WEBVTT - Drive Time - Know The Enemy: Las Vegas Raiders 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:09.680 Factors. Patrick, What a win for this Miami Dolphin team. Wow, 0:00:11.200 --> 0:00:15.640 What is up? Dolphins? And welcome to the Drive Time Podcast, 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:20.079 part of the Miami Dolphins official podcast network, covering your 0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:24.680 Miami Dolphins each and every day. How is it going everybody? 0:00:24.720 --> 0:00:27.760 I am your host, Travis Wingfield, and I am here 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:31.440 to bring you your daily dose of Miami Dolphins football. 0:00:31.480 --> 0:00:34.320 And on today's show, we jump right back into the 0:00:34.360 --> 0:00:37.080 No the Enemy series and take a look at the 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:40.320 Las Vegas Raiders. The key to the Raiders resurgence in 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:43.000 the ground game last year, the lynch pins of the 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:47.360 defensive overhaul, the relationship between Derek Carr and John Gruden. 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:50.440 All of that and more from the foremost expert on 0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:54.200 Raiders football. He writes for The Athletic He's a must 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:58.080 follow on Twitter. We're talking to Ted Winn on this Wednesday, 0:00:58.240 --> 0:01:06.000 July the eighth edition of the Drive Time Podcast. Sixteen 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:10.360 December seven, Giver Take. Depending on some schedule, t B 0:01:10.560 --> 0:01:14.000 D S Vegas Baby the Dolphins in Las Vegas to 0:01:14.040 --> 0:01:16.679 take on the Raiders and that game could be on 0:01:16.720 --> 0:01:20.119 Sunday or it could be flexed into that Saturday triple 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:22.959 header like we had last year in Week sixteen, A 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:26.360 fun time for the NFL. A very interesting team here 0:01:26.400 --> 0:01:28.840 for the Raiders. Year three out of a ten year 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:32.360 contract for John Gruden. They have remade the offensive line 0:01:32.400 --> 0:01:35.160 successfully in the last couple of years. Now they're working 0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:38.479 on the defense. Gruden got his speed merchant out wide 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:40.959 to par with this quarterback there and Derek Carr. And 0:01:41.040 --> 0:01:43.440 let's not waste any more time and go ahead and 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:46.200 get to my guest today. He is a must follow 0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:50.000 good film work on the Athletic on his Twitter timeline. 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:51.960 So let's go ahead and welcome in now to the 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:55.600 podcast Ted Winn and writing Shotgun now Here on the 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:58.920 Drive Time podcast is Ted Winn. He's a staff writer 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:01.280 for The Athletic and FL and the host of the 0:02:01.400 --> 0:02:04.320 Run the Film and State of the Nation podcast. Ted 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:07.480 Welcome in, man, Thank you appreciate you having me on. 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:09.520 So you guys are getting ready to move to a 0:02:09.600 --> 0:02:12.880 whole new not just facility, but new city, new state. 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:16.760 How's that going for you in terms of your journalistic endeavors? 0:02:17.040 --> 0:02:19.080 Is that a challenge for you? Just kind of talk us, 0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:21.359 talk to us about moving from one city to another 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:25.720 in the NFL O. Lucky for me, I'm a film guy. 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:27.959 I'm not a beat writer, so I don't I don't 0:02:27.960 --> 0:02:29.720 have to move to Vegas, but I think, you know, 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:32.680 it would be more challenging to have to deal with, um, 0:02:32.720 --> 0:02:35.960 you know, traveling to Las Vegas every week for the 0:02:36.000 --> 0:02:38.640 home games if that does happen this season, or you know, 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:42.240 if maybe that if media maybe you know, might be 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:45.040 allowed to go next season. I don't know. Everything's up 0:02:45.040 --> 0:02:46.519 in the air right now. As you know, everything is 0:02:46.560 --> 0:02:50.280 pretty you know, nothing set with COVID coming in, So 0:02:50.480 --> 0:02:52.320 I don't know if we have we are even allowed 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:53.639 to go to games this year or we have to 0:02:53.680 --> 0:02:57.000 wait another year. But yeah, I mean, it's just a 0:02:57.120 --> 0:03:00.000 challenge to have to instead of just having to write 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:02.400 is in my backyard and have to take flight uh 0:03:02.480 --> 0:03:04.560 two games. But luckily it's not too far. It's only 0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:06.799 about an hour flight. Yeah, just a hop scamp and 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:09.239 I jump over there. You mentioned COVID, They're real quick. 