The Raiders Must Beat GENO SMITH To Save Their Season

You know, of all the things that were going to happen this season, are we going to be good? Are we going to be bad? Is Mendoza going to start every game? Is Kirk Cousins going to keep him off the field? Is Max Crosby going to be traded? Can we survive the gauntlet of this tough schedule? I bet you not a lot of people on the bingo card had Raiders must defeat Geno Smith to save their season. New Jersey on Sunday. Geno Smith, 10 touchdowns, 2 picks. Not a horrible year. They did just lose to the Dolphins, who are attempting to lose games on purpose. Other than that, they have a couple good wins, a couple close losses, and I've been corrected. We haven't won a Jets game since 2020, the Henry Ruggs Hail Mary. We probably haven't won a Jets game in New Jersey with fans since 2015, which is the one I was thinking of when Geno Smith was the quarterback. A lot to discuss in this video. We got previews. We got graphics about the Raiders offense versus the Jets offense, the defense versus the defense. We got it all. We got the Kubrick pressure. And then we have a Max Crosby stat. I don't know what to do with Max Crosby. Tell me, you guys tell me what to think. Does he stink now? Is he just the most unlucky player of all time? Is it the numbers that aren't there, but the effort is there? Someone tell me what to think, because I don't know what to think. It's really crazy how the confidence that you have in your football team can switch on a dime. Because if you told me, as I checked the Cal Street markets here, that I'm seriously considering taking the Jets in this game a couple weeks ago after coming off of back-to-back really good losses against the Chiefs losing by three and then against the Bills losing by three, I would say you're crazy. But now after losing to the Rams in the way in which we did, And Klink Kubiak maybe hinting at the possibility of Fernando Mendoza. I don't know if that gives me more or less confidence in this game. I can't tell you the last time that we won a game in New York. We have success against the Jets at home, but that 10 a.m. body clock, West Coast to East Coast travel, I don't love it. I don't love it right now. If you purchase the no contract on Kalshi and you throw 25 on there, you win. If they don't win, you win 48. 30? Interesting, interesting. I will say this, if you are interested in checking out Kalshi, use code ALLABOARD to instantly get 25 when you trade 25. And the reason why Kalshi is so unique and better, in my opinion, than your typical sportsbook is because you're not betting against the house like you are when you use a traditional sportsbook. You are purchasing yes or no contracts, peer-to-peer trading where we set the market on anything you can think of. Movies, TV, politics, media. If you want to purchase those contracts, Kelsey has it. I think that if anybody out there would venture to call me a Max Crosby hater, that would be absolutely ridiculous. I shed tears editing his tribute video that was seen by 4,000 people before I had to take it down because he was not traded to the Baltimore Ravens. I think Max Crosby is the epitome of a raider. I think Max Crosby is one of, if not the most effort-driven players of all time. I think his story is incredible where he's come from. I never put him in the Miles Garrett, TJ Watt category because to me, he didn't have the game-wrecking impact of those guys. And look, you can say, well, he needs to play in more, you know, high-pressure games to have that impact. Miles Garrett last year on a horrific team broke the sack record, okay? In games where they were losing pretty heavily in some of those games and the team that was playing them didn't even need to pass and he still was able to get his. And TJ Watt, although stays on the field way less than Max Crosby, again just felt like he had more of an impact on the games and this year has been really disappointing in terms of the revenge score of Max Crosby. But then you see a stat like this and it makes you question your life. Max Crosby, this is PFF on Twitter, still being double-teamed, still getting after the quarterback. So to explain this right here, okay, if I could zoom in a little. The bottom part of this graphic is double-team rate, advanced metrics, so the percentage in which they're double-teamed for snaps. So if you're on the far right of this graphic, you are double-teamed a lot. Max Crosby is as far right as anybody on this list. Above, you know, Brian Burns, and Jadavion Clowney, and TJ Watt, and Jalen Walker, Daniil Hunter, Aidan Hutchinson. He's so far over here, it's not even funny. And then on the left side of the XY axis is the pressure rate, okay? How often are you getting pressure? So, if you're all the way up here, you're getting pressure at a high rate. If you're all the way over here, you're getting doubled at a high rate. And Max Crosby... He's all the way to the right and all the way up. He's not leading the league in pressures, but he's right there with Russo, Karloftis, Byron Young, Turner on the phenomenal defense of the Vikings, Will Anderson, and Aidan Hutchinson. But he is by