In our latest episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider, we look at the state of the locker room and look ahead to the Miami Dolphins.
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00:00 Hi everybody.
00:03 Welcome back to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast.
00:07 I'm your host, Hondo Carpenter.
00:09 This guy next to me is my good buddy.
00:11 He I am your Las Vegas Raiders beat writer.
00:14 He's my assistant beat writer.
00:16 We cover the Raiders for you along with our incredible team.
00:20 We're so blessed to have Aiden Champion, Braden Reedy, Carter Landis.
00:24 Oh, Tom Lamar.
00:27 We got so many great people part of this team.
00:30 We love and appreciate them all.
00:31 This guy joins me each and every week.
00:34 We were in the building this week, obviously covering the Raiders.
00:38 I'm now out of town.
00:40 I'm ready.
00:41 I'm enjoying the Rays.
00:43 The beach.
00:44 I'm really not.
00:45 I'm working, but excited about the Raiders.
00:49 Before we get started tonight though, I've got something very important.
00:53 We get multiple requests every week.
00:58 Hondo, this person's a great Raider.
01:00 Can you tweet out a GoFundMe or this or that?
01:05 You have to understand something.
01:07 We just can't do it because the problem is, is this week alone, we have had 13 causes
01:14 brought to us for Raiders asking us to promote people to give.
01:20 We would literally be spending all of our time doing it.
01:23 Then, although I assume 99% of them are all legitimate, the one that gets through that
01:30 isn't, then people get mad at us.
01:33 If you don't tweet one person's and you tweet another, people get mad at you.
01:38 We just don't do it.
01:39 I hope you understand why, but it's just the reality of the situation.
01:45 From time to time, things will come along that touch us on a personal basis.
01:50 I want to express this one.
01:53 Brenda Sanchez, for two years, was the vice president of the Oklahoma City Raider Nation
02:00 Club.
02:01 Then, two years as president, I got to know her because I was invited by the Oklahoma
02:07 City chapter to come down, talk to the fans, and do a meet and greet with all the great
02:14 people in Oklahoma City.
02:15 In fact, we met at El Chico's in Norman, my favorite restaurant, not named Papacito's.
02:22 I got a chance to know her and meet her and spend some time with her.
02:26 She's just a sweet, sweet, precious lady and a great Raider, not a good one.
02:32 She was a great one.
02:34 She loved the silver and black.
02:35 She passed away unexpectedly this week.
02:39 She's somebody that I know.
02:41 She's somebody I've taken pictures with.
02:43 She's somebody I had the privilege of giving a hug and just sitting there with her and
02:46 talking about the Raiders.
02:51 You may be a Raider all over the world because we have them all over the world that watch
02:55 this.
02:57 You may never have known Brenda, but she was family to you.
03:01 If you met her once, she was family, even if you were a Charger supporter.
03:05 That's a little inside joke between Brenda and I.
03:08 I'm not a Charger fan, but she was a sweetheart of a woman.
03:12 I'll just tell you the story.
03:13 I'm doing a meet and greet in Oklahoma City.
03:17 At the restaurant, there were some Charger fans.
03:21 They recognized me, but they go, "We're Charger fans."
03:24 She said, "That's all right.
03:25 You love the NFL.
03:26 We love the NFL.
03:27 It's the offseason.
03:28 Come in and just join."
03:30 It was just fun.
03:31 They didn't join us.
03:32 It was after our meet and greet.
03:35 She passed away.
03:36 She was somebody that was special to me.
03:39 She was somebody that was special to Raider Nation.
03:41 I want to thank members of the Oklahoma City Raider Nation Club that let me know that she
03:46 passed.
03:47 I want you to know from all of us at Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation, Las Vegas Raiders
03:52 Insider Podcast, we loved her.
03:56 We appreciated her.
03:58 What a special, wonderful lady in our hearts.
04:00 She's in our hearts.
04:01 Our prayers go out for her family in this very, very difficult time.
04:05 We just want to take a minute and say hi to her.
04:09 Now we're going to talk some football, which is what Brenda would want us to do.
04:15 My guy, Zeke Trezevantz, here.
04:16 We've been in the building this week.
04:18 Zeke, we both know.
04:22 I said before the year I expected the Raiders to lose this game.
04:26 It's a bad matchup.
04:28 Just not a good matchup for the Raiders, which it is what it is.
04:34 I'm curious.
04:36 They know this is going to, they got to punch or shot.
04:40 I talked about this in one of my exclusive audio only podcasts that I do.
