestreaming website. The fact that this game was not televised in the Bay Area is a harbinger of unfortunate things to come as a Raider fan in the region.
Let's get the negatives out of the way: penalties, turnovers, and the defense collapsing yet again. The Raiders racked up a lot of penalty yards this game with 111 yards on 14 penalties. Honestly, this is to be expected every damn Raider game. The zebras will have no hesitation to throw a flag to screw the Raiders in any way possible. Even if this team is in a new city, the Raiders getting numerous penalties still follows around. Defense gave up a lot yards yet again and they broke down yet again in the 4th quarter, allowing a 92 yard go-ahead TD from Drew Lock to Jerry Jeudy.
The turnovers, 2 fumbles lost and 2 INTs. Darren Waller had a great game, which I'll talk about later, but he had two faults this game. He fumbled on a catch and run. And the football bounced off his hands into a Broncos defender for 1 of 2 Derek Carr INTs. Henry Ruggs took a nasty hit on a sweep and fumbled the ball. Derek Carr's first INT as mentioned was not his fault, but the 2nd INT was as he made an errant read. Lock and the Broncos' offense hasn't been impressive all game besides a pair of scoring plays. But, they had big time help on those turnovers to get things going.
But despite all that, the Raiders still found a way to live up to the Al Davis moniker of "Just Win Baby." Derek Carr adds another game-winning drive to his resume. But, Darren Waller is hands down the MVP this game with 9 receptions for 117 yards and 1 TD plus the game-winning Two-Point reception. He only needed like 2-3 receptions to break the record for most receptions in a season by a Raider since Mr. Raider himself Tim Brown did it with 104 receptions. Waller completely shattered that record today and it's a fitting way to end a Pro Bowl-worthy season. Bryan Edwards had a mini breakout game with 2 receptions for 51 yards and 1 TD. It has been a frustrating rookie season for Edwards, but hopefully this game provides something to build off of next year. Josh Jacobs capped off another 1,000 yard rushing season with 89 rushing yards and 2 TDs. He's been hampered by the ankle injury since the Atlanta game, but he also capped off a strong finish to a Pro Bowl season.
This game had a deja vu finish from last year. The Raiders tried to win the game on a two-point conversion, but they were stuffed and ended the season at 7-9. This year, same team, same place, same scenario, but they got it done this time around. Despite the defense being a letdown like usual, they made a crucial stop in the final two minutes of the game, which allowed ample time for Carr and the offense to orchestrate the game-winning drive. But, the Broncos still had one more chance. And the fact that the Raiders committed a penalty after a big gain by Denver had us to the edge of our seat. It was like "is this going to be the Dolphins game again?" And Brandon MacManus has a big leg even though he uncharacteristically missed some field goals this game. Denver also had nothing to lose as well that they rolled MacManus out there to try a 70+ yarder. Nonetheless, they went for the 63 yard game-winning field goal, but the Raiders blocked it and Arden Key who was the scapegoat in Week 16 recovered the football from the block to seal it.
From that, the Raiders avoid 7-9 part 2 and finish 8-8. It's not a losing record, but it's not a winning record either. Like I said in my preview, I had this team 9-7 at best, 8-8 at worst. This has been a frustrating start in the 2nd Gruden era. Deconstruction in the first year. Back-to-back collapses in years 2 and 3 after 6-3 starts. It's not a good look when you're paying a coach $100 million for 10 years. Sure, they're improving in win total, but it's not an impressive improvement and some of Raider Nation who have a voice in calling out this franchise's perennial mediocrity aren't either.
There's still a lot of work to do and we all know where most of the work will take place: on defense. This side of the ball has been a perennial doormat for the Raiders as far as I remember and it needs to change. Hire an innovative DC, scrap the 4-3 scheme, start signing and drafting the right players. I don't care what they do. I am tired of seeing mediocrity on that side of the ball. I am tired of this team spending draft capital and throwing money at defensive players that don't pan out or don't live up to their potential. I am tired of the hiring of unproven or below-average DCs. This defense needs to get out of the bottom of the barrel and become an above-average unit.
As for individuals, cut Tyrell Williams. Nelson Agholor has pretty much supplanted him and has built a good rapport with Carr. Why they haven't re-signed him is beyond me. But Agholor balled out this year and deserves a contract extension. That might mean moving on from Tyrell Williams at this point. Trade Trent Brown. I had to laugh at Gruden's comment calling him the LeBron James at the right tackle position. But, Trent Clown has been the absolute opposite of that. They always say the best ability is availability. Whether it's through an injury or COVID-19 violations, Trent Clown is never available. He is a looming black mark on Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock besides the Antonio Clown saga last year. Let Jason Witten walk. He's as old as the Raiders' last Super Bowl appearance. Cut Nevin Lawson, he's trash. Arden Key, release him too. Cut Maliek Collins. The entire DT unit needs a massive overhaul.
