Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast tells you what to expect today with the Silver and Black vs. the Denver Broncos
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00:00 Hi everybody, this is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation Las Vegas
00:07 Readers Insider Podcast with another edition.
00:11 It's game day.
00:13 It's midnight on the West Coast.
00:16 It's 3 a.m. out East.
00:18 I've been already ready for the game, working on a bunch of stuff.
00:23 And I want to talk with you about today's game and I want to address a couple issues.
00:30 I'm going to tell you exactly what I'm looking at, what I'm expecting.
00:34 And of course after the game I'll have a podcast where I'm going to address a lot of things.
00:39 I'm going to also tell you after the game who I think will be the next coach of the
00:44 Las Vegas Raiders.
00:47 Purely opinion, but what I think.
00:50 And I want to address what I'm expecting today.
00:55 I'm going to make my prediction for today and really dive in a little bit.
01:00 Now I want to, one of the things, by the way, thank you all for our growth.
01:05 I appreciate it so much.
01:07 You guys are liking and you're subscribing and you're sharing.
01:12 I think yesterday we had 12 or 13 pieces of content and you know there are lots of great
01:19 people.
01:20 We're not, by any stretch of the imagination, the only ones that do a good job covering
01:25 the Las Vegas Raiders.
01:26 And I want you to know I would never even insinuate that because it's not truthful.
01:32 But I would also tell you, pay people, if you're going to pay for subscriptions, who
01:37 give you something different than what we give you.
01:41 Don't pay for the same stuff.
01:43 That's futile.
01:45 But we're not the only ones.
01:47 And when I say that sometimes I think people take that the wrong way.
01:50 There's some really great ones that cover the steam and that I consider friends.
01:54 So I don't not referring to that.
01:57 But without you guys, the growth is wonderful.
02:02 And we just added a new feature that's 100% free.
02:06 Never miss another deep dive, another breaking story.
02:11 Another one of our amazing content from our team of writers.
02:16 When you go to our website, si.com/NFL/Raiders, in the upper right hand corner, there's a
02:23 link that says newsletter.
02:24 Just click that and you can sign up.
02:27 We don't sell your information, but three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday,
02:32 we'll send you an email with all the latest stories.
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02:37 It's 100% free.
02:39 Please take the time to go do that.
02:40 I'd appreciate it if you would.
02:42 Again, also thank you for following us on Instagram, IG, and @HondoSR, Sr., and then
02:52 for following me on X or Twitter @HondoCarpenter.
02:55 But I want to address something because someone said something that I thought was very powerful
03:01 on social media.
03:04 And I wanted to address it.
03:08 I have always endeavored with you guys.
03:12 You may not agree with my opinions, and I'm fine with that.
03:15 I'm not God.
03:16 And I know a lot of media who get upset when people disagree with them and talk down to
03:23 them.
03:24 That's just dumb to me.
03:25 You guys are my bosses, number one.
03:27 Number two, the only time I ever get irritated with people is not when they disagree with
03:35 me, but when they'll make statements like, "Josh Jacobs quit on this team."
03:40 Okay, well, I'm there.
03:43 I know Josh.
03:44 I know the situation.
03:45 He didn't quit on this team.
03:47 He didn't quit on this team.
03:52 So I get angry not when people disagree with me, but when they attack other people's character,
03:58 and I know it to be not truthful.
04:00 That does irritate me, and I admit it 100%.
04:02 Not me, but when it's other people.
04:06 And someone said to me, "I know you want AP, but what do you think happens?"
04:13 And I said to them, I'm going to address this on my post-game podcast, but I said to them,
04:22 you know, that just percolated up here for a while.
04:27 And I do want AP to get the job.
04:32 You all know that.
04:34 And I felt like you all deserved an explanation of at least why I feel that way.
04:42 You can totally agree with me.
04:43 I'm good with that.
04:44 I'm not God.
04:45 I'm happily married to the most wonderful woman in the world.
04:48 And guess what?
04:49 She disagrees with me from time to time.
04:52 There have been times I've had opinions, and an hour and a half later, I changed my opinion.
04:57 I disagree with me.
04:58 I get that.
04:59 I want you to know that doesn't bother me, and I have no problem when you say, "Hey,
05:01 I disagree with you."
05:04 But I want to tell you why I want AP to get it, because I do have a reason, and I think
05:08 it's a valid one.
