The Official Game Day Thread, At Least One Raider Gets His Ring, The College Championship Game

[Attyla]

Time to relax and enjoy one last look at the future.

[raider_kin]

His arm is similar to Joe Burrow's, so he's gonna fail miserably. Obviously.

He is 6'5" though, so there is that

[raidersince63]

First, I'm very happy for FM, IU, and the state of Indiana...they deserved it.

But I'll say it again, though FM obviously has the talent and intelligence and potential to justify without a doubt that the Raiders should make him the #1 pick, I still wonder just how much of his success is due to him being in a great system at IU...and how well of course, he will translate to the Raiders and the NFL.

Would IU have won it all without Mendoza?...probably not. Would Mendoza have had the same success without a slew of very good and very smart coaches and players around him?...of course not.

So, whether or not FM becomes our Messiah remains to be seen but will be predicated on how good of a job the Raiders do as far as hiring the right coaching to help develop him in the right way as well as using the draft and free agency to bolster the roster...From top to bottom, only enlist talented and intelligent people.

[Raidernation1979]

Don’t successful teams and quarterbacks usually have good players and smart coaches? He isn’t just a product of RPO. He has shown the ability to read defense and go through progressions.

Whats the next gripe he ties his shoelaces too tight?

[Attyla]

First, I'm very happy for FM, IU, and the state of Indiana...they deserved it.

But I'll say it again, though FM obviously has the talent and intelligence and potential to justify without a doubt that the Raiders should make him the #1 pick, I still wonder just how much of his success is due to him being in a great system at IU...and how well of course, he will translate to the Raiders and the NFL.

Would IU have won it all without Mendoza?...probably not. Would Mendoza have had the same success without a slew of very good and very smart coaches and players around him?...of course not.

So, whether or not FM becomes our Messiah remains to be seen but will be predicated on how good of a job the Raiders do as far as hiring the right coaching to help develop him in the right way as well as using the draft and free agency to bolster the roster...From top to bottom, only enlist talented and intelligent people.

This can be said for anyone not named Tom Brady. We have seen Burrow struggle. We saw Lawrence struggle for the vast majority of his career so far. Of course we are going to need to improve the team around him. That is a given. But you start with the most important position and we are finally about to do that. Manning came in and was horrible his first year. And that was because they had a talent hole. Manning became what he became because they started quickly filling the gaps.

Mendoza is not a product of the system. He is part of the system. We just have to fill in the gaps. This is nothing new. We saw it with the Steelers. They were horrible under Noll his first three years. But they kept adding talent. Some things do not change. We have pieces that are already in place. We just need to keep adding. And we need to retain that talent and not squirrel it away.

[raidersince63]

Don’t successful teams and quarterbacks usually have good players and smart coaches? He isn’t just a product of RPO. He has shown the ability to read defense and go through progressions.

Whats the next gripe he ties his shoelaces too tight?

Who's griping?

[Attyla]

Don’t successful teams and quarterbacks usually have good players and smart coaches? He isn’t just a product of RPO. He has shown the ability to read defense and go through progressions.

Whats the next gripe he ties his shoelaces too tight?

Sounds like something the Grinch was accused of. And yes, you gather the talent because that is what a team is.

[RunOverByHubbard]

He was under heavy pressure the whole game and if he starts for the Raiders next season, it could very well be the same level of pressure. He did well in the last analysis. It was definitely an anti-Carr like performance.

Our offensive scheme will be crucial for him to succeed as well as fixing the offensive line. For me the only negatives about him are that he is kind of slow afoot and he might not have a great deep ball. Otherwise I think he is a great prospect.

[nmonte374]

He was under heavy pressure the whole game and if he starts for the Raiders next season, it could very well be the same level of pressure. He did well in the last analysis. It was definitely an anti-Carr like performance.

Our offensive scheme will be crucial for him to succeed as well as fixing the offensive line. For me the only negatives about him are that he is kind of slow afoot and he might not have a great deep ball. Otherwise I think he is a great prospect.

The play calling was terrible…. Every drive was the same Run Run Pass on third and 7 or longer

[NoThanksSir]

First, I'm very happy for FM, IU, and the state of Indiana...they deserved it.

But I'll say it again, though FM obviously has the talent and intelligence and potential to justify without a doubt that the Raiders should make him the #1 pick, I still wonder just how much of his success is due to him being in a great system at IU...and how well of course, he will translate to the Raiders and the NFL.

Would IU have won it all without Mendoza?...probably not. Would Mendoza have had the same success without a slew of very good and very smart coaches and players around him?...of course not.