04:46 Devontae talking about we got to go down there and attack.
04:51 Aiden talking about we're going to trust our defense.
04:55 This is going to be fun.
04:57 You and I both been in the building this week.
04:59 Your thoughts on the mood of the locker room?
05:02 The mood in the locker room, still light, still focused.
05:06 I would say there's a bit of an excitement that's there, but not in an overly excited
05:10 kind of way.
05:11 More so in a, they're eager just to go see where they stack up with one of the best teams
05:14 in the NFL.
05:15 I think that's a reason you can kind of just see that they're ready to go.
05:20 It's going to be interesting to see what happens on Sunday for sure.
05:23 To me, the mood, if I had to describe, there's no arrogance.
05:29 It's not like, "Oh, we're going to go down there and kick their..."
05:31 No.
05:32 I think there's a lot of respect for the Dolphins, but they're having fun in their
05:37 own skin.
05:38 100%.
05:39 100%.
05:40 They haven't, it seems like the further they get into the AP regime, if you will, the more
05:45 relaxed they get.
05:46 You can sense the confidence growing.
05:49 I think this is a little bit different than the first time they had a two game win streak
05:52 going on.
05:53 I think that time they were just excited to put some good football on tape.
05:56 I think this time they've been through the ups and downs of a season, a coaching change.
06:01 I think they just want to go show what they can do.
06:04 I think they're going to have a decent game come Sunday.
06:07 You never apologize for a win in the National Football League.
06:12 But you were sitting next to me in the press box last week, first quarter, "AP sucks.
06:20 Should have never given the job to AP.
06:23 Aiden sucks.
06:24 Put Jimmy back in."
06:25 I mean, I kept telling you, "People need to relax."
06:30 I'm even thinking about, I may not even read Twitter this week, just because this is a
06:36 game.
06:37 Miami, I'm trying to say it right.
06:39 You know I say it, Miami.
06:40 I'm trying to say "My-am-ee."
06:42 But Miami is a team that is better than the Raiders.
06:47 I don't think they're a Super Bowl team.
06:49 So I think the Raiders got it.
06:51 If they played it 10 times, I think could win three.
06:54 I think they got a legit shot.
06:57 But I think people need to just enjoy the process of what AP's doing.
07:00 What are your thoughts on that?
07:02 I completely agree.
07:03 I do think that they have more than a shot than most people may think, simply because
07:08 I think there's a level of unknown that Bo Hardegre is going to bring, that AP is going
07:13 to bring, that could bode well for them.
07:15 I think it's underrated sometimes when you have a new quarterback and a new coordinator
07:20 coming up with things that you haven't seen all season.
07:22 And then you think about a defense that they have really two weeks.
07:25 When I say "they," I speak about the Dolphins' defense and focusing on Aiden and the Raiders'
07:29 offense.
07:30 They really only have about two weeks worth of film to really focus on and study.
07:34 So that could bode well for the Raiders, the fact that there's really nothing for the Dolphins
07:37 to tee in on or tee off on in terms of their offense.
07:40 So I think there's reason to obviously say, "Hey, the Dolphins are the better team on
07:44 paper."
07:45 Rightfully so.
07:46 I think we would all agree on that.
07:47 But any given Sunday is a real thing.
07:49 And then I do think you're looking at what could be a completely different Raiders team
07:52 than what we saw the first eight weeks.
07:55 Totally agree with you.
07:58 This game, I expect to see full dosage.
08:03 There's a lot in the playbook now that they've not had to use in two weeks.
08:08 But they're going to have to attack.
08:10 They're going to have to score some points.
08:12 They need the rook to go do some things.
08:14 I fully expect them to have one or two interceptions.
08:17 I don't think that would cost them the game.
08:19 I think three would.
08:21 I don't think two would.
08:23 He's going to learn.
08:24 He's going to have to take some shots.
08:27 They're playing with house money, so I expect them to lose.
08:31 So to me, this is going to be a fun ballgame.
08:33 What do you think?
08:34 I think the longer they keep it close, the more of a chance that they're going to have.
08:38 So I look at it like, "Hey, if they get into the third and fourth quarter and they're only
08:41 down a score, maybe seven to 10 points, somewhere in that range, these guys are going to think
08:45 they have a chance.
08:46 And the longer they think they have a chance, the worse it's going to be for the Dolphins."
08:49 Speaking of attack, I think it would be in their...
08:53 Let's say they win the coin toss.
08:54 I think the Raiders need to get the ball first.
08:56 I think they need to go score.