far getting double teamed the most of all these players. Now, I get it. The great players are double teamed. You got to be able to get there. And sometimes he gets a little sack happy, pause if necessary, and he messes up in the run game. But this is a wild graphic that might explain a little bit of his shortcomings this year. I'm not fully off of the I'm disappointed by Max Crosby train, but that is just a little bit of food for thought there. This graphic is pretty wild, I would say so. So look, you tell me what to think. What do I make of that graphic? Is it silly because it's advanced metrics and it's PFF and it's a bunch of nonsense? I don't know. So you just tell me and we'll go from there. The Kubiak Presser. I don't know anything he said today. I'm hoping that we get some talk about the line. Are we going to start somebody else at that guard position? Dante and Jack, the timeline, the impact, all that stuff. Let's just hop right in. Patrick Johnson did not practice today. Quitty pay was limited. I'll take any of your questions. What's Quitty dealing with? He's had a rest day. Obviously, the offensive line's gotten a lot of grief from back-of-run blocking, I guess. But when you look at video, how much more can Ashton do to help himself in the game? Good question. Yeah, it's a team thing. You know, we can all do things better. Running backs, fullbacks, offensive line, it's a team thing. We're definitely focusing on different things with each player, but we can all improve. What have you seen from Trayvon in his development and maybe a reference to potentially get more? Yeah, I've seen a guy that... Since the day he got here, he's been a, you know, Swiss Army knife, can play so many positions and very intelligent, hardworking player that, you know, he's still ascending, still getting better and, you know, he'll have his chance. What do you think of... That doesn't sound like he's going to start, but maybe he's just trying to be coy. Who knows? ...of Dante Clinton Jr.'s performance today? Yeah, Dante, he's really working hard to come back. He's competing for a job. The potential of getting... Clint, he doesn't mince words and he doesn't like to, like, lie. He didn't say anything there that excited me other than he's competing and he's working hard. Great, you're in the National Football League. Like, I want to hear him say, like, he's popping. Besh back this week, what difference can he make in the run game as a blocker? Yeah, I would just start by just the energy that he brings to our team. His love of the game, his really working hard to come back. He's competing for a job. The potential of getting Besh back this week, what difference can he make in the run game as a blocker? So he could be active this week? First of all, one, is that true? Two, how likely is that? Somebody let me know about that as well. Yeah, I would just start by just the energy that he brings to our team. You know, his love of the game, his work habits. He just has a whole other aura about him when he's on the field. And his teammates feel it. Coaches feel it. He's a really solid run blocker. He's got strong hands. Really happy to have him back there. Do you think there's a chance he's ready Sunday? I do. What do you need to see from him? Wow. Jack could play this Sunday? He only missed three games with that broken arm. Three or four. I guess four. That's still crazy. Man, play. I don't care, play. Dante, to take that exit. Yeah, well, he's got to take the spot of another guy, so he's got to go beat out somebody. Michael Mayer said last week on Sunday. I'm going to tell you right now, he ain't beating out Trey Tucker or Jack, but he might be able to beat out Naylor. He wants to win for you and your staff, how much respect they have. What does it mean that that mentality is still in this locker room during losing streak? Yeah, well. We're three and four, and they have a lot of season to play, and it's nice of Mike to say that, but shoot, we're right in this thing. With the continued competition on the offensive line, have you considered moving guys on either sides or just switching guys' positions around? Yeah, we'll probably, you know, we're going to give other guys opportunities. We're going to keep shaking it up until we find the right mix. A little Freudian slip there? Can we, a little body language doctor listen? Yeah, we'll probably, you know, we're going to. Ah, he almost admitted that they might make a change there. We're going to give other guys opportunities. We're going to keep shaking it up until we find the right mix. Have you honed in on a position for Trey or is it still working? Well, you know, that's the thing. He can do a lot. He can do a lot. We've got to focus him on a few, but he can do all. He can play tackle, he can play guard, he can play center. I think it's going to be better. He might be able to play quarterback. I don't know. I haven't let him try it yet. When guys are moving positions, what are some of the challenges that come with that? There's many, especially offensive line-wise. Just every scheme has its own unique calls, unique techniques. But the great thing about it is Coach Dennison