The Black Hole: Go Inside Las Vegas Raiders Football 3.0

I get a lot of nuggets and information that alone are not big enough for a story. When I have a few that I can assemble, I will, and when I only have one or

I get a lot of nuggets and information that alone are not big enough for a story. When I have a few that I can assemble, I will, and when I only have one or two, I will post them on our community page. So, welcome to The Black Hole.

• If there were an offensive MVP from camp, it would be Derek Carr.
• Now don’t read into that, that other players aren’t having great camps. There are about 12 guys that could be in contention. But here is why Carr stands out.
• Once at a Final Four, I was speaking to Earvin “Magic” Johnson. I asked him about the difference between being a great player and a good player. He said to me: “You can’t be great if you aren’t making others better. Team sports aren’t about you. Champions and great players make average players good, and good players better. Want to be great? Make people around you better.” That is Derek Carr in the 2020 training camp.
• Nathan Peterman in the reps I have seen is the second-best quarterback on this team. I fully admit that I have not seen all of the camp.
• It all isn’t open to the media.
• But he gets it. He knows the system, and he has command of it.
• Marcus Mariota has been disappointing, but I say that with a caveat. He is a terrific young man. He has some fantastic quarterback talents.
• Mariota also is coming off of an injury and learning a new system. I am NOT down on him at all. I like him. I am merely admitting I expected more, but I give him the benefit of the doubt as to why we haven’t seen it.
• Arden Key is a baller. A relentless pursuit of motion. I love that he never stops moving. You may block him, but he never stops moving. His motor is so impressive. He has shined this camp.
• If I had to pick a defensive MVP of camp, it wouldn’t be Key, but he would be right up there in contention.
• Prince Amukamara should have sent shock waves around the Raider Nation and the NFL by getting cut.
• Amukamara is a wonderful human being and an outstanding player. He was great for this team in the locker room with so many young players, and they wanted him to make it.
• The problem is something I have been telling you all about this entire offseason. The Raiders aren’t the team of old. The Raiders are loaded.
• General Manager Mike Mayock has done a fantastic job of being financially smart while being talent-driven.
• The young defensive backs on the Raiders roster got better every day this camp. In the end, they wanted Prince, but the 2020 Raiders aren’t going to be able to hide people on their practice squad.
• NFL teams are circling like sharks with blood in the water, awaiting more cuts. Some good players won’t make the Raiders, but will make a 53-man roster for someone else.
• Credit Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden for that.
• Jalen Richard and Theo Riddick have battled this camp. A week ago today, when I projected the roster, I had Riddick making it and Richard the odd man out.
• That is not the case today. Richard has put on the afterburners and has passed Riddick. I was told on Sunday night: “Richard has had a super camp here of late. I think having Riddick in camp helped him.”
• Josh Jacobs has just been Josh Jacobs. He is a superstar in the making. He plays the game with a smile like a kid in the backyard. He is an exceptional player Raider Nation. Enjoy him, and don’t take him for granted.
• Guard Gabe Jackson is a beast. What can’t he do? He is a tactician. I love watching him work. He takes every rep he can get and then shadow reps while other players work.
• The Raider offensive line will not just win more than they lose at the point of attack, but they are going to maul people.
• I have not seen an offensive line this well-coached, and this aggressive and motivated since the Hogs in Washington.
• Watching the offensive line interact with Derek Carr is special. Guys know when their quarterback has their back. Carr does, and he is continuously praising his guys on the field. Carr might be a smaller human being, but he is their guy, and it shows.
• Carl Nassib, to me, has been a disappointment. With all of the money they put into him, he hasn’t stood out at camp. At all. I expected more out of him. Every other defensive lineman looks sharp; he seems present, but not improved.
• Maxx Crosby is a freak of nature.
• Clelin Ferrell remains so impressive to me. Character means a lot to me, and when you watch him interact with people, you see it.
• Ferrell leads from the front. He is an enormous human being, and in the heat, he still keeps coming. He makes others better around him.
• Bryan Edwards is making my prediction from back in July that he would be a starter at some point this season look smart. You forget watching him that he is a rookie. He does the little things so well.
• Every time I have seen him this training camp, A.J. Cole makes it look like the football is leaving his foot shot out of a cannon.
• If you agree with Jim Tressel, my friend and legendary college football coach, that the punt is the most critical play in football, Cole is your guy.
• Raekwon McMillan was a gigantic get for the Raiders. If you are ever suckered into attending a ballet in New York, I guarantee you that no one will have the foot skills he does.
• I spoke with an assistant NFL GM who has been a long time friend, and he told me: “I fully expect him to start in Vegas. He is a run thumper with amazing feet and no one gets around him.”
• If I had to pick a defensive MVP, I don’t know that you could choose a player. It would come down to the defensive backs and the defensive line. Both of those groups are leaps and bounds past last season.
• But I had to pick, it would be defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, the master motivator and teacher. I said this offseason that he was Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock’s most significant free agent, and I was right.

OK, I need to stop. That is five pages already, people, and I still have more.

I have so many more notes, and I promise that I will get them all in. Our “Black Hole” articles will happen once a week. Perhaps during training camp, we can expand it to twice per week.

I can tell you this; Raider Nation has a ton to be excited about. This article is already long, or I could give you many more reasons and players to be excited about. Keep your eyes out for the next “Black Hole,” and please tell your friends about it.

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