In our latest episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast,, we look at the emerging Silver and Black, faltering Buffalo Bills, and more from the NFL.
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00:00 Hi everybody this is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation Las Vegas
00:06 Raiders Today insider podcast joined by my good buddy the one and only the editor and
00:12 publisher of thespun.com the greatest aggregator of sports and pop culture in the world.
00:20 I love this guy.
00:22 Great friend great buddy great friend of the show the one and only Matt Helatic.
00:25 Hey Matt.
00:26 Hondo how you doing that's an intro befitting the end of week one of the NFL season.
00:32 Well I agree.
00:34 We got so much to talk about.
00:36 Let's get right to the Raiders game.
00:38 I thought the Raiders were very impressive.
00:40 Now let's first talk about Broncos.
00:42 I was I thought Sean Payton did an excellent job.
00:45 That is not the same Bronco team of last year or quite frankly even before Nathaniel Hackett.
00:51 Russell Wilson didn't even did not just look better than last year.
00:54 He looked better than his last year in Seattle.
00:57 I thought he was excellent.
00:58 Their defense was excellent.
01:00 Thought the Raiders were far from perfect.
01:02 But they go into that game Matt and they had a huge game plan because they didn't know
01:07 is he just going to run what he ran against New Orleans because Sean Payton spent so much
01:12 time around other teams in his year off.
01:15 Then they were able to really they made some great halftime adjustments kept them to less
01:19 than 100 yards just a couple points in the second half.
01:22 Raiders got a big road when it was a win.
01:24 They would not have gotten last year.
01:27 And you know this good teams find a way to win games when they're not playing well.
01:32 The Raiders did not play well but they found a way to get a big win and I don't care that
01:36 they had won the previous six.
01:38 This wasn't the same team.
01:40 This was a big deal.
01:41 Inter-divisional rival on the road win.
01:44 I was impressed even though it was far from perfect.
01:47 Your thoughts.
01:48 I would agree.
01:49 I know you touched on it there.
01:51 Excuse me you touched on it on Sunday on Twitter.
01:54 The Raiders didn't play particularly well.
01:56 You know they had the Jimmy G red zone interception.
01:59 They had some costly penalties.
02:01 They got behind.
02:02 But the fact that they were able to come back in the fourth quarter and get a win.
02:07 Offense take the lead defense close it out and the offense kind of run run the game and
02:12 close out the clock.
02:14 That's always impressive.
02:15 It's always a good sign for week one in the NFL because the difference between teams that
02:21 are in the playoffs or in the playoff hunt and the teams that are finishing with five
02:25 or six wins and sitting home in January are games like Sunday where you find a way to
02:32 win.
02:33 You find a way to make the player to that swings the game.
02:37 And that's what the Raiders were able to do.
02:39 It's something I think they can build on moving forward going into week two.
02:43 And I think it's definitely an encouraging sign coming off the preseason that they were
02:47 able to get this win road win divisional win in week one.
02:52 There's not too many other ways to get better ways to get in a win column start season.
02:56 Yeah it was very very impressive.
02:59 Let's turn our attention to the bills.
03:00 We're going to talk about Aaron Rodgers later but just the bill specifically I was not impressed.
03:07 I think there are significantly better team than what they played.
03:10 I think the biggest improvement a team makes is between week one and week two.
03:13 The great Duffy Doherty said that now he was the first to say it and it's been echoed throughout
03:18 the annals of coaching since.
03:22 I very unimpressed with them.
03:25 Your thoughts on the bills.
03:27 Yeah you know I watched them last night and I'm thinking to myself that you know they
03:33 really didn't look and listen and don't want to get the Jets a lot of credit.
03:37 The Jets have a legitimately good defense.
03:39 They have a really tough defensive line.
03:41 They have a tough rotation of guys.
03:43 Pass rushers that draw you sauce Gardner and DJ Reed and Whitehead in the secondary and
03:50 that may plays but the bills were just sloppy.
