Why this season and future will be bright for the Raiders

0:00This is the Lockdown Podcast Network celebrating 10 years of your team every day. The NFL season is finally here and Lockdown NFL is covering every second of it. You can find us breaking down all the action on Amazon Music every single day with bold takes and real analysis that matters. Opening day storylines, roster moves. If it's happening with your team, we're on it. No waiting, no fluff, subscribe on Amazon Music and never miss a snap. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

1:02Welcome in, Rater Nation to another edition of the Lockdown Rators Podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Your number one sports podcast network. Of course, we're very proud of that. We're also very proud of the fact that this show continues to grow each and every day. And that's because of your support and the great job that my man Ari does behind the scenes, making sure we look good and sound good by way of the YouTube page. That's why we shout them out each and every day without Ari. There is no YouTube page. You can find them on Twitter at Ari produces. You can hit me up as well at your boy, Q254. And if you want to be a part of the show as many of you do, we have the Lockdown Rator Podcast voice mail line for you, 707 654 4693. As we normally do, we'll close out the show, close out the week as a matter of fact, hearing from you. Lot of really good calls, lot of really good text. We'll try to get as much in as possible closing things out. Segment number three. Segment number two. Again, we throw the question. Why do you think this season and the future of this team will be better? That was a question that was posed to us on the Rator Squad show on Thursday. And I want to turn that around and put it on my radio show. And of course, bring it to the podcast as well. So we'll talk about that.

2:02Discuss it. Segment number two. Here in segment number one, news and notes of the day. And it really has to do with the Raiders trying to still fine tune their roster. We'll get into that after I tell you about the title sponsor of this show, which is Calci. For a limited time, download the Calci app. Use the promo code Lockdown. It's all one word to get $10 when you trade $10. So every single day, I get an email from NFL communications and it lets us know whatever transactions happen throughout the course of the day with every team across the league. And usually it comes through around 330 in the afternoon, Pacific time. And again, it'll have every single team listed. And if a player gets signed, if a player gets waived, if a player gets suspended, any kind of business that takes place that could affect the roster or the team in general is always listed. And then imagine on Sunday when they had to cut the rosters down to 53 men and they had all those guys getting waived or released every single team had every player that was listed. And so we finally got that email, you know, the Raiders as a team, they sent it out as

3:05well. But NFL communications, they sent out every player across the league that got waived. So you can imagine how long that email was on Sunday. But they send it out every single day so you can just know and be aware of transactions. And when it comes to just tryouts and on Thursday, the Raiders were busy when it came to try out some workouts over at the facility. They had a handful of players in for workouts. They had Evan Bearnston, the guard out of Northwestern. They had Ronnie Bell while we see route of Michigan, David Blay, the fence, a tackle from Miami, Stephen Hall defensive back from Missouri, Trey Hawkins defensive back from Old Dominion, Trey Hill center from Georgia, Christian Jones, tackle from San Diego State, Josh Catas, the tight end from Kentucky, Desin McCullough, linebacker from Nebraska, LaTrell McCutcheon defensive back from Houston, Evan Neil guard from Alabama, David Ajobo defensive in from Michigan, Aziz Ojolari, linebacker from Georgia, and BJ Ojolari, linebacker from

4:08Louisiana state, Colby Soresdoll, tackle from William Mary, and then Mark B. Mark Caz Valdez-Skantling, YRC from South Florida. Woo, that's a lot. Normally there's maybe three or four max, right? Three or four is a pretty busy day when it comes to workouts, but the Raiders are going ahead and they're trying to make sure that they've looked under every stone, right? They've discovered everything that they can discover, workout, everyone they can work out and decide if there's guys that we need, we know where to go. If there's guys that we want right now, we can bring them in. It's so very, very busy and they in fact did sign some guys, but they signed them to the practice squad. Why receive a Ronnie Bell guard, Evan Neil and defensive in Aziz Ojolari. Those are all signed to the practice squad. Evan Neil was a guy that was drafted in the first round by the Giants, a big guard out of out of Alabama and it just never really panned out for him. So, you know, that could be some really good insurance if Rick Denison could coach him up, but again, he's on the practice squad. So, a lot of these guys are just in case of emergency brake glass guys that could be elevated

