Haha! Raiders/Tom Cable screw up drafts again!

ivotuk

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Raiders RT Alex Leatherwood named biggest reach in Round 1

In 2019, they selected Clelin Ferrell at No. 4, but unfortunately, that pick is trending in the wrong direction.

Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden made another controversial pick this year, selecting Alabama offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood at No. 17. Most of the draft community had Leatherwood as a fringe first-rounder and many believe his best spot in the NFL may come in at guard.

Stupidity incarnate:

Las Vegas...parting ways with Rodney Hudson, Gabe Jackson and Trent Brown this offseason...

Leatherwood could stand to improve his technique, but he has now paired with one of the league’s best offensive line coaches in Tom Cable.

NOT!

 
OP
OP
ivotuk

ivotuk

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Then, the proof (or lack thereof) started to surface in the 2021 season.

Leatherwood began his rookie season at right tackle, but didn't last too long. He played a total of 257 snaps in his first month in the NFL and was remarkably bad, earning offensive game grades in the 30s in three of his first four games, per Pro Football Focus.

 

Maelstrom787

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He looked pretty damn good in college.

I'm willing to bet he got screwed by coaching, and that it wasn't truly that big of a reach. Felt like he was going somewhere in the 20s range.
 

sdog1981

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Tom Cable is the worst coach in organized football.
 

Lagartixa

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I still really dislike the Raiders. Not only were they proud of playing dirty (and their fans proud of it too) back in the '70s, they were a loathed division rival of my Seahawks for 25 years (1977-2001). They ended the Seahawks' magical 1983 season in the AFC Championship game, even though the Seahawks had beaten them twice during the regular season.

I mention this as context for how thrilled I was when I heard about the Raiders paying Gruden a hundred million dollars to work his magic for ten years, and later, hiring Mayock (Mayock!) as GM. I figured those two could condemn the still-loathed Raiders to mediocrity and worse for a good long time. I was so sad when the stories about Gruden's e-mails came out, because it brought an untimely end to what could have been a full decade-plus of guaranteed Raider failure starting in 2018.

Going back to 2018, in addition to the great news about Gruden being hired with a ten-year deal, there was the extra bonus of Tom Cable being hired by the Raiders to screw up their offensive linemen individually and the line collectively, and to help draft the wrong players for the offensive line. I didn't think Gruden (and later, Mayock) needed much help to draft the wrong players, but I was still glad Cable would be there to make sure they did everything OL-related wrong. So I'm sad Cable's gone from the Raiders too now.
 
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James in PA

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Several years ago, someone here posted a pic of Cable and the Hawks o-line working on jumping drills. That was some good stuff. Would love to see that again for a laugh.
 

RiverDog

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I still really dislike the Raiders. Not only were they proud of playing dirty (and their fans proud of it too) back in the '70s, they were a loathed division rival of my Seahawks for 25 years (1977-2001). They ended the Seahawks' magical 1983 season in the AFC Championship game, even though the Seahawks had beaten them twice during the regular season.

I mention this as context for how thrilled I was when I heard about the Raiders paying Gruden a hundred million dollars to work his magic for ten years, and later, hiring Mayock (Mayock!) as GM. I figured those two could condemn the still-loathed Raiders to mediocrity and worse for a good long time. I was so sad when the stories about Gruden's e-mails came out, because it brought an untimely end to what could have been a full decade-plus of guaranteed Raider failure starting in 2018.

Going back to 2018, in addition to the great news about Gruden being hired with a ten-year deal, there was the extra bonus of Tom Cable being hired by the Raiders to screw up their offensive linemen individually and the line collectively, and to help draft the wrong players for the offensive line. I didn't think Gruden (and later, Mayock) needed much help to draft the wrong players, but I was still glad Cable would be there to make sure they did everything OL-related wrong. So I'm sad Cable's gone from the Raiders too now.
My dislike for the Raiders goes back even further to the 60's when they were well known as the dirtiest team in football. My dad liked them, mainly because he identified with old man George Blanda, and at the time, anything that my dad man liked I automatically disliked.

I didn't like Al Davis and his moving of the franchise, twice in 10 years. Even before the email scandal that sunk Jon Gruden, I didn't like the SOB, thought that he was arrogant, got the sense that he was a first class prick, a sentiment that was borne out in the aforementioned scandal.

I also didn't like Tom Cable, and never understood what it was in him that Pete liked. How in the hell could anyone in their right mind think that James Carpenter was an NFL quality offensive tackle and worthy of a #1 pick?
 

Lagartixa

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My dislike for the Raiders goes back even further to the 60's when they were well known as the dirtiest team in football. My dad liked them, mainly because he identified with old man George Blanda, and at the time, anything that my dad man liked I automatically disliked.

My dad disliked the Raiders and Al Davis before I was even conceived (i.e., back in the '60s too), but the one exception he made was for George Blanda, whom Dad respected greatly.
 

RiverDog

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My dad disliked the Raiders and Al Davis before I was even conceived (i.e., back in the '60s too), but the one exception he made was for George Blanda, whom Dad respected greatly.
Yeah, the one thing I remember about George Blanda was that even though he was a league MVP, he had to drive a beer truck for a distributor in the offseason to pay the bills.
 

Bear-Hawk

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Then, the proof (or lack thereof) started to surface in the 2021 season.

Leatherwood began his rookie season at right tackle, but didn't last too long. He played a total of 257 snaps in his first month in the NFL and was remarkably bad, earning offensive game grades in the 30s in three of his first four games, per Pro Football Focus.

The Bears were the only team to claim Leatherwood on waivers. Poles thinks he can rehab him with better coaching and move him to left guard. I’m skeptical.

What do you think?
 

Bear-Hawk

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His name might be Cable, but, he performs like DirecTV.
Some pretty knowledgeable Bears fans think Leatherwood just needs better coaching on pass blocking technique and then eventually have him replace Whitehair at left guard, as he is more experienced and comfortable on left side. On the other hand, I have asked some Raiders fans about him, and they say he just sucks and will be out of the league in two years. Seahawks fans have no dog in this fight, so I thought I can get more objective opinions here.
 

Threedee

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Some pretty knowledgeable Bears fans think Leatherwood just needs better coaching on pass blocking technique and then eventually have him replace Whitehair at left guard, as he is more experienced and comfortable on left side. On the other hand, I have asked some Raiders fans about him, and they say he just sucks and will be out of the league in two years. Seahawks fans have no dog in this fight, so I thought I can get more objective opinions here.
You can't truly evaluate a lineman until he's no longer being coached by Cable Guy. That's another reason why I always liked Sweezy—he was the only living "project" that worked out well.
 

Bear-Hawk

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You can't truly evaluate a lineman until he's no longer being coached by Cable Guy. That's another reason why I always liked Sweezy—he was the only living "project" that worked out well.
Well, maybe then there’s a chance the Bears can salvage him. It’s difficult for a guy who played left tackle in college to be thrown into right guard even under good circumstances— much less without competent coaching.

Having said that, he’s got a lot of work ahead to make up for lost time floundering with the Raiders.
 

bigskydoc

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You can't truly evaluate a lineman until he's no longer being coached by Cable Guy. That's another reason why I always liked Sweezy—he was the only living "project" that worked out well.
George Fant turned out ok. Of course we didn't retain him.
 
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