0:03:09.280 --> 0:03:11.360 I'm just curious. I know you're a film guy, so 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:14.520 game pass definitely probably your bible as far as your 0:03:14.560 --> 0:03:17.120 work habits go. But has it been different for you 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:19.320 getting to cover football and cover the team right now 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:24.440 during the pandemic? Um, you know, everything for football is 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:27.160 on the same schedule as of right now, you know, 0:03:27.280 --> 0:03:30.280 because like the draft was on at the same time, 0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:33.080 we're in the same period in offseason. It will be 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:37.040 weird when training camp does come along. Everything is normal 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:39.720 as of right now, but things will start getting weird 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:43.040 as training camp comes along. Yeah, it's been it's been 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:47.280 unique covering these these events and these press conferences and 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:49.600 things from a distance and not being there in person. 0:03:49.960 --> 0:03:52.120 Let's go ahead and talk about the reason you're here. 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:54.920 Talk about this Las Vegas Raiders team. Man, it feels 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:57.360 weird to say that. And I want to start at 0:03:57.360 --> 0:03:59.840 the most important possession, and we start here every podcast 0:03:59.840 --> 0:04:02.320 here on the Know the Enemy series at quarterback and 0:04:02.360 --> 0:04:05.160 talk to you about Derek Carr, because you know, ted 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:09.000 from an outside perspective, we've heard about John Gruden be 0:04:09.080 --> 0:04:11.680 in love with Kyler Murray. We've heard about his possible 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:15.120 infatuation with two A tongue volo, a Dolphins quarterback. Is 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:17.320 Derek Carr his guy? And what do you think of 0:04:17.360 --> 0:04:20.640 that relationship and what it ultimately turns into this year 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:25.359 and beyond. I think Derek Carr hasn't proven to be 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:29.360 Gruden's guy just yet, but he's he's he plays at 0:04:29.360 --> 0:04:32.560 a level that's good enough to where he's very harder place. 0:04:33.200 --> 0:04:35.960 But I think Gruden wants that, you know, that a 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:40.720 plus um elite type of Tier one quarterback that Carter 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:43.560 hasn't played like in a in a long time. So 0:04:43.640 --> 0:04:47.599 anytime there's a chance that he gets that Kyler Murray 0:04:47.600 --> 0:04:50.440 type of player or of a player that has potential 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:53.240 to be a that tier one quarterback, it's me tantalize. 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:56.760 But the Car is just at that borderline where he's 0:04:56.880 --> 0:05:01.120 just good enough, smart enough, makes enough plays to where 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:05.400 he he's harder place. And you know, obviously we talked 0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:08.960 about how Gruden is just he just gets tempted when 0:05:09.000 --> 0:05:11.039 he when he sees these types of quarterbacks. So I 0:05:11.040 --> 0:05:14.120 think that kind of shows you that he's will he's 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:17.279 willing to upgrade if he has that chance. But it's 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:22.159 just extremely hard to upgrade over Car. And they signed 0:05:22.160 --> 0:05:26.240 Marcus Mariota this offseason, and they gave him a contract 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:30.120 that's just huge on incentives. So I think it's gonna 0:05:30.120 --> 0:05:32.800 be very tough for Mariota to replace Car in this 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:35.880 offense that's hard to learn. It's gonna take some time off. 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:39.159 He's gonna be shortened. But who knows. If Car doesn't 0:05:39.160 --> 0:05:42.800 play well enough into the season, Mariota can't take over. 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:45.599 I mean, I just haven't seen a contract like the 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:49.039 one that Mariota has as a backup. Um. I don't 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:52.040 think there's a very high chance he takes challenges Car 0:05:52.120 --> 0:05:54.880 in the in the off season, but if he if 0:05:54.920 --> 0:05:56.960 Car doesn't play up to par during the season, we 0:05:57.040 --> 0:05:59.600 might see Mariota. Yeah, there's all kinds of connections when 0:05:59.640 --> 0:06:02.240 you talk about Derek Carr and Marcus Mariotta to a 0:06:02.240 --> 0:06:05.360 Dolphins quarterback or former Dolphins quarterback and Ryan Tannehill and 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:09.000 how he basically did to Mariotta, what Mariotta would hope 0:06:09.040 --> 0:06:11.839 to do to Derek Carr there in Las Vegas. Obviously 0:06:11.920 --> 0:06:13.840 for the Raiders that would not be ideal because you 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:16.280 want Derek Carr to be your guy and be the answer. 