Silver And Black Pride
You can’t spell “incompetent” without “Pete”.
That’s the territory the Las Vegas Raiders are in at 2-5 overall under head coach Pete Carroll.
Instead of installing a culture or identity in the desert, the 74-year-old head coach, the Silver & Black are in shambles as they settle into a much-needed bye week. Instead of bringing a stabilizing veteran presence to a team in dire need of one, Carroll’s Raiders scored just 103 total points (31st out of the 32 teams) and allowed 180 points (eighth most in the league) for a disconcerting -77 point differential through the first even games of the year.
Just seven games into his initial season helming the team, we’ve seen peaks and valleys that showcase fleeting glimpses of complementary football with Carroll in charge. But mostly, we’ve been treated to some atrocious football from this ragamuffin group. And all three phases of the team’s game — offense, defense, and special teams — have taken turns in participating in regressive football. The most recent outing — a 31-0 loss to their AFC West foe Kansas City Chiefs this past Sunday — just the latest example of rancid play.
Hence a welcome reprieve for the rickety Raiders.
The early returns on Carroll’s hire looks like another gaffe by owner Mark Davis.
“Yeah, I’m surprised that we’re not farther along than we are. I thought we would be, and I anticipated being farther along and being cleaner with our game,” Carroll said during his post-practice media session on Monday. “What I’m trying to show you is that we can play really balanced football, meaning that all three phases can do their part and give us a chance to play the game where we’re not giving the game away. And early on, we’ve turned the ball over like crazy, and the kicking game was struggling, and defense was kind of holding it together for us, it seemed.
“And so, the kicking game has come back around. Couple guys have been switched around, moved around, I think (special teams coordinator) Tom (McMahon) did a nice job adjusting and the last couple games have been very solid. You kind of don’t even want to know they’re out there and every once in a while they make a play, and that’s kind of taking place. And defensively was different yesterday, we really missed Maxx (Crosby). Maxx’s dynamic play and the things that he does, that was obvious to me, but that’s come along. Offensively now, we’ve settled down giving the football up, and so now we need to kind of get going again and get moving and get productive. Yesterday was a mess of making first downs and they did a great job on us.”
One could saying laying all the Raiders struggles at Carroll’s feet is hardly fair. He has a tag team partner in all of this: General manager John Spytek. It’s that duo of Carroll and Spytek that not only built this roster heading into the...