5:11on game days. They can be that Saturday elevation that we see throughout the course of the year. You can elevate a guy after practice squad three times before you have to sign up to the active rosters. So, any of these guys that they're bringing in, they're bringing in for a reason. But if you bring in some guys and add them to the roster like the Raiders did to the practice squad on Thursday, you've got to release some guys. So they did that defensive vangel for your Harvey, tackle Kamar Missouri, tie Dan Albert O, all those guys were released from the practice squad. So, you know, Ronnie Bell, Evan Nale, Aziz O'Jalari, in Harvey, Missouri, and Albert O, all out. And so that's just how it's going to be. This won't be the end of what they're doing when it comes to this roster construction. And like I said, there's nothing wrong with that. You know, they get these guys in. They'll have them on the practice field. They'll go and check the film and say, okay, is this guy fitting in what we want to do? Yes, cool. No, okay, we can upgrade here. Boom. We can do that. So again, continue to just understand that that's what the Raiders are going to do with their roster moving forward.

6:12And even the practice squad that is 16 players, and obviously that could be very valuable. Before we get into segment number two, and again, talk about the question that was posed to me, why do you think this season of future will be better? I did want you to hear from Field Yates from ESPN. He was on with me in the CIMS. And of course, the big discussion, as I talked about on Thursday's show is, you know, Kurt Cousins named the starting quarterback. Not that we didn't already know that that was the case. And you know, I want to make sure to let it be known. There was a chance for Nandal Mendoza could have earned the job out of camp, but he was going to have to go and take it from Kurt Cousins. So I never thought that that was going to happen unless he had some exceptional training camp in preseason. And we know he did well, but he didn't do well enough to take that job. So never thought that it was a big surprise. That Clint Kubiak named Kurt Cousins the starting quarterback. But here's Field Yates, his thoughts on the announcement of Kurt being the, the starting quarterback and then what that means for Fernando Mendoza moving forward. What did you think about the decision to go with Kurt Cousins over Mendoza with him? Yeah, I filed this 100 not surprise at all, though.

7:12Right? The Raiders kind of told us this was the plan to minute the science Kurt Cousins so that unusual contract after he was released by Atlanta earlier this off season. I think Kurt Cousins will hold down the fort until this team perhaps falls off. You know, maybe this team realizes at some point 2026 is going to be a year that is far more about development than wins in losses. I think they kind of understand and know that already. So to me, the most important thing that Kurt Cousins can do while he is playing is master the operations of that he should be able to do. He knows his offense backwards and forwards. And even more important than that to me is how does Fernando Mendoza handle all of the reps he's going to be getting? Maybe more so mentally than physically mean as the backup quarterback. And whenever that time comes for him to step under center for this Las Vegas offense, how far along is he compared to where he is right now? We saw some things in preseason. It wasn't perfect. There were some elements that you liked, but he's got to find a way to be as ready as he can possibly be when his time is called without a lot of physical reps.

8:14So I thought that was worth passing along. Field Yates just talking about, you know, that Fernando Mendoza is going to have to do a lot of his learning and development through osmosis. And Kubiaks talked about that. He's going to have to get there early. He's got to stay a little bit late. He's going to have to do a little bit work in between reps just to try to get him, you know, up to speed and to continue to develop. But to me, the most important thing is, and I'm sure that we're going to see this consistently. And I won't know until we're back out there at practice and we won't be back out there until Wednesday next week when we get a chance to talk to Clint Kubiak and we get a chance to observe practice and it'll be a game week. So we'll get to get inside the locker room and talk to some players. So I'm fired up about that. But I do expect to see Kurt Cousins have more of those scheduled veteran days off like he had Wednesday this week. And then that's when Fernando Mendoza can get more reps with the ones and I think those days are going to be very, very valuable for him moving forward. But again, the question, why do you think this season and the future of this team will be better? We'll talk about that, discuss it, tell you how it came about. We'll do that all coming up.