05:10 You may not, which is fine, but it's just not wantonly wanting him to get it.
05:19 There's a reason, and so I'm going to talk about that.
05:22 If you've listened for very long, you've heard me tell the story.
05:26 Matt Millen is a dear friend of mine.
05:28 I love Matt.
05:30 And many of you know a few years ago, we almost lost Matt.
05:34 And thank God he was able to get a heart transplant.
05:38 And by the way, he's doing very well.
05:40 Talked to him just the other day.
05:42 And Pat is doing well, his beautiful wife.
05:48 But Matt said to me, "Every NFL team, their fans think they're part of the team, but the
05:57 Raiders is the only team where the players think the fans are part of the team."
06:02 And I told you, that just, you ever had something said to you that just got down in your heart,
06:11 and you took it and you're like, you grabbed it and thought, "Man, I got to pontificate
06:15 that.
06:16 I got to think about that."
06:19 It was one of the most powerful things I've ever heard in sports.
06:26 Now, growing up in the Midwest, every Monday night seemed like it was the Raiders.
06:32 And so I remember watching Monday night football with my dad every week.
06:35 It was a big deal.
06:36 My dad loved football.
06:38 It was the only night I got to stay up past my bedtime.
06:40 My bedtime was nine o'clock when I was little.
06:44 And I know it's hard to believe I was ever little, but I was little and my bedtime was
06:48 nine when I was little.
06:50 And I was allowed on Monday nights to stay up late as long as on Tuesday, I was good.
06:58 Didn't have any attitude issues.
06:59 If I did, then I wouldn't get to stay up the next Monday night.
07:04 And it was great to watch those with my dad.
07:06 Well, my dad loved the toughness of the Raiders.
07:09 He loved the way Al Davis ran the Raiders, all of that.
07:13 You know, while we weren't fans, we were certainly extremely respectful of the Raiders.
07:21 And so I always had great respect for the Raiders.
07:27 And then with my friendship with Matt, it just grew.
07:30 And through Matt, I got to meet Al Davis a couple of times and exponentially, my respect
07:35 went through the roof because I just think so highly of Al Davis.
07:39 And primarily because of stories I can't share now.
07:44 One day I will, but I can't share now about Al and things that Matt taught me about Al.
07:51 And so when Matt said that, I took it to heart.
07:57 So four years ago, when the Raiders moved here, I moved here to cover the team.
08:05 And one of the only reasons I was willing to walk away from the Big Ten and covering
08:09 some other things to do this was because it was the Raiders.
08:16 They're an iconic franchise.
08:18 I don't know that I would have moved anywhere else to cover any other team.
08:22 In fact, I'm almost certain, maybe one other team, but I'm almost certain I wouldn't have
08:28 gone anywhere else.
08:32 Because of what I had learned about the Raiders, this was unlike any franchise, committed to
08:38 the fans, committed to the players.
08:41 Matt talked about that.
08:44 You saw it.
08:46 It was something about the Raider organization.
08:48 They were always about, as Al said to me, Raiders.
08:52 I don't know if you guys remember this, but first time I met Al Davis, I'm with Matt Milton.
08:58 Matt says, "Hey, Al, this is my friend Hondo I told you about.
09:00 He's one of our beat guys that covers us."
09:02 And he introduced me.
09:04 Now, you have to understand, Al was very, very short.
09:08 I'm not.
09:09 And Al looked at me and he went, "Raiders."
09:21 It was so much fun.
09:23 It was hilarious.
09:26 I'll never forget that as long as I live.
09:28 So, the Raiders were just different.
09:32 And I respected it.
09:33 I still do.
09:36 So I watched John Gruden, who I had a very much respectful relationship with him, and
09:44 a good one.
09:47 And watching those Raiders when I first got out here and covering the team and all that
09:54 they went through was fascinating to me.
09:58 And then I watched John lose his job and Rich Bissacci come in.
10:02 And I watched the way the players rallied around him and went to the playoffs and how
10:09 that team wanted him for all the right reasons.
10:14 Now, I know of teams, I've covered teams where the players wanted a coach because they could
10:20 run them over.
10:22 And I have said many times, "I don't believe you just hire a coach because the players
10:30 like him."
10:31 And I believe that.
10:38 But Rich was different.
10:39 It wasn't just because the players liked him.
10:44 He was tough.
