This Sunday, the Cleveland Browns are on the road as they take on the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 12. To help preview a few topics from the Raiders’ perspective, we reached out to Matt Holder from Silver
and Black Pride and exchanged five questions with him.
Chris: “What are fans’ thoughts on Pete Carroll and Geno Smith? Could they be one and done?”
Matt: “The fanbase is pretty upset because Carroll talked about how much of a winner he is all offseason, only for the team to look just as bad, if not worse than it did last year. On a similar note, Smith has quickly gone from a good bridge-gap option to one of the most frustrating players for the fanbase. Leading the league in interceptions while not providing the high-end throws he has in the past will do that. It’s obvious he’s feeling the heat, sarcastically saying that people can blame everything bad in their lives on him after last week’s loss.
There’s a realistic chance that those two are one and done. I think that if Carroll gets fired, Geno will be gone too, and the only thing saving them is the fact that the organization has had so much turnover at the head coach and quarterback positions over the last five years. Neither of their performances this season has given Raider Nation reason to believe they’ll be better next year. ”
Chris: “What do you view as the Raiders’ biggest weakness right now?”
Matt: “Honestly, the team has so many issues that it’s hard to pin one down as the biggest weakness. I guess I could point to the quarterback since that’s the most important position on the field and, as mentioned above, Smith is playing terribly. But Las Vegas also has an awful offensive line–especially with starters Kolton Miller and Jackson Powers-Johnson on injured reserve–a lack of talent on defense outside of Maxx Crosby, and the team is poorly coached. I mentioned that Carroll has done a bad job, but coordinators Chip Kelly and Patrick Graham should also be on the hot seat.
At the end of the day, the Raiders are a dysfunctional organization, and we got another example of that this week. The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov reported earlier this week that there’s a disconnect between the front office and coaching staff, where general manager John Spytek wants to see the young guys on the roster get more playing time while Carroll is hellbent on playing veterans to win games. Then, a source told The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen that rookie offensive linemen Caleb Rogers and Charles Grant (both third-round picks who have combined to play one snap this season) aren’t good enough to see the field yet.
So, there’s a lot of finger-pointing going around as it’s C.Y.A. season in Las Vegas.”
Chris: “Besides RB Ashton Jeanty, which of the Raiders’ 2025 draft picks has been the most regular contributor thus far?”
Matt: “Good question. This ties into my previous answer, and there really isn’t anyone I can point to.
Cornerback Darien Porter would technically be second, but he’s played less than 250 snaps defensively this season and has only made three starts. Porter got elevated into the starting lineup two weeks ago against the Denver Broncos, but then was a backup last week. He might start on Sunday since Kyu Blu Kelly, the primary second starting corner, was terrible (again) on Monday night.
On top of that, rookie wide receivers Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton have combined for 14 catches, 190 yards and no touchdowns. Bech hasn’t had a game with at least 30 yards yet, and Thornton has one catch for four yards since September…”
Chris: “Tell us about one player who Browns fans may not have heard of, but who could have an impact on this Sunday’s game.”
Matt: “Wide receiver Tre Tucker has been one of the few somewhat bright spots for the Raiders this year. The third-year pro currently leads the team with 502 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns. He has 4.3 speed to be a big play threat, especially if defenses put too much attention on tight end Brock Bowers.”
Chris: “The Browns are underdogs against the Raiders on Sunday (Browns +4 as of this question, per FanDuel Sportsbook). Who would you pick to win the game?”
Matt: “A couple of years ago, the Raiders played a game against the Minnesota Vikings where they lost 3-0 in what was a brutal display of offensive football by both teams. The Vikings didn’t score until after the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. I think we’re in for a similar stinkfest on Sunday.
I’ll give the advantage to the Raiders since they at least have the experienced quarterback on their side, with this being Shedeur Sanders’ first start. Also, they’re notorious for winning these games late in the season to ruin their draft positioning, i.e. beating the Jaguars and Saints in Weeks 16 and 17 last year. My tongue-in-cheek score prediction is 5-0 Las Vegas, but a more realistic one is 10-3.”
Thanks again to Matt for taking the time to answer my questions.
