And sometimes I were talking about this yesterday, their
playoff team from last year, they won ten games. It's rare
for a playoff team
to have a regime change at the top, new GM new head coach.
What did you notice last night watching
the Raiders play?
Well, I mean, the one thing that really stands out is Josh
Jacobs playing, right? And not just playing, but playing for
multiple series and whenever you're seeing a running back in
the preseason and somebody who,
you know, Has been a pretty decent guy in that backfield
before.
I mean, I think that says a lot about what Josh McDaniels is
going to do with the running back position. And if you've
watched any Patriots football over the last, I don't know,
let's call 15 years basically since he was there
and obviously he went away and came back
but that's not really a surprise based on what they've
done with the running backs. And I remember, you know,
people go on Camp tours of course, in this time of year
and Charles Robinson of Yahoo
Sports went to Las Vegas, saw their camp. And then after that
was basically like look, if you've ever seen Josh,
McDaniels of what he's done with running backs? Expect them
to do the same thing in Las Vegas.
So even though Josh Jacobs has been that Bell cow back before,
it's not necessarily going to be like that anymore. And
I think that's a perfect example of exactly what he was talking
about. Last night, we see Josh Jacobs out there for that long.
Well, when the Raiders did not pick up the 50 or option on
Josh Jacobs first round rookie contract, and they had three
first-round picks the year that Jacobs was a first rounder, and
none of their options.
Got picked up for year five.
That was the signal that it is going to be the same approach.
It's a game plan specific strategy at the running back
position and you never quite know who it's going to be until
that game unfolds
this game. We need more of a blocking presence. This game,
we need a between the tackles Runner. This game, we're going
to run more outside this game. We're going to throw it to
a more and it just
it does depend on what they plan to do. And they're not
going to just go, Josh Jacobs, Josh Jacobs Josh Jacobs, here's
Josh McDaniels last night, after the game talking about
his decision, to use Josh Jacobs on a night when most of
the starters
were in uniform but not on the field.
Is everybody ready to go? You know, and
you know, we made the decisions. We thought were
the right decisions for our team and
some based on depth, some based on just wanting to get guys
opportunities to, you know, get in there and
I always think it's good for backs to carry the ball in
a pre-season, you know. And you know, there's a lot of things
that happen when you getting tackled and hit that you can't
simulate in practice. So
I think all our guys had the ball tonight, all are like,
guys either caught her,
you know, where handed the ball and had to get, you know,
tackled and
You know, we can't really simulate that a rep that in
practice.
It's funny how in many contexts. We see a Kinder
gentler Josh McDaniels in comparison to his former boss,
Bill Belichick. But boy, there was a real belcheck Vibe coming
through
especially early on in that the Flatline. We just do what's
best for the team etcetera, etcetera. I think this is
the reality.
I was looking to Josh Jacobs contract. He's got two point,
one to two million in base, salary. This year, fully
guaranteed.
I think is a little bit of showcasing of Josh Jacobs going
on last night. I think we're going to see more of it in
the preseason,
I think, if they get a trade offer
for JS, Josh Jacobs
that they like they'll take it. One of the things about being
on site for a game,
you pick up stuff
that you don't pick up when you're in your house in West,
Virginia.
I think Josh Jacobs is kind of persona, non grata with Josh
McDaniels right now, I think Jacobs. And you know, when you
don't pick up the fifth year,
Ian, it goes one of two ways.
It's either I got to buckle down. I got to bust my ass.
I got to do what I need to do to earn a spot with this team be
on this year. Kind of like, what Doug Martin did with the.
Buccaneers remember Muscle Hamster.
He was a first-round pick, they didn't pick up his 50 or option.
And in his contract year,
he was phenomenal. And they had to sign him
to a long-term contract and he got a lot of money from
the Buccaneers before he became an unrestricted free agent. So not
picking up the 50 or option really sparked.
Right? I think Josh Jacobs knows I'm not going to be here.
I'm just not he's going the other way. This isn't about.
I'm going to buckle down. I'm going big contract year because
something anything he does, because you can have limited
opportunities and they're never going to pay him because
they're not going to pay a running back. The kind of money
that he thinks he's
going to get. And he probably was led to believe just by
circumstances is 43 years. In the NFL. At some point, I'm
going to get decent money. I'm gonna get
Joe Mixon contract. I'm going to get an Alvin Kamara
contract. Not that, he's never quite at that same level, but
I I think that
I'm not saying he's checked out, but I have a feeling, he's
probably not
bought in.
And I think that Josh McDaniels would very much like
to get an offer from someone
to unload, the 2.1 million and move on to the other running
backs that they have.
Oh, that's I tweeted that last night. Mike, you know, if I am
watching this and I'm a GM and I see Josh Jacobs is out there
running the ball like this in the Hall of
Fame. Game, if I need a running back, I'm probably picking up
the phone. I'm calling Dave Ziegler, right then. And there
and say, hey,
what do you want for them?
Because if he's somebody that I think can put my ball Club over
the top. And this is a guy, that is a tough hard-nosed
running back, right? And he was a candidate for
offensive Rookie of the Year back in 2019, when it went to
Kyler's Marie, and it should have gone to AJ Brown. So, this
is somebody who really can run the football effectively. Now,
has he done that over the last
A couple of years. Well you know he's shown that stupid
potential that he still has right. I mean he has an ability
to lower the shoulder and go into guys Bowl guys over and he
can make some special runs and I think we sort of saw
some of that ability last night too but at the same time if
you're Josh McDaniels and you have a philosophy for
the running back and you know that Josh Jacobs while he's good
he's not going to necessarily be that guy that you need every
single week.
It's not the same.
You know, philosophy is Jon Gruden had when he picked Josh
Jacobs, where it's like, yeah, this is our Bell, cow guy, then
a, you're probably gonna entertain the trade offers and
be if you're Josh Jacobs and literally everybody has been
saying this,
you know, it's not like it's really news.
If you've been paying attention to what's been going on in Las
Vegas, that's why it's not necessarily that he's checked
out, but he understands the circumstances. That's what
I would say about it.
That's right, that's right. But like I said it can go one way
or the other. You can say I'm going to do everything I can to
impress the new regime. I'm going to earn my spot. I'm
going to stick around or you can say
you know what, they don't want me. I don't want them.
I hope I get out here. I hope they dreamed.
I mean, I kind of hope they do too but he was running the ball
hard last night. So, you know, it's not like he's well, this
is Jay. This is this because it's his
opportunity to audition.
I'm not talking about the stuff we see
in a game. I'm talking about this stuff that happens behind
the scenes, right? When everybody, Watching this is his
chance to get someone's attention and the reality is if
anyone's going to suffer an injury during camp
and the preseason it's running backs happens all the time.
Somebody's gonna tear an ACL, somebody's going to break
a bone. Somebody's gonna be gone and an opportunity is going to
arise for Josh Jacobs.
While the 49ers are waiting for lightning to strike at
the quarterback position somewhere. So they can trade Jimmy
Garoppolo, good luck with that much better luck. If you're
the Raiders and you're hoping for an opportunity
to move Josh Jacobs.
All I'm saying is this at some point before. Week one.
I think they make an effort to trade him,
and if he's on the team,
I think it's some point before the trade deadline,
there's a chance
that the phone rings
and Jacobs is gone. And then, after the trade deadline, it
could be like an obj situation where it's just, we're going to
part ways here, this just isn't working. I just
again being on-site, you pick up stuff that you maybe
wouldn't pick up if you were
sitting in your mother's basement or above your garage,
or in your barn or wherever you may be other than, at the scene
of the