0:06:16.320 --> 0:06:19.520 But it is that unique situation, that unique territory where 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:21.839 you have a quarterback who's good, but you also have 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:24.719 a chance to possibly upgrade on that quarterback if you can, 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:26.800 And I think that's probably a good thing, right Like 0:06:26.839 --> 0:06:29.360 the fact that John Gruden's out there trying to find, 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:31.760 you know, trying to get better every position and just 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:35.360 trying to add more good players to the roster, right, Yeah, 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:39.320 I mean, and naturally you want to always look for 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:41.160 always have to get better, and you get you get 0:06:41.200 --> 0:06:45.760 better at upgrading each position and just being you know, 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:49.160 looking at every position without you know, just with a 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:51.600 business like perspective, kind of like what the Patriots do. 0:06:52.200 --> 0:06:56.000 But with quarterback it's a sensitive you know, it's a 0:06:56.000 --> 0:06:59.440 sense of position. Usually when you have a quarterback, you 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:03.159 just commit percent. And maybe they're doing that behind behind doors, 0:07:03.200 --> 0:07:06.000 but it just seems like from an outside perspective they 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:09.039 aren't quite settled yet. But car has a chance to 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:13.080 shut everybody up and really solidify himself as a franchise 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:15.600 quarterback this year. He's going to have one of the 0:07:15.600 --> 0:07:18.640 best offensive lines of football this year. He has a 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:22.240 bit of upgraded wide receiver corps with Henry Ruggs coming 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:24.520 in the first round draft pick, and Tyrelle Williams is 0:07:24.520 --> 0:07:27.440 gonna be healthy. Williams looked great in camp and looks 0:07:27.520 --> 0:07:29.480 really good in the first game, but then he got 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:33.280 foot injury that really hampered him throughout the season. So, 0:07:34.280 --> 0:07:36.720 I mean, Carr has has a good offense to built 0:07:36.720 --> 0:07:39.360 around him and This will be his third year in 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:41.840 this offense. He showed a lot of remprovement a second year, 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:44.160 but he has more to prove and he really has 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:46.680 his step up and solidify his spot this year if 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:49.480 he wants to remain the Raiders quarterback. Well, I do 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:51.840 want to touch on that offensive line and the addition 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:55.160 of Henry Ruggs, an absolute speed merchant on that offense. 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:56.640 But I want to stay here on Derek Carr and 0:07:56.680 --> 0:07:59.600 ask you from a film watcher's perspective in All twenty 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:01.840 two on such as yourself, like, what is it that 0:08:01.880 --> 0:08:04.640 Derek Carr does that does put him in that echelon 0:08:04.720 --> 0:08:07.160 of quarterbacks that he's tough to replace? But maybe what 0:08:07.240 --> 0:08:09.120 is it about his game that makes him not in 0:08:09.160 --> 0:08:11.760 that upper elite level area like maybe he was back 0:08:11.800 --> 0:08:16.560 in Well, he's extremely intelligent. I mean, this is not 0:08:16.720 --> 0:08:19.360 an easy offense to learn. Gruden is not an easy 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:21.360 coach to play for because he had banded so much 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:24.160 from the position. But he he seems to have a 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:26.600 really good grasp of this offense. He could make audible 0:08:26.600 --> 0:08:29.520 as he could read defenses. He has a lot of 0:08:29.600 --> 0:08:32.160 arm talent. He could he could he could make every 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:36.120 throw in NFL. He he's made some pick tackler throws. 