Rob Leonard didn’t hide from the pressure after the Raiders’ defense took another hit in the wake of a 38-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He also didn’t hide his appreciation for Klint Kubiak, who stood by him when criticism started flying.
Leonard got a chance to address the moment publicly for the first time after Kubiak backed him, and his response was immediate and sincere.
“It means a lot,” Leonard began. “Not too many people in this profession do things like that.”
He said Kubiak’s support carried real weight, especially this early in the season.
“It’s early in the season, and I can’t tell you how much respect I have for Klint Kubiak- as a man first, as a coach second,” Leonard said. “We share a lot of same values of transparency, honesty, straight to the point. It was very humbling.”
But Leonard didn’t stop at gratitude. He also laid out the reality facing the Raiders on defense, and it wasn’t pretty.
“I know what we want to do, how we want to do it; there’s evidence of us doing it; we have to do it more consistently,” Leonard said. “There’s a weight that you feel, that you carry, especially when the offense is scoring, that we need to do our part. We have to show improvement.”
That message lands against a rough statistical backdrop. Despite having All-Pro edge rusher Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas has given up a league-worst 29.8 points per game. The Raiders have also allowed 30 points or more in each of their last six games.
Crosby has done his part, leading the team with four sacks and six tackles for a loss. Still, the pass rush hasn’t been enough to lift the unit as a whole. The Raiders have just 19 sacks in nine games and only seven takeaways.
Now the focus shifts again, with Kubiak handing the quarterback job to Fernando Mendoza for Sunday.
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Raiders Upset Hopes May Hinge On A Few Brutal Matchups
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The Raiders will need to sort through a few brutal individual battles if they want any shot at turning this into an upset, from coaching familiarity to the tight end and defensive back matchups that can swing hidden yardage and red-zone chances. On the other side, Seattles healthy running back group puts real pressure on a Raiders run defense that has to hold up long enough to keep Mendoza from being forced into a chase mode all afternoon. [Read more 🡒]