10:46 Was he a strategic X's and O's guy?
10:50 No.
10:51 He was a special teams guy, but so was John Harbaugh.
10:55 And as you know, my friend and mentor, Rick Gosling, considered by many the greatest NFL
11:00 writer of all time, has said many times, "You can't believe more special teams coaches don't
11:07 get jobs."
11:10 Some of the greats were special teams coaches because they touch both the offense and the
11:15 defense.
11:16 A defensive coordinator just deals with defensive players.
11:18 An offensive coordinator just deals with offensive players.
11:21 But a special team guy deals with everybody.
11:24 And the way they played for him, he was tough, was demanding, but I thought, "Okay, the way
11:32 this franchise is, the way they listen to their players, the way they listen to their
11:38 fans, he's not just a coach that the players run over because they don't run over him.
11:43 This is a no-brainer."
11:48 And Mark ignored his locker room.
11:53 So along comes Antonio Pierce.
11:55 I don't need to get into a litany of his resume.
11:57 I've already gone over with you the similarities between him and Art Schell, him and Tom Flores,
12:03 him and John Madden.
12:06 He is a guy that is a leader of men.
12:09 Now, I know this isn't going to be popular and I'm going to get ripped for it.
12:13 I'm fine with that.
12:14 I'm good.
12:15 Go ahead, rip me.
12:16 Like it or not, Josh McDaniels is extremely respected in the National Football League
12:22 for his X's and O's.
12:28 I know a lot of you are like, "He failed twice miserably," and he did.
12:32 It doesn't change the fact, widely respected for X's and O's, but failed as a leader of
12:38 men.
12:45 Here comes AP.
12:48 Not the X's and O's man that Josh McDaniels is, and I believe AP would tell you that because
12:52 he's ruthlessly honest.
12:57 But what is he?
12:58 He's a leader of men.
13:01 He puts a boot in guys' butts.
13:03 He loves them like Bersaglia, but he leads them.
13:09 I had an NFL player say this to me this week who's had dealings with Mike Tomlin as a position
13:19 coach and has had dealings with Antonio Pierce as a position coach, who told me, same guy,
13:29 exact same guy, and said, "I would love for him to get the job because he's Mike Tomlin
13:39 and he's going to be great for the Raiders.
13:42 He will hire coaches who are the X's and O's guy.
13:46 He doesn't have to do anything with Patrick Graham, but he'll hire the guys who are X's
13:53 and O guys at coordinators and let's roll," is what he's going to say and go make it happen.
14:05 So here is Mark Davis.
14:08 Now you guys also know I highly respect Mark.
14:13 I think he's an honorable and a good guy.
14:17 I have seen nothing from Mark that makes me say scumbag, jerk.
14:25 I've seen some bad decisions that I didn't agree with, but I've seen bad decisions in
14:30 my own life I didn't agree with.
14:34 But here comes Mark Davis, who I believe has been very open about his feelings about his
14:41 football acumen compared to his father, and I've always said, 100 times better businessman
14:48 than his dad.
14:52 But I don't think he has a lot of confidence in his ability and acumen.
14:58 I think it's why he so desperately wants a great leader.
15:02 He wanted a John Gruden, gives him a 10-year deal, believes that Josh McDaniels, because
15:07 everybody else in the league respects him as an X's and O's guy.
15:10 All right, let's go pay him a ton of money.
15:16 And I want Mark Davis to succeed.
15:23 I do.
15:24 I'm not a Raider fan, but I'm a fan of good people, and they're good people.
15:32 I want AP to get it for several reasons.
15:35 I want him to get it because I believe he's earned it.
15:38 The way he has taken this team, this is a team that's two coaches short of a full staff,
15:46 with a staff he didn't pick, throwing out a bunch of the playbook, multiple big-time
15:52 players injured on the offensive side, trying to put something together.
15:57 I had a person say to me the other day, "They haven't done a ton of adjustments on offense."
16:03 Clearly then you're not watching.
16:05 Aiden O'Connell's a different quarterback with his ball protection.
16:09 He's second only to CJ Stroud, I believe, according to PFF is where I read it, to CJ
16:16 Stroud, the second-highest-rated rookie quarterback.
16:22 Protecting of the football goes on the road.
16:26 They don't win that game if he's the Aiden O'Connell of old, with the turnovers that
16:31 we saw earlier, all under Josh McDaniels.