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:39.080 But the thing that has always kind of hurt him 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:43.800 is his his his conservativeness. Sometimes he just won't unleashed 0:08:44.080 --> 0:08:45.640 unleash the ball. And he has the arm talent to 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:49.080 do it, We've seen it, but he there's times where 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:52.600 he just is too conservative. Um So, hopefully with an 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:56.600 upgraded receiding corps and weapons that he could trust. I 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:59.800 think that trust is a big deal for him. It's 0:08:59.800 --> 0:09:02.240 hard for him to trust receivers and when he does, 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:05.840 he'll he'll let go. And I think he showed that 0:09:05.880 --> 0:09:09.640 with micro crabtree. Uh. But you know, I still believe 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:13.120 that even when he doesn't have an ideal receiving corps, 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:15.800 he has to find a way to be more aggressive 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:17.640 and he has a talent to do it. So how 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:20.160 does that factor Henry Ruggs into the offense? When you 0:09:20.200 --> 0:09:22.760 talk about maybe more of a conservative nature, maybe John 0:09:22.840 --> 0:09:24.559 Gruden wants to be a little bit more vertical, and 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:27.160 I think the Henry Ruggs addition to the offense would 0:09:27.200 --> 0:09:29.840 certainly suggest that how does that work together when you 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:31.760 have a quarterback who might be a little bit hesitant 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:34.200 to go vertical? And a receiver who really shines in 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:39.240 that area, well, it gives them one less excuse to 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:41.600 be conservative because now you have a guy that could 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:46.280 get behind defenses and has that ability to separate. UM. 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:48.800 So you know, last year, I think you could have 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:51.120 you could make the you could reason out and say, 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:53.800 you know, Tyroll Williams was hurt and he really didn't 0:09:53.840 --> 0:09:57.000 have any weapons around uh in a receiving course, So 0:09:57.040 --> 0:10:00.280 maybe that's why he was conservative. But this year, when 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:02.240 you you add in a high first round draft pick 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:05.280 out wide receiver that could just get behind defenses, uh, 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:09.760 Tyre will Williams healthy, Darren Waller really established himself. You 0:10:09.800 --> 0:10:12.880 have those weapons, and you really want to see car 0:10:13.000 --> 0:10:15.800 take a step up and be more aggressive with a 0:10:15.800 --> 0:10:18.680 better receiving corps. So you've mentioned Darren Waller, We've talked 0:10:18.679 --> 0:10:21.760 about Henry Ruggs and Tyrelle Williams. I'd probably throw henter 0:10:21.840 --> 0:10:25.120 Renfro Hunter Renfro into that mix as well. How do 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:28.240 you stack those guys in terms of the pecking order, 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:32.120 in terms of who gets the most targets this year? UM, 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:34.640 I think you know, Henry Ruggs could make a huge 0:10:34.679 --> 0:10:38.079 impact with with minimal targets. I think that was one 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:42.880 of the reasons why they wanted Rugs because defense the 0:10:43.200 --> 0:10:45.240 Raiders got were so good at running the ball. Last year, 0:10:45.240 --> 0:10:46.959 they saw a lot of eight man front, a lot 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:49.600 of defenses cheating up at the line of scrimmage because 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:51.800 they didn't respect the receiving corps. And but they knew 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:54.120 this offensive line was big. They knew Josh Jacobs could 0:10:54.200 --> 0:10:57.120 run the ball. So another best part of the reason 0:10:57.160 --> 0:11:00.240 why they got Ruggs because they wanted defense to back 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:03.439 the deep speed and put another safety back there. So 0:11:03.600 --> 0:11:05.679 even if Ruggs is not getting a ton of targets, 0:11:05.679 --> 0:11:08.960 but he does hit a few deep routes, uh you 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:11.280 know once or once or twice a game, that that'd 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:15.080 be huge for this Raiders offense. Um and Tyrolle Williams 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:17.640 is a guy that I think should see more targets 0:11:17.640 --> 0:11:20.679 when he's healthy. I thought he was in line for 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:23.080 a big year, but again, that injury was big. But 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:25.600 I wouldn't be surprised if Hunter Rentfro was one of 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:27.360 the leaders and targets by the end of the year, 0:11:27.400 --> 0:11:30.880 just because he's so good underneath. Then he showed how 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:34.160 reliable he was a third down and we talked about 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:36.720 trust with car. I think he's really established a nice 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:40.680 trust with UH, with Hunter Rentfro and obviously Darren Waller 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:43.360 is I believe he's, you know, one of the top 0:11:43.520 --> 0:11:45.959 five tight ends in the league, so he should see 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:47.760 a lot of targets as well. But I wouldn't be 0:11:47.760 --> 0:11:49.640 surprised to see Hunter Renfrow just get a ton of 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:52.720 targets just because he could work underneath. That doesn't mean 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:54.480 he'll get the most yards, but I think he'll see 0:11:54.480 --> 0:11:56.800 a lot of targets. Yeah, you talk about Hunter Renfron, 0:11:56.880 --> 0:11:59.040 reliability is the first word that comes to mind there. 