03:55 Josh Allen was the biggest concern because his biggest issue coming since coming into
04:02 the league has been turnovers.
04:05 He started to scale back on them in 2020 2021 but since the start of 2022 it's been an issue
04:11 against a problem last night for turnovers and I would say if not all for at least three
04:19 of the four were pretty much on forced or mistakes of his own doing you know dropping
04:25 the snap and running into your own guy and fumbling the ball there at the end of regulation
04:29 give the Jets the lead.
04:31 A couple of bad picks including an arm punt basically where he probably could have found
04:36 the receiver over underneath but he just throws it up for grabs.
04:40 You know those are the things that Josh Allen did his rookie year his second year when he
04:44 was breaking into the league and if he's going to do them again the bills are going to be
04:49 in some trouble.
04:50 Now again I expect the bills to play a lot better this week and week two.
04:53 They're going to be coming home.
04:55 They are going to have a game under their belts but it and I do think they'll be a playoff
05:01 team come the end of the year.
05:03 But this this definitely was a concern.
05:06 If you're a bills fan especially because some of the issues that you saw last year appeared
05:11 to carry over into week one.
05:14 I agree with you.
05:15 Very fascinating.
05:16 All right let's turn to Aaron Rodgers.
05:17 I mean whether you like Aaron or not or whether you're a Jet fan or not.
05:21 I hate to see players get injured.
05:23 I mean three or four plays into the season and we're going to find out you know what
05:28 the medical is but I think a lot of people believe it's a torn Achilles and at the time
05:34 of us taping they have not publicly released anything.
05:37 But man I felt bad for him.
05:39 I felt bad for the Jets.
05:41 But isn't this like the most quintessential Jet thing.
05:45 It is.
05:46 And I thought the environment you know watching last night was just incredible.
05:52 Unlike any game I'd seen in the NFL pregame in a while if ever.
05:57 I mean you had the hype of the offseason.
06:01 You had prime time.
06:02 You had the anniversary of September 11th.
06:05 The national anthem.
06:06 Rodgers running out the flag.
06:09 Crowd chanting.
06:10 All these different things.
06:12 And then for him to suffer that injury four snaps into the game.
06:17 Four snaps into the season.
06:19 His Jets career potentially was just had to be so deflating and was like the most stereotypically
06:29 Jets thing to happen.
06:31 Now I have to give them all the credit in the world for battling back.
06:34 That defense is legit.
06:36 They pulled out a win.
06:37 They deserve a lot of credit for the resiliency because you could see right away when they
06:43 cut to Robert Sala on the sideline for the in-game coach interview he looked like he
06:50 saw a ghost.
06:51 He knew that injury was serious and he knew that everything they planned for and worked
06:56 for in the offseason had now gone up in smoke.
07:00 They were still able to kind of regroup and get a W in week one which is great.
07:06 But now the hangover kind of sets in because you realize you look at that team if you're
07:11 a Jets fan and you say our defense is upper echelon in the NFL.
07:16 It's without a doubt a playoff caliber defense.
07:19 Potentially a championship caliber defense.
07:21 We have a great young running back in Brees Hall.
07:24 One of the best receivers in the NFL already in year two in Garrett Wilson.
07:27 We have the pieces to make a deep playoff run.
07:31 We needed a quarterback.
07:32 We had the quarterback and now he's done for the year.
07:35 Will they be in almost every game the rest of the way?
07:37 I think so because of their defense.
07:40 Would they make the playoffs if things break right with Zach Wilson or if they bring in
07:44 a veteran backup veteran guy?
07:46 Yeah, I think they could.
07:48 They potentially could because of their defense.
07:50 But no Rodgers severely limits their ceiling and I think that's what's got to be so just
07:56 gut wrenching for Jets fans.
07:58 A lot of whom I know out in this area on this morning.
08:04 Through a tongue of Iola.
08:07 I'll tell you this guy he's had a lot of fans that can't stand.
