Watching Brandon Staley and Josh McDaniels coach and make decisions is like one-upmanship of dumb*ssery sometimes. Scratch that; it’s more frequent than that sometimes, and it’s awful to watch for both Raiders and Chargers fans alike.
Supposed geniuses coach-types my *ss.
Raiders vs. Chargers: Let’s look back…
The reason why the Los Angeles Chargers didn’t have a runaway win over the visiting Las Vegas Raiders after generating a 24-7 halftime lead was because of Staley. And the reason why the Silver the Black didn’t get closer to a wild comeback against the Powder Blue Balls (err, Boys) was because of McDaniels.
Between the two respective head coaches of the Raiders and Bolts, there’s a lot of “my way or the highway”, “analytics is king”, bravado, and stubbornness. And the result is rosters that have talent but don’t consistently do the little things right and try to often execute play calls that don’t always cater to the player’s strengths.
How else do you explain the Chargers getting shut out in the second half and the Raiders being unable to provide any sense of resistance against former Silver and Black pass rusher Khalil Mack, who finished with six sacks?
Don’t come at me with the “Justin Herbert was hurt” malarkey. The signal caller didn’t get nicked until later in the game, and if he was such a liability due to a fractured finger on his non-throwing hand, why would Staley put him in the line of fire on a failed 4th-and-1 quarterback sneak at the 3:34 mark of the frantic fourth quarter? Again, we go back to Staley being a bearded buffoon on this one. L.A. decided to take the fight to Las Vegas and have Herbert drive forward for the one-yard gain with the ball on their own 34.
It didn’t work out…
Maxx Crosby met Herbert and, along with other Raiders defenders, stonewalled the tall and lanky signal caller and drove him backwards, ball to Las Vegas. That was another example of many where Staley’s aggressiveness this season—and the latter part of the 2022 campaign—hasn’t paid off handsomely for the Bolts consistently.
Fortunately for Staley, the visored void that coaches the team on the opposite sideline is equally as dense. McDaniels relied on rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell to get the Raiders near the end zone for a potential game-tying score, and after the fourth-round pick connected with wide receiver Davante Adams on a 19-yard dart to put the ball on the three, Las Vegas looked poised to take advantage of Staley’s gaffe of a decision to go for it on 4th-and-short.
No dice.
Instead of running back Josh Jacobs inside the five-yard line on first down, McDaniels dialed up a rollout pass play to the right, and O’Connell’s throw towards wideout Jakobi Myers was instead intercepted by Bolts cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. That play was a similar one; the Raiders ran earlier in the game in the red zone, but it didn’t work then, and the end result was a ball game, L.A. Personally, I would’ve gone to a power formation with Jacobs lined up behind Bulldozer fullback Jakob Johnson and ran the ball on first down and once more on second down.
The Chargers’ defense was on its heels, likely thinking, “What has our coach done to us and put us in this position with his fourth-down decision? So, pounding the rock against that kind of demoralization would’ve exacerbated the Bolts’ frustration. And considering what McDaniels said of Jacobs during his Monday morning press conference, going with the rollout pass play was a dubious decision. I get that if it would’ve worked, it would’ve been water under the bridge. But it didn’t.
“Aidan found him a number of times in the passing game. I thought he ran hard, made some really good runs in critical situations, and the touchdown on 4th and 1 had some other really good solid runs in between the tackles too,” McDaniels said of Jacobs. “So, the more we can give him the ball, the more we can get him started in space, the better we are. I thought he did a great job.”
Josh McDaniels, Josh Jacobs: What happened at the end?
So why not Jacobs with the ball on the three-yard line, 2:39 left to play, and within reach of a potential game-tying score?
Sure, O’Connell could’ve surveyed the scene and changed the play at the line of scrimmage, but he’s a “developmental” quarterback playing in his first NFL game and was sacked six times and fumbled three times. He’s going to be a yes-man-type signal caller in his first substantial action and is going to follow the coaching script to a T.
And once again, the Raiders are left to talk about learning lessons and not shooting themselves in the foot with mental mistakes. Las Vegas is the epitome of what happens when there’s a lapse in both coaching and player execution. The 1-3 overall record and three-game skid are a testament to that.
AFC West: Chargers, Raiders, and the bottom of the division…
And until coaching and player execution are on par and clicking, the Raiders remain a rudimentary squad looking hopelessly up at the rest of the NFL. They’re inhabitants of the AFC West cellar along with the Denver Broncos (also 1-3), a team that could’ve been winless after trailing by a bunch to the Chicago Bears.
The only brand of complementary football the Raiders proved capable of is playing bad together. And until that changes, until the coaches and players alike grow weary of losing and come together for a winning formula, Las Vegas will be listless. It’s been four regular-season games, along with the trio of preseason tilts and joint practices. Every time the Raiders were adamant that this year would be different, they’ve grown and learned.
But so far, it’s a cruel illusion for a rabid fanbase yearning for a winner. Even the hope of seeing O’Connell more was dashed by Josh McDaniels on Monday, as he noted that once Jimmy Garoppolo clears concussion protocol and is declared healthy, he’s QB1.
Perhaps the extra day of prep and practice will become a fruitful thing for the Raiders heading into the Monday Night Football clash with the Green Bay Packers? They’ll finally put it all together, maybe? Recent history portends no, but maybe Week 5 will be different.
And ain’t that a b****?
I mean, the Raiders have gone from Just Win, Baby to Just Maybe, Baby?
*Top Photo: USA TODAY Sports