08:57 And like you said, they need to stay on the offensive when it comes to the attacking.
09:01 So I think it's got to be one of those games where they get the ball, a lot of Josh Jacobs,
09:05 whether that's a one-yard run or a 10-yard run, whatever it may be, just to keep Miami's
09:10 offense off the field.
09:12 So there's things that they can do to mitigate how strong and powerful the Dolphins are,
09:17 and that's being great on the offensive end.
09:18 So a lot of Josh Jacobs, a lot of short passes, and keeping the chains moving, keeping the
09:23 Dolphins' offense off of the field.
09:25 There's also no pretending.
09:27 It's not like that Miami hasn't lost three games.
09:31 And the games that they've lost are teams that are physical, that beat up Tua, that
09:38 lock in with those receivers the first five yards, so the second five yards, they're trying
09:43 to get separation from them.
09:45 That's why I say that 10-yard window is so big.
09:50 Raiders got to be physical.
09:51 100%.
09:52 And that's going to be their only hope, right?
09:55 When you're playing against an offense like that.
09:57 I mean, it's similar in basketball, right?
09:58 When you're playing against a high flyer, you got to put the body on them, right?
10:01 You can't just let them roam, especially not a team like the Dolphins with so much speed
10:05 at receiver.
10:07 You got to make sure that you're physical with them.
10:09 And then you got to shut down the running game, too.
10:11 You cannot let the Dolphins be two-dimensional.
10:14 So shut down the running game, be physical with the receivers, make sure your DBs are
10:18 doing what they're supposed to do.
10:19 And I think the Raiders have a shot.
10:20 I think they like being the underdog, but I think they have a shot.
10:25 Thoughts on Amik, do you think we see him or not?
10:28 Honestly, I hope not.
10:31 Just because I feel like that injury last week, it looked bad.
10:36 Maybe it looked worse than it was.
10:37 I'm not sure.
10:38 But just off of how it looked on game day, I don't think so.
10:46 Now I want to remind everybody, I said if the Raiders win, I will do next week with
10:55 you, Hondo in a hoodie.
10:58 I forgot about that.
10:59 Yes, listen.
11:00 I forgot about that.
11:01 Let's go.
11:02 Things are going to get real interesting on the field and off the field if they win the
11:05 game on Sunday.
11:07 My hoodie has arrived, by the way.
11:08 It was a gift from a member of the Raiders.
11:11 What?
11:12 I said I cannot wait to see it on the podcast.
11:16 It's going to be good.
11:17 I hope they win.
11:18 Me too.
11:19 Things are going to get a lot more interesting, especially in terms of the playoffs, if they
11:23 win.
11:24 Not to mention if Baltimore beats-
11:26 Are you kidding me?
11:29 Hey, listen.
11:30 I'm hopeful, baby.
11:31 I'm hopeful.
11:32 Listen, there's always a chance until there's no chance.
11:33 So, you're saying there's a chance?
11:38 Listen, if they win on Sunday, there's definitely a chance.
11:44 Yes, sir.
11:45 Oh, if they win on Sunday, I think they're going to get into the playoffs.
11:48 Me too.
11:49 I think that's going to be the game that gets the run started, for sure.
11:55 Let's talk about this team.
11:57 AP has not made it about him.
12:01 He's made it about them.
12:03 And now they are making it about him.
12:08 100%.
12:09 They love this guy.
12:13 And it's real.
12:16 It's not a fake love.
12:18 And honestly, the first week that he took over, you kind of wondered, hey, A, is this
12:22 sustainable?
12:23 B, is it genuine?
12:24 And it's genuine.
12:25 It really is.
12:26 You can tell those guys are playing as if they want to take that interim tag off.
12:31 That's how they're playing.
12:32 And I think it speaks volumes in terms of being able to connect with your team.
12:39 And a former player being at the helm.
12:41 At first I thought maybe it was a little bit overrated.
12:43 But week in and week out, over the last two or three weeks, they continue to prove that's
12:47 pretty darn important.
12:49 You totally agree with you.
12:50 I think it's fascinating.
12:53 I don't think that he did it on purpose because he wasn't here.
12:58 But he took a page out of Rich Visagia.
13:01 And I want to say something.
13:04 I don't think he's copying Rich.
13:07 I think both men are just men of integrity.
13:10 And I think making about them, they now make it about him.
13:17 And granted, we don't know who's going to be in on the decision process for Mark Davis.
13:22 That's a really big deal.
13:28 That's a very big deal.