9:14It's second number two of today's Lockdown Rators podcast. Before we get to that though, I do want to tell you about one of the great sponsors we have here on the show and that is Price Picks football is finally back. That means Sundays are about to get a whole lot more interesting. Every week brings new matchups, breakout players, big performances and plenty of storylines to follow. And if you're like getting even more engaged with the players and stats that you're watching, there's a new way to make game day that much more exciting. Price Picks is bringing out its best offer yet for kickoff. New users who sign up can get $150 in lineups if they win their first fight on lineup. The Price Picks is now available nationwide with Price Picks. You're building daily fancy lineups by choosing two to six players and selecting more or less on their projected stats like passing yards, rushing yards or fantasy score. So check this out for week one's opener. Sam Darnel needs just one yard against New England to cash his pick. It does not get any easier than that. You know that. Hey man, that's just about being free, right? If it ain't free and ain't me, that's about as easy as it gets. So right now, download the app today and use the promo code Locked On NFL.

10:17It's all one word to get $150 instantly in lineups if you win your first fight on lineup. Price Picks, run your game. Hey, Drake May here. As a pro quarterback, I know I can't do it alone. I have to trust my team and that goes for my money too, which is why I use Betterment, the trusted investing and savings platform. Their automated investing tools always have my back, just like my old line. Over a million people already trust Betterment to build their wealth. So I know I'm in good company. Start building yours at betterment.com or download the app. Investing involves risk. Performance not guaranteed. Paid client ad views may not be representative. See App Store and Google Play reviews. Learn more at betterment.com slash ambassadors. Your Locked On Raiders, your daily podcast on the Las Vegas Raiders, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. All right, Ray Nation. Here we go. Segment number two of today's Locked On Raiders podcast. I want to get into the question, why do you think this season and future will be better? And it's funny. I always say that things happen organically.

11:18And sometimes topics pop up, not because I sat around and something popped in my head. And I said, Hey, this will be a good subject. But because someone throws the question at me or they call in on the, you know, the, the voicemail line and leave a really good message like we had earlier in the week, or someone sends me a DM on Twitter or whatever the case may be. However it happens. Sometimes I'm talking about something completely different on one of my radio shows and it pops up and I realize that's a really good question. So on the Raiders Squad show on Thursday with Shantel Chan, Wes Adams and myself, we had a question and it was funny because it really, the question was posed to us before the show ever started. We were actually waiting for Link. We thought he was going to hop on. He didn't hop on on Thursday. And there was a donation there, $20 donation. And the question, it was actually a statement at first saying we were sold a bill of goods last year, right? That this team is going to be good. They're going to win a lot of games and obviously that didn't happen. The only one three. So why do you think this season and this future will be better? And so I thought it was a fantastic question.

12:21I even answered it on the squad show and I said, and I had this piece of paper. I still have it right here. Oh, as I just hit my mic. That's not good. Anyway, I had this piece of paper right here and I wrote down the question so I didn't forget it. So I can talk about it on my radio show. And I let it be known that I'm going to talk about on the radio show because I thought it was an excellent question. And my answer was really a simple answer. And it's something that we've been talking about quite a bit. It's the first time in a long time that this Raiders team is all on the same page. To me, that's the most important critical aspect. I know this team's not going to go, well, I feel very comfortable saying, I don't think this team is going to win 10 games this year, right? I've been saying six wins, seven wins, you know, whatever. And judging success will be just the way that they go out and play the way that they go out there and compete, the way that they play discipline ball. We've had these discussions already this week, but the fact that the GM hired the head coach, the head coach hired his assistants. They all share the same ideas, the same plans, the same, you know, desires, the want to's,

