Raiders mailbag: Enjoying charity bocce ball tournament and your loaded bye-week questions
Vic Tafur
4 hours ago
Bye week was in the air Monday afternoon, as Raiders players and coaches shared bad bocce ball rolls and laughs at Jack Del Rio’s first charity Bocce Ball Tournament at Campo di Bocce of Fremont.
Many of them rolled their eyes at the possibility of the Raiders losing in Miami last Sunday rather than winning by three points. But they didn’t lose, and the Raiders are 4-5 with plenty of hope in a stockpiled AFC playoff race.
The Raiders return to practice Wednesday and Thursday before getting the weekend off, per NFL bye-week rules. The Patriots are next, on Nov. 19 in Mexico City.
But that wasn’t Monday’s concern. Monday, the Raiders coach was raising money for the Hayward, Mt. Eden and Tennyson High football programs, as well as the NorCal Special Olympics and the Alameda County Deputy Sherrif’s Athletic League.
“The need is there and we want to help these young people,” said Del Rio, a Hayward native. “We want to better equip them with pads, with helmets — Riddell has really kicked in big time for us. We’re going to provide a lot of necessary equipment for these schools.”
There wasn’t a lot of football discussed, through Del Rio said he thought Marshawn Lynch looked “rejuvenated” after his suspension, and it was clear from last week’s practices that he “needed” the ball against the Dolphins.
Lynch had 57 yards and two touchdowns rushing on 14 carries.
Wait, you thought this was a mailbag? It is. Go ahead.
Willie Gabel asks, What went wrong for the first half of the season? After so much anticipation and promise.
Pull up a chair, Willie. There were a lot of distractions during training camp, and Donald Penn’s holdout was a bigger deal than anyone thought. He and the offensive line are just now getting in sync with Lynch.
The the first two draft picks, Gareon Conley and Obi Melifonwu were injured out of the starting gate and have played 99 combined snaps this season.
Amari Cooper still drops too many passes. Marshawn needed the running scheme tweaked more than anticipated, and his two backups have shown they are not ready/big enough for a larger role.
Khalil Mack still has no help rushing the quarterback. Mario Edwards Jr. is fine but not an impact player. Last year's second-round pick, Jihad Ward, can't get on the field — and he is healthy.
The plan to go with young linebackers was a bad one.
The biggest problems have been Todd Downing and Derek Carr. The rookie offensive coordinator has struggled at times, putting his stamp on what was the No. 6 offense in the league last year. Carr has not looked comfortable, getting rid of the ball too early at times, though he swears he is not thinking about his past injuries (leg, back).
Randall Patton asks, How is Carr’s back and how much improvement could be expected on that front?
He said he doesn’t think about the three little broken bones, and it is mostly a pain-tolerance issue at first. Transverse processes are small projections on the vertebrae where soft tissue attaches, with no role in load-bearing.
@StayCareFree on Twitter asks, We wanna hear your thoughts on this Miko Grimes crap.
Who? Oh … the Bucs cornerback’s wife who so desperately wants to be famous. She went on L.A. radio and retold a story some Raiders fan blogger told her about how the Raiders offensive line threw the Washington game because Carr didn’t join them in their anthem protest.
This was a bad rumor then and worse now — I really hate slow news days in the NFL. The offensive line sat on the bench during the anthem, and many of their teammates joined them. Many did not, as some players kneeled while some stood with a hand on a kneeling teammate’s shoulder.
Carr stood in the back and was shown on TV praying during the anthem. The cameras did not pick up that he was next to Lynch and Michael Crabtree, who were sitting.
Was there a lot of discussion, some heated, about what to do during the anthem? Yes. Just like in every NFL locker room that weekend. Did it have anything to do with the ******** routing the Raiders in a tough road night game? No. The Raiders were outcoached and the players didn't respond to getting hit in the jaw by a physical Washington team to start the game.
Did the Raiders offensive linemen ever think about not blocking for Carr? That’s insulting and ridiculous.
All the best, Miko.
Shahin Shojaeyan asks, any definitive news on Conley?
No. Probably in the next 10 days. My guess is if they aren’t confident that he is on the right recovery path by now, they will pull the plug on this season and try again next season. Maybe then we will hear if it was a botched shin surgery or what.
David Andrew asks, Can you ask Del Rio why Raiders can’t cover RBs? Brady will throw for 250 yards just to RBs.
You ever stand in front of a dam, Andrew? You put your finger in one hole and the water hits you in the face from somewhere else. Or so I hear. The Raiders have tried really hard recently to not give up any deep passes, while not letting tight ends continue to bludgeon them.
Factor in some less-than-inspiring linebackers and you have running backs running free. Yeah … Brady will enjoy film study.
Craig Brown asks, Any chance Downing loses play-calling duties during the bye week?
After a win? When the run game got going and he called more play-action and bubble screens to keep defenses honest? When he used Jared Cook to free up other guys on offense?
Nah.
Jody Hicks asks, More 20-yard crossing routes for Cooper? Seems like his strongest routes and his catches are better on the run.
Been saying more Cooper in motion and more Cooper in the slot all season. Baby steps, Jody.
@RaiderMatt5204 on Twitter asks, Do you think a coaching change will happen? I think Ken Norton Jr. needs to go, the defense is worse since he has gotten here.
The Raiders won last week, people. It’s bye week, not fire week. The defense has not been the big problem this year, and his players love and play hard for Norton. That kind of move wouldn’t come until the offseason.
For now, hold out hope that Obi make an impact, Bruce Irvin and NaVorro Bowman finish strong and that David Amerson is solid when he returns.
@PEPEAleman80 on Twitter asks, Should we consider adding a veteran secondary player? We do have about 8 million in salary cap room. Should we start thinking about RB in the draft as well?
Too late. You don’t want Darrelle Revis, trust me. As far as the RB goes, it’s too early for that thinking … but I do get the sense that this is a one-and-done for Lynch.
Michael Stewart asks, Will Holton start getting more snaps and should Amerson consider hanging up the cleats if he gets another concussion in the next few weeks?
No, I don’t see it, with Seth Roberts and Cordarrelle Patterson still ahead of Johnny Holton on the depth chart. But one deep TD every five weeks is pretty good production for your No. 5 wideout.
I have talked to Amerson about his three concussions and he said he is fine and doesn’t have any reason yet to think about long-term implications. Nothing scary yet and he has bounced back fine each time, he said.