0:11:59.080 --> 0:12:01.240 He was dabbles when he guy in Clemson catching all 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:04.400 those big passes from Deshaun Watson down there in college. 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:06.360 And you allude to the running game, they're a little 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:08.559 bit and Josh Jacobs and maybe teams playing more of 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:10.880 a two high structure now that they do have that 0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:13.240 speed guy to take the top off the defense. And 0:12:13.280 --> 0:12:16.560 I'm curious if this running offense was really just a 0:12:16.600 --> 0:12:19.840 product of Josh Jacob's being so good at what he does, 0:12:19.880 --> 0:12:22.920 because you go back under the two years with John Gruden, 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:26.160 they were and then thirteenth in rushing yards in the NFL. 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:28.839 The year before Gruden arrived, they were also twenty five. 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:31.839 So was that improvement you talked about this offensive line? 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:34.960 Was that improvement just a Josh Jacobs thing, an offensive 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:37.160 line thing? Was it a running scheme thing? Like? Why 0:12:37.160 --> 0:12:39.400 did the run game get so much better this past season? 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:42.400 I think it does have a lot to do with 0:12:42.480 --> 0:12:45.320 the offensive line. I mean the offensive line, they're just massive. 0:12:45.400 --> 0:12:49.400 I mean you have you have the right tackle, uh, 0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:52.480 Trent Brown, who is the biggest human in the NFL. 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:55.120 And you know, you have Games Jackson, you have Rodney Hudson, 0:12:55.280 --> 0:12:57.760 Richie Incognito played like one of the best guards in 0:12:57.800 --> 0:13:02.040 the league last season. Colton Miller is improving. So you 0:13:02.080 --> 0:13:05.040 have this huge offensive line, and then you have, you know, 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:08.160 the whole Antonio Brown fiasco that happened last season. I 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:10.719 think that really hurt their passing games. So they had 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:13.560 to Gruden had to rely on the run. They had 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:15.240 to rely on a lot of two tight end three 0:13:15.240 --> 0:13:18.199 tight end sets. Uh. They have a fullback alec In 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:22.280 Gold who was an undrafted free agent who really played 0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:24.199 like one of the best fullbacks last season. He was 0:13:24.240 --> 0:13:27.839 just pulvering, pulverizing, guys on lead blocks. So I think 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:30.839 it's a combination of having to they you know, they 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:32.800 had to rely on the run game and they had 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:35.120 their personnel. Is just they're just a bunch of big guys. 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:40.559 Josh Jacob is um really you know, you just look 0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:42.440 at him and you see a big, powerful runner, but 0:13:42.760 --> 0:13:46.480 he's really a mature inside runner, great vision, great discipline. 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:49.920 He really maximizes runs and breaks a lot of tackles too. 0:13:50.679 --> 0:13:53.480 So just a culmination of things resulted into them relying 0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:57.199 on a run last year. But you know, undoubtedly they 0:13:57.200 --> 0:13:59.440 have the personnel to do it. Yeah. I recall and 0:13:59.480 --> 0:14:02.679 moved the podcast when Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks were 0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:05.800 talking about how these Alabama backs that kind of filter 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:07.880 through the system there and maybe some guys don't get 0:14:07.960 --> 0:14:10.120 enough carries, and they always say like who was the 0:14:10.120 --> 0:14:12.160 guy getting carries and the biggest spots, And it was 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:14.800 always Josh Jacobs when he was there in college. So 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:17.000 all that really did for the Raiders was preserved the 0:14:17.000 --> 0:14:19.960 tread on the tires for him. We're talking