13:24the goals, right? They're all the same. Last year with Pete Carroll, he was going to win 10 games, right? That's what he told us. That's all I do is win 10 games. Steve Kelly, he was going to be the offensive coordinator and run things his way. And then Pete Carroll won him and the run the ball and he didn't want to run the ball. And Pete Carroll wanted to use certain players and he didn't want to use certain players. And John Spite's take one to use certain players and he didn't want to use certain players. It was all over the place, right? They had a head coach and a defensive coordinator that were trying to blend their defenses together. Instead of him just allowing Patrick Graham to run his defense the way he wants to. I remember talking to Eric Stokes in the locker room last year. How is this defense coming together? How do you feel you guys are picking up what they're trying to coach? And he said, it's the work in progress. You know, we're trying to blend two different defenses and it's not easy. Well, it should have been all on the same page. They weren't. But for the first time in a long time, from ownership to the GM, to the head coach, to the head coach that has a quarterback that's joined at the hit with him in Fernando Mendoza,

14:25who was brought in at the same time as the head coach was hired. You know, from the free agents that are going to be on the defense side of the ball. Like this is Robbie Leonard. So whether it works or not, it's Robbie Leonard. So, right? He's a defensive coordinator. They got him the talent that he needs to try to build his defense in the way in the vision that he has not in Clint Cooby X vision. Clint Cooby X, the general of the offense. He's putting that together in his liking. Robbie Leonard is, okay, you do the defense. All right. Cool. We're all on the same page. I'm going to go out there and execute and it's on him to go do that. Right? You know, you had Clint Cooby X bringing in Rick Denison. That's his offensive line coach, who's, you know, he's got plenty of experience. He's got plenty of skins on the wall. He's got the four Super Bowl rings. So to me, it was an easy answer, but I understand the question because it's been so long that, you know, okay, Pete Carroll is going to get things turned around. He's got a resume that says he will. All right. Antonio Pierce. You know, knew, but, you know, he was able to keep this team together at the end of 2023

15:28and made them respectable. So he's going to figure it out. Josh Rodinos. He's a really good offensive coordinator. He's going to get a second chance. He's going to learn about his mistakes that he made before. John Groot and he's going to get a long term contract. So they don't have to worry about turnover and they can have this thing built in his vision. Like that's been the last handful of years since I've been here in Las Vegas. I arrived here in 2021. They've had including interim coaches. You know, they've had Groot and Besacea, Josh Medanials, AP, Pete Carroll and now Clint Kubiak. The math doesn't math, right? I mean, it's just, it's way too much turnover. Right. We talk about the depth on the team. That's why the depth's not there because it's been so much turnover in every year. You're getting players for a new system or a different system, someone else's system. Or, you know, Tom Tolesco is drafting guys that, you know, John Spitex is going to have as the GM, right? Tom Tolesco drafted guys for AP that Pete Carroll had to use. And then John Spitex drafted guys for Pete Carroll that now Clint Kubiak has got to use.

16:33And so for the first time in a long time, you're getting now John Spitex drafting guys for Coach Kubiak that are guys that coach Kubiak wants. And as long as they're able to be, you know, they're able to trend in the right direction, they're able to build, right? There's no fear in my mind of this coaching staff getting fired this year, right? After this year, it's not going to be a one and done. Now, coaches are going to come and go, you know, especially if you're successful, you'll get coaches that get hired to other organizations. I get that. But the core will remain the same. And so you can build and get the same type of players in just similar to, and I know nobody wants to talk about the 49ers, not on the Raider show. Look how long Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch have been GM and head coach. And so even when they lose guys in free agency, even when they get guys injured, they have guys right behind them. I mean, we just saw it in preseason game number three. That wasn't their ones that were out there, but they sure look like them, didn't they? They were fast.

