Oakland Raiders: 5 Burning Training Camp Questions
By Erik Lambert
The Oakland Raiders may not have the best team going into the training camp season, but they certainly have one of the most interesting.
This is from the top down. This team was a playoff contender two years ago but were undone by a freak injury to their quarterback. Last season a fracture occurred between the coaching staff and locker room. Thus Jack Del Rio and his entourage were shown the door. Jon Gruden was hired not long after with ownership no doubt hoping he could recapture the magic he brought way back in the early 2000s.
Meanwhile, the roster has undergone some tweaking. Is it for the better? That depends on who you ask. Some really like what the Raiders have done. Others think they made a series of miscalculations that could end up backfiring. Which will end up being true? Time will tell. One thing is clear. This team has a ton of questions to answer in the limited time it has when camp begins.
Who will blink first in the Khalil Mack standoff?
The Raiders have to know they’re playing a dangerous game. Khalil Mack isn’t only their best players. He’s one of the best players in the NFL. He’s the one reason their defense was passable last season rather than straight up awful. The longer this contract impasse goes, the worse it’s going to look for them. Mack knows he deserves to be one of the highest-paid defenders in football. They have no argument against that. Oakland is desperately trying not to break the bank, but Mack knows he has a ton of leverage. This is a classic game of chicken between the two sides.
How quickly can Derek Carr mesh with Jon Gruden’s style?
Anybody who has watched NFL documentaries over the years had to catch at least a couple glimpses of Gruden during his first stint as a head coach in Oakland and Tampa Bay. He’s not exactly known for being the diplomatic type, often taking a hard edge with players and never showing much patience for those who can’t keep up. He’s especially hard on quarterbacks. He doesn’t want ones who can’t handle the mental rigors of the position. This is why it will be interesting to see how Derek Carr, who’s never had somebody like this before, responds.
Can anybody step up in the Raiders secondary?
Oakland has tried for years to get things off the ground in their secondary. They’ve spent a number of 1st round picks on both the cornerback and safety positions including names like Gareon Conley and Kendall Joseph. Thus far the results have been less than satisfactory. It’s hoped the addition of veterans Leon Hall and Rashaan Melvin might help the younger players in the group learn how to work and play at a top level. Veteran defensive coordinator Paul Guenther has been here before but it’s going to be a tough challenge. Somebody needs to step out of the shadows.
Will the reported head cases stay out of trouble?
The Raiders have a long and storied history of taking on players with checkered backgrounds and getting the most out of them when no one else could. It seems Gruden is attempting to revive that old doctrine. They traded for wide receiver Martavis Bryant who has a history of drug issues from his days in Pittsburgh. Then they drafted Arden Key where he had similar problems during his time at LSU. That isn’t counting cornerback Daryl Worley who got in trouble this offseason as well with multiple offenses. There is no questioning the talent of these men. It’s a matter of whether they can stay out of trouble long enough for it to matter.
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How far will the dropoff from Sebastian Janikowski be?
People never understand how rare it is to have an established kicker for a long time until he’s gone. Sebastian Janikowski made those concerns irrelevant for almost two decades in Oakland. It’s a shame his time there ended like it did. While he didn’t have the best season, most of his miscues on field goals were from beyond 50 yards (five of the six total misses). The Raiders used this as an excuse to move on, but they may find replacing “Seabass” isn’t as easy as they hope. Giorgio Tavecchio and Eddy Pineiro will be the first to compete for that chance. Oakland better hope they deliver.