NFL
By: Brock Vierra
To say I was stunned after watching the Raiders’ performance on Sunday in their 30-12 loss to the Bears would be an understatement. I was shocked when I heard that head coach Josh McDaniels picked Brian Hoyer to start over Aiden O’Connell earlier this week as Jimmy Garoppolo continues to deal with injury issues and McDaniels stubbornness has once again sunk the Raiders. Not only is he ruining the Raiders now but he is causing permanent damage to the team that will affect them in the future.
Josh McDaniels Doesn’t Understand Why He Was Successful in New England
Josh McDaniels is a self-centered, egotistical, incompetent moron who cannot see the world beyond the tip of his own pride as his selfish and idiotic decisions continue to hurt both his team and his career. We always hear the term Patriot Way, a philosophy that contributed to six Super Bowl titles. McDaniels himself was in New England for all of those championships and served as offensive coordinator for three of them. I think his role gave him an entitled feeling of self-worth that has manifested itself into his own Patriot Way.
Josh McDaniels was pretty much a placeholder for those titles as they were won behind Tom Brady’s play, cerebral abilities, and his constant audibling at the line while McDaniels offense was backed by one of the greatest defensive minds in history. In 13 quarters of play, McDaniels offense with Brady averaged 25 points in three Super Bowl victories. Respectable.
However New England averaged 25.5 points in their first three Super Bowls under OC Charlie Weis. It should be noted that 7 points came off of a Ty Law pick 6. Brady himself with OC Byron Leftwich scored 31 points in Super Bowl LV and in the past Super Bowl, the Eagles scored 35 points to the Chiefs 38.
In Josh McDaniels three Super Bowl wins as OC, it was also Bill Belichick’s defense that play the crucial role. The Malcolm Butler interception against Seattle, keeping the NFL’s best offense in the LA Rams to three points and the Patriots held Atlanta to 7 second half points in the comeback win. Josh McDaniels offense also averaged 21.75 points in his three Super Bowl losses as offensive coordinator.
His career is built off of having the greatest QB of all time who was developed by someone else and one of the best defensive minds to ever grace the game yet it is clear he feels he had a bigger role in those victories and now that he has the freedom to make head coaching decisions, he makes awful ones.
Josh McDaniels Is Fiercely Loyal To “His Guys” to the Detriment of the Team
Aiden O’Connell looked promising in the preseason and he was rewarded with a start against the Chargers a few weeks ago. McDaniels did not protect his young QB on the field or in the media and the result showed. I expected AOC to get another shot this week but instead he went with longtime backup Brian Hoyer. Hoyer was awful. 17/32 with 129 passing yards and 2 interceptions.
This isn’t the first time Josh McDaniels has brought in a New England guy to backup a starter. He brought in Jarrett Stidham last year and essentially sent Derek Carr home to play him in the last two games of the season. He then got rid of Carr for Jimmy G who was with McDaniels in New England while making Hoyer his backup.
Despite inheriting a playoff roster in 2022, McDaniels brought in former Patriots Stidham, Brandon Bolden, Jakob Johnson, Chandler Jones, Duron Harmon, Tashawn Bower, Justin Herron, Trent Harris, Chris Lack, Jalen Elliott and Isaiah Zuber. Over a year later, only Bolden, Herron and Johnson remain. Most of the other players aren’t even in the league anymore.
Knowing how last year worked out with his experiment “Patriots West,” McDaniels in 2023 doubled down and brought in former Patriots Jimmy Garoppolo, Jacobi Meyers, Deandre Carter, Kristian Wilkerson and Adam Butler. Outside of Meyer, the results haven’t been spectacular.
The problem is the former Raider contributors have either left the team or are buried beneath all these Patriots. Derek Carr, Darren Waller, Foster Moreau, Yannick Ngakoue, Bryan Edwards, Trayvon Mullen and Johnathan Hankins were all sent away for these ex-Pats while Hunter Renfrow and Josh Jacobs have taken a clear step back in 2023. They aren’t bad players but victims of an awful scheme and offensive philosophy.
Josh McDaniels Won’t Change His Ways
When questioned as to why Aiden O’Connell didn’t get the start today, he chopped it up to Brian Hoyer having experience. Experience means nothing if it doesn’t turn into production. O’Connell did come into the game going 10/13 with a touchdown and an interception on a deep shot. However, it meant nothing as the Bears already had the game in the bag.
It seems that Jacobs, Davante Adams and other big names in the organization have grown tired of McDaniels while rumors circulate of several notable names wanting out of Vegas. He’s lost the locker room and won’t make any changes. They’ve had two poor drafts, two terrible free agency periods and zero direction. He is setting the Raiders back years with each passing week. If Mark Davis loves his franchise like I think he does, he knows what to do. He just celebrated winning his second WNBA championship with the Las Vegas Aces, a height he’ll never reach with the Raiders if he doesn’t remove the cancer. Josh McDaniels has to go.
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