and Coach Mario and Pete and Ben, they've put those guys through all that in training camp. So there's a lot of reps that we have banked that we're using now to our advantage. As it relates to Trey, are you going to streamline it this week for him for just one position or is it still kind of cross-training all over? He has to play. He has to play multiple positions. As you evaluate these last four games, is there one big overall thing you want to work on this week in practice? There is. There's not one big thing. There's plenty of things that we're working on that we're being intentional about. And I wish it was just one thing, but it never is, whether you're on a 3-4 team or you're on an undefeated team. You're always improving your weaknesses and always trying to get players better and get the young players better that are going to play one day. So that's part of the job, preparing for work. I mean, I do like, again, money where his mouth is. Way better than Pete Carroll did. He's willing to make instant changes. JPJ's not working, you're out. Rodgers not working, Trey Zun in there. Wide receiver shake-ups, all this stuff. Cody, while you're making plays, you're staying. Like, I do like that a lot. One week and then preparing for the future all in the same day. What would you say is the common, like, the common trend you're seeing with the struggles of just stopping to run? Uh, well... It's tackling, it's alignment, it's assignment, it's just playing a better brand of football, getting back to how we started this season. Considering that Jack is probably one of the better run blockers on the team in terms of the receiver position, how much do you believe that he can also add to the Willisville running game as well? I think that's a great point. I think he has a lot of value but I would also say that the receivers that have been blocking before, they've been doing a really good job. Coach Azani is as good as it gets with every detail of the game, especially the run game. His guys are extremely well prepared. After the game on Sunday, a lot of players in the locker room were talking about accountability, not just for themselves, but accountability to hold to one another. How have you seen them respond to that just after this day of practice? Yeah, you know, that's the NFL, you know, every week. I've got no question about their effort, really. You have to respond, and you've got to do it 17 weeks in a row, and you can't sit in those chairs in those team meeting rooms if you're not an accountable human, if you can't do it. If you're just a talented guy that does not have accountability, you don't last very long. Those are the guys that we're looking for as we build our program. How would you describe Kirk's demeanor and his leadership helping the team navigate a losing streak right now? I'd say just knowing him as long as I have, whether he's on a hot streak or on a losing streak, he's the same. That's what you want from your leaders. You want consistency. You guys had him do the short yardage sneak this week. How comfortable were you with him doing that? Thank God, no more quick play. What have you seen of him to be able to move the chains in that way? Yeah, converted. 1-0. No. He talked about there being some opportunities in the past game that you all didn't take advantage of against the Rams. What do you feel like you need to see for that to kind of click together a little bit more? Yeah, we need to take advantage of the run better. We've got to get better there. Quit throwing it so much. What have you seen from the Jets compared to them in terms of just what they bring as a team? Well, I see an extremely physical team. I see a very talented team. They have our full attention. They're very well coached. And no matter who we're playing each week, these days, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, we better make sure that we're focusing on ourselves and getting ourselves better. All right, I think that's a good time here to now transition. Transition to the previews. Whoops, that's not it. Sorry, let me just pull them up here. What do we want to do first? Defense? We'll do the defense first. Okay. So, I'm just going to set it up here, and as I'm setting it up, I need you guys in the comments below letting me know what your scores are for this game, because this game to me is one that's going to be very difficult to predict, because it's, again, a game that I feel like we should win, but every time I feel like that, and it hasn't mattered what the regime is, what the talent level is, besides maybe 2016, we don't win these games. Ever. Ever, ever, ever. So let's start with the preview here. Before I hop into the graphics. We are a better football team than the Jets. Do we all agree on that? Yes. We've got the better quarterback. We've got the better top skill position guy in terms of Brock Bowers. I love Garrett Wilson, but he ain't no Brock Bowers. Omar Cooper's been coming along for them. Trey Tucker's probably still better than him. Offensive lines, probably both a little bit of a work in progress. Got some young guys, got some veterans. Their run game hasn't