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