08:11 I mean a lot of people that can't stand him.
08:13 A lot of them that love him.
08:16 The guy's a winner.
08:19 He certainly is and I think again listen one week in the NFL doesn't make your season especially
08:25 not week one.
08:27 But I don't know if there's a fan base in the NFL right now that should be feeling more
08:34 excited or feeling better about themselves than the Miami Dolphins.
08:38 And the reason is the Dolphins come up a playoff birth last year.
08:43 They had to be feeling like they had a legitimate roster legitimate team coming into the season.
08:48 They go on the road to it looks fantastic Tyree kill looks as good as we've ever seen
08:52 him.
08:53 They beat the charges or playoff team last year.
08:56 Now Patriots credit them for battling the Eagles but they didn't look great.
09:01 Particularly offensively the Jets they're going to be again they're going to be feisty
09:08 but they're not a bit as he's contended to win a division without our Rogers my opinion
09:13 and the bills did not look good at all.
09:16 So now you've got to be thinking if you're the Dolphins and you're a Dolphins fan this
09:20 division is ours to lose if we take care of business and of course obviously in the NFL
09:25 everything always ultimately comes down to health.
09:28 You have to think that this is the Dolphins division to win without a doubt because they
09:33 have the best overall roster of the four teams I think right now and I would still take Josh
09:44 Allen over to as a quarterback but to it played excellent and if I was a ball from the ball
09:50 up and to stay healthy the Dolphins I think win that division and they can be a threat
09:56 the NFC.
09:57 I'll tell you two teams who can't afford a quarterback loss.
10:01 I mean obviously the Jets but to win the Dolphins Raiders and Jimmy G.
10:08 No without a doubt they need those guys and listen Aaron doesn't have a track record of
10:12 being injured that's why I'm not including him in this but you've got two teams that
10:17 a lot rides on who their quarterback is the Raiders and the Dolphins would you agree.
10:22 Without question they need those guys the Raiders need Jimmy G. to be healthy to be
10:28 in the playoff race and the Dolphins need to be healthy to not just make the playoffs
10:33 but be a threat to do some damage.
10:36 All right last thing for me the Raiders this week are in West Virginia we're in West Virginia
10:45 for practice because they want to be able to be out here on the in the east mitigate
10:51 the time travel and all of that I think it's a great idea they did it last year with IMG
10:56 Academy it's a growing trend in the NFL the National Football League's doing this your
11:01 thoughts what do you think of it.
11:03 I think it makes total sense you know listen there are a West Coast team they played Mountain
11:08 Time in week one they're coming across the country to play in the East Coast and we too
11:15 and I think you know that which is three hours behind the time zone they're used to I think
11:20 getting out there as soon as possible get your body get your team acclimated to it makes
11:25 the most sense.
11:26 I also think that you're coming off a really nice road when we won this also eliminates
11:33 the potential distractions you might have at home and really kind of gets that bunker
11:38 mentality and that business mentality on this trip going to Buffalo.
11:43 So I think it makes sense again you said you're seeing teams do this whether it's you know
11:48 like the Giants are playing out in Arizona Sunday and they're playing four days later
11:52 against San Francisco so they're staying on the West Coast teams may go to London a day
11:56 or two early to get acclimated to such a drastic time difference.
12:00 So it is something you're seeing around the league in general but I think in this instance
12:03 it makes total sense for the Raiders to do is it smart.
12:07 I agree with you I got to tell you I like it because the Raiders were they knew very
12:14 well they didn't play well but they found a way to win and I think it gets them away
12:19 from everybody.
12:20 Oh you got the big win just go out there.
12:25 They were locked in and after the game in the locker room I just think it's a I think
12:30 it's a good thing for them.
12:31 All right prediction Bills Raiders and Buffalo you know this is going to be a lot of wings
12:38 eaten for me and there's going to be a lot of people diving through tables the tailgates.
12:45 I think what do you think brother going into this season.