been... Incredible, but it's definitely been better than ours. That ain't hard. And defensively, I think they probably have the better defense. They have a defensive-minded head coach, so it makes a lot of sense. And we've got more to play for, I believe, at this moment than they do. Let me check here. I believe they're 2-5. They're 2-5. We're 3-4. One game difference. We win this game. We're 4-4. We're in the thick of things before the really, really, really tough part of our schedule. It comes to fruition. I know what you're thinking. Well, it wasn't. Didn't we already have the tough part? Nope. Mm-mm. Now the tough part starts because in no particular order, you've got the 49ers, the Seahawks, the Browns, and the Broncos. I think that almost might be the exact order. Three of those four are on the road. Thank God the Seahawks one is not on the road. My gut instinct says we're going to lose this game because I'm going off of like vibes and off of we haven't won a game in four weeks and this is just what we do. Now, if we take a look at the Raiders defense versus. The Jets defense, let me get rid of this here so we can see better and let me get rid of my sole shoulder so we can see better. Points per game allowed. The Jets are 13th. They're 9th in yards per game allowed. They're 5th in rushing yards per game allowed. Oh sorry, passing yards per game allowed, 187 allowed. And rushing yards are 24th. So maybe we can get a little bit better at running football against them, but their defense is clearly better than our defense. We average a league-high 6.5 yards per play allowed over the last four weeks. 16 sacks is 15th in the league. Five interceptions is 10th. So we're coming back to the middle of the road in terms of sacks and interceptions. The Jets are 5th against the pass, but 24th against the run. 19 sacks is 7th, but just one interception. So I expect Clint, Clint, I expect Kurt to be able to kind of operate in this window. I know they haven't allowed a lot of pass yards per game, but they're not picking people off. And with Jack and Dante maybe both back, I expect Kurt to be okay in this game. We just got to be able to take advantage of this because their defense is clearly better. Their one weak spot is against the run because now if we flip it over to the offensive side of the ball here, we'll just move this over just a little. We have the better offense. Let me move my face so you can see their third down conversion. We know they're being very agent. 16 points per game. That continues to climb each week. They're 19th. They don't score. We are 13th in total yards per game. They're 23rd. Passing yards per game, we are 5th. They're 20th. Rush yards per game, we have 75 rush yards a game, which is horrific. 31st. The Jets are 22nd and 96th. Much better than us, but not great. And then third down conversion rate, we were 17th, 39%. They don't stay on the field. Geno Smith, 1,600 yards, 10 touchdowns, 2 picks. Braylon Allen leads the team with 418. Kurt Cousins, 16 pass touchdowns, 3rd in yards, leads the league. And then run game is 31st. Now Ashton Gentry is easily far and away the top receiving back in the league. And he's like the 20th highest rushing back in the league. We have the advantage offensively. They have the advantage defensively. The problem is offense has a harder time traveling versus the defense. And what I'm afraid of is that 10 a.m. body clock. I kind of dismissed it against the Patriots, but I think it reared its ugly head in a bad way. Looking at those graphics, I think with the people that we get coming back, Jack and Dante, especially if Jack plays, they're doing everything they can to establish a little bit more of the run. I thought they did some good things in that Rams game. Um, with Mike Washington in particular, but we had to abandon it because we were down early. I don't think this is going to be a blowout, but I'm worried that we're just not going to be able to get things going. And it's 10 a.m. body clock and it's classic Gina Smith revenge game, and we're going to fall short. So right now I think I've got, do I even believe this? I'm making a prediction. I don't believe logically because of the vibes of being a Raider. This is a hard game to predict. I'm going to say 21-20, Jets. It's a disgusting thing to say out loud because when I close my eyes and I just imagine who's getting interviewed at the end of the game, I just see Gina Smith. They wrote me off, and I beat my old team, and they're a hell of a team, but we were better. I could just see it. I could just see it. I could just see it. So I hate that I could see it, but that's my prediction. Please talk me off a ledge. Tell me that I'm wrong. I would love to be wrong. Shout out to my five and ten dollar patrons and YouTube members. If you want to keep the train going, we got three. The last video with Mark, no, with, yeah, Mark, Jason, and Esteban. You could be the next person to get a shout out amongst a bunch of other things. That's linked in the description below. Hit that like button, comment away, and please be sure to subscribe. Just for after all the chores do, I love you guys. I'll see you next time.