Fernando Mendoza Welcome To Las Vegas

[Sold My Soul]

Call your shot....or add your own.

Dante Moore:

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Dante-Moore-QB-UCLA

Fernando Mendoza:

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Fer ... California

May the football godz look kindly down upon the feeble and inept.

[raidersince63]

I would say there is a 99% chance he won't be the opening day starter. I know a lot of people don't like it, don't think he should sit.... whatever. Cousins WILL start the season and Doza WILL sit for a time.

I want to see him play too, but I understand why the coach wants him to sit and watch/learn. The people that think he should start understand too...

Yeah, I think the powers that be made a wise decision and I hope they stick to their "plan"...no need to rush.

[SkullCrusher]

The pov in this changes often.

We're pre-camp, just words to go by, easier to accept that perhaps he won't start. We're 0-0 and will remain 0-0 for a while. Were in a calm state.

Then preseason starts, if he looks good the media will jump on this and there will be a lot of talk "you drafted him first overall you have to start him, there's nothing to think about", this does pressure teams imo.

Or we start the season and we're losing, we'll get super ency asking for the kid, that's another type of pressure.

The curve-balls are injury, protection or if he just doesn't look good.

Now what I have liked is he's talking with Brady a lot from his words, that's 110% what is needed, Brady getting his mind in Mendoza is key imo.

[raider_kin]

Kube ain't gonna change his plan no matter what.

Mendo gonna be brought along correctly and properly, will start when the time is right.

Cousins or AOC who cares, as long as our franchise QB is being developed correctly.

Damn I wish the season would get here I can't wait.

[mranquales]

The worst thing that can happen is we will have a decent season, that could have turned into a playoff berth with a better QB.

[riseNraid09]

I predict Kirk Cousins will start the season, but will unfortunately go down to a season-ending injury in week 2, forcing Mendoza to step in and learn on the fly, eventually hitting his stride to notch an 11-5 record his rookie season while leading the Raiders back to the AFC Championship...

wait, I may have seen this movie before?

[16 to 88]

If AO makes the 53 man roster, that will tell us what the front office is thinking.

Precisely what do you mean with this comment?

[raiders93]

Kube ain't gonna change his plan no matter what.

Mendo gonna be brought along correctly and properly, will start when the time is right.

Cousins or AOC who cares, as long as our franchise QB is being developed correctly.

Damn I wish the season would get here I can't wait.

I’d say it’s fluid to a degree though unlikely and there’s probably a reason we signed cousins. Mendo has a fairly steep learning curve to an NFL offence compared to what he ran in Indiana.

From almost exclusively out of the gun to a heavy under center offence. From RPO centric offence to NFL offence. I have zero doubts but it still takes time. Now could he pick things up insanely quick and steal the job… sure. But it’s clear we’re not going to force it and play him if it’s unclear he’s ready.

[16 to 88]

There is almost zero doubt that the Raiders will carry three QBs on the active roster so that would mean O'Connell makes the team. Where he is in doubt is if he is the second or third string QB and that gets decided in preseason. I would think he will be second string and Mendoza is third string. But when it is time to move on from Cousins, it will be because of injury or that Mendoza is now ready. I see that shift at midseason. If Cousins goes down early, O'Connell could get the nod if either Mendoza is not quite ready or if the line is not quite ready.

So there is a path for O'Connell to start ahead of Mendoza, but it is a bandaid move.

100%

[16 to 88]

The Raiders have to be the only sports team in the world where the organization will draft the literal top prospect in the draft and the fans are still talking about a guy who may not even make the team !!!

Even funnier, the discussion about the guy who may not even make the team has taken over the thread that’s supposed to be about the top prospect. Can’t make it up.

No, AOC is not going to start. There is no chance. It is hard to imagine a plan where one of the steps is having AOC be the starter of this team. He is not going to start.

There is one way he could possibly start. And that is if Cousins goes down in TC or preseason.

[16 to 88]

I’d say it’s fluid to a degree though unlikely and there’s probably a reason we signed cousins. Mendo has a fairly steep learning curve to an NFL offence compared to what he ran in Indiana.

From almost exclusively out of the gun to a heavy under center offence. From RPO centric offence to NFL offence. I have zero doubts but it still takes time. Now could he pick things up insanely quick and steal the job… sure. But it’s clear we’re not going to force it and play him if it’s unclear he’s ready.

That's a bingo. 100%

[raidersince63]

The worst thing that can happen is we will have a decent season, that could have turned into a playoff berth with a better QB.

No.

[Opoponax50]

The Raiders have to be the only sports team in the world where the organization will draft the literal top prospect in the draft and the fans are still talking about a guy who may not even make the team !!!

Even funnier, the discussion about the guy who may not even make the team has taken over the thread that’s supposed to be about the top prospect. Can’t make it up.

No, AOC is not going to start. There is no chance. It is hard to imagine a plan where one of the steps is having AOC be the starter of this team. He is not going to start.

We're currently in the final leg of slog before football starts again. Every football topic, interesting or not, has been worn out like a re-used rubber.

O'Connell starting before Mendoza?

At any point this season?

Yeah-right.

If that were to happen, we might as well start our annual draft discussions in October again because it would mean Mendoza's a bust before he ever walked onto the field.

Cousins is a bridge in every sense of the term. If that bridge collapses, Mendoza is going to be taking the next snap, not O'Connell.

