In a post-game podium speech that seemed to be a cross between Al Pacino’s rant at the end of Scent of a Woman and the Terrell Owens passive-aggressive “that’s my quarterback” lamentation, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr suggested that others in the building don’t feel the same way he does about the effort to win games.
Receiver Davante Adams also questioned whether enough players are fully bought in.
Raiders coach Josh McDaniels, who has become the primary target of fan ire during a disastrous first season on the job, said Monday that he couldn’t speak to whatever Carr was referring to.
“I don’t have any issue with the effort,” McDaniels said, via Vic Tafur of TheAthletic.com.
The simple reality may be that players are resisting the arrival of The Patriot Way in Las Vegas. And even if McDaniels thinks he’s being his own guy, the truth is that he has picked up plenty of Bill Belichick’s ways by osmosis over the years. For McDaniels, it’s not The Patriot Way, it’s The Only Way He Knows.
And it’s not creating a positive way forward for the Raiders. But for the massive buyout, owner Mark Davis quite possibly would admit the mistake and move on. Or maybe Mark Davis will take a page from his father’s playbook and fire McDaniels for cause, like Al once did with Lane Kiffin.
Regardless, the franchise has hit a new low, losing to a Colts team that had the most bizarre week ever of self-inflicted dysfunction and still won. And if McDaniels will be staying, he’ll need to get more players who will buy in -- before Davis decides to buy McDaniels out.
