As a warm-weather team trying to become a contender in the NFL, the Raiders have struggled in cold-weather games for years. Now that the club plays in Allegiant Stadium, their beautiful, enclosed new home field, that problem has the potential to become even more pronounced.
But general manager Mike Mayock doesn’t want to let that happen. Together with coach Jon Gruden, he’s made a point to draft players that love football, regardless of compensation. That philosophy has the potential to pay off in poor-weather games, and according to quarterback Derek Carr, it was part of the magic in beating the Browns in terrible conditions on Sunday.
“It gives us confidence because Mr. Mayock and Gruden have brought in the right kind of people. They can find a way to win,” Carr said to reporters after the game. “I have been in some locker rooms with some guys before where when it gets a little cold or a little windy or rainy, the look in their eyes turns a little bit different. Today in pregame, in the locker room, and as we took the field, I felt like there was nothing stopping us because of everyone’s energy and juice.”
That “juice” was evident in watching safety Johnathan Abram. The second-year pro appeared to be having a ball against the Browns, as defensive coordinator Paul Guenther used him to attack the line of scrimmage often.
“The weather does not really matter,” Abram said postgame. “It does not matter where we go or where we are at. We can show up on the concrete at six in the morning and we are going to be ready to play ball.”
Count running back Josh Jacobs as another young Raider that relishes subpar weather. “To me, it felt good. It reminded me of growing up, playing football in Oklahoma,” he said to reporters after the game. “I came out early and walked around the field and I was like, ‘yea, I am good for it.’ When we came out and it started raining, it just made the game more fun, because I knew we were going to run the ball.”
Previous Raiders clubs may have folded, but not these guys. With Carr playing arguably the best football of his career in his third year with coach Jon Gruden, the roster acquired by Mayock and Gruden are there to back him up, no matter the conditions. That attitude must persist as the Raiders look to climb the ranks in the NFL as a warm-weather, domed stadium team.
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