Regarding the 2020 draft class, it's a little unfair to evaluate and consider them underwhelming since they had no OTAs or preseason. But, Henry Ruggs needs to work on his route running. Damon Arnette needs to work on football instincts. Bryan Edwards needs to get involved in the playbook more. These three literally stand out in the Raiders' 2020 draft class. John Simpson might be another name to keep a lookout for since Richie Incognito got injured and Simpson was plugged into the O-line unit in some games. The 2019 draft class, Josh Jacobs and Hunter Renfrow are as advertised and have been the only players that panned out so far. The jury is still out there for Clelin Ferrell as a top 5 pick. Maxx Crosby had a down year. Johnathan Abram throws his body out there and gets injured. He needs to work on coverage. Trayvon Mullen took two steps back this year. The general rule is to not evaluate a draft class until they've been on the team for three years. There's still a lot of things to be fleshed out in the two draft classes in the Gruden-Mayock era.
Everything else, Darren Waller is a star and provides a mismatch nightmare for the Raider offense. As I mentioned, Nelson Agholor is a must-retain. And whether you're tired of Derek Carr or not, I think he did enough to see another season in Vegas. This win at Denver further solidifies it. The jury is also out there whether or not Carr is a legit franchise QB. He literally has all the Raiders' passing game records and statistics, but the win-loss record is another story.
Every year, it's been the same excuses for Carr. He doesn't have the talent around him. He doesn't have a defense. The OC is terrible. Oh, they fired the OC, where's the continuity? The only time these excuses were valid were his rookie year. But, this ain't 2014 anymore. There's a reason why Carr stays afloat in the mid-tier level of starting NFL QBs. If you want to be mentioned in the same breadth of franchise QBs like a Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, you have to play like an elite QB week in and week out. As good as Carr is, he is hampered by streaky QB play and mental errors. He plays more like a game manager. He will be entering his 7th year as an NFL pro and in his 4th year under Gruden's system. And the talent is expected to improve on both sides of the ball. If we believe Derek Carr is an elite franchise QB, he has to perform like one. He has had enough continuity.
Jon Gruden, he will be entering year 4 out of 10. No Bret Hart pun intended. His 2nd tenure is off to a disastrous start. He has hindered the team with conservative playcalling, boneheaded coaching decisions, personnel and roster decisions, etc. Rich Gannon is not coming out of that tunnel and call him out on his questionable playcalling on certain downs and distances. The 2002 Buccaneers defense is not coming out of that tunnel to help him fix this defense. He and Mike Mayock have their work cut out to improve the roster. But coaching-wise, he has to hire the best DC available. Maybe give up offensive playcalling duties, but that would require canning Greg "up the middle" Olson and hiring a creative OC whose forte is the West Coast offense. The Raiders may have a top 10 offense, but Gruden's conservative style has hindered them from being something more. And they need to work on playing good football for the 2nd half of the season. We're tired of seeing these late season collapses. Bottom line, Gruden's gotta put that $100 million contract to good use next year. Time is ticking and the vocal part of Raider Nation is running out of patience.
Final Word from the Blogger
The least I can do is thank the Raiders for winning this one game against the Broncos in my final post on TrueRaiderLaker. It's a good way to end on a high note. I've said all I wanted to say in my "Moving On" post, which is highlighted on the blog. But, it has been an unbelievable run, blogging, providing my thoughts on Raider games, Laker games, NBA Finals, Super Bowls, etc. Like I said, there's more bad than good during this period of Raider football and Laker basketball, but I'm glad I was able to cover one championship season. That has been my goal since I started this blog. And obviously that championship run came from the Lakers. But, it was also great to cover at least one winning season from the Raiders back in 2016. I'm hoping the Raiders get back to their winning ways, but it's a long way to go. And hopefully, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel for that.
As I depart from this blog and deem this blog inactive after this, I just want to thank you all for following and visiting my blog. Whether you're a Raider fan, Laker fan, or a hater, I appreciate your time here on the blog and reading my posts. I'll admit, I'm not the perfect writer. But, all the blog posts I've done here are done with 100% passion. Some bloggers quit the game and never leave a final post. And I wanted to make sure that I end on good terms with all of my visitors and followers as I depart to pursue other projects.
Rest assured, this is not a retirement. I may return to the world of sports blogging some time in the near future. But, this is the decision that I wanted to make. And I'm sticking by it. I'm excited for my next endeavors and I can't wait to embark on them. And you all know how I end all of my blog posts: "I'll see you guys later." That still reigns true even in this final post. As the old saying goes, "it's never goodbye, it's see you later." In closing, I say again "Thank You" for a fantastic 10-year run. The colors of Silver and Black and Purple and Gold will forever reign on this blog. With that said, for the final time: I'll see you guys later.
~ Matt (MechG2994)
