Answering Your Las Vegas Raiders & NFL Questions

Henderson, Nev.--There is no fan base in the National Football League hungrier for information on their team than the Raider Nation. That is why each week, we offer a buffet of Silver and Black information as we answer your questions and emails as it pertains to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Hondo, will the Raiders sneak into the playoffs this season if they get the nine wins you predicted? Bob Randall

I predicted eleven and said that ten was the floor. Last year I predicted ten and set the floor at eight. Yes, if the Raiders get to eleven, I believe that the Silver and Black get into the playoffs. At ten, I do not. Addressing your "Sneak" term, let me say this. If you make the playoffs in the NFL, you are not sneaking in. You earned it.

Hondo, I know the Raiders execs are jacked about the draft. Are they happy with the younger guys from previous drafts? Are they working hard? Encourage me, Uncle Hondo. Terry Pahl

Mike Mayock talked about that. He said, "I've talked to some of our guys from the last two draft classes, especially last year, our production has got to be better from that group a year ago. The guys from two years ago have been pretty good football players, but we've got to get a bounce from that group last year on both sides of the football. In the defensive backfield, I think John Abram is going to have a big year. He's in here working his tail off. Same thing with Arnette, we're looking for a bounce from those guys. It would be great if we can keep them healthy and getting them to the playing level we expect. And then you combine it with the young guys that we got in the draft, we're pretty excited about where we could be in the secondary."

Hondo, why haven't you had reports from mini-camp this week? Kyle Rowland

We are hoping and anticipating that we will be allowed in sometime next week for phase three. I'll keep you updated.

Hondo, are you concerned that Karl Joseph only came back for the money? Do you think he is bitter about being let go before? Emma Thomas

Great question and I will let Joseph answer it for you, "Well, first off, I never wanted to leave. I think this is my home. I was drafted here. I feel like I was born to be a Raider, so came and got the opportunity to, spoke to [Head] Coach [Jon] Gruden and I knew I had to come take a visit and sit down and talk to him. And we spoke for a while yesterday and it felt right. I took some time to think it over and talk to my family about it and it just felt right. It felt like the right decision to come back and help finish what I started here and be a part of that and come do whatever I can to help the team win."

Hondo, I read your article with the Draft Bible guy. I get that some people thought Malcolm Koonce had a first-round grade by some teams. What made him have that grade? Stephen M.

The way he can bend his body and get low. That allows him to maneuver around the offensive lineman or fullback and to get off of blocks quickly. Few can do it, but he is one of them.

Hondo, do you think there are some concerns by the Raiders players, with Andre James getting the promotion? Melissa Dale

I don't think there is any concern. Here is how Kolton Miller discussed Andre James, "Andre, of course, he's a year younger than me. We go back to UCLA, played on the same line. It was awesome seeing him get picked up here undrafted. That guy just came to work every day, picked up as much as he could from Rodney. You can see he already had the footwork, already had the fundamentals, he just needed to fine tune some of the smaller stuff. He's come along a great way. I'm excited for the season. I'm excited for the competition coming up to see what he does. It's funny to look back at that."

It would help if you remembered this fact. Andre James is no slouch. He wasn't sitting on the bench drinking Gatorade. James played a ton on special teams and got a lot of reps with Derek Carr in practice. He is ready.

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