Oakland Raiders: Six things we’ve learned through six weeks of play

The Oakland Raiders have stumbled, bumbled, and flat out sucked on their way to a 1-5 record – let’s look at six things learned through those first six weeks.

For the Oakland Raiders, the flight home from London had to be a long, quiet, and arduous one. They’d just come off their worst performance of the season – which, in a year where they’re sitting at 1-5 says a lot, and none of it good.

When prodigal son Jon Gruden returned to the sidelines earlier this year, it was met with much hype, hoopla, and nostalgia for the past. Many of us bought into the buzz, and got excited for the direction of the franchise, which immediately seemed to be trending upward.

No doubt, many of us were soaked in that sweet sense of nostalgia, and were simply fondly recalling the last time the Raiders were actually good, and relevant – which was when Gruden stalked and scowled on the sidelines the last time.

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Unfortunately, like many movies based on a cherished novel, and similarities between Gruden’s last stint with the Raiders, and this current version, are purely coincidental.

A series of mind-boggling roster moves this offseason started the eyebrow raising among the most loyal among the Raider Nation. Gruden overhauled the roster totally and completely, bringing in veterans, getting rid of younger players, and gutting this franchise, as he started to rebuild it in his image. Okay, fine. New coach, new system, he wants “his guys” in place to run his plays. We get it.

Most of us sat back, doing our very best to trust in Gruden, trust the plan, and trust in the direction he was leading the franchise.

But, as the losses continue to mount, and not only is this team not showing any signs of improvement, but actually looks to be regressing at this point, it seems perfectly fair to wonder if Gruden even knows what the plan, and the direction for this franchise are.

We’ve seen six games now, and the Raiders are sitting at 1-5. Realistically, any chance they had at the playoffs died when they walked off the Wembley Stadium field. Now, the rest of the season will be spent playing out the string, as Gruden hammers and shapes the roster into his image.

For better or worse, this is where we’re at. Six weeks into the season.

There’s still a lot of football yet left to be played, and who knows, maybe the team can rally together, and at least approach something nearing respectability by the end of the year. All we know for certain is that the moment the last second ticks off the clock on the final game of the year, change is coming to the Silver and Black. Big change.

For now, let’s take a look at six things we’ve learned through six weeks of the 2018 campaign.