The Raiders’ preseason has produced a mess that’s hard to miss and even harder to excuse: penalties, penalties, and more penalties. Through two games, Las Vegas has been flagged eight times against Arizona and nine more against Houston, with five of those coming on special teams alone. The team also picked up a substitution penalty for the second straight week.
That kind of repetition has put head coach Klint Kubiak in the spotlight. On Friday, he took the standard first-year-coach approach and accepted the blame. “We put it on ourselves as coaches,” he said.
There’s a reasonable case for patience here. It is still preseason, after all, with crowded rosters full of fringe players working through scripted reps while the roster cutdown clock keeps ticking.
Kubiak has had just one training camp to install a whole operation on a team he inherited rather than built. It would be easy to pin every mistake on a rookie head coach, especially on something as specific as a face mask by a cornerback he didn’t draft.
But that defense starts to weaken when you line it up against Kubiak’s own words. He wasn’t asked to explain the overall talent level on the roster. He was asked how the staff is coaching penalties out of the group, and his response pointed to a string of repeat errors: a back block on Roman Hemby, Decamerion Richardson running out of bounds, a taunting penalty that handed an opponent a fresh set of downs, a face mask, and another substitution penalty.
That last category is the most telling. Substitution penalties aren’t about raw ability.
They’re about communication, organization and personnel management - all of which land on the coaching staff. When the same mistake shows up in consecutive weeks, “we’re educating them” starts sounding less like a plan and more like proof the fix hasn’t taken hold yet.
Kubiak also set the standard himself. He called two of Friday’s penalties “unacceptable,” and that matters.
If he’s going to draw that line in August, he has to back it up by September. Otherwise the talk about accountability starts to sound a lot like the coach speak he’s supposed to be above.
The Raiders can shrug off a 27-14 preseason loss to Arizona. They can’t afford to drift through a 17-game season the same way. The next few weeks will show whether Kubiak is actually solving the problem or just describing it.
In Other News...
Raiders Center Just Offered A Telling Read On The QB Battle
Joint practices have given the Raiders a useful early window into Fernando Mendoza, and Tyler Linderbaum likes what he has seen from the rookie so far. The center said Mendoza is starting to take command of the huddle and is picking things up quickly, which matters as much as any throw in a competition still taking shape. Linderbaum also pointed to the snap exchange as a key part of the job, a reminder that for a young quarterback, the basics can be every bit as revealing as the highlight plays.
Kirk Cousins remains the standard in the room from a preparation and experience standpoint, and Linderbaum made clear that comparison is part of what Mendoza is working against and learning from. For the Raiders, the comments add a little more texture to a quarterback battle that is still unfolding, with the rookie showing signs of readiness while still having plenty to prove before anything is settled. [Read more 🡒]
Tom Brady Just Sent Raiders Fans A Loud Fernando Mendoza Message
Tom Brady has found a new way to stir up Raiders buzz, and it comes through a piece of memorabilia tied to Fernando Mendoza. The Raiders part-owner recently landed a one-of-one Mendoza rookie card that includes the quarterbacks first NFL autograph, and the deal took weeks of negotiation before Brady finally secured it with a cash payment and an autographed jersey.
Brady then showed off the card publicly, turning a collectors prize into a pointed message about what he sees in Mendozas future. For Raiders fans, it reads like more than just a flex from a Hall of Famer. It is also a sign that Brady views the young quarterback as both a desirable collectible and a possible long-term asset for the team. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Already Moved On From Their Newest Receiver Addition
The Raiders latest receiver shuffle lasted barely a week, with Noah Brown moving on almost as quickly as he arrived. Brown had appeared in a preseason game and finished with one catch for 11 yards, but Las Vegas decided to release him without immediately bringing in another player, a reminder of how quickly the back end of the roster can change in August.
Receiver depth has been a moving target for the Raiders, especially with injuries affecting the group and another wideout expected back soon. Browns departure fits the kind of short-term adjustment teams often make this time of year, when every spot is under review and even a recent addition can become the odd man out in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]