13:30 But if he gets to 9-8, which I think he can lose both Chiefs games and Miami, and get
13:39 to 9 wins.
13:41 If he gets to 9 wins, I don't care who Mark's listening to, he is going to be hard-pressed
13:48 to turn his back on this guy.
13:50 Agreed.
13:51 And you've got to think at that point, it's not just 9 wins.
13:54 It's 9 wins considering all that they've been through this season.
13:57 Even for a first-time head coach.
14:00 Although on paper it's 9 wins, I think if you think about everything included, that
14:03 might be considered a 10-11 win season if you look at the total picture of AP.
14:08 So yes, I think you look at how quick the turnaround happened in terms of how the players
14:13 have been playing for him.
14:14 Like you said, if they do finish that 9-8, maybe if they do make the playoffs, it's like
14:18 who do you replace them with?
14:20 That you know that these players are going to respond to better than they're responding
14:23 to AP.
14:24 I think Mark Davis would be hard-pressed to find someone better than AP.
14:27 Alright, I'm growing the beard.
14:30 And I don't know what happened, Zeke.
14:32 It turned all white on me.
14:35 I hate it.
14:36 What do you think?
14:38 You got to keep it.
14:39 It's no shade November.
14:40 Yeah, but I was going to say, it's November.
14:41 You have to keep it if for no other reason because it's November.
14:44 After that, you kind of have a choice to make.
14:46 But you definitely got to keep it for the next, what, two, three weeks?
14:51 Admit it, you hate it, don't you?
14:53 Oh no, it's perfect.
14:54 You see, I'm trying to get mine in too.
14:55 It's just that time of year.
14:58 You're too young to have a beard.
15:00 Let's just be real for a minute.
15:01 Alright, Zeke, let's cut this down to the brass tacks because I'm a little concerned
15:10 about Raider Nation and I'm going to share this with you.
15:18 The toxicity of Josh McDaniels is gone.
15:23 The division of Derek Carr is gone.
15:27 And whether you loved or hated Derek, I think both parties can agree Raider Nation was divided.
15:32 This is the most united I've seen this fan base in the four years that I've covered them.
15:41 And I find it fascinating.
15:44 And I just think people need to ride this ride a little bit before looking for the hot
15:49 take.
15:51 Just wait and let this ride out a little bit.
15:53 I'm not telling fans what to do.
15:56 I'm giving my opinion of what I think, because you know what's going to happen.
16:01 If they go down and get down by 17 or more points, then they can't run the football.
16:06 They got to throw, throw, throw and it's going to become a nightmare.
16:09 And we both know how people overreact on social media, but I think people need to just enjoy
16:15 this process.
16:16 I'm a little concerned.
16:18 Someone asked me in a national interview, and this is where I'm going with this.
16:21 I was asked this earlier today.
16:24 What is the one thing that surprises you about Raider Nation?
16:30 And I said, how many of their people don't enjoy even when something good happens?
16:41 You know, they beat the Giants.
16:42 Oh, they should have beat the Giants.
16:45 Okay.
16:47 Second quarter into the Jets.
16:48 AP sucks.
16:49 Aiden O'Connell is terrible.
16:50 Give us back Jimmy.
16:52 And I understand it's a small group, but I want to see Raider Nation just say, okay,
16:57 you know what?
16:58 We're not a playoff team.
16:59 We may, we may sneak in, but let's just enjoy the rest of this year.
17:04 Let's have some fun with it.
17:06 Because if AP doesn't get it, I don't care what anyone says.
17:11 It's going to be a complete teardown and a rebuild, which sucks.
17:16 So enjoy it.
17:17 Am I wrong, Zeke?
17:18 No, no.
17:19 So I was going to say the same thing.
17:21 You got to think, right?
17:22 Like, put yourself back in that shoes of, you know, being a fan of a team that has to
17:25 find a new head coach and a new whatever it may be.
17:28 And the conversations are completely different than what they are right now.
17:31 So it's one of those things that, hey, nobody expected, you know, this to be a Super Bowl
17:35 run for the Raiders when the season started.
17:37 Nobody expected that.
17:38 And here they are after everything they've been through with a chance to make the playoffs.
17:41 So yeah, you got to just enjoy those last, you know, this last, what, six, seven games
17:45 that are left and just kind of see, you know, where they fall.
17:49 As a fan, it kind of stinks when there's a ton of pressure on the team to win, win, win.
17:52 And we have a great roster and we got to go win right now.
17:55 There's a little bit of luxury to not have to necessarily have that pressure.
17:57 And that's where the Raiders find themselves right now.