16:37 And again, he's gotten better every week despite down two offensive coaches.
16:45 He inherited a terrible offense with a lot of weapons, but a terrible offense.
16:49 But I said to this person, "Okay, what do you want him to do?
16:54 They play on a Sunday, Monday and Tuesday are off days, you come in for treatment.
17:02 Wednesday is your first work day, and then Thursday, that's where you implement the game
17:10 plan.
17:12 Friday is a simple walkthrough, and then Saturday you relax, getting ready for the game.
17:18 So you have two practices.
17:20 How much do you expect to implement in two practices, which are an hour and 15, an hour
17:26 and 30 minutes?
17:28 How much do you fully expect to overhaul the team?
17:31 Oh, by the way, with a rookie offensive coordinator, no one is pretending this offense is where
17:39 it should be.
17:41 I'm not pretending that, I don't think any of you are.
17:46 But when you look at everything he's had going against him, he's four and four, the team
17:53 is fighting, they're not the same team.
17:56 If you say they're the same team, and we're talking about the eye test, how they play,
18:02 then you're being disingenuous.
18:03 If you say you don't want AP, I'm good with that.
18:08 Then just be honest and say, "It's not who I want.
18:10 I want Harbaugh, or I want Grutten, or you want whoever."
18:12 Okay, that's cool.
18:13 I'm not going to call you out for that opinion.
18:17 Those are great coaches.
18:18 But to say, "Oh, they're just the same," then not take into everything that he's had to
18:24 deal with, that's unfair, unfair, and disingenuous.
18:31 So you look at everything that he has to deal with, you look at how they've responded, the
18:40 defense now, tremendous.
18:44 The offense, spectacular, no, but still two major outbursts against two not very good
18:53 teams.
18:54 But I have a question.
18:57 How many times in the past have the Raiders lost and not performed against teams they
19:03 should have and played down to their competition?
19:09 You can very easily say, "Okay, the Minnesota game.
19:13 Yep, Minnesota game was terrible.
19:18 Should not have lost it.
19:20 Indianapolis should not have lost it.
19:23 But the defense didn't not show up.
19:28 And in both games, Aiden didn't throw four or five interceptions."
19:33 You're down multiple offensive linemen.
19:35 You're down your number one tight end.
19:36 You're down your running back.
19:42 And again, this is the NFL, you play with who's ever there.
19:45 I'm not making an excuse.
19:47 I'm pointing out reality.
19:50 They still should have been better.
19:52 But this team has responded to him.
19:55 And here's my deal.
19:57 The way the team has responded to him, the way you see the way he jumped on Marcus Peters
20:03 and then eventually cut him, the way you see the way he dealt with Jack Jones, the way
20:13 you've seen how he's dealt with people, how he's been above board, he's been honest.
20:20 And then I've had people say, "Well, Hondo, you keep telling us, look at what the players
20:25 are saying.
20:26 What do you expect them to say?"
20:29 That's a very fair statement.
20:32 But I also talked to them off the record.
20:39 I know what they're saying.
20:43 And I think it's important to give them a little bit of respect.
20:49 They know how to say, "Yeah, that's, yeah, you know, hey, I don't want to say anything.
20:58 This is Mark Davis's decision."
20:59 No, they're coming out.
21:00 "Yeah, here's how I feel."
21:02 Now, if you say, "Hondo, I don't believe either."
21:06 Okay, not mad at you at all.
21:08 That's fine.
21:09 You're welcome to believe whatever you want.
21:10 I'm not God.
21:11 I know what I believe because I talked to him on the record, off the record.
21:17 I know what they feel.
21:19 And so I want him to get it because I think he's earned it.
21:22 I want him to get it because I want Mark Davis to have a tremendous relationship with his
21:26 locker room.
21:29 And I know that's who they want.
21:32 Now, several weeks ago, I told you I had a player say, "If we continue to improve and
21:36 he doesn't hire him, he's going to have a mutiny."
21:39 And I want to explain what I meant by that.
21:41 Do I think a bunch of players are going to wholesale walk away?
21:45 No, they have contracts.
21:47 They're not going to hold out to get traded.
21:52 But what the player was really saying to me, and just so you know, I followed up to make
21:56 sure, is I think it would cost Mark trust from some of those guys.
22:06 Don't think any of them would hate him.
22:09 I think it would.
