The Las Vegas Raiders are gearing up for a Week 4 matchup against the Chicago Bears, and all eyes are on the Raiders’ offensive line. In fact, this Sunday’s gameday discussion on The FEED will focus on the interior o-line, so head over there during the game if you want to talk about the trenches. But first, we have this week’s mailbag to get to.
Q: It strikes me that we are not going to win many more games (any?) until our offensive line issues are resolved. Thinking that these may involve personnel,
scheme or coaching, what are your thoughts as to the significance of each of these? More importantly, at this juncture, what are the realistic options (if any) for addressing them?
A: In my opinion, the Raiders’ offensive line issues are a combination of the three elements you mentioned above, and I’ll add that the constant turnover with the coaching staff is a big part of the problem. Take Dylan Parham as an example. Parham is in his fourth season and has played for three head coaches, five offensive coordinators, if you include interim OCs, and several offensive line coaches.
Having to learn so many systems and having so many different voices in your ear telling you different techniques makes it extremely difficult for a young player to develop. However, I mentioned last week that I think Parham is just an average player, and I do believe that good players will adjust and thrive.
So, while the coaching isn’t helping, there is a personnel element at play as well. Outside of Kolton Miller, we knew going into the season that Las Vegas’ offensive line was more potential than a proven commodity, with the other four linemen being young players.
As far as bringing in outside help, the Raiders’ chances of finding a difference maker at this stage are slim to none. I think it’s more likely that the coaching staff gives guys like Charles Grant, Caleb Rogers and Will Putnam a chance to prove themselves than signing a free agent or making a midseason trade.
A: Personally, I’d like to see the interior go back to last year’s lineup (Meredith LG, JPJ C, Parham RG), but Pete Carroll made it pretty clear that won’t happen.
With that, if things don’t improve, I’d like to see Rogers and Putnam get a shot just to gauge what they can bring to the table. Also, I wouldn’t mind Grant getting reps over DJ Glaze at this point, though I do recognize that Grant is a significant project and would rather the coaching staff be patient than risk ruining his development and confidence.
As far as hope goes, the one silver lining that’s even been hard for me to recognize is that Parham, Meredith and Powers-Johnson have only played one regular-season game together at their new spots. So, from the optimist’s perspective, be patient and give those three more time to get comfortable.
Q: If John Spytek was Tom Brady’s choice, are you surprised that Tom didn’t discuss how important the offensive line was to the team’s success? Especially after spending all those years with Dante Scarnecchia, are you surprised that Tom did not allow Pete to bring his inexperienced son in to coach the O-line and have him draft at least one top tackle (Armand Membou) in the first round or a top guard (Tate Ratledge from Georgia) in the second?
A: Spytek knows how important the offensive line is to a team’s success. He wouldn’t become a general manager if he didn’t understand that, and he talked about how much he values the linemen a few times during the offseason.
Also, I’m pretty confident that Brady and Spytek were in lockstep with signing Alex Cappa during free agency. Before Cappa signed with the Bengals, Brady reportedly tried to convince him to return to the Buccaneers. So, I’m sure Brady and Spytek had conversations about addressing the Raiders’ offensive line; they just made a bad choice by going with someone whom they are both familiar with instead of targeting a better free agent.
Then, in the draft, Spytek used two top 100 picks on offensive linemen (Rogers and Grant). He just went with developmental third-round prospects over the first- and second-rounders who were ready to go, like Membou and Ratledge. In my opinion, that shows Spytek values the offensive line; he’s just playing the long game, so we haven’t seen it pay off yet.
Any coaching staff hires are on Pete Carroll. Brady might have had a hand in bringing Carroll aboard, but after that, the owner has to trust the head coach and take a back seat when it comes to putting together the staff.
A: I like where your head is at and definitely agree that all of those spots should be addressed in the offseason. Granted, I’m not sure if Carroll will fire his son, and I do think we need a little more patience with Brennan.
My only pushback is that I’d like to see the Raiders address a higher value position than linebacker in the first round, adding a second edge defender, an elite cornerback or even a defensive tackle instead. However, if they’re picking in the middle or toward the end of round one, Ohio State’s Sonny Styles or Georgia’s CJ Allen would look good in silver and black.
Q: Will Pete Carroll last more than one season?
A: It’s been three games, LOL! I know back-to-back losses are hard to swallow, especially last week’s, but let’s at least get through September before we start talking about firing the head coach. Spoiler alert: I do think Carroll will get more than one season.
Q: The Raiders certainly have issues with their O-line and roster on defense, but how much of their bad play against the Commanders would you attribute to the Raiders’ schedule? The Commanders had 3 extra days to rest and prepare for the game (4 if you count the travel day). Does this happen a lot in the NFL?
A: The schedule certainly didn’t help, and it’s not common that one team has that much extra time to prepare than its opponent. However, I always feel that using the schedule/rest as an excuse in the NFL is pretty weak. Every team has to deal with being at a disadvantage at some point in the season. The good ones take it in stride, adapt and find a way to win; the bad ones lose and complain about how unfair it is.
Q: Is the AFC West the best division in the NFL? If not, who is up there or better?
A: It’s definitely up there, but I think the NFC West is better right now. That division won’t have a team below .500 through the first month of the season, and the Seahawks have been surprisingly good to begin the year. The NFC North is also pretty stacked, and we’ll find out this weekend if Ben Johnson is starting to turn it around in Chicago.
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That’ll do it for this week’s mailbag. Thank you all for submitting questions and, as your weekly reminder, if you’d like to have your questions answered in a future column, tweet them at me, @MHolder95, email them to SBPQuestions1@gmail.com or look for our weekly call for questions on the site. The latter will continue to publish on Thursdays.
