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Raiders Mailbag: Raider Nation’s questions, my opinions

CARRnew
CARRnew

As the Oakland Raiders inch closer and closer to training camp (less than a month away!!) we continue to bring you fresh new content even during the deadest time of the year. And of course, what good would content be if we made no effort to find out what is on the minds of Raider Nation? So, without further ado, another edition of the Raiders mailbag where I take your questions and give my opinions.

Good chance I get some heat for this answer but I really don’t care. If he is healthy, I think Mario Edwards, Jr. will be the single most important player on the entire defense. Yes, more than Bruce Irvin. Yes, even more than Khalil Mack. Why? Because Edwards does the dirty work that will allow both of those guys to have huge production this year.

He may not put up amazing stats, but if you watch the tape I guarantee that a healthy Mario Edwards, Jr. will consistently show up on tape as a guy who is wreaking havoc along the line of scrimmage and completely throwing the timing of offenses off. So, will he break out? Hell yes. Will he put up huge numbers? Maybe not but that shouldn’t be interpreted as meaning he didn’t break out.

I would be shocked, SHOCKED I say, if someone other than T.J. Carrie ended up being the nickel corner this season. It was only the start of last season when Carrie was the unquestioned best corner on the team. Fast forward to this offseason and Carrie is coming off a year spent playing safety but is likely to move back to corner. This time, however, Carrie finds himself as most likely the third best corner on the team rather than the first.

Plus, besides Carrie, there simply isn’t a whole lot of talent to compete for the nickel corner spot. Who is going to push him? D.J. Hayden? No, but seriously. I just don’t know that there are really any other options for the nickel corner position at this point.


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To be honest, I’m not real sure what the Raiders are going to do in order to cover opposing tight ends. Both of the new safeties, Reggie Nelson and Karl Joseph can cover tight ends and hopefully Neiron Ball, who did a very good job covering tight ends last year, will be healthy once again. Though I am not sure what the game plan will be for the tight end position, I do know that the Raiders have added two guys who are upgrades in coverage at safety. I would be surprised if tight ends were able to run free as easily and often as they did against the Raiders last season.

I agree to a degree. I would not cut Sebastian Janikowski right now by any means. In my opinion, he should be on the team all of the way up to the final cuts. Why? Because I think he should be in a real life competition with Giorgio Tavecchio. Seabass should be given no benefit of the doubt or presumption of being the starter. If that happens, I think Tavecchio can give him a run for his money, and potentially unseat him. If not, it’s a sign that Jano is working hard to rectify the issues he’s had the past few years.

Love the question and I’m going with the over. I think Carr only began to scratch the surface of what he is capable of last season. And he did it with little to no run game and a terrible defense. I know you could argue that both of those things could lead to inflated stats since Carr had to throw more often. But they can also lead to inefficiency on offense. And a truly efficient offense will produce more than an inefficient one, even if it means more yards going to the run game. With a better run game, the Raiders will hold onto the ball longer and Carr will get more and better opportunities. I fully expect him to take the next step this season and have a very, very good year.

That’s a tough question. Obviously I think very highly of Karl Joseph since I was all but begging the Raiders to draft him. And yes, I did a little happy dance in front of the television when they did draft him. But while I think he will be a great player for the Raiders, I’m not sure if he can win defensive rookie of the year. Why? Mostly because of his position. Often times, a safety will play their position expertly but it won’t show up well on the stat sheet. This is something that I could see happening with Joseph.

I don’t think that’s a crazy idea by any means. With that being said, I also don’t think there’s any chance of that happening this year. I don’t think this coaching staff likes putting too much on the shoulders of rookies and would be unlikely to start DeAndre Washington over Latavius Murray who is a veteran that’s coming off of his first Pro Bowl. But personally, I think there’s an argument to be made for Washington being the better starter with Murray the better complimentary back.

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