22:10 And I told you, I had one player say to me, "You know, if you don't want to hire AP, that's
22:15 cool.
22:16 But just don't say that we listen to the players because this should be two times in two years."
22:21 I don't want that for Mark.
22:24 I also know that I believe this is a legacy defining hire.
22:30 And I want to go a step farther there.
22:34 If he hires AP and AP fails, three years from now, he gets to go hire whoever he wants.
22:41 Raider Nation is going to be like, "All right, that's who we wanted.
22:44 That's who the players wanted.
22:45 It didn't work.
22:46 Go get us the guy you think, Mark."
22:48 And his legacy's fine.
22:52 If AP gets his team to the playoffs in the next three years, then his legacy is look
22:57 at it.
22:58 He rolled the dice like his dad.
22:59 Bam.
23:00 Bam.
23:01 Success.
23:02 And he looks like the hero.
23:10 If he hires AP, win or lose, Mark's the hero and his legacy is defined.
23:16 But if he goes hire anyone else and they don't get him to the promised land, then his legacy
23:26 is going to be he turned on his locker room twice, didn't listen to them and let the potential
23:32 answer go.
23:35 That's the reality.
23:37 And so when someone said, "I know you want AP.
23:39 It's not because I have self-serving purposes.
23:42 I think John Gruden is a great coach and I got a good relationship with him.
23:47 Doesn't hurt me one bit if John Gruden gets this job."
23:49 Not one.
23:50 I think the chances are minimal.
23:54 I think Mark would love it, but I think the chances are minimal.
23:59 But I think he's still one of the three guys in the race.
24:03 I like Jim Harbaugh.
24:05 Covered him at Michigan.
24:08 Great coach.
24:10 Great coach.
24:12 Cut his teeth with the Raiders as a quarterback coach.
24:18 It's going to cost a ton of money and he will be the boss.
24:24 I think Mark's been hurt a little bit from that.
24:26 I think that hurts in the NFL.
24:29 Very few coaches are able to do that.
24:31 And make no mistake, if Jim gets hired, no matter what you're told, he's going to be
24:35 the boss, which is fine.
24:37 There's nothing wrong with that.
24:39 That's what it takes to go get a Jim Harbaugh.
24:43 But I think that's a risky scenario in today's NFL.
24:47 I just think it is.
24:49 And secondly, I would never root against Jim.
24:57 Good guy.
24:58 You can make a case.
25:00 He's the best candidate for the job, but I don't think he's better than AP for this team
25:08 right now.
25:10 And let me go one step farther.
25:12 If I'm an owner of any of the other 31 NFL teams and I'm hiring a coach, my first choice
25:20 is Jim Harbaugh.
25:23 First choice.
25:27 First choice.
25:28 He's a winner.
25:30 Now I have some things I'm going to want to talk to him about and some things I'm going
25:34 to want clarity on.
25:35 I wouldn't let him be the de facto GM.
25:39 And there are some other things I would want to address, but he would still be the number
25:43 one guy I want to interview.
25:46 But not here.
25:51 Antonio's in the seat.
25:54 It's his seat.
25:57 And I just think you set Jim up to fail because he's going to come into a locker room that
26:02 they didn't want him.
26:04 Doesn't mean they're going to be children.
26:06 They're professional athletes.
26:07 They're going to play.
26:09 They're going to play.
26:12 But you saw how they played for Josh McDaniels and you've seen how they play for AP.
26:22 You're hearing your own team scream out, we need stability.
26:29 Please get us stability.
26:34 Please.
26:36 Please imagine this.
26:41 Your best player on your team is Max Crosby, who's played for four coaches with the potential
26:49 going into year five.
26:50 I mean, going into next year with a fifth.
26:55 Think about that.
26:59 And so these are all the reasons that go into it.
27:03 You can disagree with me.
27:04 I'm just trying to present to you because I respect you.
27:08 And when someone said to me, I know this is who you want.
27:12 I wanted you to understand why.
27:15 Because I am not being a fan.
27:19 I have a great relationship with AP.
27:21 I have a great relationship with Harbaugh.
27:25 Great relationship with Gruden.
27:28 I'll be fine with any of the three.
27:31 Good guys.
27:32 Good football guys.
27:34 I'm taking this stance because I, as an unbiased observer, I think it's best for the franchise.
27:40 I think it's best for your owner.
