Another year, another season in the books; to sum up the season in general: what began as an offseason of optimism; turned into a nightmare for us Raider fans in the regular season. Reggie McKenzie fielded a team with a lot of veterans, bringing in guys like Justin Tuck, Antonio Smith, Donald Penn, James Jones, Maurice Jones-Drew, LaMarr Woodley, Tarell Brown, Carlos Rogers in the free agency, trading for Matt Schaub. Those moves made us optimistic considering the difficulty of the schedule the team received. We thought this Raider team would be much more competitive than the past Raider teams. Then, Reggie fielded a spectacular draft, adding key cornerstones for the future: Khalil Mack, Derek Carr, Gabe Jackson, Justin Ellis, Keith McGill, T.J. Carrie. All those rookies saw some significant playing time on the field. Carr overtook Schaub after the Seahawks preseason game and that gave us a glimmer of hope, a glimpse of the future.
Week 1, the Raiders headed to the East Coast against the Jets. It was a tightly contested game till the Jets pulled away in the 2nd half. Derek Carr had an OK game for his 1st regular season start. He did feel the pressure from Rex Ryan’s defensive schemes, but overall the Raiders managed to fall short on a five point loss. There was optimism going forward that Carr will get better and the team is still gelling and will eventually come together. Then, the Houston Texans came around for the home opener and surprisingly, they took a massive dump all over us. It’s no surprise though since then QB of the Texans, Ryan Fitzpatrick plays at his best against the Raiders given his track record against them. Week 3 against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium, I saw this as a symbolic game for the Raiders. We still have the Tuck Rule in our heads right? I felt that if the Raiders pulled off a victory against the Patriots, not only would they wake up the football world, but that would be the game that signifies a reversal of fortunes for both franchises. After that faithful game, the Patriots have fielded a winning record plus a couple of Super Bowl titles while the Raiders have been on a free fall ever since with no end in sight. I had that feeling that this was the game to win; this was the game to break the jinx of 12 years of utter BS. The Raiders kept it close. They had that TD from McFadden, and then it gets called back due to a holding call on Gabe Jackson. Patriots held on for the victory after Derek Carr’s pass ricocheted off of Denarius Moore’s hands (typical), into Vince Wilfork’s hands for the INT. The disparity continued on as the Patriots would later go on a hot streak and the Raiders continued to free fall throughout the season. Week 4, the Raiders headed to London for a home game and it just couldn’t get any worse. Despite the Raiders heading there early and the Dolphins heading there late, the Dolphins still managed to give the Raiders a beatdown despite the fact Joe Philbin and Ryan Tannehill were in hot water. That loss put extreme heat on Dennis Allen heading into the bye. I wanted him gone; the rest of the Raider Nation wanted him gone. We couldn’t stand his emotionless face on the sidelines and his “uhs” and “umms” every post game, lacking an honest answer as to why the team was getting their butts handed to them on a silver platter every Sunday. We just had enough. Then finally the day after, Reggie McKenzie, Mark Davis, the Raider organization relieved Dennis Allen of his head coaching duties and it was a sigh of relief that this failure of an experiment was over with. Worst head coach since Lane Kiffin and Art Shell combined.
So with Dennis Allen out of the picture, Tony Sparano comes in and takes over as the interim head coach. Under Sparano, there was drastic improvement after the bye from the practice schedules to the play calling (still predictable though). The Raiders hung in games tough, but there was still no win in sight. In Sparano’s first game as coach, Derek Carr had the best game of his career against the Chargers Week 5, throwing for 300+ yards and 4 TDs, but his costly INT with the game on the line marred his performance. A few games after that, the Raiders are still standing 0-10. It looked like 0-16 was imminent, which would’ve put a damp on this franchise more with over a decade of frustration and brutality from us fans. Finally, they were able to field a win on Thursday Night against the hated Chiefs and that was a perfect storm to get a win. The Chiefs were coming off a win against the Seahawks; it was a short week, perfect set up for a “trap game” and it worked. What I got from the pattern, is that they win a close one at home, the only decisive home win was against our Bay Area rival, 49ers, then the next game on the road, the Raiders get blown out of the water by the Rams, the Chiefs in Kansas City, and the Broncos. That’s the perfect summary I can make up as the season was about to wind down. After that Denver game, the Raiders finished 3-13, another losing season and more frustration. But those 3 wins were good wins: divisional rival Chiefs, Bay Area rival 49ers, and old AFL rival, Bills. What do those teams have in common? They were all playing for their playoff lives and the Raiders put a damp on each team’s playoff hopes. Which win was sweeter? Of course the Battle of the Bay game because it was for pride and it was personal for me considering I live in Santa Clara, which is heavy 49er territory of course. In a lost season, we get to brag about owning the Bay till another matchup in 2018.