17:33They knew what they were doing. They fit in the system. They were able to make plays. You know, I mean, like they just fit the bill. You know why? Because everything that and everyone that they draft and bring into the organization, all fits with what they expect to be a 49er. The Raiders have to do that. They haven't done that in a handful of years. Since I've been here, the GM has been Mike Mayock or John Gruden. However you want to put it. What? Who was the other the other one? I mean, Tom Tolesco, but after Mayock with Antonio Pierce, what did they have? Oh, they have my guy, my the interim who ended up going to Miami. Man, why do I forget his name now? Champ, champ Kelly, she's sorry, champ. Yeah, champ Kelly, he was the interim for a while. He never got the full job. Then Tom Tolesco got the job. Oh, Dave Ziggler, that's the one I forgot. Dave Ziggler was the GM as well. That's how many guys they've had. I forget the names. So there's no way that you could possibly have any kind of continuity.

18:34So they went from Mike Mayock and Gruden to Dave Ziggler to Champ Kelly to Tom Tolesco to John Spitech, all the GMs. So how in the world are they going to be able to build a locker room and build depth with guys that have they have all kind of different ideas? You know, if I'm the head coach, my idea of what I'm looking for for a player is going to be different than what you're going to be looking for in a player. That's why they need to make sure that this staff for the most part stays in place for years to come. And I believe that they're going to show that patience to be able to do that. I had a guy call in and said that the reason why he's confident in this season, and the future being better is because what the Raiders are doing are deliberate and it's not desperate. I thought that was a fantastic. That was actually Dan and Casey. That was a fantastic call. He said they're doing things. They're making moves that are deliberate, not desperate. I was like, man, that ought to be like a hip hop track. Right. We ought to put a beat to that and someone make a song out of it.

19:36But I thought that that was great. You know, and that's what they've done ever since the offseason hit. They are very deliberate in all their actions. You know, even when the Max Crosby trade, no trade happened. They didn't get desperate. They didn't get panicky. They didn't start cutting guys just to bring Max back and said, OK, here we go. We're going to keep it moving. Welcome back. One of the best players in the league. You know, our best player that we had on our team since he's been the league. We'll welcome him back. He's in the mix. Let's go. Deliberate, not desperate. But the biggest key is just all being on the same page. You know, I say it all the time when, you know, it's, it's, you know, if you're, you're living in the house with three or four people and you're not seeing eye to eye, how hard is it to coexist in a house if you're not on the same page? These guys from top to bottom are all on the same page. That gives them a fighting chance. Now the players got to go out there and execute. They've got to find a way to win games, obviously, but you have a chance. And that's why if anything, there's a good chance that this is going to be a season

20:37that you'll be happy about that you'll have confidence in. And the future will definitely be bright. Because again, that continuity to give me a stack year after year after year. That is the goal from new ownership from all the guys that have bought in. The guys that have been very successful in business. And not only that being business, being, being a successful in ownership. Mark Davis is sitting back and just letting this thing evolve and let it go. And that's the best way to do it. So I thought that that was a great question. And I want to make sure to bring it to you, especially heading into the weekend, give you some time to think about it and you can give us your response as well. 707 654 4693. Why do you think this season and future will be better for the silver and black than what we seen in the past. Your calls and text will close out to show 707 654 4693. We'll hear from you next. Before I get to that, though, I do want to tell you about the title sponsor of the show, which is Kalshi. Before the season even kicks off, everyone's mega predictions. Who wins a division? Who makes the playoffs? Who's lifting the trophy at the season's end?

21:39Who's going to be rookie of the year? Offensive and defensive. There's so many who's going to be the MVP, right? Are the Rams going to go undefeated? How many different predictions are out there right now? Well, on Kalshi, it's America's number one prediction market platform. You could trade those predictions in a live market. Will the Rams qualify for the playoffs? Will they win the Super Bowl? Like many people believe will the Raiders qualify for the playoffs? Will they be that worse? The first team, you know, that's all, all that is something that you can absolutely trade. Right? And that's what Kalshi is all about on Kalshi. You're trading against peers in a live market, meaning there's no house. And as the probability changes, you can buy in and out of your position, trade the draft pick, the game and more on Kalshi. Download the Kalshi app. Use the promo code locked on. It's all one word to get $10 when you trade $10 Kalshi KAL S H I Kalshi trade on anything. 18 plus only restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Event contract trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors.

