The Raiders have shown flashes against the league’s best, but that’s only made the bigger issue louder: this roster still has too many question marks to trust week after week.
That was the core of what Raider Nation Radio host JT the Brick laid out this week as he talked about the gap between the team’s top-end talent and the players who are dragging the group down. His point was blunt. The Raiders, in his view, simply don’t have enough quality across the board.
“They don’t have enough good players. They don’t. They only have a few star players, and then they have some good players, and then they have some average players, and they have some below average players, players that aren’t playing great…
When you look at all of this, there’s a problem on how you’re going to hide the players that can’t compete at the level to win. They’re just not good enough.
Or put them in a better position to play better. Did I get everybody’s attention on that?
That’s all I think the answer is. I don’t have any more answers.
Either you have to take the players off the field who cannot compete at an NFL level and aren’t tough enough… or you’re going to have to take the players that you have decide on the ones you’re going to play, because you got to put a team out there. And then you have to scheme them up and got to hide their weaknesses and put them in positions to achieve better production.
That’s all I got. I got nothing else.
I think that’s pretty accurate… the guys who aren’t tough enough should not be on the team or they should not be playing. They should be deactivated.
They should be on the practice squad and bring up whoever the hell you want that you think is tougher.”
JT didn’t point the finger at specific names on the struggling side, but he did single out four players he feels good about.
“ Maxx Crosby, Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker and Jeremy Chinn. Those are our tough guys,” JT said. “The problem is we need about five or six more tough guys.”
Even without JT calling out the offensive line directly, that unit is still part of the bigger picture. The Raiders’ run game has been flat all season, and the interior has been a major reason why.
Right guard Caleb Rogers is likely headed back to the bench this week, with third-round pick Trey Zuhn III in line for what would be his first career start when the Raiders visit the Jets on Sunday.
Left guard Spencer Burford has been inconsistent all year, and his role is worth watching, too.
At center, Tyler Linderbaum is safe for now, but he hasn’t played like the highest-paid center in the league.
In Other News...
Raiders Run Game Suddenly Puts Ashton Jeanty Under Real Pressure
As the Raiders try to steady their ground game, Ashton Jeanty has found himself at the center of a familiar kind of NFL critique, the sort that usually comes when production and expectations start to drift apart. Former Raiders guard Richie Incognito weighed in on Jeantys early struggles, and his comments pointed to a back who is getting opportunities but not always turning them into the kind of yardage the offense needs, while also floating Mike Washington Jr. as a possible change-of-pace option.
The larger concern for Las Vegas is that Jeanty is dealing with crowded looks more often than most runners, with defenses stacking the box and making every handoff feel a little harder than it should be. That leaves the Raiders with some decisions to make as they head into upcoming games, from how they distribute carries to how they sort out the blocking in front of him, because the run game may not get cleaner unless the pieces around Jeanty start to fit better. [Read more 🡒]
Ashton Jeanty Just Added Real Heat To Raiders Jets Week
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Jeanty also hinted that some Jets defenders are not eager to finish tackles, though he stopped short of naming anyone in particular. It was a notable bit of confidence from a player who does not often go looking for headlines before kickoff, and it gives this matchup a little extra spice as the Raiders try to turn that belief into production on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Derek Carr Reopens Painful Raiders Split With Josh McDaniels
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McDaniels and Ziegler, meanwhile, were looking at the bigger picture and chose to prioritize a look at other players for the future. Carr has said he is on good terms with McDaniels now, but the fit between quarterback and coaching staff never really clicked in Las Vegas, and this latest account only reinforces how messy that split became. [Read more 🡒]