Oakland Raiders: Does this team stink? Tough love from a Browns fan
By Joel W. Cade
Resolution
The belief that a coaching staff can develop a physical freak into a player is so 1998. Thanks to the current collective bargaining agreement, the coaching staff does not have the time to develop players like they did in 1998. Now, players have to learn to develop themselves in the offseason if they want to succeed. But Gruden and his talent gurus still draft like they have the time to develop players.
The result are a lot of drafted players who look the part but cannot play. But because they don’t play well, they need sit and develop. To fill in the gaps, the roster is filled with middle class veterans on inflated contracts. These contracts consume cap space preventing the team from re-signing the talent on hand.
The result is an aging team with no cap space. Then fans wonder why the team stinks.
As a Browns fan, I say with confidence, the way out of this black hole is to draft players that can play football. Not players who look the part (i.e. Kolton Miller) and hopefully will develop into football players. No, the Raiders need to draft players who may not look the part but can play the position (i.e. Baker Mayfield and Denzel Ward).
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In short, the offense is good. Special teams are good. The defense stinks. The current roster construction means the team will be losing for years to come. It’s only getting worse before it gets better.
Hang in there Raiders fans. These are the times that try men’s souls.