22:40Kalshi products are not available in all jurisdictions, prices, values and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, see kalshi.com slash regulatory. Your locked on Raiders, your daily podcast on the Las Vegas Raiders, part of the locked on podcast network. Your team every day. Here we go. Raiders, take me number three. It's today's locked on Raiders podcast. Your calls and text draft that locked on Raiders podcast voice mail line 707 6544693. Before we get to that, want to thank you so much for making this the first listen of the day. I've got a call from Jonathan Johnny slow hands and Oakland. Love that name. He's calling us a new booty caller, a long time listener, real time raider fan that gives me the fan prediction and the realistic prediction when it comes to win lost total. Here he is. Johnny slow hands and Oakland. Hey, what's going on? Man, this is Jonathan Johnny slow hands from Oakland, long time Raiders fan first time caller. I just want to know. I mean, I want to let you know, man, that I'm a real Raider fan and I think that they're going to go more than 10 wins.

23:48That's the fan side. Looking at the realistic side, I think that they can win seven games this year. And I know that and those are and Kirk cousins, he's a working progress and I love the progress that John Spite tack is by tech, by tech is doing. And I just, I just appreciate it. I agree with you that this is going to be a much better team. Now, like I said, my fans, I said that they're going to win over 10 games, but I'm looking realistically like you're looking realistically and I give them about seven games. You know what I'm saying? And so we'll see the Johnny slow hands. Reveal nation for life. Raiders. I like your boy. Slow hands, man. Thanks so much for the call. Appreciate you. And, hey, man, don't let that be your last call, man. Really good stuff. Definitely appreciate that.

24:48And I like how you hit us with both the fan brain and the realistic brain, right? Me as a fan and me just speaking as a fan, I want to see his win 10 games like you mentioned. And, you know, I want to say that with my chest like, hey, they're going to do that. But being realistic, I don't see it this year, right? And I always try to be realistic, you know, open it on us with Raider Nation because look, it's easy to fan out and just say, oh, it's going to happen. I mean, hell, even when I did the, you know, the win lost prediction on the Raider Squad show, I ended up with 10 wins and it's like, wait, what? I convinced myself that they were going to win these games. And when I got to the end, I was like, no, no, no, no. I know it's not going to happen. So it just, that's what happens. But you have two, two different brains. You got the fan brain and you got the realistic brain. And that's okay to be able to think with both of them, right? And clearly you did really good call. A man like I said, I hope that's not the last time that we hear from you. Thanks so much. Up next got a text from show me Raider. It's a short one. Q, my man, show me Raider here. Sometimes during games, late in the year, they'll show a graphical teams. It says in the hunt. If the Raider's could stay in the hunt until mid December, I would call that a success.

25:51Not looking for playoffs this year. Just want to be part of the conversation. Keep up the good work. Go raiders. That's from show me Raider. That's a, that's a good way to put it. You know, I mean, because I do see that graphic all the time. And you know, you'll have the ones that are in the playoffs. You have the ones that are in the wild card and it says in the hunt, right? And those are teams that sometimes the record's not even that great. But mathematically, they're still in the hunt. That would be nice to be able to talk about a Raider's team that's still in the hunt in December, still playing meaningful games in December. Funny. I asked Omar Ruiz from the NFL network that when he joined my radio show on Thursday and asked them the same question about success. And he said, yeah, play some games that matter in December. Don't just play for pride. Play, play some games that matter. You know, don't just play it to be spoilers to someone else. Play, play some games that matter. So that's, that's kind of to your point right there about being in the hunt. Really, really good text, man. Thanks so much. I appreciate you. Up next got a call from Sacktown Mark. He's calling to talk about, well, basically what I was talking about. On statement number two of today's show, the organization all being on the same page.