27:44 He doesn't need another huge deal hanging over his head when he's got a coach already
27:51 sitting in the chair.
27:53 Now let's talk about what am I looking for today?
27:56 Several things.
27:57 Number one, I am looking for this Raider team to come out and make a statement.
28:08 They want him.
28:10 They're all pressing for him.
28:13 Now here's the deal.
28:16 Two things about that.
28:18 Years ago, I covered Michigan State and they won the Rose Bowl playing Stanford.
28:25 And Mark D'Antonio, the coach of the Spartans, told his team, because in college there's
28:31 such a long wait from the end of the year, the Big Ten Championship game, waiting for
28:35 the Rose Bowl.
28:37 But Mark D'Antonio told his team, "Don't let the lion out of the cage."
28:41 It was one of the most brilliant things I've ever heard a coach say.
28:47 And what he was literally saying is, "Keep your emotion in and then when you step on
28:51 the Rose Bowl field, let it out then.
28:56 Don't let all your emotion out."
28:59 For example, when I have a story to write or a podcast to produce, I never talk about
29:06 it until I'm ready to do it.
29:12 Because sometimes you talk about it and then now it's no longer top of mind, you forget
29:18 stuff.
29:20 I am concerned.
29:22 The Raiders have let a lot of emotion out this week.
29:25 It was an emotional week in the building.
29:27 You saw Patrick Graham fight tears.
29:31 You saw AP get emotional, saw some players get emotional.
29:38 That's a concern that I have.
29:40 They so desperately want to make a statement.
29:44 Did they let the lion out of the cage?
29:46 Number one.
29:48 Second concern that I have is that when you want something so bad, you press for it.
29:58 And when you press and don't just play the game, you make mistakes.
30:06 There's a couple times this year we've watched Aiden O'Connell or the offense make some mistakes
30:11 because they were pressing.
30:15 That's a concern that I have.
30:16 It's a legitimate concern that I have today.
30:23 So I'm really weighing this in a big way.
30:30 So I told you all that because I want you, I always feel and I'm always going to feel
30:35 this way.
30:36 So it's not an apology.
30:37 I owe you to know what am I thinking up here as I disseminate information to you.
30:43 You are graciously taking the time on a Sunday morning before a game to talk with me.
30:51 Thank you.
30:54 And so I owe you that respect.
30:55 I want you to know what goes into my thinking.
31:01 I believe the Raiders are a better team.
31:07 I believe the Raiders players are much more in sync with their coach than the Broncos
31:12 are.
31:16 I believe this Raider team is beyond hungry.
31:22 They're famished.
31:24 They want to end on a positive note.
31:27 They want this so bad for AP.
31:32 We may get out there and you watch the game and don't say anything about the first quarter.
31:37 Wait till you get into the third before you make this analogy.
31:41 And you may say in the third quarter, boy, Hondo, you're right.
31:43 They kind of let the line out of the cage.
31:45 They look a little flat or boy, you can tell they're pressing.
31:52 It's just like last week, the defensive line did not get a lot of pressure in Indianapolis.
31:59 Okay.
32:00 But did you notice Max is playing at 60%?
32:04 So they didn't triple team them.
32:06 And did you notice how many times him and Kuntz were both double teamed?
32:13 I had people say this week, oh, they just quit last week.
32:16 They quit after the Chiefs.
32:17 No heart.
32:18 Look at even Max and the defense quit.
32:20 No, Max is playing at 60% and they now were able to double team Kuntz and him.
32:26 They were able to take a triple team off of him because he's at 60% and move one guy over.
32:32 Long story.
32:33 But anyways, those are the...
32:34 They quit.
32:38 So we may get to the third quarter and say, man, they seem flat.
32:41 They let the line out of the cage all week or they're pressing.
32:46 And those will be legitimate things I'm watching for, especially third quarter.
32:54 I don't remember a team that I've ever covered, and I've done this a long time, as hungry.
33:03 And I told you, I called the Raiders win over the Chiefs.
33:10 I told you.
33:11 I just saw it that way.
33:13 Now, I also told you I had the Chiefs favored in six of the four categories.
33:19 And you all know I do games by 10.
33:21 I have 10 things I rate.
33:23 If it's tied, I go with the home team.
33:25 If it's not tied, I go with the team that has the highest score.
33:33 But that said, I have the Raiders winning six of my four categories in this.