Las Vegas 0:14:20.040 --> 0:14:22.600 Raiders almost at Oakland there here with Ted Wyn, he 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:25.200 works for the Athletic Covers the NFL. There's a great 0:14:25.280 --> 0:14:28.000 job there on Twitter, a couple of podcasts as well, 0:14:28.280 --> 0:14:31.480 and Ted you mentioned the beef on the offensive line. 0:14:31.480 --> 0:14:34.000 My goodness, it kind of reminds me of what Miami's 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:36.120 doing up front this year by all the girth they 0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:38.880 added along the offensive line. But I want to flip 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:41.040 this thing over to the defensive side of the ball 0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:42.760 here and talk about a guy who I was a 0:14:42.760 --> 0:14:45.200 big fan of coming out of Eastern Michigan. You wouldn't 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:47.120 assume you would be a big fan of a player 0:14:47.120 --> 0:14:48.880 coming from a school like that, but he had a 0:14:48.960 --> 0:14:51.280 really big rookie year. I think it was fifth round 0:14:51.360 --> 0:14:53.760 draft pick. Correct me if I'm wrong. Should we expect 0:14:53.880 --> 0:14:56.720 him to play at that level again? And can Cleland 0:14:56.720 --> 0:14:58.920 Farrell get on that level? And just kind of talk 0:14:58.960 --> 0:15:03.200 about this defensive line forest ed Um, Yeah, I mean 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:07.360 Cleveland Farrell was a big surprise getting picked as high 0:15:07.440 --> 0:15:09.760 as he did. He was kind of seen as a 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:13.200 mid mid first round draft pick, late first round draft pick. 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:16.160 But I mean, he he you know, he's he was 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:18.680 good against the run. You know, maybe he works really hard. 0:15:18.760 --> 0:15:20.800 He did have to deal with some sickness and weight 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:23.920 gain issues during his rookie year. Uh that they played 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:26.160 they played him inside a little bit where I thought 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:29.200 he you know, he he said he was, Um, I 0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:31.200 don't think he was as comfortable in that role. And 0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:33.520 we'll see what happened this year when he has an 0:15:33.520 --> 0:15:36.600 offseason really work on his body at focus playing on 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:39.360 the edge. But he just was a bit of a 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:42.680 disappointment being picked that high, especially when you see what 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:46.320 Brian Burns and Josh Allen was doing with the Jaguars. 0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:51.000 Uh So Crosby was a surprised by you know, like 0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:53.440 you said, it's kind of weird to say, you know, 0:15:53.440 --> 0:15:55.080 you're a big fan of him, but when you watch 0:15:55.200 --> 0:15:58.160 his film coming out of college, he was just he 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:00.160 just jumped off the film. He was so explode us 0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:02.880 if uh you know, his hands looked sort of funny 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:05.880 at times, but they were they were active and um, 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.080 you just saw that that short air quickness that a 0:16:08.120 --> 0:16:11.360 lot of great pass switchers have and translated to a 0:16:11.440 --> 0:16:14.520 huge rookie season for him. And and the Raiders were 0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:18.840 really fortunate to hit hit on Prosby because uh, Ferrell 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:22.160 was just wasn't very productive in his uh his first year. 0:16:22.800 --> 0:16:25.720 Um and Maurice Hurst also played really well towards the 0:16:25.800 --> 0:16:28.360 end of last season, and they added Malik Collins, who 0:16:28.480 --> 0:16:31.160 has a really high pressure rate from the Dallas Cowboys 0:16:31.160 --> 0:16:33.800 that he should improve the interior rush for the Raiders. 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:36.800 Help refreshment memory here. Maurice Hurst fell on the draft 0:16:36.800 --> 0:16:40.320 because of some medical concerns. Right, Yes, he fell fell 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:43.440 in draft because of a heart condition. He was seen 0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:46.960 as a first round um guy before that. Some people thought, 0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:48.400 you know, he was a really high I thought he 0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:50.920 should have been really high draft pick. Uh. Some people 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:53.080 thought he was more of a lower first round guy. 0:16:53.880 --> 0:16:55.760 But the consensus seemed to be that he was a 0:16:55.760 --> 0:16:58.200 first round guy who wasn't for his heart condition. Yeah. 0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:00.160 I think that Mike Mayock and John Grew and have 0:17:00.200 --> 0:17:02.200 done a really good job