It’s a painful reality to admit, but the Las Vegas Raiders might not have a quarterback that can lead them to the promised land, says Howie Long. Well, at least not yet; they don’t.
As rookie Aidan O’Connell prepares to take the reins this Sunday, the quarterback position remains a conundrum. We know Jimmy Garoppolo wasn’t the answer; far from it, the offense regressed with him at the helm. We’ve seen bits of potential with O’Connell, but now that he’s been entrusted as “the guy” from here on out, we might begin to see some answers. Yes, he’s a rookie, but the Raiders needed to know what they have in No. 4.
Do the Raiders have “the guy”?
Long, who never shies away from weighing in on his Raiders, doesn’t believe the team has a signal-caller that can lead them all the way. Appearing on “What the Football” with Suzy Shuster and another Raiders legend, Amy Trask, Long mentioned that personnel moves continue to hinder the Silver and Black. You’d be hard-pressed to find fans who would disagree with that sentiment.
Not since the days of Jim Plunkett have the Raiders sniffed a Lombardi Trophy. Of course, they got close with Rich Gannon under center, but we all remember how that ended. Still, to the point Long was making, the Raiders have not had that caliber of a signal-caller since No. 12, at least in his opinion. On top of that, he highlighted the lack of a run game and the importance of really getting the O-line down pat. Without those, it won’t matter who the quarterback is.
Not since Rich Gannon…
“Rich Gannon was the last guy that we’ve had there; you got to hit on that position. You got to hit on the offensive line. You have a running back who led the league in rushing, but this year they can’t run the football.”
If we’re examining the work that Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler did, none of those aforementioned positions were filled adequately. Yes, O’Connell could still turn out to be the answer, but we simply don’t know. However, both the run game and the offensive line as a whole regressed in Year 2. Fortunately, there won’t be a Year 3. At the end of the day, Long posed a simple question that Raiders fans need to really examine.
“You have to ask yourself, ‘Do you have a guy on that roster that can win a Super Bowl?’ I think the answer to that question is no.” Ouch, Howie.
*Top Photo: AP/Paul Sakuma
(by GTHANG)
When Gannon went to the Super Bowl (and got destroyed, btw) he had the 6th best defense in the league. He also had Jerry Rice, Tim Brown and a solid running attack. HOFs all over the place.
Since then we have had the worst defense in the entire NFL, dead last over that time. In fact, pick any 5-year stretch and we are the worst.
Gannon knocked around the NFL for years before his run with the Raiders, just as Jim Plunkett had before him. Did anyone think those guys would ever sniff a Super Bowl when they were on the waiver wire?
Take a deep breath Howie. Let’s give the kid a couple games before we read the tea leaves on his future.
And no one sniffs a Super Bowl with the defenses we’ve had. No one.
I have to Agree with GTHANG. Let’s give the rookie a few games first he didn’t look to bad against the chargers being hunted by mack all day. He was lucky Bosa was out of the game or his season would of already been over. But yes j have been screaming for years that we need a young up and coming QB.
Howie is correct but not entirely for what he is thinking. He is probably correct Aidan wont get us to the super bowl this year. Even if he had a great offensive line its doubtful Aidan could get us there. And really…we would all be idiots to expect this from a rookie QB.
With our very $hitty OL I will say its impossible we make the playoffs. Heck…I personally doubt we win another game the rest of the season. But thats ok. That will put us higher up in round 1 of the draft which gives us tons more options to work & deal with for getting an entire new OL and more QB’s. Add to this the experience Aidan will get to start with for next year.
Our future is very bright. I dare say the brightest it has been in 20 years. With the right coaches and/or GM that is. Hopefully that is either Pierce or Harbaugh or Deion.
Raiders Don’t Have QB That Can Take Them To The Super Bowl Says Howie Long. You can add the O Line to that . Allowing 22 sacks so far.