26:52Here he is, Sacktown Mark. Thank you. This is Sacktown Mark just calling in. Wanted to kind of touch on something that I think has been lost this off season. And I just wanted to remind everybody about something that we have to look forward to. Something that's positive that we can take going into the regular season, which is that for the first time in forever, I don't even know when the last time we can definitively say this is the case. Every person in the organization is on the same page. The ownership is aligned with the front office. The front office is aligned with the coaching staff. The coaching staff is aligned with the players and where the players are at. Development wise for as long as I've been alive on 29 years old. As long as I've been alive, I don't think we can say that it's been that situation. So the fact that we're able to confidently say that going into this regular season, I think it's something that we should just kind of reflect on before we get into the next week,

27:57where we have to take on the Miami dolphins. And who knows how this season is going to go, but just the fact that everyone's aligned. Man, you want to talk about having a foundation and building a house on top. I think just from that fact alone, we have a foundation. So that's all I wanted to say to you. Just wanted to add some positivity to the already exciting start at the regular season. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you, Ari. And of course, go Raiders. Sacktown, thanks so much for the call. And that's exactly what I was saying at segment number two. Right. And actually, I've been saying that for a while that they're all rowing in the same direction. It's something that I always, you know, can appreciate when I go on vacation to Hawaii. You know, we'll look out over the ocean and there's always it's inevitable. There's always a canoe, a bunch of, you know, canoeers out there and they're, they're practicing and they're warming up and everything is just, shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, all in sync. There's not one person that's missing, right?

28:57There's not one person that's a second off, two seconds or whatever. It's all, shoo, shoo, and it's just, it's a thing of beauty. And that thing is just shoo, shoo, and across the water, right? That's, that's what the Raiders are doing. They're all from John's, well, actually, excuse me, from the ownership, you know, they're at the front of the boat. John Spitec, Brian Stark, GM and assistant GM, right? You got a Clint Kubey Ag and Robbie Leonard, head coach and, and, uh, defensive coordinator. Everyone's, you know, they just, they got their, their, their, their, their or is in the water. Troom, troom, troom, troom, troom, all in the same page. Yeah, that's exactly right. And it has been a long time since the Raiders have had that kind of, uh, you know, insignness. And I think that that's going to help and goes back to what we were talking about. Insigment number two. Thanks so much for the call. Definitely appreciate you got time for a couple more. This text from Raider Jason to the 304 says, good day, Q. Raider Jason from the 304. I want to give my a feedback on expectations and the state of the team. One, I expect a competitive team that pushes down the stretch. Seven wins would be a good season. Anything else is gravy.

29:58Two, we are seeing Spite's fingerprints on this roster. There's a young team and deficiencies will reveal themselves as they play. These young dudes need playing time. Three, we'll have the most improved Russian attack in the league. Gentine Washington for the YVC. Rehate is overrated. The hours will have 100 plus catches and Gentine will have 1600 plus scrimmage. R.S. Five. We are rock. We were at rock bottom last year. The foundation is being laid in the future. It's finally bright as always. The show just go just win, baby and go Raiders. It's Raider Jason and 304. I don't think I have to say anything else. I think I was very self explanatory, right? Five great points. Five great points. Some of the numbers might be a little inflated. 1600 plus scrimmage hours for a Gentine might be a little inflated, especially when you have Washington as well. I do think he's going to get some nice burn as well, but I'm good with it. I'm good with it. Those are five really good points that you bring up. Expectations in state of the team. Thanks so much. I got a call from Sucker free Raider. He's calling to give us his Sucker free three and his words. It's all about being thankful and grateful.

30:59Here he is. Sucker free Raider. Hey, what's up to Sucker free Raider, man with a quick Sucker free three. This one's all about being thankful. Number one, not so many injuries, nothing crazy. I know we got, you know, the key, Keeson Crawford out for the year, but besides that, man, it looks like everybody else is straight. Number two, the quarterback situation. We could be thankful for that. We got three capable quarterbacks. Some teams got three quarterbacks that aren't capable at all. So we got three capable quarterbacks. So we're thankful for that. And number three, last but not least, man, I'm thankful for Chip Kelly and Pete Carroll last year just not coming through and bumping heads and giving us the number one pick, basically. You know, I'm feeling like always I've ever thought in my head of Spice Act talking to Davis like, look, man, I got nothing to do with these two characters. You know what I mean? So let them do what they do and hopefully we get a good pick. So yeah, man, like I said, man, gotta be Thanksgiving to be grateful. You know, saying a high school said it does just waking up in the morning, got a thing.