Into the offseason, the biggest priority obviously is the head coaching job. Who’s going to be the next head coach of the Oakland Raiders? We already heard the story regarding Jim Harbaugh going to Michigan, so unfortunately we have to take him off the list. It would’ve been nice to have a coach like Harbaugh of his caliber and considering his past tenure as the QB coach for the Raiders, what better way to snatch him away at the expense of our Bay Area rival? So, we have to look elsewhere. A bunch of names have come up on the candidacy for the Head Coach position: Sparano, Todd Bowles, Jack Del Rio, Eric Mangini, Pat Shurmur, Rex Ryan. As I said before when I posted the firing of Dennis Allen, I probably want David Shaw out of Stanford. My top two picks would’ve come down to Todd Bowles or David Shaw. Mangini? Hell no, have you seen his track record with the Jets and the Browns? Shurmur? It would be beneficial for Derek Carr’s development, but again, his track record in Cleveland says otherwise. Rex Ryan, I would love to see him as our DC. As our HC, I have mix feelings about that. Del Rio, I think he’s another solid option; he’s from the East Bay, he grew up a Raiders fan, but IMHO, I would’ve loved him as a DC as well. If not one of those candidates want to take the job, then yes if I were Mark Davis and Reggie McKenzie, I would give Sparano another shot, just give him better coordinators around him. Greg Olson sucks and Jason Tarver is inconsistent. Bobby April, he’s a respected special teams coordinator and he hasn’t had that dynamic special teams returner, so I’m mixed up about that whether to retain him or not. However, everybody else on the current coaching staff besides Sparano and Al Saunders should not be retained.
Now, concerning free agency and the draft, the Raiders will again have the salary cap in the world to sign people and a load of picks. Last year’s signing with the veterans was kind of a failed experiment. Although I will say, the veteran free agents who have earned their contract money would be Justin Tuck, Antonio Smith, Donald Penn, and James Jones (even though he wasn’t WR1 worthy this season). Charles Woodson does not count considering he re-signed after completing one year of returning to the Raiders. Cut Woodley, MJD, Brown and Rogers, and release Matt Schaub. This free agency class is headlined with big time talented playmakers on both sides of the ball: Demaryius Thomas, Dez Bryant, Jeremy Maclin, Marshawn Lynch, and Ndamukong Suh are examples that come to mind. I know it’s unlikely that we’ll get some of these star-studded players, but Reggie needs to attack this free agency by mixing some players who are still young (mid to late 20s) and veterans who still have something to prove (early to mid-30s). It can’t be just veterans all the way who are past their prime or are getting to that stage, especially on the defensive side because they will get gassed out easily, especially against younger, quicker offenses. Knowing Reggie’s ties with Green Bay, I wouldn’t be surprised if he dips into their pool again, particularly if he tries to lure in Randall Cobb and Tramon Williams considering they’re free agents in this impeding offseason. Now, concerning the draft, I gotta be honest, I’m in love with Amari Cooper out of Alabama right now. No not that kind of love, but you know what I mean. I know we have a lot of needs, but Carr seriously needs someone to throw to on a consistent basis and the receivers need someone who can draw defenders. Receivers all season long are just dropping balls all over the place and are not trying to get separation from the defender in front of them. By drafting a receiver who can stretch the field and can command respect from the defense, that will relieve a lot of pressure from the current receiving corps. However, I understand Cooper is not the “be all, end all” pick. Leonard Williams is also considered. If Williams or Randy Gregory is still on the board at #4, then yes take them and create a foundation for a scary defense with Williams/Gregory, Mack, and Moore assuming that mantle to terrorize offenses. However, likely those two will be gone by the time the Raiders pick. I say, Raiders should draft Cooper and then use the rest of their draft picks to start addressing the trenches on both the offensive line and defensive line.
Overall, a disappointing season because this was the season we thought was going be the one to set the franchise on the right course. However, we were wrong again like the last 12 years and it makes us grow even more patient. Don’t worry Raider Nation, behind the dark days, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel that leads to a bright future. We have our cornerstones in Derek Carr and Khalil Mack and they’re backed by guys like Gabe Jackson, Keith McGill, Justin Ellis, T.J. Carrie, Sio Moore, Mychal Rivera, Menelik Watson, and D.J. Hayden (if he’s healthy). They need to continue build around them. Find the right coach, be smart in free agency, draft well again and the sky’s the limit for this team next season. Here’s to 2015! Thank you Raider Nation for following this rocky path with me. Until next season, I’ll see you guys later.