12:49 I thought you know we both picked the Raiders to win week one.
12:53 I thought this was a loss coming into the season.
12:56 I'm still picking the bills to win.
12:59 I think they will play better.
13:01 I think they're coming home.
13:02 I have my own crowd behind them.
13:05 I don't know if he'll be active for the game.
13:08 DeMar Hamlin he wasn't active last night but him being there for a regular season games
13:12 and give them a little bit extra juice.
13:14 I think the bills win 27 20.
13:17 But I will say this I thought that the Raiders had a slight you know a chance to win beforehand.
13:25 I think their chances are much better or they should feel like they're much better after
13:29 watching the bills on Monday at football.
13:32 I think they want to prove between week one and week two but they look like they had some
13:35 things that can be exploited.
13:37 And if you're you're the Raiders you got to feel like hey you know we're one and all we
13:41 have a chance to make a statement going on the road and we too.
13:45 Yeah I agree with you 100 percent.
13:46 You know when I pick a game I've got 10 things that I analyze and then each of them are worth
13:51 one point.
13:52 Whoever is the most points how I predict my winner.
13:54 I'm not going to make my prediction and do it later in the week but I am going to tell
13:57 you going into the season on my 10 points that scale has moved with what I saw week
14:04 one from both teams.
14:06 Not saying which way it's tilted but it's going to be interesting.
14:08 I look forward to doing my report later in the week.
14:11 Matt it's always a privilege catching up to you.
14:13 I'm sorry you notice I'm a good guy.
14:15 I didn't bring up your Giants.
14:17 What a colossal failure.
14:19 I saw on social media a guy get up throw his jersey down and quit.
14:25 He said he quit the Giants.
14:28 Well I have a feeling that that guy will be back because that's always seems to be what
14:31 fans do at that stuff but I don't blame him for walking out at the way that game was.
14:37 It was the worst.
14:39 The Cowboys might have had the most dominant performance of week one of either them or
14:43 San Francisco.
14:44 And it was the Giants had the worst performance of week one.
14:47 It was you got to burn the tape.
14:50 I mean there's things obviously you got to learn from and you got to correct.
14:54 But it was so bad all around that you almost have to kind of try to flush it and just think
14:59 about starting week two in Arizona.
15:02 It was the ugliest thing I've seen since the last time I showered with the lights on.
15:08 Hey I'll trust you on that one.
15:11 Oh man it was ugly.
15:14 I so badly wanted to text you but I'm too good of a friend.
15:20 I just couldn't rub your nose and I just thought oh I wanted to just say to you I'm
15:24 praying for you.
15:25 I'm thinking about you.
15:26 Well the one thing I will say is as bad as it was and it was terrible the only good thing
15:32 about a game like that is you kind of you have three quarters three and a half quarters
15:38 to settle in and know what's going to happen as opposed to getting your heart ripped out
15:44 at the end.
15:45 But listen again I didn't think the Giants were making the playoffs again this year.
15:50 I thought they'd take a little step back after kind of getting a lot of breaks in year one
15:54 under Brian Dable and winning a playoff game as a surprise.
15:59 But I did think they'd play a lot better than they did and we won.
16:02 No one thinks their team's coming out losing 40 to nothing even though the Cowboys are
16:05 very good.
16:08 So it was it was definitely a shock but at least you know you kind of got it you know
16:13 all right all right this game's over at 16 nothing in the first quarter.
16:17 We go find something else to do with the rest of your night.
16:21 All right buddy have a good one.
16:23 He is Matt Hladik from the Spun dot com editor and publisher the best sports aggregating
16:27 site from sports and pop culture.
16:29 You got to just put it in your favorites.
16:30 I read it every morning.
16:32 I'm again I'm Hondo Carver sports illustrators fan nation Las Vegas Raiders insider podcast
16:37 part of the fans for a sports network.
16:39 Thanks for joining us everybody.
16:40 We'll see you tomorrow.
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