17:59 They're playing with house money.
18:02 Literally nobody thought, you know, they thought they were, everyone thought the Raiders are
18:04 dead, you know, leaving Detroit.
18:06 Right.
18:07 And now here they are going into Miami with a chance to kind of save their season and
18:10 make a playoff run.
18:11 So just be excited with that.
18:12 Right.
18:13 And just see where it goes.
18:17 I'm at the gas station today.
18:20 Okay.
18:21 A lady and her looked like her teenage son come up to me.
18:26 We're rooting for Hondo in a hoodie next week.
18:29 Hey, it's going to be a hit.
18:33 It's going to be a hit.
18:34 Like I'm more hopeful that the guys win just so I can see that than anything else.
18:38 Forget the playoffs.
18:39 I want to see Hondo in a hoodie.
18:41 All right.
18:42 What's your big prediction?
18:43 How do I be honest with you off the top of my head?
18:46 I don't recall what exact numbers I sent to you in terms of my prediction, but I do believe
18:51 it was a seven point to 10 point Miami win that I had.
18:54 I think the spread is about a double digit spread in favor of the Dolphins.
18:59 I think I want to take that down just because I feel like the guy's got a little bit more
19:02 heart than that.
19:03 Now, again, as we know, I mean, the Dolphins can go drop 70 on you on any given week, 50,
19:08 60, 70.
19:09 They could.
19:10 And this game could get out of hand.
19:11 It's fair.
19:12 I think this Raiders team, I think they have a little bit more pride to them than that.
19:17 And I think they're going to keep it close as long as they can.
19:20 So final score, I'll call it 28, 21 off the top of my head.
19:24 All right.
19:25 I think 31, 24.
19:28 Okay.
19:29 Dolphins.
19:30 I think, yeah, I think that's fair.
19:36 But if they get down 17, it could be a blow out of epic proportions just because the Raiders
19:43 have to become one dimensional.
19:45 And if that happens, they're not as bad as everyone's going to be prophesying.
19:49 Exactly, exactly.
19:50 Miami is just one of the best teams in the NFL, one of the best offenses in the NFL.
19:55 You look at where they stack up statistically across offensive stats, they're usually one
20:00 or two across the board.
20:01 So they're pretty, they're pretty good.
20:02 All right, my friend.
20:05 I can't wait to be hanging with you.
20:13 I'm just, I'm enjoying the ride.
20:14 I'm enjoying, it is so nice walking into that building and people aren't on eggshells and
20:20 depressed and-
20:22 It's completely different.
20:25 I was explaining to somebody earlier today, I said, hey, like, you know, when you're at
20:28 home and you hear about a coaching change and they say, oh, it's like a completely different
20:31 vibe.
20:32 You think that just stays to the field.
20:33 Like, no, it is completely different from Mark Davis on down to the person refilling
20:38 the chips in the media room every day.
20:39 It's completely different.
20:40 It speaks volumes.
20:44 It is completely different.
20:45 No doubt about it.
20:46 And you know what?
20:47 These people deserve it.
20:48 Mark Davis, I told someone the other day, you know, I don't care how much money you
20:54 have when work sucks, work sucks.
20:58 And I love working with you.
21:00 I love it.
21:01 You know what I think of you personally.
21:03 I have so much respect for you.
21:04 You're such a great journalist and a better guy.
21:08 I love working with the company that we work for.
21:12 I love covering the Raiders.
21:13 I think the people are precious people.
21:16 I'm just glad to see the people I'm around all the time in a good mood.
21:20 It's fun to see it.
21:21 Yes, sir.
21:22 A hundred percent.
21:23 Just walk into that room every day and everybody just being more relaxed.
21:27 Right.
21:28 Everything we talk about is not, you know, oh, they lost or all this fumble or all that
21:31 interception or old, it's just positive and it's a better feel.
21:35 So, you know, hopefully those guys will get another W on Sunday, even if they don't, it's
21:38 still going to be good vibes because the change was transformational throughout the organization.
21:44 So win or loss on Sunday is still going to be the same.
21:46 But the last two weeks have been a turnaround from the first eight for sure.
21:50 I agree.
21:51 All right.
21:52 From all of us here at Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast,
21:57 I'm your Las Vegas Raiders beat writer, Hondo Carpenter.
22:00 That's my assistant beat writer and my dear friend, the great Zeke Trezavant.
22:04 We're part of the Fans First Sports Network.
22:06 Thanks everybody for listening.
22:07 We'll see y'all real soon.