33:40 And I don't remember a team wanting a game as much as this ever in my career.
33:49 The only way I see the Raiders losing this is if they've let the line out of the cage
33:53 or they come out pressing, which is legitimate things.
33:56 That's why I'm talking to you about it before the game.
33:59 But this team's disciplined.
34:01 AP has done a masterful job this week making this about the players, talking to them about
34:10 you don't know your future.
34:12 Make sure you're putting good tape out either for the next coach or your next team.
34:19 He's made it about them.
34:21 He's refused.
34:22 Now, the players have made it about AP, but AP hasn't.
34:24 He's a man of character.
34:25 He's a man of integrity.
34:27 He's a good guy.
34:29 And so I'm going to go Raiders.
34:44 About why I feel like and why I want him to get the job.
34:50 In the four years I've covered this team, it is the first time that I felt this team
34:57 has looked like the Raiders I used to watch as a kid and the Raiders Matt Millen talked
35:06 about.
35:09 It's the first time they've been led by a Raider.
35:14 Rich Passaccia, good man, embodied a lot of what the Raiders are about.
35:19 And I think he would have morphed into a great coach.
35:22 I really do.
35:23 I think he would have done a great job.
35:25 I think the Raiders would be in the playoffs today and if he had gotten a job in the team
35:31 would have stability, but they don't.
35:34 He's not here.
35:37 And so for all the reasons I gave you about AP, and he's one of yours, he understands
35:43 his culture.
35:44 Listen, I'm learning the Raider culture.
35:47 Now, you know what?
35:49 People rip me off.
35:50 I don't want you to be the RB Raider.
35:51 You don't understand us.
35:52 Okay, that's fine.
35:53 I have no problem with that.
35:57 But my job's not to be that guy.
35:59 My job's not to be fan, but I owe it to you to learn your culture.
36:06 I've become friends with Violator.
36:09 I took a day this week, went to LA for a very important deep dive article I've got coming
36:17 in a few weeks that you are all going to be, "Wow.
36:22 I'm learning and gathering as much information as I can, learning the history."
36:28 I love the articles three times a week.
36:31 Well, during the seasons, it's two times a week where Tom Lamar, one of our writers,
36:36 who's covered the Raiders for 50 years, writes a history paper.
36:41 I read those things ravenously.
36:44 I love meeting the, I told you Jim Otto was my dad's favorite player.
36:48 I love Jim Otto, getting to talk to him, Tom Flores, all these great people.
36:54 And as I learned the culture even more, this is the first time you guys have been the Raiders.
37:00 Listen, John Gruden was a great guy.
37:03 I like Johnny.
37:04 I do.
37:05 Good guy, boisterous, outgoing, flamboyant.
37:11 But he was a buccaneer.
37:13 He was a Philadelphia Eagle.
37:16 He was a Raider.
37:18 But he really was just John Gruden.
37:19 He was his own, he was an icon.
37:23 Rich Bersaggio, super respected football guy.
37:27 A lot of different things were part of him.
37:33 Josh McDaniels, he was a patriot.
37:36 And they were trying to make things in the patriot mold.
37:39 Yes, as a Raider, but they wanted to make it the patriot way in silver and black.
37:47 This guy is one of your own.
37:52 And I'm going to end with this about AP.
37:55 All I have ever heard from everybody is Raider Nation is a family.
38:02 It's all I've ever heard.
38:04 All I've ever heard.
38:05 This guy's part of your family.
38:09 He's one of you.
38:12 He was telling us a story the other day about his first game.
38:17 And he's sitting way up high in the Oakland Alameda Coliseum,
38:22 looking down at the black hole,
38:28 watching Bo Jackson in a game against the Chiefs.
38:33 His first game.
38:36 And he was emotional about it.
38:39 He's one of yours.
38:41 And I have been taught by a great dad that family's everything.
38:52 Now, I have some amazing family members who are very successful in business
39:03 or in other areas of their life that I wouldn't put as a football coach if I owned a team.
39:09 So you just don't go hire anybody that's a family member,
39:14 or you could go hire the popcorn guy who grew up a Raider fan.
39:21 But he gets it because of that resume and the things we talked about.
39:27 That's the Raider way.
39:29 That's why I feel that way.