32:02God, go red. Sucker free. Thanks so much for the call and you're right. Like I skew said, today was a good day, right? It's your spot on about that injuries minimal three quarterbacks. I could start and the Raiders hit rock bottom to give themselves a chance to turn this thing around. They won one more game last year. They wouldn't have Fernando Mendoza. Just that simple, right? Three teams had three, three wins last year. And the Raiders just happened to get the number one overall pick. So you know, they were blessed. It was three or four teams. I can't remember, but all I know is the Raiders ended up with number one. Jets were right there and they won him in those a bad. So yeah, if the Raiders had got one more win, it would have been all bad. And then who knows where we'd be talking to and what we'd be talking about at this stage of the game. But yeah, they definitely hit rock bottom. So you can shout out to Pete Carroll, you can shout out to Chip Kelly. I think you can shout out to everyone being exactly opposite of what the Raiders are this year. All on having different agendas and different timelines for what they were trying to get accomplished. So thanks so much for the call. Appreciate you. We'll close out with a text from Donna in the 559.

33:04Hey, Q is Donna from the 559. My opinion on Fernando is to wait and see how strong our front line is so he doesn't get hurt. We don't want our offensive line to be weak like it was last year. And our quarterback is on the ground more than he's on his feet. And also he needs to be ready. And I'm sure coach will know when he's ready. I appreciate all that you and Ari do as Donna in the 559. Yeah, that offensive line has to come together. There's no doubt. That's why I keep saying that yes, it's about Fernando being ready, but it's also about this team being ready. That's when he'll be ready to get into the mix. When this offensive line is straight, when the weapons are straight, when, you know, the coaching staff is starting to feel a little bit more comfortable. There's so much new with this organization that it's more than just Mendoza and him developing. It's everyone around him as well. So that has always been one of my big points when it comes to Fernando and when or if he's going to, he's going to start anytime soon. And I do believe he'll get plenty of burn in 2026. The question is just when is it going to happen? We don't know. But thanks so much for the text. I appreciate you got a call from Raider Mitch and the 513 and the text from Vincent Portavill.

34:07We'll get that on Monday, Monday's Labor Day. I have no radio shows on Monday, but the podcast will definitely be available bright and early. Well, definitely have you ready, just like we always do. So yeah, make sure you just kind of keep that in your notes that there are no radio shows. But the podcast will be ready to go full throttle. Enjoy your Labor Day weekend. If you do have extra time off to spend with the family and get a little R&R and relax, do it. Right? Because starting on Monday, it's a game week. It is a game week for 2026. We won't be talking about different story lines. We're going to be talking about the Miami dolphins. We're going to be talking about week one in the NFL season and the Raider's season starting at a Legion stadium. I get chills just thinking about it. We finally made it, right? It seems like the off season went by pretty quick, but it still took a while to get here. Went by quick, but it took a while to get here. Well, it is here and we'll be talking about it. Talking about a game week, starting on Monday. So enjoy your weekend, Raider Nation. Be safe out there on Labor Day. And of course, we'll be here for your Labor Day and all your entertainment and enjoyment.

35:09We'll definitely be here for sure. So until then, Raider Nation, take care of yourself. Take care of your family. Love on your family. Most importantly, it's always just win, baby. Hey, NFL fans, I'm Brian Peacock and that is Matt Williamson hosts of the NFL six pack part of the Lockdown podcast network. Your team every day. NFL six pack brings you the latest NFL news and analysis and breaks down all of the weekly action. A six pack of takes daily on the playoffs pushed in the 2025 season or if your teams in draft mode, yeah, we'll hit that too. All right here every day. I'm the Lockdown podcast network. The NFL six pack subscribe on YouTube or everywhere you get your podcasts.