[Attyla]

We're currently in the final leg of slog before football starts again. Every football topic, interesting or not, has been worn out like a re-used rubber.

O'Connell starting before Mendoza?

At any point this season?

Yeah-right.

If that were to happen, we might as well start our annual draft discussions in October again because it would mean Mendoza's a bust before he ever walked onto the field.

Cousins is a bridge in every sense of the term. If that bridge collapses, Mendoza is going to be taking the next snap, not O'Connell.

I disagree, there is a path for O'Connell to start before Mendoza and that does not include Mendoza being a bust. As noted, if Cousins goes down in preseason, O'Connell likely gets the nod as it sounds like the staff is determined to not rush Mendoza onto the field before he is ready. Or if Cousins plays like ass and the line is not gelling, that could mean O'Connell takes the job before Mendoza so as to give the line more time before we see Mendoza.

Ultimately, any move that does not mean Mendoza on the field is simply delaying the next chapter in our ongoing search for the real deal. I do think, as noted, that Mendoza is learning to play under center, that is a process but one that will make Jeanty better. And we need to max out Jeanty and Bowers because they will be Mendoza's go to players early on. It has always been thus. A rookie QB needs a strong run game and a great outlet pass early on as they learn the speed of the game at this level.

[raiders93]

We all know you AOC isn’t your favorite but when it comes to the team and Fernando it goes way deeper than AOC. Unless Fernando just overtakes everyone in TC and preseason and absolutely wrestles the quarterback position away to become the starter, I’m going to guess they have a plan in place like they stated and that plan is not to rush him and possibly have him sit for the entire year even though he is the #1 overall selection in the draft. If Cousins goes down at any point in the season the plan may be to, no matter what, have AOC play and keep Fernando on the bench.

If AOC is running with the 2’s during the season then get ready for AOC at a moments notice. As for the team, there may be players, especially on offense that want a guy that has been in the league and played in games. Again, Kubiak’s system uses under center looks at one of the highest rates in the NFL. Another way to look at it is look at Mahomes. Reid, who knows a thing or two about offenses and quarterbacks and who had been an HC in the league for 18 seasons before he drafted Mahomes had him sit for the entire year with the exception of the very last game of the 2017 regular season.

And Mahomes was drafted by a team that had a 43-21 record and had been in the playoffs 3 out of the first 4 years Reid was the HC. He could have easily inserted him and let him learn on the job and be justified in doing so with his head coaching credentials. And there offensive line wasn’t in question, they had the #1 rusher in the NFL and the #9 rushing attack overall. If that ain’t enough, in the middle of the season they lost 4 straight games in a row and 6 out of 7 losses in that stretch. Despite all that he never brought him in and had him sit the entire year so he had a plan in mind.

Now, compare that to our situation.

Is this an apples to apples comparison? No. Does that mean Mendoza won’t start at some point this year? No. Does that mean he won’t get some game time in relief or something else? No. Who knows? So much can unfold in an NFL season there are just to many variables. Our part owner Tom Brady attempted 3 passes his rookie season. Joe Montana, Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers, Brett Favre, Carson Palmer, Drew Brees and our very own Ken Stabler, all these guys either never started a game or only attempted a few passes there rookie years. Rodgers waited 3 years, Rivers and Stabler 2 years.

On the other hand guys like Aikman, Bradshaw, Manning, Marino, Elway, Wilson, Roethlisberger and our very own Jim Plunkett were thrown into the fire and went onto become great quarterbacks. Again, there are just too many variables to know for sure. I know I want what’s best for Fernando and if that means it’s more beneficial for him to sit and learn the more complex professional NFL game, get use to playing more under center, adjusting to the speed of the game without the psychological toll of early career losses then so be it!

Agreed. I would hope we’re finally doing it the right way which imo means for this year - eliminate your expectations on wins/loss category. Hope for the best but understanding that we’re building something sustainable and acceptance of the reality that it’s probably going to take more than 1 offseason.

And it seems like the AOC thing is the same. Putting Mendoza in is not a “save the season” decision - we might go 3-6 wins again… and that’s ok. Mendoza starts when it’s going to help him develop and insure he becomes our franchise QB. Mendoza does not start just because the season is getting away from us.

And I’d say honestly… bigger picture… one more bad season probably sets us up. If it doesn’t change our long term trajectory and leads to Jeremiah Smith or potentially ransoming off a pick for arch or Moore… that’s probably a massive accelerant for this team.

Not rooting for a tank by any stretch but pointing out at least for me this year… I want to see good football. I want to see Mendoza improve and look like the guy when he goes in. I don’t really care how we finish and there’s a definite silver lining if we’re still a fairly bad team in the scoresheet

[raidersince63]

We're currently in the final leg of slog before football starts again. Every football topic, interesting or not, has been worn out like a re-used rubber.

O'Connell starting before Mendoza?

At any point this season?

Yeah-right.

If that were to happen, we might as well start our annual draft discussions in October again because it would mean Mendoza's a bust before he ever walked onto the field.

Cousins is a bridge in every sense of the term. If that bridge collapses, Mendoza is going to be taking the next snap, not O'Connell.

I know it's probably a metaphor, but why would someone reuse a rubber?

But anyway, depending on the circumstances, and if Kube & Co. stick to their "plan" and decide that they're not ready to throw Mendo into a meat grinder, AOC could very well take over for Cousins.