39:31 Now, coming up this week, probably on Tuesday, but it could be Wednesday,
39:35 I think it's going to be Tuesday, though,
39:38 I'm going to have an article for you on the Rooney rule, explaining it,
39:43 explaining what has to happen, explaining why did I say,
39:49 in my opinion, the Raiders should have ignored it.
39:52 There was potential penalty.
39:54 I told you that.
39:56 I don't believe the league would have enforced it.
40:02 I told you other people have told me they didn't think the league would enforce it.
40:06 I've had a couple of GMs that told me they thought the Raiders could have got around it.
40:12 I'm not saying that's accurate or not.
40:13 I'm giving you their opinion.
40:15 But the Rooney rule is very specific, and I'm going to talk to you about that on Tuesday
40:20 so you understand how the whole thing goes.
40:23 But I felt like you guys deserve me to address all of that.
40:30 Whoever they hire, I'm going to give you the same great coverage you've got.
40:36 This isn't going to be a rejection of Hondo.
40:41 My opinion doesn't even matter, and it shouldn't.
40:43 And quite frankly, yours shouldn't.
40:45 The only opinions that should matter in this is Mark Davis's,
40:49 and based on what they've told us, the Raiders are the players.
40:56 And we're going to give you great coverage.
40:58 It's going to be one of those three guys,
41:02 unless just there's a curveball that's unexpected, and I can't think of one.
41:07 And all three are great coaches, and the Raiders will move on.
41:13 But that's why.
41:17 And I hope I've presented it to you.
41:19 I hope even if you disagree with me that you feel respected
41:23 that at least I presented why I felt that way.
41:26 And I hope you understand my prediction for today.
41:29 I know it's early, because you wouldn't watch this after the game started.
41:35 But for those of you that took time to watch it, I want you to know,
41:38 I appreciate you.
41:40 I am grateful for you.
41:43 And I'm thankful for you.
41:45 You're tremendous people.
41:47 I'm going to be out in Lot J later today.
41:50 So if you're in the area, and you're going to be tailgating, please look for me.
41:55 If you're in the area but don't have a ticket, come on down to Lot J and tailgate.
42:00 I'm telling you, if you've never been there.
42:01 And I'm going to tell you, if you're in town and you're a Bronco fan, go to Lot J.
42:04 There's going to be a lot of them.
42:07 They're some of the most wonderful people in the entire world.
42:10 I have learned to -- I have always respected Raider Nation.
42:16 But I just love them.
42:17 Great people.
42:19 And just some of the finest people you ever meet in your life.
42:23 So from me to you, I appreciate you.
42:26 We're going to have podcasts every day during the offseason, just like we do during.
42:33 We cover the steam 365 days a year.
42:36 Ain't nothing going to change.
42:38 We're going to bring you the best coverage that we can and give it to you.
42:43 We'll see you after the game.
42:44 I hope you join me on social media, on X, formerly known as Twitter @HondoCarpenter.
42:51 Don't forget at the website, si.com/NFL/Raiders.
42:57 Upper right-hand corner is our newsletter.
42:59 But you can also join us there.
43:01 We have a live game thread.
43:03 So maybe you're at work and can't watch.
43:05 You can just keep updating that.
43:07 Anytime there's a score, a penalty, a turnover, something big, we just put it right
43:10 in the thread of the article so you all can get all that information.
43:14 So from all of us here at the team, thank you for being you.
43:18 It's the last game of the season.
43:21 We now go into instantaneously talking about the draft, instantaneously talking
43:31 about the combine, talking about free agency, talking about OTAs and mini camps.
43:38 A lot of stuff going to go on.
43:40 A lot's going to go on.
43:42 And we're going to cover it for you every step of the way.
43:46 Nobody likes to be without football.
43:49 We've got February, March, April, May, June, July, and finally we'll get games back
43:55 in August.
43:56 We got seven months without football.
44:01 Yeah, we'll have OTAs and yeah, we'll have training camp and those are fun.
44:07 But it's not the same.
44:08 We're going to walk through this together.
44:10 I appreciate all of you.
44:12 From all of us here at Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation, Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast,
44:16 part of the Fans for Sports Network, thank you for joining us.
44:20 It's a game day.
44:21 Have a great time.
44:22 We'll see you out a lot, Jay, if you're going to be there.
44:24 If not, we'll see you at the podcast when we come back after the game.
44:27 God bless all of you.
44:28 We'll see you again, like I said, tonight.
44:30 Bye-bye.
44:30 Bye-bye.