So, whether or not FM becomes our Messiah remains to be seen but will be predicated on how good of a job the Raiders do as far as hiring the right coaching to help develop him in the right way as well as using the draft and free agency to bolster the roster...From top to bottom, only enlist talented and intelligent people.

I think there are very few guys taken 1st overall that on their own will change the trajectory of a franchise. In recent memory; Burrow, Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning. I think it's that rare.

Like most 1st overall picks, you still need to assemble a good enough team around them. But I have to push back on Mendoza being a product of his environment. He was considered a late 1st rounder last year on a poor Cal team. With Indiana, I don't think Cignetti's system is some cheat code. I think the single biggest piece of evidence to Mendoza's value is comparing the talent and athleticism of Indiana's roster against Miami's.

Miami had 45 4 or 5 star recruits on their roster. Five 5 star recruits.

Indiana had 7 four star recruits. Zero 5 star recruits.

What Mendoza did this year and against Miami is nothing short of spectacular. Some Hoosiers might find themselves drafted, but not long from now I wouldn't be surprised if Mendoza is the only player from this Indiana team having a successful career in the pro's. That entire football program is on his back. Next year I can see the narrative being, "Can Cignetti do it again without Mendoza?"

[RunOverByHubbard]

The play calling was terrible…. Every drive was the same Run Run Pass on third and 7 or longer

Miami out coached Indiana for sure. And Miami clearly was out to be as physical as possible. They deserved about 7-8 more penalties.

[RunOverByHubbard]

The play calling was terrible…. Every drive was the same Run Run Pass on third and 7 or longer

Miami out coached Indiana for sure. And Miami clearly was out to be as physical as possible. They deserved about 7-8 more penalties.

[Raidernation1979]

He was under heavy pressure the whole game and if he starts for the Raiders next season, it could very well be the same level of pressure. He did well in the last analysis. It was definitely an anti-Carr like performance.

Our offensive scheme will be crucial for him to succeed as well as fixing the offensive line. For me the only negatives about him are that he is kind of slow afoot and he might not have a great deep ball. Otherwise I think he is a great prospect.

While Indiana doesn’t use it much what is the issue with his deep ball. Here’s one example. 50 yard dot thrown 60+ in the air.

[SkullCrusher]

First, I'm very happy for FM, IU, and the state of Indiana...they deserved it.

But I'll say it again, though FM obviously has the talent and intelligence and potential to justify without a doubt that the Raiders should make him the #1 pick, I still wonder just how much of his success is due to him being in a great system at IU...and how well of course, he will translate to the Raiders and the NFL.

We do know he struggled against Miami because all QB's do when they are getting pressured. We were the WORST at this last year. We try to cope and put almost all of it on Geno, but it was the OL. If Mendoza faced yesterdays pressure for 16 games like Geno did, he wouldn't be on the radar. So yes there is concern but it's more of protection based vs Mendoza's abilities if he has time. I actually do find the rumors of a trade for Burrow or Lamar interesting as those are truly proven. Your basically buying insurance, less but proven years vs the new kid that could be something or not and go full term with you. But current Raiders would show Burrow and Lamar suck and then we hate them, all the time it's coaches and oline.

[Toast]

Miami out coached Indiana for sure. And Miami clearly was out to be as physical as possible. They deserved about 7-8 more penalties.

I am not so sure they did. Cignetti understood how good Miami was defensively. He worked off of the run game. Predictable? Yes, but when you are that good you do what you do best and see if the other team is good enough to stop you.

I got the feeling Indiana's RB's were on the verge of breaking one all game and they got the tough yards. Lots of losses behind the LOS but the stuck with it. I think abandoning the run game would have played right into Miami's strengths.

Mendoza faced a fierce pash rush all night and that touchdown run on fourth down was all guts. Miami never saw it coming. It was far from a pretty game but two unforced errors on Indiana's fault were the two factors that prevented Indiana to close it out prior to the interception.

Miami lost their composure. Indiana did not. They won a scrap over more talented but lesser men. Coaching and the better QB.

[raidersince63]

We do know he struggled against Miami because all QB's do when they are getting pressured. We were the WORST at this last year. We try to cope and put almost all of it on Geno, but it was the OL. If Mendoza faced yesterdays pressure for 16 games like Geno did, he wouldn't be on the radar. So yes there is concern but it's more of protection based vs Mendoza's abilities if he has time. I actually do find the rumors of a trade for Burrow or Lamar as those are truly proven. Your basically buying insurance, less years vs the new kid that could be something or not and go full term with you.

Thanx SC...I'm glad you at least took the time to read my entire post and digest it as a whole in order to get my full meaning, which you did...instead of someone taking only one small part of it as the crux of what I was getting at.