of kind of rebuilding that 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:05.440 roster into their vision. And Cleveland Ferrell, Max Crosby a 0:17:05.480 --> 0:17:08.159 couple of guys that kind of really, you know, perpetuate 0:17:08.240 --> 0:17:10.639 that vision. And and they took a lot of flak 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:12.440 for the Khalil Mack trade, but man, they turned it 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:14.959 down some really good players and they're continuing that this 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:17.920 year at the second level of the defense at linebacker 0:17:18.080 --> 0:17:20.240 via free agency. And I want to get your take 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:23.399 on what Nick Kwitakowski and Corey Littleton can do to 0:17:23.480 --> 0:17:28.119 change the middle of that raid defense. The Raiders have 0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:33.000 neglected the inside linebacker position for a long time, and um, 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:35.720 I can understand what you know. The inside linebacker is 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:38.960 a position that's sort of thought of as as you know, 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:42.360 similar running back, where it's not a high value position. 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:46.080 But the Raiders have really neglected the inside linebacker position 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:48.919 for a long long time. But this year they spend 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:53.240 big money on two uh young linebackers that are improving, 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:57.960 that are very athletic. Nick Kwitkowski, who uh start with 0:17:58.000 --> 0:18:01.639 the Bears. He is Last year, he he started off 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:04.440 as kind of a role player, didn't play a ton 0:18:04.480 --> 0:18:07.120 of snaps, and because of injuries, he had to play 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:10.080 more and more and he just flashed and got better 0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:13.360 and better. And uh, he's good against the run. Everybody 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:15.720 knew that, but then he just kept on getting better 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:18.639 against the pass. And I think that was one of 0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:20.480 the reasons why he was one of the hotter free 0:18:20.520 --> 0:18:23.600 agents is just he just improved so much and you 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:25.600 have to be able to defend the pass in this league. 0:18:25.640 --> 0:18:29.720 So Kwaikowski is a guy that doesn't have a ton 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:33.480 of good film quite yet, just because he doesn't have 0:18:33.520 --> 0:18:36.919 a lot of PT. But he did put some together 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:39.679 some really nice games towards the end of last season. Uh, 0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:42.679 Corey Littleton's guys, that's been steadily improving. He started his 0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:46.520 career as a special teams guy. Um and, but he's 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:49.320 put a huge numbers. He's filled the statuet with tackles, 0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:54.720 tackle for losses, interceptions, past past defense, um and he 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:57.320 I think he's gonna be one of the top linebackers 0:18:57.359 --> 0:19:00.800 in NFL. Uh next year. I mean he was last year, 0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:03.040 but I mean he still has some weaknesses. He's still 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:05.960 learning the game, but I think this year's is a 0:19:06.119 --> 0:19:08.560 real breakout years. So the Raiders really improved on the 0:19:08.560 --> 0:19:11.199 second level. We talked about that Khalil Mack trade and 0:19:11.200 --> 0:19:14.320 what they got back for and draft value. Again, similarities 0:19:14.359 --> 0:19:16.960 I think are pretty prevalent here between this Raiders team 0:19:17.119 --> 0:19:18.639 and what the Dolphins are trying to do down in 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:21.159 Miami and two of the players they got in that 0:19:21.240 --> 0:19:23.879 Khalil Mack trade, if I'm not mistaken, or a couple 0:19:23.880 --> 0:19:26.440 of defensive backs this year with Damon Arnette or maybe 0:19:26.440 --> 0:19:28.959 he was their natural selection. You can correct me on that. 0:19:29.000 --> 0:19:31.560 If I'm wrong. And Jonathan Abram last year, who was 0:19:31.600 --> 0:19:34.080 one of my favorite players in the entire draft because 0:19:34.359 --> 0:19:36.879 the way he plays, the temperament he plays with, he 0:19:37.040 --> 0:19:39.480 just defines silver and black football to me. The guy 0:19:39.520 --> 0:19:42.840 got kicked out of a spring game for personal fouls, 0:19:42.840 --> 0:19:46.479 are for hitting, unnecessary roughness penalties. That's just it's an 0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:48.560 awesome story to me. I don't care if he can't 0:19:48.560 --> 0:19:51.880 pronounce the word salmon, right. I love watching him play football. 0:19:52.119 --> 0:19:54.960 Is he the kind of key the catalyst coming back 0:19:54.960 --> 0:20:00.560