The Raiders Needed Answers vs. the Broncos — But Got Even More Questions

HENDERSON, Nev. — The Las Vegas Raiders (2-7) in year one of the John Spytek, Pete Carroll are not having the success that they anticipated and wanted.

The latest episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast provides analysis of the Silver and Black, who should be finding answers entering week eleven, but instead keep uncovering questions.

You can watch the entire podcast below:

For Pete’s Sake!

Head coach Pete Carroll took time to address the issues around his team, and didn’t mince words. The sure Hall of Famer didn’t necessarily give the answers many will want, but he didn’t either bloviate with coach-speak.

Head Coach Pete Carroll

Head Coach Pete Carroll: "Well, we're getting ready here to start this longer week for us, for Monday night coming up, and we're going to try to take full advantage of it. A lot of areas need to improve. We got work to do, and we're going to take advantage of the days that are extra, which is one of them today."

Q: We talked a lot about the short week last week. How much does that longer week give you guys time to work on some things?

Las Vegas Raiders Pete Carroll | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Coach Carroll: "It does. I thought our guys responded really well and played really hard the other night, on Thursday night, and I really liked that we were able to do that because it's a unique situation that you're in, and we got to learn from those times when we get them. But this will help too. This gives you a little bit of break on the legs. We'll get a good full week, plus. Half a day today and a full day tomorrow. So, we have nothing to complain about. We got a lot of time to get better."

Q: There's some news that Jackson Powers-Johnson might be going to IR. Does that open up an opportunity for Caleb Rogers to compete for some playing time?

Las Vegas Raiders Pete Carroll and IOL Jackson Powers-Johnson | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Coach Carroll: "Yeah, he will go on IR, and that it certainly does. We'll see how Dylan Parham does coming back, but we think he's going to make it back. And it does open up opportunities that we're going to give some guys a shot at it and see how that looks. We've been kind of working the backup spot there for some time now, so that's kind of in line with what's been going on. We're going to miss JPJ [Jackson Powers Johnson]. He plays his butt off and really loves this program and shows it in everything that he does, but it's going to be a while before he gets back. But the IR thing will take care of that."

Q: What went into the decision to alleviate Tom McMahon, and also with that, what do you think this means for Derius Swinton II to be able to step up into that role as well?

Coach Carroll: "Yeah, I thought we needed a change. And I love Tom [McMahon]. He's a great dude, and he's done a great job for us. He's a career ball coach, but I thought we just needed a change, and part of that is that I want to see what Derius [Swinton II] does with it and see how he handles it. I mean, he's done it before. He's been in this situation before, he's been a teams guy before, and he's very well-versed. But I think it was time for a change there, and that's why we did that.

Q: What are some of Derius Swinton II's strengths?

Las Vegas Raiders special teams coach Derius Swinton — Sep 19, 2010; Oakland, CA, USA; St. Louis Rams special teams coach Derius Swinton during the game against the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Coach Carroll: "Yeah, he's very good communicator, very active on the field, hands on type of coach, really skilled in scheme. There's not time to change a bunch of our scheme at this point, but it's to emphasize and focus on things that we think we needed to get better. And so, I'm hoping that the voice change will help us in that regard."

Q: What has Caleb Rogers shown you during this development phase?

Las Vegas Raiders IOL Caleb Rogers | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Coach Carroll: "Yeah, he's a really good athlete. He's bright. He's got a good mentality about him. He brings the energy when he's on the field. It's just a matter of time before he really gains command of what's going on with the game itself. So, he's got a real high upside, so we're interested in giving him a chance to show what he can do and see if he can get on the field and helps out. So, really nothing but positive so far."

Las Vegas Raiders DL Tyreel Wilson | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

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