00:00The Raiders are fascinating to me, Tom, because I think this is either going to be the most talked about
00:06team in the NFL, at least in the AFC and the AFC West this year, or right from the get
00:12go, it is going to be an absolute dumpster fire.
00:15And we're going right back to the well with Crosby being moved and everything else along those lines.
00:20So what is your feeling from what you've gotten so far?
00:24I think Mendoza is the future.
00:27We all know that, but is it sooner rather than later?
00:32Is it just a wash of a season to begin with, or could the Raiders surprise some teams?
00:38I think it's realistic.
00:40I mean, not realistic is the right word.
00:42It's within the range of outcomes for the Raiders to start the season two and one.
00:47They can beat Miami.
00:49Miami has a billion dollars of debt cap space, it feels like.
00:53You know, we know that they brought in Malik Willis.
00:55We know that they have new coaching staff.
00:56We know they have all this dead money, you know, with Tyree Kill and Tua Tungvaloa from last year.
01:01We know all that.
01:02They're at home to start, you know, play Miami.
01:04They can beat them.
01:05They lose versus the Chargers.
01:07Week three, they play New Orleans.
01:08And I think New Orleans is going to be better than they were last year.
01:10But it's not like they're some runaway team that's, like, guaranteed to make the playoffs.
01:14Like, they'll be good.
01:15They won't be terrible.
01:16But it's still a somewhat winnable game.
01:18So they could be two and one heading into week three.
01:21Then they run into a really rough stretch of Kansas City at New England, Buffalo, and then the Rams.
01:27So when we're looking at this, all of a sudden, then they're going to be, you know, two and four,
01:30two and five.
01:31They play at the Jets.
01:32Is that the time that we see Mendoza?
01:34They start off with Kirk Cousins, and then they turn it to Mendoza against the Jets.
01:39That's what I could be seeing because I've talked about this, you know, with Kevin Walsh, you know, on In
01:45Game Live last week.
01:46And the Raiders don't play a Thursday night game, and they don't play any primetime games.
01:50So it's not like they can have a Thursday game, and Kirk Cousins is terrible, and then they have the
01:54mini bye to then bring in Mendoza after that.
01:57Because their bye is not until week 13.
01:59So if it's bad, they can bring in Mendoza at the start of November against the Jets.
02:05To me, it's all about, and I have not been impressed with that secondary, of the Raiders.
02:10Now, granted, they got a lot of young guys back there.
02:12It's kind of a rebuild.
02:14But I watched Gardner Minshew and Jacoby Brissett light up those young starters in that secondary of the Raiders.
02:22And then I just watched Davis Mills do it this week in week two.
02:26And I got to go, you know, if the Raiders have to trail and play from behind every game, then
02:33that is not great for, A, Kirk Cousins or a rookie quarterback in Mendoza either.
02:39So something has got, I got to see something with that defense, because I think offensively, they're going to be
02:45okay.
02:46I think they can hang, but defensively, that secondary has got to do a better job.
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