When it comes to Kirk Cousins, because we're going to see him in this game opposed to Fernando Mendoza, what stands out about the way he has kind of, I guess, learned and experienced the Clint Kubiak offense and how that might look early on here in his first game as a Raiders head coach?

Yeah, you look at this offense, and this is, you know, this is why they're going with Kirk Cousins over Fernando Mendoza at the beginning of the season, because he does have that familiarity going back to their time together with Minnesota.

In Minnesota, you know, Kirk not only played with, worked with Clint, he also worked with his dad, Gary Kubiak, when his dad was there on the staff as well for a couple of seasons.

So, yeah, there's a lot of familiarity there.

You're going to see a lot of outside zone running, some gap running as well.

That's why, you know, when Ashton Gentry went down, it seemed like, At the moment that happened, it looked like their season was going to take another spiral, right? Because that's their offense.

They're going to rely heavily on a run game.

How have the new pieces sort of integrated into that defense this year for the Raiders?

Mm-hmm.

Uh, going to Ashton Jeanty, they want, Kubiak wants him to be kind of like that bell cow running back.

Like, he c- what I remember, I believe it was during the league meetings where when he was asked about Ashton Jeanty, he ta- he mentioned Christian McCaffrey and how San Francisco utilized him and how McCaffrey rarely comes off the field.

That's what they want out of Ashton Jeanty, someone who can, you know- Not only make plays in the run game, but, uh, in the passing game as well.

Uh, Jeanty's been working on his route running this off-season to help with that.

We've seen flashes of what he can do in the passing game.

We've seen that at practice as well.

Mm-hmm

season.

This is still a team in a rebuild mode.

So I think you look at this, you look at it this way.

If Mendoza does come in and become the starter at some point during the season, I think it would either be a situation where Kirk Cousins is struggling.

And you know what? Sorry, we have to move on.

It's a situation where the Raiders, even though Cousins is playing solid football, the Raiders are still a team that looks like they're well away from competing for a playoff spot.

So you kind of just say, all right, Cousins, this is the reality of our situation.

What is a good second year for each of these guys in this offense? What do you want to see from them that say, hey, these guys have a future with the Raiders? What do they need to do?

Do you think that's the biggest question still remaining for this football team?

Almost definitely.

I think because you look at Trey Tucker and Jalen Naylor, they're really not your typical wide receiver one, wide receiver two.

Naylor's coming from Minnesota where he was a third wide receiver and a depth chart behind Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison.

Trey Tucker's the same, been a wide receiver three for most of his career.

He stepped up as that wide receiver two last year.

But once Jacoby Myers left and Brock Bowers was dealing with the injury and he got a little bit more attention, his numbers began to drop a little bit, and he didn't have that same production that he had to start the year.

And man, it feels like they landed the perfect hire for what they're trying to do in Clint Kubiak.

Am I living in a bubble here, or is this a significantly better Raiders team than it was last year?

Yeah, they're a lot better than last year.

And, you know, bar- [clears throat] you know, they've really...

To me, I think they've really made a lot of improvement on the defensive side of the ball.

You know, you bring back Maxx Crosby, who technically didn't leave, but, like, after the Ravens, um, res- um, backed out the trade, you add him into the mix along with you improve your [clears throat] ...

Excuse me, uh, your starting inside linebacker corps adding Quay Walker, Jakobi Dean, too.

Uh, Quay's a guy who's very versatile.

It seems like he is the ultimate weapon for whoever is under center for this Las Vegas Raiders team.

Do you think that's the biggest question still remaining for this football team?

Almost definitely.

I think because you look at Trey Tucker and Jalen Naylor, they're really not your typical wide receiver one, wide receiver two.

Naylor's coming from Minnesota where he was a third wide receiver and a depth chart behind Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison.

Trey Tucker's the same, been a wide receiver three for most of his career.

He stepped up as that wide receiver two last year.

But once Jacoby Myers left and Brock Bowers was dealing with the injury and he got a little bit more attention, his numbers began to drop a little bit, and he didn't have that same production that he had to start the year.

And man, it feels like they landed the perfect hire for what they're trying to do in Clint Kubiak.

Was there anything that stood out to you from the quarterback play, especially Cousins and Mendoza?

I think with Cousins, you can see when it comes to Kirk Cousins, you see the familiarity he has with Kubiak's offense.

You see how he's established a strong connection with guys like Trey Tucker and Brock Bowers on the field.

Now you want to see how that handles when the pads come on.

I think when you look at it, I think Cade O'Connell I thought was pretty efficient during the times he was on the field.

And Fernando Mendoza, I think, playing with the second and third team guys.

You know, he had his good and bad moments.

know,

Is Mendoza the leader in the clubhouse right now to start week one? Is Cousins, is it a true quarterback competition when we get to training camp?

This is a true quarterback competition.

General Manager John Spicek said the best player will play, although him and Kubiak are not friends or will prefer having a rookie quarterback sit.

But this is a true quarterback competition.

This is where Kirk Cousins provides assurance because you know that if he has to go out and be the week one starter, you know what Kirk Cousins can provide.

And that gives you opportunity where you don't have to rush Fernando Mendoza.

You know, and, you know, that's key right there where you're not putting him in a position where, you know, you're putting him where his back is against the wall early.

offense