The Oakland Raiders got mauled last Sunday in Washington. They came out Sunday night flat and unfocused and took the loss because of it. Unfortunately, this has brought in some wild theories from the tin foil community. The crew at LiveLeak reported that they had someone they call “Deep Route” who overheard one of the Raider’s offensive guards say:
“He [Carr] wants to stand alone? He can stand alone on the field.”
Controversy. Sigh.
Insert “Blinking Guy” meme.
They went on to suggest that Derek Carr had almost never been sacked. Ahem, 18 times last season, so that’s not true. And that center Rodney Hudson hiked the ball early on purpose multiple times.
It’s like they want that scene out of the “Longest Yard” where the line just lets the lead character get mauled on purpose to be true here.
I was there, in that locker room, after the game.
What is so outrageous is that these kinds of statements are really hard to refute. As a new beat writer covering the Raiders, I was observing the players and staff after the game. I never heard or observed anything that would suggest the offensive line quit on Carr. However, I was not all places at all times either. So can I refute it 100%? No.
I can say that I believe this is 100% poppycock. I cannot state that as a fact, but everything I saw and heard supports my belief that this team is a brotherhood. That they would fight for one another both off the field and on. The idea that these men commit a crime, oh yes, it’s a federal crime to throw a game, to sabotage one of their own is preposterous.
To top it off, it was added that a “Raider Official” told this “Deep Route” that if he went public he would be “Black Balled”.
Fake moon landings, flat Earth, East Bay bloggers, and now this.
Give me a break.
First off, common sense. If that actually happened, guess what? The Raiders Organization would now know who this “Deep Route” was. We would then hear this source come public because they were stripped of their credentials. Nothing to lose right?
Crickets.
I have been credentialed for four events now by the Raiders Organization. Not once have I had those credentials threatened by the Organization. Not once have I been told to cover up something. In fact, Mark Davis himself told me that the Organization values “Honesty and Integrity” above all things.
The Raiders got whopped, that’s the only “controversy” I saw, besides the politics.